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01/23/2006: "Security beefed up in Nagaland"

Security beefed up in Nagaland New Kerala
Kohima: Security has been beefed up in Nagaland following a series of bomb blasts in neighbouring Assam.

Nagaland Police has tightened security at all entry points from Assam in the wake of the bandh called on the Republic Day in Assam and other NE states.

However, there was no internal security threat in the state by any militant group, police said.

Dimapur Superintendent of Police Bidhu Shekhar had ordered a security blanket in and around the town, specially at the Dimapur railway station.

Besides the Government Railway Police, Indian Reserve Battalion, CRPF and Assam Rifles have been deployed to keep strict vigil on passengers. Platform tickets were made compulsary.

Apart from the explosive detectors, door metal frame and hand metal detectors had been installed. Sniffer dogs were also engaged to thwart violence.

Security measures were also beefed up in Mokokchung, Wokha and Mon districts in all entry points from Assam so that no ultra could enter the state.

Meanwhile, the state government has made adequate arrangements to celebrate the Republic Day throughout the state and the main function would be held at the secretariat ground here.
Recruitment rally for Naga Regiment begins Kuknlim.com
DIMAPUR, Jan 22: The much-awaited recruitment rally for the Naga Territorial Army under the Naga Regiment at Dimapur State Stadium has begun where thousands of Naga youth...

tried their luck to join the security force.

Early in the morning, the Naga youths braved the chilly weather and with bare chest, they participated in the first leg of the recruitment test of completing 1.2 miles run to be completed within 6.2 minutes. Though hundreds vied for 70 posts for Dimapur and Peren districts, a good number were qualified in the race, and they would undergo other physical tests, medical examinations and written tests as well.

Over the years, the Naga Regiment, which has carved out a niche for itself for anti-insurgency operations and is known for valour has the honour of having 46 individual awards that include one Maha Vir Chakra and two Vir Chakras.

Talking to The Assam Tribune Col RK Satyan of 164 Infantry Battalion, who conducted the recruitment rally, said that the rally was being held for Dimapur and Peren districts from which 64 General Duty recruits would be selected, besides a couple of cooks and others.

He said that Territorial Army is being raised in three states of Assam, Nagaland and Manipur. The recruitments for Assam and Manipur are already over, he stated adding that in Nagaland, it was delayed due to Christmas and New Year celebrations.

MLA and Parliamentary Secretary, Nagaland Y Doshehe Sumi, who is representing the State Government to the recruitments in Territorial Army, said that the recruitment rally was meant for the 164 Infantry Batallion of Nagaland. He said that in the past, Army used to conduct recruitments in specific locations of Nagaland where a large number of intending candidates were noticed. But at the initiative of the State Government, now the recruitment rallies are being held in all the districts.

Lt Col Jakhalu, Secretary, Rajya Sainik Board, Kohima, said that the indifference of the servicemen may be due to the apprehension of not being able to compete with young people in physical tests. Such recruitment rallies will also be held in seven other places of Nagaland. Rallies at Kohima and Mokokchung will be held on January 25 and February 3 respectively. (Pradeep Pareek)

