assam
killing, riot or massacre) are open to
various narratives by people who di-
rectly or indirectly experience them.
But all these are for the social scien-
tists to study now. What is painful is
that the bloody incident has left a scar
in the bright history of tolerance. Fol-
lowing the unprecedented murders
and mayhem in the state, one-member
TD Tewary commission was set up to
investigate these violent incidents in-
cluding the Nellie massacre. The com-
mission submitted its 600-page report
in May 1984. But the enquiry report
has been kept secret till today. What’s
lying there in the file cover? Who can
unearth?
Sanjay Ghose killing
The abduction and killing of re-
nowned social worker Sanjay Ghose
is probably the most important devel-
opment in the history of militancy in
Assam that saw ULFA fast losing its
popularity among the masses. This
social activist was heading AVARD-
NE and was camping at Majuli for the
protection of this largest river island
from erosion. The extensive work and
people’s support started bearing fruits
for this man who already had made a
name for himself after his revolution-
ary activism in Rajasthan. According
to analysts this did not make ULFA
leader much happy for the simple
reason that the local people in Ma-
juli started believing more the one
army than the army of insurgents.
The ULFA militants abducted San-
jay Ghose shortly before midnight on
July 4. Amidst numerous reports and
rumours on his being alive or dead,
Sanjay finally believed to have died,
24 April 08
Cover Story
but for the investigators yet to find any
concrete information on as how he
died. ULFA once said he died as the
boat ferrying his capsized on Brah-
maputra, while the Army report said
he died after falling from cliff while
being moved by ULFA members. His
mysterious killing was also raised in
Geneva, the headquarters of United
Nations. As for Ghose’s body, it may
never be recovered. But can this inci-
dent help ULFA recover from peril?
Amitabh’s brush with
politics
He was the superstar who’s friend
was the youngest Prime Minister of
the country. It was just a matter of time
that Amitabh Bachchan would enter
the fray in the evil world of politics.
But never in his wildest dream would
he have imagined that he would be
embarrassed in front of an audience in
a northeastern state of Assam. It was
1986 and the Big B along with Rajesh
Pilot and the then Assam Youth Con-
gress President Bhuveneshwar Kalita
were campaigning for the Congress
party for the upcoming polls.
As they were running late for the
scheduled meetings they rushed from
one meeting to another, the last meet-
ing was at Hojai. As their helicopter
descended, there was a huge crowd in
the meeting. Bachchan rushed to the
stage and immediately started address-
ing the starry-eyed gathering. What he
did not realize was that he had mis-
takenly attended a function meant for
the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP). Be-
fore evasive action could be taken, the
supporters started pelting stones and
hurling abuses at the superstar who
was trapped in front of a huge crowd.
It was like a Bollywood movie to see
Bachchan run as the crowd chased
him around. Only this time, the king
of Bollywood was the hunted and the
people of Hojai the angry young men.
Apang needs no visa to
visit China!
When China is sparing none in Tibet
for the safe holding of this land of
Lamas, Arunachal’s safety came up
again for serious discussions. After
the military take-over of Tibet in 1950,
all the areas once ethnically connected
with Tibet became for Beijing part of
the Chinese empire. Mao used the im-
age of the palm of the hand (represents
Tibet) and the five fingers represent-
ing Bhutan, Sikkim, NEFA, Ladakh
and Nepal. One has to understand that
it has never cost China to claim these
areas as theirs. The Chinese rightly
thought that these claims could be
extremely useful in the future. This
explains why even today they claim
Arunachal Pradesh as theirs. An
amusing incident occurred a few years
ago when Gegong Apang was Chief
Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. He
had been invited to a conference in
China. When he requested for a visa
from the Chinese Embassy in Delhi to
attend the function, he was told that he
did not need a visa, as he was a “Chi-
nese national!”
PDS Scam (pix PDSscam1,
PDSscam2)
Arunachal Pradesh has the highest
consumption of rice per family stated
a national newspaper, this after a sur-
vey in the country to see that which
state fully utilized the quota allotted
Cover Story assam
to them in terms of wheat, grain, rice ed beneficiaries (APL households).
etc. This headline supposedly opened As of today there are almost 96
a Pandora’s box as this led to shock- people accused in the Pds scam and
ing facts about the now infamous since assuming the office of the chief
PDS scam in the state of Arunachal minister Dorjee Khandu has assured
Pradesh. all for a free and fair inquiry.
It was suggested in a PIL that But the most shocking part still
over 80 per cent of the allotted Rs 300 remains how money changed hands
crores was misappropriated which without anybody knowing about it as
suggests a shocking amount of over Rs some one put it in context ‘we are not
270 crores. Sharad Pawar, the Agricul- the best fed state in the country, but
ture Minister, seems to have missed the most ignored and corrupt’.
the bigger picture of the PDS theatre. Food for thought, eh!!!
A Planning Commission report too
has made starling revelations about
the PDS scheme.
The report, talking of states be-
yond the northeast, records that “in
the year 2003-04, out of 14.07 million
tonnes of foodgrains issued to 16 states
at BPL issue prices from the central
pool, only around 5.93 million tonnes
was delivered to the poor families.”
Of the remaining 8.14 million
tonnes, 5.12 million tonnes leaked out
from the supply chain (FCI go-down
to retail outlets) because of corruption
in the delivery system, while 3.02 mil-
lion tonnes was delivered to unintend-
April 08 25