The lynching of two youths at Karbi Anglong in Assam reveal the layers of fear and suspicion embedded deep in the psyche of the inhabitants in the region. The fast-paced sequence of events leading to the mob lynching of two youths at Karbi Anglong – Abhijeet Nath and Nilotpal Das – in Assam reveal the layers of fear and suspicion embedded deep in the psyche of many sections of inhabitants in that region. Since the late 1990s, the hill district has been rocked by insurgency, riots and killings vitiating the ambience where a little incident or rumour becomes the trigger for large-scale violence. Around 30 communities including tribals and non-tribals with a wide array of languages, cultures and religions inhabit Karbi Anglong and West Karbi Anglong, which is governed by an autonomous council under the Sixth Schedule. However, like most of the regions in the North East under such councils, the system has been unable to promote development to the desired level and avenues of employment while the influx of outsiders to the district has only led to the decrease of the tribal population in the district (from 74.59 percent in 1961 to 51.56 percent in 1991). Not surprisingly, the existing circumstances compelled many youths to take recourse to the gun as a means of redressing their grievances. In 2005, there were at least seven militant outfits active in Karbi Anglong including groups from Meghalaya, Manipur and Nagaland. On many occasions, these competing outfits have clashed with each other fuelling distrust and hatred among the different communities. On many occasions, the immediate causes were used as a pretext to settle scores and manifest their disaffection. Like on 24 March, 2004, suspected members of a rebel outfit dragged twenty-eight villages out of their homes at Woden Tisso village and shot them. Before that, on 18 October, 2005, twenty-three Karbi passengers were dragged out of a bus near Charchim and hacked by militants belonging to another community. Borsing Rongfar, editor of Solangdo, who has researched on the riots in Karbi Anglong explained that the violence in the area has created a 'climate of insecurity' among the people. "There are political, social and economic reasons that have fuelled the unrest in this district and they have had an adverse impact on the mindset of the people. But all these could have been greatly reduced with the spread of education and growth of connectivity which are also lacking." Cult of the gun Like the Garo Hills of Meghalaya, the twin hill districts of Assam have witnessed the unique phenomenon of insurgent groups fizzling out after some years of fighting either due to surrenders or agreements with the government, but there were always others to continue the movement from the jungles. In Karbi Anglong, the banner of armed revolt was raised in the mid-1990s by the Karbi People’s Front (KPF) and Karbi National Volunteers which merged in 1999 to form the United Peoples Democratic Solidarity (UPDS) with the aim of creating a separate state or homeland for the Karbis and an economic package for the region among other demands. However, within a few years of the ceasefire agreement with the government, a disgruntled faction broke away to give birth to the Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF), which also colluded for some time with other banned groups. KNLNLF surrendered in 2010 and the UPDS' settlement with the Centre a year later provided for devolution of more powers to the autonomous district council and schemes for development of the district. However, by 2016, there were reports of two more rebel groups taking birth in Karbi Anglong and engaging in rampant extortion and killing of rhinos. Factors like availability of weapons, funds and cadres which are necessary to sustain a rebel outfit are extant despite surrenders of and accords with militant organisations. Sometimes it becomes advantageous for bigger rebel outfits operating in distant regions to sustain smaller groups for a variety of reasons. In 2007, the KLNLF colluded with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) to carry out attacks against Hindi-speaking people resulting in the death of eight persons in Karbi Anglong. Series of riots Different communities have been engaged in conflict in Karbi Anglong. Between 2003-07, there were four major clashes involving Karbis, Kukis, Khasi-Pnar, Dimasas, Adivasis (tea tribes) and Biharis. The first was between the Karbi and Kuki in 2003 which dragged almost until the next year. The immediate cause was the ban imposed by UPDS on jhum cultivation in Singhason Khonbamon Hills on the grounds that it led to ecological damage and soil erosion. The Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) stepped in to protect the Kuki farmers who were also provoked to defy the ban. Both the rebel groups allegedly slaughtered people from both the communities which stopped only after the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) stepped in to broker a peace deal. The most deadly conflict in all these years was sparked off on 26 September, 