3 more TA battalions for NE
Kohima | January 23, 2006 2:31:17 PM IST Webindia

The Ministry of Defence has approved raising of three more Territorial Army (TA) battalions (Home and Health) in the NE states.
According to a Defence release here today, the three battalions would be 164 infantry battalion (TA) for Nagaland, 165 infantry battalion (TA) for Manipur and 166 infantry battalion for Assam and Tripura.
It said that officials from the TA Group, Eastern Command, would conduct recruitment rallies for 165 infantry battalion at Senapati on January 30, Tamunglong and Ukhrul on February 3, Bishenpur and Chandel on February 7 and Churchandpur (Manipur) on February 11.
The release said the nominated presiding officers of each of these rallies would be responsible for the selection of the suitable candidates during recruitment rallies.
Well-oiled Assam sits pretty S.P.S. PANNU The Telegraph
New Delhi, Jan. 22: Assam has received annual oil royalty of Rs 894 crore, next only to Gujarat, which took home Rs 1,131 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 2005. However, disturbed conditions have affected the annual crude output in Assam. The output has remained at 4.5 million tonnes in recent years. ONGC produces 1.2 million tonnes of crude, while the output of Oil India Ltd (OIL) is higher at 3.2 million tonnes in the state. ONGC is producing about 6.1 million tonnes of crude a year from its fields in Gujarat. There is not too much of a difference between the recoverable crude reserves in Assam, which are estimated at 163.68 million tonnes and Gujarat, where the corresponding figure is 173.99 million tonnes.
However, the unrest in Assam is a stumbling block in raising the level of oil production. A higher crude output would enable the state to rake in a larger royalty for its development works as well.
ONGC chairman Subir Raha hopes to increase the company’s crude output to 5 million tonnes in the next three years and is ready to allocate Rs 3,300 crore for exploration and development work in the state. However, this depends largely on the law and order situation in the state, he added.
The recent extortion letter and the subsequent threats by the ULFA to the oil companies do not augur well for the investment climate in the state. “The oil companies will be forced to put their expansion plans on hold if such a situation continues,” a senior ONGC official said.
According to recent data compiled by the petroleum ministry, Tamil Nadu figures in the third spot with Rs 102 crore as oil royalty during 2004-05, followed by Andhra Pradesh with Rs 77.25 crore.
Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura figure next on the list with Rs 11 crore and Rs 3 crore, respectively. Interestingly, in the case of Arunachal Pradesh the royalty received in 2003-04 was close to Rs 21 crore and this fell to half the amount in the following year. Assam had received a royalty of Rs 703 crore in 2003-04.
Rajasthan, where Cairn Energy has discovered some small and mid-sized fields recently, has emerged as the third state with 11 million tonnes of recoverable reserves of oil.
Arunachal Pradesh, with 5.21 million tonnes of recoverable reserves, ranks higher than Andhra Pradesh, which has only 4.72 million tonnes in reserves. Nagaland, which has recoverable reserves of 2.69 million tonnes, does not receive any royalty as the companies have not been able to produce any oil due to the civil unrest in the state.
The total onland recoverable reserves of oil in the country have been estimated at 369.56 million tonnes. There are also 32.53 million tonnes of oil off the eastern coast.

Delhi-DHD talks next week OUR CORRESPONDENT The Telegraph
Silchar, Jan. 22: The dialogue between Delhi and the militant Dima Halam Daogah (DHD), one of the two groups at the epicentre of the recent ethnic clashes in Karbi Anglong district of Assam, will resume next week after an interval of seven months.
Sources said the talks would be held in New Delhi on January 31 and focus on the militant group’s demand for Dimaraji, a homeland for the Dimasa tribe that inhabits North Cachar Hills and pockets of Karbi Anglong.
DHD chairman Dilip Nunisa said over phone last night that Union home ministry officials had confirmed the date for the meeting. He did not specify whether the talks would be held over several days.
Nunisa said a six-member team, including himself, “commander-in-chief” Pranab Nunisa and secretary Rongsling would participate in the dialogue. He said the DHD would not compromise on its longstanding demand for a separate state within the Indian Union.
The DHD’s vision of Dimaraji envisages the integration of the Dimasa-inhabited areas of Nagaon, Cachar and Karbi Anglong in Assam and Dhansiri in Nagaland’s Dimapur district with the North Cachar Hills.
The other demands of the decade-old outfit are the establishment of a university and a separate high court for the proposed state at the hilltop town of Haflong.

