It is perhaps only in a democracy such as India that such a sight is possible: gun-toting militants making ‘peace’ with the government and joining the mainstream, their sins washed away in an instant. It is rampant in India’s northeast and other parts of the country.
The debate is unending. “Democracy here exists
only in name. Ambedkar’s vision of a federal India was ruined by the Congress,” says Prabal Neog, leader of the 28th battalion of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). “Our democracy may not be perfect,” counters HN Das, general secretary of the Assam Congress, “but let’s not forget Assam went back by 20 years because of ULFA.”
But no matter what, there is again that familiar sight on television, of more speeches and promises, followed by that serpentine queue at a polling booth. Nameless faces, still grieving over failed revolutions, will vote… It’s India’s undying mandate for peace.
The debate is unending. “Democracy here exists
only in name. Ambedkar’s vision of a federal India was ruined by the Congress,” says Prabal Neog, leader of the 28th battalion of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). “Our democracy may not be perfect,” counters HN Das, general secretary of the Assam Congress, “but let’s not forget Assam went back by 20 years because of ULFA.”But no matter what, there is again that familiar sight on television, of more speeches and promises, followed by that serpentine queue at a polling booth. Nameless faces, still grieving over failed revolutions, will vote… It’s India’s undying mandate for peace.
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