[Assam] Tehelka: ULFA Chief's sis wants democracy thru elections - not guns

[umesh sharma]

Sister          Concern
       ULFA’s exiled          commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah’s sister is contesting panchayat          polls. She says she wants ‘development’, not a ‘sovereign          Assam’
       TERESA REHMAN
         Tinsukia, Assam
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main37.asp?filename=Ne260108sister_concern.asp

GO          AHEAD, but be courteous and respectful to everyone.” That is the          advice that Hirawati Baruah Chetia, sister of United Liberation Front          of Asom (ULFA) commander- in-chief Paresh Baruah, remembers her mother          gave her as she stepped into the fray of the panchayat polls. But isn’t          she contesting under the Constitution, which her brother had rejected          in 1979 when he launched his “struggle” for a “Sovereign          Assam”?       
“I am a simple          person and have come forward to serve the people,” replies Chetia.          “I haven’t met my brother for the past 28 years nor have I          ever sought his advice. I wouldn’t even recognise him if I saw him          now. Like others, I learned that he had left India to struggle for the          country from the newspapers.”
       An unassuming mother          of three, 44-yearold Chetia is a well-liked figure in her village, Panitola          Borchapori Betoroni. Her hopes from a panchayat election win are basic          — improving roads, healthcare, education, working conditions for          weavers and setting up a rural library. As a social worker active with          the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) for the past decade, her decision to contest          for the Baruaholagaon panchayat in Tinsukia district has surprised few.
       But does she agree          with her brother’s principles? “I don’t think I am qualified          to comment on his activities. He never discussed with us the reasons why          he left everything to wage his struggle. My parents also failed to understand          why he had to do this because he always got what he wanted,” she          says.


Paresh          Baruah had worked as a railway porter from 1978 to 1982, and also as a          labourer for Oil India at Duliajan. “He used to stay with a group          of friends in a rented house while he was working. We did not know who          he met then and what he used to discuss with them,” she recalls.
       Chetia remembers Paresh,          elder to her by four years, as a strict, nononsense, short-tempered man          of few words. “I used to be very scared of him. He was very particular          that I not hang around and chat with my friends after school. He would          tell me to come home straight after school got out or stop going there          altogether,” she says.
       “We never had          peace at home. One brother left home to become an insurgent and another          — Dinesh — who got a job in the railways through the sports          quota, was found dead after unidentified gunmen took him away on February          19, 1994. But my mother manages to remain happy as she feels both her          sons have been sacrificed in the cause of the country. Of course, we miss          them. But we know we can’t get them back.”
       Did her family face          harassment from the security forces? “Yes, they used to trouble          us,” Chetia replies. “I still remember a few policemen hanging          around at my wedding, hoping my brother would come.” Didn’t          her parents find it difficult to find a suitable match for her, considering          she was the sister of Assam’s “most-wanted militant”?          She says people did not know much about her brother then as ULFA wasn’t          very well known at the time. It is her children now who keep asking about          their “famous” uncle.
       She recalls how she          and her four brothers all used to excel at sports. “You can say we had          a team at home. While he was in school, Paresh was just too busy with          football and volleyball. He hardly spent time at home. He used to go to          Bombay, Calcutta, Punjab and Kashmir to play in tournaments. He once got          a jacket for me from Kashmir, something that I still treasure.”
       Chetia says Paresh          had a good sense of humour and would often tease younger boys and elderly          women. But his aversion for hard labour was one of his characteristic          traits. “Once my mother asked him to carry rice sheaves from the field          and I still remember what he said. He said he was ready to wash even the          clothes worn by women but he wouldn’t carry a heavy load on his shoulders.”
       SO, DOES she expect          to win? Will she get votes because she is Paresh Baruah’s sister?          Her response is emphatic. “No, people look at me as Hirawati Baruah          Chetia and not as Paresh Baruah’s sister. People will judge me on          the basis of the service I have rendered to the community. I have my own          credentials.”
       Bhaben Barua, a former legislator          from the constituency, is all praise for her. “She is very articulate          and active. I am confident she will win and we might even nominate her          to the central committee of the AGP.” But Chetia doesn’t have          any such ambitions. “I will contest only the panchayat polls to          help my village to develop. I will not go beyond that as I am not educated          enough and I have family obligations,” she says.
       Chetia couldn’t          study beyond Class X as her father was ill and wanted to marry off his          only daughter. “I took the Board exams once but I failed. Maybe          I was a dull student. My brother used to encourage me to study,”          she says. But she’s happy at the way reservation has helped women          to come forward to contest polls.
       What does she think          about the path of violence her brother has adopted? “I don’t          know much about it,” she replies. “I really don’t know          what he discussed with his associates and why he decided to choose this          path.”
       WRITER’S          E-MAIL
         rteresa at rediffmail.com
                   


Umesh Sharma

Washington D.C. 

1-202-215-4328 [Cell]

Ed.M. - International Education Policy
Harvard Graduate School of Education,
Harvard University,
Class of 2005

http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)




www.gse.harvard.edu/iep  (where the above 2 are used )
http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/



http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
       
---------------------------------
 Sent from Yahoo! - a smarter inbox.