National

Joining Up For The Hunt

Bureaucratic and political will give succour to the security forces

Advertisement

Joining Up For The Hunt
info_icon

IF the Army had its way, it would have gone back to the barracks in Assam long ago. But seven years and three operations later, it is so deeply involved in counter-insurgency action that it has no alternative but to finish off the task. That the task is still unfinished is acknowledged by top officials but, as Lt Gen R.K. Sawhney, commander of 4 Corps which oversees the army operation in Assam, says: "My hopes for an early solution have been revived in the past couple of months mainly because there is a new-found positive thrust at the bureaucratic level and there is also the political will to tackle the situation."

Advertisement

 Although the Corps commander refuses to go into the reason for the change in political attitudes, he readily talks about the resurgent bureaucracy: "Ever since the new chief secretary (V.S. Jaffa) has taken over, there is a welcome change in the way things have been tackled." Sawhney, who has been at the helm for nearly two years now, is also appreciative of the crackdown on the sources of the militants' funds: "As I have maintained all along, if you choke off the funds flow to the militants, they will be forced to consider negotiations as an alternative." As the head of the Unified Command structure in Assam, he would like to broaden the scope of the campaign against all sources of funds to the militants.

Advertisement

Besides, battalion commanders admit that on the ground the police force is a little more cooperative than before. "Earlier they were hostile, to say the least, but over the past six months, there is more information and intelligence forthcoming, even if reluctantly," a commanding officer notes. A state of affairs which the people of Assam hope will continue for some time to come.

Tags

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement

    Advertisement