Guwahati, Dec. 4: A “well-planned and well-coordinated operation” shrouded in secrecy brought about the turn of events that reached a high today with the surrender of Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and deputy commander-in-chief Raju Barua at the Dawki border outpost in Meghalaya.
Highly placed sources in Dispur named three critical cogs in the wheel of the central plan to get the Ulfa to smoke the peace pipe — G.M. Srivastava, the recently appointed security adviser to the chief minister, additional DGP Khagen Sarma (special branch) and principal secretary (home and political) S.C. Das. The trio had recently tasted success by bringing the Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel) to the mainstream.
Srivastava, a former DGP, is known for his contacts within and outside the country and enjoys the backing of home minister P. Chidambaram and chief minister Tarun Gogoi. Sarma is known for his experience in handling intelligence inputs and negotiating ability with insurgent groups in the state. Das is very quick on the uptake and can take decisions on the spot, a quality only not many in the state bureaucracy are blessed with, they added.
“Overall, there is Assam DGP Shankar Barua and chief secretary P.C. Sharma. But the trio is mostly working on ensuring that not only Ulfa but other insurgencies, too, are resolved peacefully and amicably. They also enjoy the backing of the political bosses. The police, home department and the CMO are working as a well-knit team,” a source said.
The entire operation involves the Union home ministry, external affairs ministry, the Prime Minister’s Office and Dispur.
Things started moving with the Centre adopting a zero tolerance policy — as enunciated by Chidambaram — towards insurgency after the Mumbai terror attack and the appointment of G.K. Pillai, an experienced Northeast hand, as Union home secretary. Pillai, as then joint secretary in the home ministry looking after the Northeast, had been a key backroom player in the early negotiations with the NSCN (I-M).
In its move to neutralise Northeast militant outfits, particularly the Ulfa, the Centre started with diplomatic initiatives after the “pro-India” Sheikh Hasina regime took charge in Bangladesh. The move to get militant leaders operating out of that country to India paid dividends with the “push back” of Ulfa finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika and foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury.
The Centre also put pressure on the NSCN factions not to give “too much leeway” to the Assam groups.
Netting senior Ulfa leaders is part of the plan to help allow the outfit to hold its general council meeting in India. The council, according to Ulfa leaders incarcerated here, has the final say in matters such as holding talks.
The state government “complemented” the Centre’s efforts by launching coordinated and intensified counter-insurgency operations under the Unified Command, choking funds flow to the outfit, encouraging surrender and ceasefire, ensuring proper rehabilitation and initiating development in known militant strongholds that picked up during the tenure of former home commissioner Rajiv Kumar Bora. More importantly, Dispur, like the Centre, was unambiguous in denouncing militancy and terrorism. The Congress-led government and the Congress party spoke the same language as far as insurgent groups were concerned.
The government also handled the “real” news about Rajkhowa with unprecedented zeal and cautiousness. “Secrecy is the hallmark of the ongoing mission to get the Ulfa to the talks table,” a senior state government official said.
“Earlier, attempts were scuttled by vested interests because different wings of the government spoke in different languages. We don’t want to repeat our mistakes,” a source said. “Going overboard with the catch or blowing one’s trumpet could backfire. Ulfa is no ordinary group. Public reaction can change any moment, particularly in the rural belt where there is still unemployment and the government’s delivery mechanism is less than satisfactory. It is, therefore, important to gauge the public mood and, even more important, manage it,” the source said.
