Letter from the Editor-In-Chief

Letter from the Editor-In-Chief

December 2009

Terror in the North East abounds as does paranoia. This is clearly indicated in the numerous articles that continually appear in the publications dealing with the region. We are not an exception to this. Though we strive to minimize the number of articles that we carry on this subject, we are, time and again, compelled to focus on this disturbing aspect of the North East.

As is usually the case, this month too, we have been compelled by events and have had to cover yet another incident related to militancy and terrorism. This incident in particular is with regard to the recent ‘surrender’ (and I use this word very liberally here) of two founding members of the United Liberation Front of Assom (ULFA). Though details of how they ended up in the custody of Indian authorities are sketchy, it is not a subject for debate that their ‘surrender’ has greatly hindered the effectiveness of the outfit. This is perhaps why the outfit decided to stage a ‘show of power’ by way of the twin blasts at Nalbari in Assam in which an ULFA hand is highly suspected. Such acts of, shall we call it ‘displaying power’ are absolutely preposterous. What power is there in attacking unarmed, unaware civilians? I strongly condemn this as not a ‘show of power’ but a ‘show of cowardice’.

Maybe these ‘powerful’ people could learn a thing or two from His Holiness the Dalai Lama who was on a recent trip to Arunachal Pradesh in spite of strong resentment from China. His Holiness, though he holds the allegiance of millions of Buddhists around the globe, has never turned to violence in the 50 years of the Tibetan people’s struggle against Chinese occupation. On the contrary, he has always stuck to the path of peace and pacifism which is an integral part of the Buddhist faith. He has never led the faithful down the path of terrorism and armed opposition. In what may be termed as an oxymoron, he has persisted, through all these years, in a stance of ‘peaceful opposition’.

It is beyond contention that militancy and terrorism are major hurdles in the way of development and the article ‘Transforming the economy of the North East’ that is a part of this issue of Eastern Panorama gives us some insights on this.

Needless to say, there are a lot of pitfalls in curbing militancy such as the need for an effective rehabilitation programme to be in place and so on. But then again, should we shy away from the task just because it means that we all have to go the extra mile? Can we all carry on saying, “It is not my problem as it does not affect me directly?” It is high time that we all wake up and realise that terrorism and militancy do not distinguish. To them, we are simply ‘collateral damage’.

Dr. K. K. Jhunjhunwala