Second round of Central Government- ULFA talks on February 7By Ashok Sah Ani
New Delhi, Jan.23 (ANI):The second round of talks between the Central Government and the rebel United Liberated Front of Asom (ULFA) will be held on February 7.
Jnanpith Award winner Indira Goswami, who is heading the consultative group that had the first round of talks with the Government in October, announced this development.
In an interview, Goswami said that National Security Advisor M K Narayanan had informed her that talks with the ULFA selected People's Consultative Group would take place in the first week of Februray.
She also said that the agenda for the forthcoming parleys would be decided later, while adding that the ULFA must stop all kinds of violence immediately considering the Government's sincere efforts to bring about a lasting solution to the vexed insurgency problem in Assam.
The first round of talks between the Government and the ULFA was held on October 26. In this round, the ULFA designated a 11-member People's Consultative Group (PCG) to meet only National Security Advisor M K Narayanan, but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has been a two-term Rajya Sabha MP from Assam also decided to drop in.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and other senior officials of the Government also participated in the meeting. The talks held in Delhi were meant to prepare the ground for a bilateral cease-fire and then followed up with direct talks between the two sides at a later stage.
After the meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the government was willing to discuss "all issues" concerning Assam. Speaking to the PCG members he reportedly said, "I am willing to listen to whatever concerns that you may raise. I am willing to discuss issues bothering the people of Assam." But at the same time Prime Minister also said that he was a "servant of the Constitution" and all issues had to be sorted out within its framework.
ULFA was satisfied with the first round of talks. It was also happy because the issue of 'sovereignty' was raised at the meeting by Peoples' Consultative Group (PCG).
In an editorial of its monthly newsletter 'Swadhinata' (Freedom) the outfit said, "October 26 was a red letter day in the history of North East as on this day the issue of sovereignty was raised by the outfit through the PCG."
The ULFA claimed that it was the only outfit in the North-East that has raised the issue of sovereignty with the Centre. The ULFA mouthpiece said, "Peace talk means cease-fire ground rules, rehabilitation and eventually formation of some council. By doing so the main objective of the sovereignty gets lost."
The editorial stated that democratic process should be "respected through action rather than verbal assurances and the acceptance of the PCG's proposal will pave the way for peace talks."
ULFA however was not very pleased with the military operation against the insurgent outfit.
On November 5 at a rally in Nalbari, the People s Consultative Group (PCG), the conduit between the ULFA and the Government of India, virtually launched a campaign seeking an immediate end to the Army operations.
Even chief coordinator of talks, Indira Goswami expressed her concern about the encounters between security forces and insurgents in Assam. She urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi to stop army operations against ULFA.
She also said that the government was yet to clarify as to what had happened to several ULFA members who went missing during the Bhutan operations in December 2003.
However, no significant movement has taken place after the first round of talks. On December 16, ULFA threatened to resume its armed campaign if New Delhi failed to begin immediate peace talks to end nearly three decades of militancy in Assam.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has already offered safe passage to the ULFA provided it exhibits a willingness to hold talks with the Central Government and abjures from acts of violence. (ANI)

Army claims major success against ultras in Manipur
From Sobhapati Samom Assam Tribune
IMPHAL, Jan 22 – Army has claimed to have gunned down nine militants and injured eight others besides recovering a huge cache of arms and ammunition in the jungle of Churachandpur district of Manipur bordering Mizoram in a flushing-out operation.

The General Officer Commanding of 57 Mountain Division Major General G G Dwivedi, addressing mediapersons at Leimakhong army headquarter here today said, the troops of Red Shield division which launched an operation codenamed ‘Ops Dragnet’ since January 20 managed to kill six militants. Another three were eliminated while at least eight more were injured .

The encounter sites include Parbung,Taithu,Tolbung,Maullan and Dailan. “Now the UGs are scattered and they are on the run”, the Major General claimed.

He also confirmed the death of two Armymen including one Lt Colonel Bakshi of the division in the ongoing gunfight with Manipur based underground outfit United National Liberation Front.The troops have recovered 5 AK-47 rifles, a large quantity of assorted ammunition including lathode bombs, more than 60 kilograms of explosive and 25 Improvised Explosive Devices, he said.

“Six subdivisions affected by the militant menace in Churachandpur and Chandel districts in southern part of the state have also been freed from the clutches of the UGs”, the GOC claimed adding “Army is continuing efforts to sanitize the villages and numerous tracks from the menace of IEDs”.

Fearing the gunfight,some of the villagers who fled towards Mizoram have also started to return, he said.

Contrary to the UNLF’s statement issued earlier, GOC on Sunday reiterated that the outfit had laid extensive IEDs in Parbung and Thanlon areas which has resulted in the death of 13 persons and loss of limbs to another 20.

UNLF on the other hand confirming the demise of four of their cadres during the ongoing encounters, claimed of inflicting heavy casualties upon the Army at Parbung and Tipaimukh of Churachandpur district and Chongmun area in Tamenglong district.

