It is generally believed that when the great city of Rome was burning in 64 AD, the Roman Emperor Nero was playing his fiddle. Although, over the years, many well known historians have questioned the credibility of this account and modern research studies have all but ruled out the possibility of a "fiddling" Nero, the same cannot be said about the present Chief Minister of Assam, Mr. Tarun Gogoi. for quite some time now, Assam has been hogging the headlines for all the wrong reasons. And, the Chief Minister, through his own handling of the media, has created an image of honest but inept administrator.
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First, it was one of the legislators from the CM's own party, Rumi Nath, who created quite a stir by eloping with a state government employee named Jakir, after abandoning her husband and a two year old daughter. Her elopement, conversion and illegal marriage to Jakir and the subsequent thrashing, that the pair was subjected to by a mob, catapulted all the actors to national stardom.
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Even before the ripples of this incident died down, a girl, barely out of her teens, was brutally molested, beaten up and almost stripped on the main arterial road of Guwahati, the G.S. Road, by a group of 15-20 youths and the whole incident was filmed too! Despite identifying the perpetrators from the video footage, the police simply sat on it and only after national media started highlighting the incident, they woke up. Ultimately, all the perpetrators could be arrested, but not before, the CM himself, created controversy by first disclosing the identity of the victim to the media and then by asking them to ignore it.
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Then came the unfortunate murder of a budding research scholar Pritam Bhattacharjee, who was mugged, kidnapped and ultimately murdered at Naugachia station in Bihar. In this case too, both the Bihar police and the Assam government were accused of being inactive by the deceased boy's family members, as well as, by the national media.
gap
And, then came the biggest and baddest of them all, the ethnic riots in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts of Assam, that led to more than 50 persons losing their lives and more than 170,000 persons to take shelter in relief camps after being displaced from their homes. In this instance too, the state government was caught napping.
gap
If we consider the demographic profile of the lower Assam's districts on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, the majority of the population can be divided in to three ethno-linguistic groups - Assamese, Bengali and Bodo. The Bodos, who had been fighting for their own homeland, were granted the status of an autonomous region within Assam, called Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) administered by the autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). The territory came into existence under the BTC Accord and the territories under BTAD overlap with the districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri in Assam. These are the very districts, where tensions between the Bodos and Bengali Muslims have been simmering for some time now. The Bodos fear that the continuous influx of Bengali Muslims from Bangladesh will eventually lead to a situation, when Bodos will become marginalized in their own homeland. On the other hand, the non-Bodo communities living in the BTAD territory fear that the Bodos would either deprive them or force them to leave the BTAD areas. This ill feeling between the communities have resulted in clashes earlier too, but those were much smaller in comparison.
gap
Since the partition and independence of India, there has been a steady inflow of illegal immigrants from East Pakistan and then Bangladesh. It has been claimed that this illegal influx is primarily responsible for changing the demographic profiles of different districts in Assam, especially the ones bordering Bangladesh. There have also been multiple agitations in the state demanding the detection and deportation of illegal immigrants.
gap
However, the situation has not changed much, over the years, and the influx continues till date, although at a much reduced scale, as per the claims of government agencies. Not only the Bodos, but Assamese and other indigenous communities also, have been vocal about this problem. Even a barbed wire fencing on the international border seem to have little effect on the illegal infiltration.
gap
The immediate trigger for the latest round of clashes was the news of the murder of 4 ex-Bodo Liberation Tigers rebels, ostensibly at the hands of Bengali Muslims. As the news spread, armed posse of Bodos attacked villages with substantial Bengali Muslim population. Those who could flee, were lucky to have escaped death, but their houses were burnt down. After the first wave of attack, the Bengali Muslims also retaliated in the same manner and the clashes resulted in more than 170,000 people from both the communities to flee their homes and take shelter in the camps set up by the state government. Those who were not lucky enough, were killed and the death toll, according to official estimate, has been put at 58, while unofficial sources point at a much higher figure.
gap
When these clashes started, the state government was conspicuous by its inaction. By the time the state government woke up from its slumber, full scale violence had erupted in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts, with both the communities baying for the other's blood. The Chief Minister, known for keeping a "smiley face" always, came across as an inept administrator, who had no clue whatsoever as to the happenings in his state. His statements lacked conviction and the words were seldom backed up by law and peacekeeping actions by his administration. Instead of mobilizing the central forces, in addition to the state police forces, the government allowed the rioters to have a field day for more than 48 hours. It was only when the central government started to breathe down the state government's neck, the army were called in. Had the Chief Minister and his government been proactive, the situation might not have escalated in to a full blown war between the communities. A timely intervention by the government could have saved many lives. It could also have prevented several thousands of people from suffering the trauma of being displaced from their homes, loss of their properties and livelihoods.
gap
On his part, Tarun Gogoi, the Chief Minister, blamed the Indian Army, claiming that the army top brass had wasted precious time by not taking any action, despite repeated requests from the state government. He also claimed that had the army personnel been deployed in time, the casualties would have been much lower. He also refused to accept that his administration had failed miserably in maintaining the law and order in the state and to protect the lives and properties of innocent citizens.
gap
I understand that as the administrative head of the state, it was and it is, Mr. Gogoi's duty to ensure the safety of life, livelihood and properties of the inhabitants of the state. And, however much he may deny, ultimately the buck stops at his door only. It seems that inaction has become the new mantra for his administration, as has been highlighted repeatedly over the period of last few months. Instead of owning up the responsibility and accepting the mistakes, the CM chose to play a round of blame game. The only parallel that I can think of is that of Nero, as has been outlined in the first paragraph. Perhaps, Mr. Gogoi is serving his last term as the state's CM and when the time for the next assembly election arrives, he will have to pass the mantle of leading the ruling party in to the election, to one of his junior colleagues. Already, the political circles of the state are abuzz with such a possibility and the name of Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Education Minister in Gogoi's cabiner, is doing the rounds as the hot favourite to succeed him.
