Opinion Heroes of Kokrajhar

As part of a team from the National Human Rights Commission visiting the violence-affected districts of Assam,I came face to face with more than one instance of good people doing great work. Ironic though it may seem,it only convinced me that if the beautiful land of Assam is to be saved from recurrent violence,the goodness of the non-violent alone cannot be counted on.

In the relief camps at Bengtal in Chirang district,the people told me their painful personal stories and,quite surprisingly,kept tears in check while doing so. But the tears rolled down uncontrollably when they spoke of a local police officer and how he had saved the lives of so many of them,facing gunfire from attackers as he did so. A Bodo himself,the police officer had risked his life in an extraordinary response to the call of duty and saved the lives of many Muslims. He had become a hero,and those tearful faces said it all.

A Bodo family of five in Kokrajhar owed their lives to their neighbours,some of them from the Koch Rajbongshi community and others Muslim,who stood guard against attackers who had descended on their home. The attackers were driven away,leaving the family untouched.

These are only a few among many inspiring examples of individual and collective action by people in defence of fellow human beings. They lift the pall of gloom that has fallen in the wake of the violence and hold out hope for humanity. They are also the best antidote to rumours aimed at dividing people in the name of community and religion. These stories,therefore,must be told again and again.

What is most remarkable about the above instances is that the people who have acted so commendably do not even think much of their efforts. They just did it because it was the most natural thing for them to do. It is the syncretic fabric of society in Assam and the unassuming nature of people from the Northeast that enables such selfless and self-effacing responses.

That incidents of violence should occur in a place populated by so many generous and warmhearted people is all the more devastating. However,tensions can arise even in the most integrated and homogenous of societies. So if there are tensions in a state diverse in ethnicity,culture and religion,it is not a matter of surprise. The most serious point of concern is that violence can be so flagrantly resorted to in misconceived attempts to resolve these tensions. It only shows that conflict resolution mechanisms either do not exist or that they do not function properly.

In this context,conflict resolution mechanisms exist more at the macro-level than at the micro. It is not that those at the micro-level are not important. They perform the very important function of fostering good neighbourly relations,among other things. However,there is only so much that a peace committee or a village council can achieve,especially when suddenly pressed into action by a deputy commissioner or a superintendent of police during times of violence. Even the limited mandate that a well-meaning local group can serve is jeopardised if the larger issues that threaten societal harmony continue to fester due to the lack of comprehensive responses.

The situation in Assam is multi-layered and complex. Any effort,however well-intentioned,to attribute the violent clashes to a single factor is fraught with problems. A viable conflict resolution mechanism fashioned must grapple with all the contentious issues if it is to have a genuine chance of success.

Nobody comes out well from these tragedies,least of all the perpetrators themselves. No good can result,no cause is served when innocent people die bloody deaths and homes are destroyed. Perhaps,the only consolation lies in the fact that our faith in humanity is reaffirmed by the heroic deeds of many among us. Goodness of the human heart does triumph in the end. However,that goodness also requires the ballast of supportive conflict resolution mechanisms.

The writer is senior superintendent of police,National Human Rights Commission