Address NE issues with sense of urgency From Kalyan Barooah Assam Tribune
HYDERABAD, Jan 22 – Without directly spelling out a strategy to the UPA Government on tackling insurgency in the North-East, the Congress Party has urged the Centre to focus on the region with a sense of urgency. The draft political resolution of the Congress Party has a paragraph on the region but it has kept itself confined to broader issues concerning the North-East refraining from taking any stand vis-à-vis the peace processes and the illegal immigration issues. The resolution, on the other hand, has asked the UPA Government to accord top priority to the Naxal problem, particularly on the linkages with the Maoist movement in Nepal.

The day two of the mega event saw adoption of four draft resolutions by the AICC, which has converted itself to Subjects Committee. The resolutions would be forwarded to the Plenary for discussion and adoption. Bishnu Prasad of Assam Congress spoke on the Economic Resolution.

On the dais, however, were several leaders from the North-East including the Chief Ministers of Assam, Tarun Gogoi, Arunachal Pradesh, Gegong Apang, Manipur, Ibobi Singh, Meghalaya, DD Lapang, besides Omen Deuri, among others. The obituary reference included the names of three Congressmen of Assam including Nakul Das, Deva Chandra Deka and Samsul Huda.

“The Indian National Congress believes that economic support and expansion of infrastructure of roads, hospitals, schools are important and so, indeed, is the infrastructure of security in these sensitive areas. The Congress Party urges the UPA Government to address the matter with a sense of urgency and calls upon the Congress units in the northeastern States to enthusiastically participate in this exercise,” the resolution said.

“The Congress welcomes the UPA Government’s renewed attempts to tackle unrest, insurgency and militancy in the northeastern States. The important issue is to give signals of the significance of North-East to Indian polity despite the distances and the relatively small populations. If the aspirations of all the people of the North-East pose challenges to political and administrative structures they also provide a rich treasure house of social identity that enriches the concept of India,” said the resolution.

The North-East is a sensitive area and a comprehensive and a well-thought-out policy needs to be adopted, which linked education and health care to the common men. The attempt is to create a new atmosphere in the region, Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh said while moving the resolution.

On the internal security, the political resolution said that there was a marked deterioration in the internal security situation during the BJP-led NDA Government’s rule. The UPA Government has approached the subject with clarity, determination and sensitivity. It is in fitness of things that the UPA Government’s attitude towards events that caused damages to life and property was to fight with great courage and determination, rather than succumb to pressure.

On Naxalism, the Congress Party without ruling out possible involvement of unfriendly foreign forces, advocated a tough stand. The involvement of unfriendly foreign forces cannot be ruled out.

Meanwhile, participating in the discussion on the Economic Resolution, Bishnu Prasad said that it talked about removal of economic imbalance and recently the Prime Minister went to Assam and announced a package of Rs 6,000 crore mostly in the power sector. The package would go a long way in removing the economic imbalance of Assam and the north-eastern States, he asserted.

Adding that not only the present Prime Minister, but also late Rajiv Gandhi had also announced the Accord Refinery and the Guwahati IIT.

The draft Economic Resolution said that Congress noted with satisfaction many new initiatives that have been taken for the faster economic development of the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir.