2005, after three Dimasa autorickshaw drivers were abducted and killed by unknown assailants. The killers could not be apprehended by the police but rumours contributed to widening the rift between the Karbis and Dimasas. The Dima Halam Daogah (DHD), which had also signed a ceasefire with the government, allegedly attacked and torched Karbi villages with the UPDS retaliating whenever the opportunity arose. By November 2005, 90 persons had been killed from both the communities. According to an estimate, 219 people including children were killed in these conflicts and around 1.4 lakhs were displaced from their homes. Apparently, taxes imposed by the rebel groups have been a potent cause of conflict in the district. Very often, the outfit steps into the areas inhabited by other communities and controlled by other groups. Being the dominant community in the district, the Karbi militants have opposed the presence of other outfits and their policy of extending their areas of influence. In early December 2005, police raided a designated camp of the Dimasa group (DHD) in the forests of Dhansiri following complaints by the UPDS that its cadres were flouting the ceasefire ground rules.<doc-sep>A video clip posted on a Facebook page shows a young man with Rastafarian dreadlocks playing a percussion instrument – on a balcony, amid a row of trees and what appeared to be a hilltop against a misty backdrop. The man is Nilotpul Das, a 29-year-old sound engineer for whom music was life. A life that was cut short by a mob along with his friend Abhijit Nath, just 30, in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district on Sunday. What happened on that fateful evening is by now well-known. Two young men out on a road trip to a visit a waterfall were mistaken for “child-lifters” – over the past few weeks social media and text messages about groups of miscreants were circulating in the district – and beaten to death by a mob allegedly comprising of people of the Karbi and Bodo tribes. READ ALSO: Nilotpal Wanted To Promote Assam Through Music, Abhijeet Never Even Hurt An Insect, Say Friends Of Mob Lynching Victims It is not the Assam I know. But these are also not the Bodos and Karbis I know. And they some of the nicest people you will ever meet – simple, gregarious and lovable. And also proud of their ethinic identities. They can also be given to extreme emotions. But none of these qualities can justify such murderous rage, more so given the fact that a video clip of the attack shows how the two men kept on pleading, “we are Assamese…” Assam has seen such incidents in the past too. Nellie too happened in Assam, on a chilly February morning in 1983 when more than 2000 Muslim settlers were butchered by a large group of villagers, whose identities were never confirmed though many say they were indigenous Assamese farmers of nearby villages. The Nellie massacre has remained one of Assam’s darkest chapters but a majority of Assamese never outraged over the deaths; many even justified the killings saying they were illegal Bangladeshi migrants, against whom the state had launched a six-year-long agitation. READ ALSO: Assam Lynching: 19 Arrested, Search On For Remaining Accused There were other sporadic incidents. Last year, two suspected cattle-lifters were lynched by a group of cow-protection vigilante group in central Assam Nagaon district. It was a first in the state, which takes pride in its secular ideals. Then too not many outraged. The dead were Muslims and were mostly portrayed as “illegal Bangladeshis”. The Karbi Anglong incident, however, has triggered a violent response from many in Assam and a large section has called for “revenge” against Karbis and Bodos and not legal action against the accused. An entire community has been heaped with the burden of guilt for the mindless action of a few. And this is not the Assam I know. But many things have changed over the years. Religious fanaticism has crept into the society, built on the ideals of tolerance and secularism priest by Vaishnavite saint-reformer Sankardev and Sufi saint Azaan Peer. Divisions along tribal and non-tribal lines have also manifested in violence. The attackers in the Karbi Anglong incident allegedly used racist slurs to abuse the two men before they were lynched. The Bodos have been demanding a separate state for some time now, citing Assamese chauvinism. Following the Karbi Anglong incident, a section of Assamese have reacted with equal anger, with calls ranging from social/economic boycott to blood for blood. A group of youngsters even went ‘live’ on Facebook as they drove through the town of Nagaon looking for Karbi and Bodo people. But there are sane voices too, those trying to point out that one incident by a few does not make all the Karbis or Bodos murderers. Social media in Assam is also flooded with rumours about “atrocities” by Karbis and Bodos on the Assamese. And many are even willing to believe these. This is akin to turning into the same murderous mob which killed Nilotpal and Abhijit over similar rumours. This would be an antithesis