November 11, 1978 were two long letters from the former and present general secretaries of the Assam Sahitya Sabha, who both work in Dibrugarh University. Both these letters, written apropos the 'offending article', were open attacks on the CPI(M) and communists in general. It is true that the letters were in response to an article by a member of the CPI(M) disparaging the role of ultra- nationalistic and chauvinist forces in the affair of the history article, but their virulence against Marxists in general was unmistakable. A very interesting point was that both ended their letters with the suggestion that the need of the hour was a regionally based socialistparty. However the CPI(M) cannot be entirely absolved in this matter because of the tactless way in which it constantly refers to the exploits of Jyoti Basu's government.