The resolution on the External Security and International Affairs referring to ASEAN said that UPA Government was diligently pursuing the policy of enriching the relations with ASEAN, such as actively participating in the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation that brought together India with five ASEAN countries. However, the resolution skirted any mention of Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, the Gogoi-baiters have kept a low profile at the conclave and have so far not made any move to kick up dust. Known dissidents like Sarat Borkotoki, Devananda Konwar and Dr Ardhendu Dey along with their supporters are participating in the meeting.
Serial blasts rattle State ULFA punches holes in Assam security shield Our Bureau Sentinel
With inputs from Guwahati, Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Tingkhong
Jan 22: Barely ten minutes after IGP (SB) Khagen Sarma claimed that the situation in the State was normal, the outlawed ULFA today triggered serial explosions throughout the State apparently targeting security personnel and gas pipelines. Today’s strikes by the rebel group have proved beyond doubt that the Republic Day security arrangement in the poll-bound State is not as tight as claimed by the State police administration.
Around 5.55 this evening, suspected ULFA militants lobbed a powerful grenade near Gauhati Commerce College in the city where security personnel were on their routine checking. Police constable Damodar Das, CRPF jawans Ajay Kumar Dro, BG Krishna, Dado Jadav and Purno Boro were injured in the attack. Minutes later, a grenade was hurled in front the Assam Police Reserve at AT Road in the city. One Rahim Ali succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. Fifteen minutes later, while a team of security personnel was in a search operation in the police reserve area, militants detonated an IED, planted in a requisitioned bus, injuring Panbazar OC Mahendra Rajkhowa and constables Jogen Tisso and Rafiqul Hussain. DSP Mirinda Kadam Ingtpi had a narrow escape. Meanwhile, in the first instance of militant attack within Jorhat district this year, suspected ULFA militants triggered a blast in the precincts of the ASTC building here around 7.05 p.m, injuring a person identified as Krishna Das. The casualty was minimum as there was not many travellers within the ASTC complex at that hour.
In yet another strike, two gas pipelines —one at Chetiapathar under Chabua PS and the other at Bokulia Chariali under Duliajan PS — were blown up successively this evening. No casualty has been reported so far. A late night report said that yet another gas pipeline running through Lengri TE under Tengakhat PS in Dibrugarh district was blown up by militants around 9 p.m. Last night, the ULFA blew up a power tower of NEEPCO at Bhoju in Sivasagar.
At Konwar Gaon near Lakhimpur, ULFA militants blew up a transformer near the Madharam Gogoi LP School around 7.15 p.m. yesterday. Another transformer was blown up at Hindugaon Tiniali just 30 minutes later. Three security personnel — Ramen Kalita, Riten Hajong and Mukesh Kumar — sustained injuries in the strike. Another gas pipeline was blown up by militants at Mahmora Silgrant under Namrup PS in Dibrugarh district last night.
The proscribed outfit broke the lull of about 100 days —the longest so far —by blowing up an IOC pipeline at Dalgaon hours before Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was to arrive in the State. The ULFA had designated the People’s Consultative Group (PCG) to hold the first round of talks with the Prime Minister on October 26 to prepare the ground for direct talks between it and Government peace negotiators. Since then the outfit had refrained from indulging in subversive activities.
Assam: ULFA Talks Tough With Bombings Wasbir Hussain
Guwahati-based Political Analyst and Associate Fellow, Institute for Conflict Management, New Delhi. Up to ten bombings and grenade attacks across Assam by the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) on Sunday (January 22, 2006) have disrupted operations in the gas, oil and power sectors in the State, besides keeping the security establishment on tenterhooks ahead of Republic Day, January 26. The 291 MW gas-based power plant at Kathalguri in Dibrugarh District, 550 kilometres east of Guwahati, run by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) shut down completely, shortly before midnight Sunday, after rebels blew up a six-metre stretch of the main gas supply pipeline.
While B.C. Sharma, Managing Director of the Assam Gas Company Limited (AGCL), that transports gas to the power plant, told this writer it would take at least 48 hours for his engineers to restore gas supply, power authorities said the State would face a shortfall of 100 MW due to the shut down of the plant. Assam consumes 700 MW of power at any given point, and a shortfall of 100 MW, therefore, is a huge reduction in supply. “We shall be forced to cut power or ration supply until the generation at the plant resumes,” Subhash Das, Chairman of the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB), told this writer on Monday, January 23.
Indian oil major, Oil India Limited (OIL) has already felt the impact. “We have closed down nine gas wells due to the disruption in gas supply to the power plant,” Nripen Bharali, an OIL spokesman told South Asia Intelligence Review. This is because the power plant at Kathalguri was lifting 1.4 million cubic metres of gas a day and its shut down has left the gas produced by OIL (and transported through a pipeline by AGCL) unutilised. AGCL authorities said the company would stand to lose INR 2.8 million a day on gas transportation to the power plant. Estimates of OIL losses due to the closure of its gas wells are yet to be worked out.