to what the young musician believed in: about the power of music and love to heal the scars of the world. In the 1960s, balladeer Bhupen Hazarika had penned a popular song “Diphu hol tumare naam..”, a glowing tribute to Karbi Anglong and the Karbis and spoke about the bond between the hills and the plains. It is one song the Assamese and Karbis can turn to and rediscover their age-old love and friendship. Nilotpol, for one, would surely love to see his drum beat for peace and not for war. (The writer is the associate editor in Outlook. The views expressed are his own) For in-depth, objective and more importantly balanced journalism, Click here to subscribe to Outlook Magazine<doc-sep>In those countless "xadhu kotha" (stories with a moral) told to Assamese children over generations, the "Xopadhora" — the man who steals children — would often appear out of the blue. Mothers, telling the story, would take a pause to warn their young ones not to loiter around, because the Xopadhora was for real and would take them away — far, far away. But no one had seen a Xopadhora — how he looked, what he wore, how would he catch/trap the children. So, every time, in every story, the Xopadhoras would appear to be different — sometimes, he carried a bosta (jute bag) under his arms, on other occasions, his face covered, surreptitiously walking into the courtyard, gagging their mouth and stealing children. At least that's how my mother described him to me. But since we used to live in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh and would come down to Assam only during summer holidays, in my young mind, the fear of the Xopadhora existed only till the time I was at my grandfather's place. I knew the Xopadhora lived amid the Assamese people, he wouldn't leave the plains of Brahmaputra and travel all the way up to Arunachal Pradesh. Strangely, while almost everything from my childhood has changed, one thing refuses to leave the land of Assam. The Xopadhora never left Assam — and people still fear him. Abhijeet Nath (left) and Nilotpal Das. The two men were recently lynched on fears of their being kidnappers The lynching of two men in Assam's Karbi Anglong district has brought back the Xopadhora amid us. Two young men from Guwahati — Abhijeet Nath and Nilotpal Das — were lynched in Dokmoka in West Karbi Anglong district of Assam. A furious mob, some of them drunk, "mistook" the young men to be Xopadhoras ("phankodongs" in Karbi). Apparently, rumours were doing the rounds that "Bihari child-lifters" were on the prowl and stealing children from the area. Most people in the area had come to know about the abductors through Facebook, from where the "warning" spread like wildfire. The villagers were warned to be vigilant. Just like the folk tales, here too, people had heard various things about the child-lifters, their physical appearances — men dressed as women, men with long hair, men who could easily give the slip — pisol manuh ("slippery men"). Later, while piecing together the crime, the police and the public deduced that perhaps the fact that one of the young men, Nilotpal, sported dreadlocks also played a role in giving him the "appearance" of a pisol manuh. The lynching of the two men and the protests in the aftermath have opened the floodgates of soul-searching — but sadly to end up with quick fixes. In the wake of widespread protests and revenge attacks against the lynchings, the Assam government has announced the introduction of an awareness programme — Sanskar — in all development blocks and panchayats in the state to spread awareness and fight superstitions and ignorance. The Sanskar campaign, inspired by Dr Bhupen Hazarika's immortal lines on harmony 'মানুহে মানুহৰ বাবে' is an attempt to reach out to each section of the society, spreading scientific thought and eliminating the evils of superstition. — Chief Minister Assam (@CMOfficeAssam) June 11, 2018 How do you kill a rumour? While it's understandable that the government would want a quick solution to such violent crimes as a result of rumour-spreading and superstition, the problem is not with such awareness programmes, but the lack of understanding that goes behind dishing out such readymade schemes. The Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJP government's choice of name — Sanskar — itself gives away the not-so-surprise ending. You cannot expect to win a fight against myth and superstition with sanskar ("customs and traditions"). Notwithstanding the misleading name (for reasons only the government can answer), the bigger problem here is that the government thinks it's only superstition that's giving rise to killings in the name of witch-hunting and other such beliefs. 