Disturbed Assam

There is no respite from ethnic violence in Assam. Fresh clashes have taken place intensifying the humanitarian crisis in the state. About seventy people have been killed and three to four lakh people displaced in the clashes between Bodos and Muslims. Tension is on the rise in both sides. It is surprising that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi seems to fiddle while Assam burns. Effective measures to snuff out violence on a war footing have not been taken. Refugees in relief camps are in panic and refuse to go home. Twelve inmates including five children have died in the camps. Tarun Gogoi is not the only one dragging his feet. The union home minister, S.K.Shinde is also inactive. Gogoi has said that Assam is like a volcano. But what proactive steps have so far been taken? The administration has hardly acted to meet the explosive situation. The outbreak of ethnic violence in Kokrajhar was not forestalled. There was a four hour debate in parliament but Shinde could not come up with a satisfactory response to questions from MPs. The UPA government’s attempt to get parliament to pass a resolution calling for peace in Assam failed. The BJP insisted that any such resolution must include a historical reference to the code for illegal immigration. The BJP is doubtless politicking. However, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma has also expressed concern about the unabated influx of illegal immigrants into the North East and asked New Delhi to take corrective measures. That will call for an approach from New Delhi to Dhaka.