NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has sought to internationalise its demand of secession of Assam from the Indian Union by moving the United Nations and has urged it to grant recognition to the state by declaring it a “colony” of India.

The outfit made the request in the form of a petition nearly a month before the Centre imposed President’s rule in the state. The petition was signed by the ULFA chairman, Mr Aurobindo Rajkhowa, the vice chairman, Mr U. K. Gogoi, and the general secretary, Mr Anup Chetia, on Oct 26.

Addressed to the UN Secretary General the petition urged the body to treat the case of Assam in the same manner as it had in 1971, the case of East Pakistan, before granting recognition to Bangladesh.

Significantly, the grounds the outfit has cited in the petition are broadly similar to the anti-Centre grievances often articulated by the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). Among these are discrimination by the Centre in the matter of revenue collection from raw materials in the state like oil and lack of concrete measures to control the annual floods.

RESOURCE BASE: Demonstrating a close knowledge of the state’s administrative affairs, it pointed out that the resource base of the state was merely Rs 275 crore against a budget of Rs 4,1000 crore. The debt burden of the state, according to the ULFA, stood around Rs 4,000 crore while that he were little employment opportunities. Further, the petition mentioned the large scale influx of illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh and pointed out that there ‘was a separate set of laws for dealing with them which, in effect, sought to legalize their stay in the state. This was a clear reference to the Illegal Migrants (determination by tribunals) Act, 1983, which has been cited all along by the AASU and AGP as the biggest hurdle in the detection and deportation of foreign nationals.

Another common grievance was the alleged no preparation of a correct voters’ list even though it mentioned that the assembly elections were two months away (the petition was written in October and the elections were scheduled before January 8), Claiming that Assam was totally dependent on the Indian state, the ULFA, urged the Secretary General to include the state in the UN charter under Clause 73 (E).

PARTNERS TURN FOES: The objection to the presence of immigrants from Bangladesh in the state! However, marks a change from its earlier stand that it did not consider them foreign nationals but saw them as a partner in its “struggle” against the Indian state. Reports from Assam indicate that the top leadership of the outfit has so far eluded the dragnet of the security forces and it would not be a surprise if some of the top leader’s surface in a foreign country.

Earlier, the leaders of insurgency movements in Nagaland and Mizoram had similarly approached the United Nations and recently the All Bodo Students Union too had written to it claiming that the areas claimed as “Bodoland”’ were not part of India.

Article extracted from this publication >> December 14, 1990