'Sanskar' is the answer: Assam chief minister Sarbandanda Sonowal But, in the Karbi Anglong case, there is clearly a modern plot to the ancient myth of "Xopadhora". For one, the rumours started to spread on social media — high-tech life-changing socialising tools of WhatsApp and Facebook. Secondly, people easily fell for the rumours, because the fears of children going missing are not unfounded. Assam reportedly has one of the highest number of child trafficking cases. In 2015, the state recorded the highest number of human trafficking cases across the country with 1,494 cases registered. According to data for 2015, released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2016, the state also has the highest number of child trafficking — 1,317 cases, which account for 38 per cent of the national figure. The same records reveal that Karbi Anglong accounts for one of the highest number of cases for child trafficking, after Sonitpur and Udalgairi districts in Assam. The figures clearly point out why it's easy to spread — and believe — rumours about child abductions in these areas. The Xopadhora may be a myth, but the trafficking of children is real and so are the fears. And with the deluge of WhatApp forwards and Facebook posts, it is easy to bring the monster to life. It doesn't need rocket science to crack the mystery behind such rumours. Similarly, when it comes to witch-hunting, numerous news and investigative reports have pointed out the underlying reason behind such killings and attacks. According to Birubala Rabha, who has been crusading against witch-hunting after a village quack almost killed her son in 1996, witch-hunting often has more to do with family and property disputes under the veneer of superstition. “We have been fighting for a strict law to discourage witch-hunting, which often has to do more with family and property disputes under the veneer of superstition. This Act should have come earlier, but it is better late than never,” the Hindustan Times quoted her as saying in this report.<doc-sep>Karbi Anglong lynching: Nilotpal Das’s parents at their home in Nabagraha locality of Guwahati. (Photo: Abhishek Saha) Karbi Anglong lynching: Nilotpal Das’s parents at their home in Nabagraha locality of Guwahati. (Photo: Abhishek Saha) Nilotpal Das (29), one of the two youths from Guwahati lynched by a mob in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, had told his father just before leaving home Friday morning, “Don’t worry. I will be fine. The tribal people there are very good, peace-loving.” “When Nilotpal told me around 10 am that he is leaving for an interior area in Karbi Anglong with only one more friend, I told him it is advisable that he goes with a group of five or six friends,” recounts Gopal Chandra Das, a government employee who retired in 2011. “But he convinced me that it was safe. He said they will return that night or the next morning,” said Das. “He was a broad-minded boy and amicable. If he spoke to you for two minutes, he would become friends with you,” he added. READ | Before lynching of two in Assam village, rumour that fuelled mob: ‘There is a kid inside the car’ About nine hours after they left, Nilotpal and his friend Abhijeet Nath (30) were captured in a grainy video recorded on a cellphone being thrashed by a mob, the size of which eyewitnesses peg at around 500. The duo were suspected to be “child abductors” by local residents — a fear fuelled by rumour-mongering and fake news. As on Monday evening, 23 people have been arrested in connection with the lynching. This apart, one Diphu resident was arrested on Sunday for spreading fake news regarding ‘child abductors’ on Facebook. Karbi Anglong lynching: The vehicle used by the victims at Dokmoka police station in Karbi Anglong. (Photo: Abhishek Saha) Karbi Anglong lynching: The vehicle used by the victims at Dokmoka police station in Karbi Anglong. (Photo: Abhishek Saha) “I have not watched the video and will never be able to watch it,” says Radhika Das, Nilotpal’s mother and a teacher at a government primary school. Radhika had left home for school before Nilotpal left that day. RELATED REPORT | Karbi Anglong lynching: Protests in Guwahati turn violent The youngest of three siblings, Nilotpal was a musician specialising in traditional percussion and woodwind instruments. According to his family, he wanted to switch to full-time music after clearing higher secondary, but on the insistence of his father graduated in commerce from Delhi University before doing a course in sound-engineering from Mumbai. “For the last four years, Nilotpal was fully into music. He also loved travelling,” said Das. Nilotpal Das (right) and Abhijeet Nath were brutally killed by a mob on Friday. Nilotpal Das (right) and Abhijeet Nath were brutally killed by a mob on Friday. He said Nilotpal recently completed a solo bike ride from Goa to Guwahati. “Nothing happened to him during his long rides, but in his own home state…,” says Radhika, before breaking down. About 10 km away, Ajit Kumar Nath, a government employee and Abhijeet’s father, meets those who come to his home in Guwahati’s Six Mile locality to condole his son’s death. Also read | Musician, businessman lynched in Assam: 16 arrested, search on for remaining accused Nath says, “Those who have done this should be punished appropriately. That’s the only thing I have to say. What happened to the duo should not be repeated, ever again.” Some members of the Nath family said they demand institution of a fast-track court and a CBI probe into the case. (Express photo by Shaunak Bordoloi) Some members of the Nath family said they demand institution of a fast-track court and a CBI probe into the case. (Express photo by Shaunak Bordoloi) Abhijeet had turned to business after graduating as a mechanical engineer from a private university in Chennai. His friends and family remember him as a lover of dogs and fishes. “Sometimes, he would even have a problem with us eating fish,” said Nath, fighting back tears. Some members of the Nath family said they demand institution of a fast-track court and a CBI probe into the case.<doc-sep>