gap
First, it was one of the legislators from the CM's own party, Rumi Nath, who created quite a stir by eloping with a state government employee named Jakir, after abandoning her husband and a two year old daughter. Her elopement, conversion and illegal marriage to Jakir and the subsequent thrashing, that the pair was subjected to by a mob, catapulted all the actors to national stardom.
gap
Even before the ripples of this incident died down, a girl, barely out of her teens, was brutally molested, beaten up and almost stripped on the main arterial road of Guwahati, the G.S. Road, by a group of 15-20 youths and the whole incident was filmed too! Despite identifying the perpetrators from the video footage, the police simply sat on it and only after national media started highlighting the incident, they woke up. Ultimately, all the perpetrators could be arrested, but not before, the CM himself, created controversy by first disclosing the identity of the victim to the media and then by asking them to ignore it.
gap
Then came the unfortunate murder of a budding research scholar Pritam Bhattacharjee, who was mugged, kidnapped and ultimately murdered at Naugachia station in Bihar. In this case too, both the Bihar police and the Assam government were accused of being inactive by the deceased boy's family members, as well as, by the national media.
gap
And, then came the biggest and baddest of them all, the ethnic riots in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts of Assam, that led to more than 50 persons losing their lives and more than 170,000 persons to take shelter in relief camps after being displaced from their homes. In this instance too, the state government was caught napping.
gap
If we consider the demographic profile of the lower Assam's districts on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, the majority of the population can be divided in to three ethno-linguistic groups - Assamese, Bengali and Bodo. The Bodos, who had been fighting for their own homeland, were granted the status of an autonomous region within Assam, called Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) administered by the autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). The territory came into existence under the BTC Accord and the territories under BTAD overlap with the districts of Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri in Assam. These are the very districts, where tensions between the Bodos and Bengali Muslims have been simmering for some time now. The Bodos fear that the continuous influx of Bengali Muslims from Bangladesh will eventually lead to a situation, when Bodos will become marginalized in their own homeland. On the other hand, the non-Bodo communities living in the BTAD territory fear that the Bodos would either deprive them or force them to leave the BTAD areas. This ill feeling between the communities have resulted in clashes earlier too, but those were much smaller in comparison.
gap
Since the partition and independence of India, there has been a steady inflow of illegal immigrants from East Pakistan and then Bangladesh. It has been claimed that this illegal influx is primarily responsible for changing the demographic profiles of different districts in Assam, especially the ones bordering Bangladesh. There have also been multiple agitations in the state demanding the detection and deportation of illegal immigrants.
gap
However, the situation has not changed much, over the years, and the influx continues till date, although at a much reduced scale, as per the claims of government agencies. Not only the Bodos, but Assamese and other indigenous communities also, have been vocal about this problem. Even a barbed wire fencing on the international border seem to have little effect on the illegal infiltration.
gap
The immediate trigger for the latest round of clashes was the news of the murder of 4 ex-Bodo Liberation Tigers rebels, ostensibly at the hands of Bengali Muslims. As the news spread, armed posse of Bodos attacked villages with substantial Bengali Muslim population. Those who could flee, were lucky to have escaped death, but their houses were burnt down. After the first wave of attack, the Bengali Muslims also retaliated in the same manner and the clashes resulted in more than 170,000 people from both the communities to flee their homes and take shelter in the camps set up by the state government. Those who were not lucky enough, were killed and the death toll, according to official estimate, has been put at 58, while unofficial sources point at a much higher figure.
gap
When these clashes started, the state government was conspicuous by its inaction. By the time the state government woke up from its slumber, full scale violence had erupted in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts, with both the communities baying for the other's blood. The Chief Minister, known for keeping a "smiley face" always, came across as an inept administrator, who had no clue whatsoever as to the happenings in his state. His statements lacked conviction and the words were seldom backed up by law and peacekeeping actions by his administration. Instead of mobilizing the central forces, in addition to the state police forces, the government allowed the rioters to have a field day for more than 48 hours. It was only when the central government started to breathe down the state government's neck, the army were called in. Had the Chief Minister and his government been proactive, the situation might not have escalated in to a full blown war between the communities. A timely intervention by the government could have saved many lives. It could also have prevented several thousands of people from suffering the trauma of being displaced from their homes, loss of their properties and livelihoods.
gap
On his part, Tarun Gogoi, the Chief Minister, blamed the Indian Army, claiming that the army top brass had wasted precious time by not taking any action, despite repeated requests from the state government. He also claimed that had the army personnel been deployed in time, the casualties would have been much lower. He also refused to accept that his administration had failed miserably in maintaining the law and order in the state and to protect the lives and properties of innocent citizens.
gap
I understand that as the administrative head of the state, it was and it is, Mr. Gogoi's duty to ensure the safety of life, livelihood and properties of the inhabitants of the state. And, however much he may deny, ultimately the buck stops at his door only. It seems that inaction has become the new mantra for his administration, as has been highlighted repeatedly over the period of last few months. Instead of owning up the responsibility and accepting the mistakes, the CM chose to play a round of blame game. The only parallel that I can think of is that of Nero, as has been outlined in the first paragraph. Perhaps, Mr. Gogoi is serving his last term as the state's CM and when the time for the next assembly election arrives, he will have to pass the mantle of leading the ruling party in to the election, to one of his junior colleagues. Already, the political circles of the state are abuzz with such a possibility and the name of Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Education Minister in Gogoi's cabiner, is doing the rounds as the hot favourite to succeed him.
