The Statesman (India)
January 3 2006
Open Forum : A SENA RISES
By Nava Thakuria
The media in the rest of India may be pre-occupied with the Shiv Sena,
but their counterparts in the North-east have been indifferent to the
emergence of the Asom Sena which has pledged to “safeguard the
socio-political rights of the indigenous people of Assam”. The birth of
this group, at Barpeta, an important centre of the state’s Vaishnavite
culture, led by the influential All Assam Students Union (AASU) at the
end of this year presents a major development in the state’s complex
politics.
In fact, amid the region’s militant groups with its gun-toting youth,
the Asom Sena (Assam soldiers) takes a different tack: it has pledged to
work non-violently (although the concept is borrowed from that of the
Shiv Sena, founded by Balasaheb Thackarey in Maharashtra), to fight the
imposition of vulgarity in the name of culture, to strengthen unity
among different ethnic and religious groups and press for local
employment. AASU, which led the agitation against illegal immigration
from Bangladesh in the 1980s, says the group will lead its agenda in a
“more aggressive way”.
Samujjal Bhattacharya, the long-time adviser to AASU, says, “The
deprivation of local youths in matters of appointment in various
departments of the governments both in New Delhi and Dispur (Guwahati)
will be a major issue to be taken up.” He asserts that the Asom Sena is
a “non-violent organisation” and a non-political group although he also
shelters behind the line that it may “adopt a radical stand on issues of
regional interests”, without spelling out what that means.
But clearly, as currently envisaged, the Sena will be a pawn of the
student union, with more storm troopers to push local demands. Its
creation comes just five months before state elections are due and that
is not surely merely a coincidence: probably its cadres will side with
the Brindabon Goswami faction of the Asom Gana Parishad although the
group may keep an official distance.
The media in Assam has shown little interest in analysing this
development although The Shillong Times criticised the move to form a
“cultural policing” force of vigilantes as alarming. The second oldest
English daily of the North-east, the newspaper argued that AASU had
fuelled sub-nationalism by mounting an offensive against Indians from
other states over a long period.
“Assam has for years been plagued by a sense of isolation from the
Indian mainstream and this has spawned a narrow chauvinism.” The Assam
Tribune remarked that “in today’s world of globalisation and
liberalisation, the Asom Sena shouldn’t become a deterrent for those
willing to set up ventures in this investment-starved state”.
It added that “in pursuing the demand for cent per cent reservation of
jobs for ‘locals’ the AASU should focus on tapping its influence and
resources to mount pressure on those to set up a mechanism for creation
of a pool of skilled human resources which will be too qualified to
ignore in the present-day’s job market not only within Assam but outside
also. There is no denying the fact that our education system needs
radical changes to produce quality products. That should remain an area
of concern for all of us in the interests of the future generation”.
Student leader-turned politician Apurba K Bhattacharya says that the
Asom Sena will be crucial in the next elections as AASU still enjoys
“mass support” in Assam. His comment is well taken in perception of the
“hidden participation” of armed rebels in elections in a region that has
nurtured over 30 active insurgent groups these past decades.
One can cite the example of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the regional
party now in the opposition, which was born of the AASU leadership in
1985. The AGP ruled the state for two terms but like other political
parties had shown its ugly face to the public, with non-performance and
unbelievable corruption. It has split twice since its birth yet both
factions are hoping for a good showing in the Assembly elections in April.
Though Asom Sena has been widely welcomed in Brahmaputra Valley, there
are opposing views which should make AASU uncomfortable. A minority
organisation, the Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal, has raised its voice against
the group. Expressing “deep concern” at the Sena’s formation, the MMA
says AASU’s initiative is aimed at terrorising “Bengali-speaking voters
and to harass all non-Assamese living in the state on the eve of the
Assembly election”.
On the other hand, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has created more confusion,
as is its wont, with its recent declaration that it would launch another
organisation called the Hindu Sena in Assam.
While the metro media across the country has been flooded with news
about the Shiv Sena, especially after the exit of Raj Thackeray, the
media in Assam appears unwilling to analyse the emergence of the Asom
Sena and what it portends for the region.
Perhaps the media has lost interest in the premier student organisation
and its leaders, as much for their style of functioning as well as for
pursuing political ambitions from the comfortable bastion of AASU.
(The author is a Guwahati-based freelance journalist.)
|