The prime accused in the lynching of two men in Assam was arrested from Karbi Anglong district in the early hours on Wednesday, a senior police officer said. Director general of police Kuladhar Saikia said the prime accused allegedly had an argument with the two men, following which he spread the rumour that they were child lifters, to instigate the villagers. With Wednesday's development, the total number of people arrested in connection with the lynching of the two men and spreading hate messages and rumours following the incident in Karbi Anglong district on Friday has risen to 64, a police officer said. Giving details of the incident, Saikia said, "The accused, Alfajoz Timung, was the only person who had interacted with Nilotpal Das and Abhijeet Nath, prior to their killing." According to preliminary interrogation, the duo were sitting near the Kanglithangso waterfall when Timung approached them and an argument ensued after which both Das and Nath decided to leave, he told reporters. Timung then called up the villagers and told them that there were two men in a vehicle who had kidnapped a child. He asked the villagers to intercept the car and detain the two, the DGP said. READ ALSO: Karbi Anglong Lynching: Nilotpal's Parents Appeal For Calm As Anger Spills Over In Assam The villagers, however, attacked the vehicle and lynched Das and Nath. The mobile phone of Timung has been seized, and the call details and also those of the two victims are being examined, Saikia said, adding Timung had a murder case registered against him and was out on bail. He was arrested from Belurghat area of Karbi Anglong district in the morning after a massive search operation, Superintendent of Police SP Ganjala said. Two friends - Nilotpal Das, 29, and Abhijeet Nath, 30, - were on Friday pulled out of their vehicle at Panjuri in Karbi Anglong district and beaten to death by a group of irate villagers, who suspected them to be child-lifters. The DGP said that so far, 28 people have been arrested in the last four days in connection with the lynching and "although most of the suspected assailants have been arrested, investigations will continue to ensure that all involved in the incident are apprehended". READ ALSO: Karbi Anglong Lynching: 'This Is Not The Assam I Know' According to statement given by Timung, the two youth from Guwahati had entered in an argument with him at the Kangthilangso Falls, reported Pratidin Time. Soon, Timung called more villagers to join him. As more people gathered, Das and Nath left the spot, but not before their vehicle was attacked with stones. The reported added that Timung then had called people over phone from nearby villages and informed that the two persons travelling in the SUV had kidnapped a child. He also asked the villagers to attack Das and Nath. The police had launched a massive search operation to arrest him but he was constantly on the move and was finally apprehended early in the morning, he said. READ ALSO: Nilotpal Wanted To Promote Assam Through Music, Abhijeet Never Even Hurt An Insect, Say Friends Of Mob Lynching Victims The police have also arrested 35 persons for posting hate messages and rumours on social media. Some others, mostly students, were also picked up but later released after counselling as they have assured the authorities that they will not indulge in spreading hate messages, Saikia said. On whether prompt action by the police could have saved Das and Nath, the DGP said Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Mukesh Agarwala has been entrusted with the task to look into all aspects of the incident. "If, according to investigations, there was any lapse by the police, no one will be spared", Saikia said, adding the ADGP will also investigate under what circumstances and when was the policeman reportedly seen recording video clips of the lynching incident. "The video, however, has helped the police considerably in identifying the suspects but all aspects will be probed," the DGP said. Meanwhile, the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) has decided to give Rs five lakh each to the parents of the two deceased men and also install their statues at the place where they were lynched, KAAC Chief Executive Member (CEM) Tuliram Ronghang said. The Council, which held a meeting with media, government officials and prominent citizens at Diphu last evening, condemned the incident.