Jarpum Gamlin
Venturing into the North East of India to sort out its conflicts is like taking a risky gambit in an online war game and finding oneself completely trapped in adversities. The only difference is: here it’s for real! This must be one of the toughest lessons that the two Art of Living volunteers who were taken into custody by Meghalaya Police on Monday are learning. They must be contemplating where their noble intention of convincing the misguided youths to join the mainstream has landed them.
For the records, senior faculty of the Art of Living Samir Jolly, accompanied by Khroo Lamsalanki Pariat, was on a peace mission to establish contact with the misguided youths who are operating in Meghalaya and convince them to eschew violence and come overground. Based on some misinformation, they got arrested at Dawki before they could cross the border to meet some people connected with banned outfit Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC).
The question being asked now is, why did they keep the authorities in the dark about such a risky intervention. This is perhaps the biggest dilemma any Track 2 negotiator faces at the initial stage of any peace-making effort.
It’s clear that their mission was in a preliminary stage of establishing contact. They apparently ventured into this inspired by their guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s vision of engaging the misguided youth of the region and facilitating the process of making them come overground once they got the information that some cadres of the group may be willing to do so.
It’s natural that any impression that this peace initiative is in the know of the government would have derailed the whole process as there is a huge trust deficit. Sri Sri has often articulated that youth who have strayed into militancy need a healing touch. Undoubtedly, they need assurance of justice and trust before being convinced to join the mainstream. That explains why the Art of Living doesn’t act on behalf of government agencies and pursues the same purely on humanitarian grounds.
Tracking the modus-operandi of its successful intervention in Manipur that led to the of the recent homecoming of 68 militants, it’s obvious that Art of Living loops in the authorities once the contact is established with the cadres or the group and their intention to come overground verified. This is not only understandable but also pragmatic keeping in mind the sensitivities of such work.
To convince the cadres to give up arms is a very challenging task and is possible only when they have total trust in the process. Somehow, Sri Sri has successfully cultivated this image of being someone who is genuinely concerned about bringing peace to this troubled region and without any ulterior motives! Thanks to his track record on this front, it’s safe to grant that the cadres were more likely to open up to the independent effort of the Art of Living. Once that trust is established, it would become easier for the authorities to push through the process.
At a conference of leaders of 67 different organisations, including those who have formerly taken up arms, in Guwahati this September, Sri Sri had openly announced that “we will not stop till the last gun is laid down”. He even reached out to Paresh Baruah, the commander of the ULFA faction which is still underground and believed to be camping in either China.
From healing the trauma of militancy to facilitating dialogue and reforming those who are lodged in prisons, Sri Sri has a well-directed strategy to channelise misguided youth towards constructive pursuits. The Art of Living is engaged in bringing them to the mainstream by providing skills-training and other means of livelihood. It has trained and rehabilitated hundreds of cadres from United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and Manipur-based outfits who have laid down their arms.
Like thousand others, Samir and Lamsalanki seemed sold to this visionary pursuit and risked their own lives to deepen the rich of the intervention by reaching out to HNLC cadres. Unfortunately, they themselves became the victims of the prevailing trust deficit in the region.
It’s reliably established that Samir Jolly has no criminal records or history of any clandestine dealings. On the contrary, he seems to be an expert hand in transforming the hearts and minds of misguided youth. According to publicly available information about him, he worked for many years with youth in Naxalite-hit areas including the dreaded Bastar in Chattisgarh. He also led a project of rehabilitating surrendered militants from Manipur in 2010. Over the years, he has been working in the North East and seemingly emerged as a channel of communication for many who want to come out of violence.
Seen from that perspective, the authorities must not go by the later of the case and see the spirit and co-op the process with the Art of Living and explore the possibilities of bringing the HNLC rebels to the mainstream. Portraying it as an illegal nexus with militants and hounding the messengers would be depriving the state of a chance for peace. Can we expect the dispensation in Shillong to show that foresightedness?
(The writer is founder Editor, Eastern Sentinel, Arunachal Pradesh)