Further, there has been disruption in crude movement through pipelines in the Moran area of eastern Assam after some gas pipelines were blown away in the vicinity. “Gas is used to run certain heaters meant to ensure a smooth movement of crude oil through pipelines. The blowing up of the gas pipelines has hit us because the heaters won’t run without gas,” an OIL official explained.
While it has become a sort of ritual for the ULFA to engage in or step up its violence in the run up to important days in the national calendar, such as Republic Day and Independence Day, the rebel group’s actions this time round has come at a time when its hand-picked representatives are engaged in ‘exploratory’ peace talks with New Delhi. Assamese writer Indira Goswami, who is heading the 11-member People’s Consultative Group (PCG), feels that the ULFA could be getting restive due to the Government of India’s delay in holding the second round of talks with her Group. The first round of talks, attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, was held in New Delhi on October 26, 2005. The delay in holding the next round was being interpreted by PCG members as part of New Delhi’s ‘lack of sincerity’ in the ULFA peace process. The PCG is supposed to prepare the grounds for possible direct talks between the ULFA and the Government of India. On Monday the 23rd, Goswami informed South Asia Intelligence Review, National Security Advisor M.K.Narayanan had, in the wake of the latest series of ULFA attacks, communicated to her that the second round of talks would be held on February 7, 2006.
ULFA’s decision to step up its offensive ahead of Republic Day is not surprising, and remains consistent with the past record. What is surprising, though, is the rebel group’s capacity to strike across the State across a widely dispersed area in such a large number of coordinated attacks – including major attacks in the capital, Guwahati – with the intelligence machinery and the security forces being able to do precious little to prevent such attacks.
The choice of its primary target is not unexpected. ULFA had slapped a INR Five billion ($112 million) extortion demand on the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in the first week of January 2006, at a time when the oil major was planning to invest INR 33 billion in exploration and other activities in Assam, implied that ULFA was bent on sending out a real tough message that it is a force to reckon with. By launching a string of grenade and bomb attacks, it has sought to demonstrate its fire power and strike potential. Another significant aspect of the current series of attacks is that ULFA has actually laid an ambush on security forces after a considerable period of time. One policeman was killed when ULFA militants ambushed an Assam Police party near Borpathar in the eastern District of Golaghat on January 22.
The string of ULFA attacks since January 20, 2006, have been rather daring raids, going well beyond the planting of improvised explosive devices (IED) stealthily at soft targets. Instead, cadres have carried out grenade attacks, venturing close to their targets, including police posts, at significant personal risk, demonstrating a hitherto absent sense of confidence and determination. The January 20 grenade attack in front of the main entrance to the heavily-guarded Guwahati Refinery caused injuries to 10 people, including Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel on duty. Again, on January 22, ULFA cadres chose to lob grenades at a check post in Guwahati, manned by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). At least three CRPF men were wounded. Then, there was a grenade attack near the high-security Police Reserve in Guwahati, leading to injuries to at least two police officers. A few others were wounded when an IED, planted on a stationery bus near the Police Reserve went off as policemen and a crowd had gathered after the grenade attack.
The delay on New Delhi’s part in holding the second round of talks with the ULFA-appointed PCG could well be part of the Government’s strategy to protract the process till the Assam Assembly elections are over by May 2006. Holding a second round of talks earlier would have put New Delhi under pressure to hold the third round before the polls, requiring some specific commitments on the outcome – and such commitments, or their lack, could have impacted on voters. Delhi’s vacillation on this is, consequently, not difficult to understand within the given political context. The failure of the security and intelligence establishment to notice the rise in militant movement and preparations, and the longer term failure to stop or cut off access to the supply of explosives to ULFA is, on the other hand, difficult to comprehend or accept. For more than 15 years now, security forces have been engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Assam, and they have periodically claimed to have ‘broken the back’ of ULFA. They are yet to identify and stem the source of explosives to the organization, or to clarify whether the bombs are being manufactured within Assam, or are being procured ready-made from an external source. How is such an abundance of hand grenades available in the State? And how can these explosives and grenades be moved about across the State, and into the State capital, with apparent ease, at a time when the authorities are at the highest levels of alert as they gear up to thwart ULFA’s diktat for a boycott of Republic Day celebrations, and the threat of violence on that date?