[Assam] Is Bhattacharjee Baboo trying to say, ‘Some are getting out of the kitchen as the kitchen is getting too hot’ ?

[Bartta Bistar]

*ULFA losing base in stronghold *

http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?category=National&slug=ULFA+losing+base+in+stronghold&id=94724
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Kishalay Bhattacharjee

Friday, October 13, 2006 (Bokpara):

The Army in Assam has intensified its operations against the militant outfit
ULFA deploying more troops to Upper Assam.

The organisation where the Army believes the ULFA is believed to be widening
its base.

In Upper Assam, the ULFA's original stronghold people are disenchanted with
the outfit going so far as to say they no longer want the ULFA there.

There is an auditorium, which is the only structure that ULFA has left
behind besides a trail of almost three decades of violence.

*Original homeland*

Bokpara is the original ULFA homeland where once every single member of the
village supported the outfit in hope of change.

Today, times have changed, the same people now don't talk of a separate
homeland nor do they want to talk about ULFA.

Bokpara barely four kilometres from Dibrugarh town surrounded by tea gardens
was the district headquarters of ULFA in the 80s.

A slice of insurgent history of India's northeast this Ahom village has seen
it all.

This was declared as liberated zone by ULFA till the army came in 1991. It
was here that ULFA tried to broker peace between Muiviah and Khaplang of the
NSCN.

"What a time it was, we thought Assam was neglected and birth of such an
organisation will relieve us of our miseries. Then I realised that we became
part of that organisation. They told us about a national threat and the
Mukti Bahini wanted our support in bringing about socio-economic change in
Assam," said Mandeswar Das Headmaster Bokpara Primary School.

"NSCN's Khaplang and Muivah were also here, Paresh Baruah came and said he
is very happy with our work," he added.

*Army torture*

Since then almost all male members of the village have gone through army
torture. Mandeswar himself was jailed thrice.

"We have changed, our mindset has changed. We know Assam is not just of the
Assamese. The Independence we spoke of is impossible and not necessary. We
were ULFA but today we are all working and we wont let them in here," said
Mandeshwar.

Eighty-year-old Birabala Gogoi whose elder son had also joined the outfit
has bitter memories. Her younger son now runs a small tea garden.

"I don't want them to come back here again. That period has gone. Now there
is peace here. They used to torture us. I had to cook food whenever. It
scares me to think of those days," said said Birabala Gogoi village elder.

Bokpara has changed but that may have other reasons. The outfit which was
originally looked upon as more of a Ahom organistaion is slowly losing its
Ahom base even though it's creating new bases.
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