TOUGH PATH TO PEACE IN THE BODO BASTION

The Tribune, 8.8.2016

Suspected insurgents belonging to National Democratic Front of Bodoland, Songbijit faction NDFB(S) killed 14 innocent civilians and injured another twenty, some critically, in a broad daylight dastardly attack in the busy Balajan Tiniali (trijuction) next to Kokrajhar the headquarters of Bodoland Territorial Council(BTC) governing the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts(BTAD). As per eyewitness accounts three militants donning army fatigues and wielding AK series rifles and grenades arrived in the market in an autorickshaw around noon and opened indiscriminate fire on unsuspecting civilians inflicting huge casualty unknown in the last two years in the area. It is also believed that a grenade was also lobbed to cause large scale damage to life and property.

The security forces and the state police patrolling the area were quick to respond and engage the militants neutralizing one and injuring the other while the other(s) managed to escape leaving behind AK series rifles, grenades and some documents. The slain militant has been identified as Monjoy Islari who had run away from home to join the dreaded outfit more than a decade ago. NDFB(S) has denied its involvement in the massacre but security agencies confirm that the attack bears the telltale signature of the banned militant group. The denial to own the massacre could be because of killing of a large number of Bodos in the indiscriminate firing and resultant apprehension of loss of support from the community.

BTAD constitutes of four districts of Assam, namely Kokrajhar, Chirang, Udalguri and Baksa. Kokrajhar and Chirang are worst affected by NDFB(S) violence.

NDFB(S) is the anti-talk group that refuses to engage with the state government and is the sole armed violent group in these districts. It broke away from the parent NDFB(R) led by Ranjan Daimary in 2012. Ranjan Daimary faction has been in negotiations with the central and state governments. Most of Ranjan cadres are in designated camps and are not involved in any violent incidents. The avowed goal of NDFB(S) is creation of Bodoland and most of its ire is targeted at the Bengali Muslim immigrants who are feared to reduce the Bodos to minority in the BTAD. This faction is known for brutality and particularly severe on suspected police informers and those showing any resistance to the faction’s demands of ransom or protection money, rations and harbor. It is not yet clear whether the August 5 assault was in reaction to the July 17 encounter in which three of its cadres were neutralized by the security forces or to re-establish its dominance by terrorizing shopkeepers and civilians to ensure steady supply of rations and cash to sustain its armed struggle. The faction’s leader Songbijit is hiding in Myanmar while the de facto leader Bedei and the Platoon Commander of Kokrajhar Mwdan are alleged to be in a safe camp somewhere in Bhutan keeping the outfit alive. The three militants killed on July 17 were also trying to cross over to Bhutan with rations and supplies.

2014 was a watershed year in the NDFB(S) related violence. The year was marked by large-scale violence at the hands of NDFB(S) and communal violence in the BTAD area that resulted in the death of 125 civilians and 16 NDFB(S) cadres. Major offensive was successfully launched in the four districts to cripple the capability and terror of the group. The state police did an excellent job by providing specific technical intelligence and carrying out numerous operations with the security forces to create disarray among the rank and file of this group. Year 2015 witnessed minimal violence and no casualty in the area except of NDFB(S) cadres, as the security forces gained upper hand. Efforts to regroup and equip itself had been going on and cross border movement of NDFB(S) cadres to Bhutan has been continuously reported.

India shares 699 km border with Bhutan. Out of this, Assam has 267 kilometer border with Bhutan which is guarded by the youngest border guarding force, SSB. The terrain between the two countries abutting Assam is difficult and particularly tough during monsoons when innocuous streams, both seasonal and perennial, become ferocious rendering them impossible to negotiate. Bhutan has also borne the brunt of NDFB violence in the past and has been pointing to frequent movement of terrorists from India to Bhutan despite presence of SSB camps every 2-3 kilometers along the border. In almost all cases of violent attacks on the civilians and security forces, NDFB(S) cadres are believed to take refuge in the Bhutanese territory which does not have any significant deployment of the Royal Bhutan. However, in 2003-2004, the Royal Bhutan Army had launched a campaign codenamed ‘Operation All Clear’ to destroy all the NDFB camps, but the porous border has remained the security force’s Achilles heel.

It is customary for the insurgent groups in the north eastern states to perpetrate violence on civil population and security forces before national festivals. But the scale and fury of the attack does not seem to be a tokenism and the group seems to have reinvented itself. The state police, the Army and other security forces deployed in the area have been successful in bringing peace to the area due to excellent synergy and intelligence sharing. Some of the assets that moved away from Kokrajhar may have to be brought back to provide proper leadership and teeth to day to day operations. In the wake of this attack, the security apparatus in Kokrajhar will have to move with utmost alacrity by once again recalibrating its strategy by assessing the efficacy and efficiency of the state police, security forces on IS duties and the border guarding force to deliver maximum damage to the brutal anti talk NDFB(S) faction. The new political dispensation in Assam will have to support its police and security forces to continue relentless campaign against this faction in the interest of peace and communal harmony in the region.

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