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ULFA leaders's parents want their sons to return, negotiate peace with Centre

The parents of top United Liberation Front of Asom leaders yearn for their sons's return to the mainstream. Both favour a negotiated settlement to the issues raised by the outlawed outfit.

Miliki Baruah, the octogenarian mother of ULFA's self-styled commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, wants her rebel son to come overground "for the sake of restoring normalcy" in Assam.

ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa's father Uma Rajkonwar, who celebrated his 100th birthday on January 11, appealed to his son and the Centre to hold talks to end two decades of the violent insurgency in the northeastern state.

Rajkonwar, a veteran of India's independence struggle, lives with his 89-year-old wife Damayanti and daughter Chandana in Lakuwa in Sivasagar district. Miliki Baruah lives in Jeriagaon village in Dibrugarh district along with her elder son and his family.

Rajiv Rajkonwar, alias Arabinda Rajkhowa, is one of ULFA's founders. The sixth of the Rajkonwars's nine children, he was in his early twenties when, together with five others, he formed ULFA on April 7, 1979. Ever since, ULFA has fought an armed rebellion against the Indian government to achieve what it calls a 'sovereign, socialist Assam.'

"ULFA and the Indian government should both start negotiations as early as possible. The people of Assam are clamouring for peace and a dialogue alone can bring an end to this 20-year-old violence," Uma Rajkhowa told a group of journalists.

"I am old and would now like to see ULFA and the government sit down for talks. Maybe my son can then come home and see us for the last time. This would be my best birthday gift. Before disappearing, Rajiv only told me he would either come back home after attaining independence for Assam or else when he is dead," the centenarian said. He has not seen his son for 20 years.

Uma Rajkonwar recently received a citation from the Assam government in recognition of his work during the freedom struggle. He was a regional organiser of the Shanti Sainiks (peace soldiers) who spearheaded Mahatma Gandhi's campaign of organised passive resistance in the state. While he agrees with the belief that the Centre treats Assam almost like a colony, he is a bitter critic of ULFA's tactics of armed conflict.

"I agree that some points raised by ULFA are genuine. The Centre is exploiting Assam's resources like tea, oil, and coal. But to achieve that, violence is not the answer, and therein lies the contradiction between us and our son." he says.

Damayanti Rajkonwar is equally distraught at the path chosen by her son, although she confesses to mixed emotions at the thought of seeing him again. "I have been dreaming of my son returning home. I have been shedding silent tears ever since he left home. I still pray every day that my son returns home safely," she said.

In Jeriagaon, there is renewed hope that Paresh Baruah may return home one day given the recent indications about ULFA's willingness to negotiate with the Centre. Miliki Baruah, however, expressed her unhappiness about the manner in which security forces harassed her family. "For the sake of peace I have met the Assam governor, military officials and many others. Even so, my family and I continue to be harrassed. What harm have I done to others? Did my son leave house with my permission? I can only appeal to him to return," she says.

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