On 'Swadhin Assam'

I am not sure I can endorse some of M S Prabhakara’s views though no one doubts the sincerity of his commitment to Assam’s welfare (EPW, 2 January 2010).

Many of the issues in question have a long, if chequered history, and unless one concedes in advance that the political and constitutional history of India has been entirely satisfactory and unproblematic, these cannot be dismissed simply because the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has expressed them so messily and clumsily. Actually the middle class, always playing safe, had instigated militant youths with inflammatory rhetoric during the anti-foreigner Assam movement, without taking active part in their activities. Indeed, until several military campaigns shattered their faith in the ULFA as a military machine, they turned a blind eye to their atrocities. Now, of course, almost all of them are singing a different tune.