Hiren Gohain

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"Victory for Identity Politics, Not Hindutva in Assam" by Udayon Misra (EPW, 28 May 2016) echoes the general tenor of remarks on the striking election results in the local press and other media. As the disillusionment of the masses with the Congress turned into bitter hatred and there was no concrete alternative from the left parties, a master stroke of Bharatiya Janata Party tacticians created a wave of anti-Congress fervour by roping in regional ethnic parties.

It is distressing that Mahesh Rangarajan, the dynamic and energetic director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, has been forced to put in his papers by circumstances that suggest some kind of arm-twisting by forces bent on bringing all national institutions of importance under one vulgar...

The complexity of the recent ethnic violence in Assam has its roots going as far back as the early 20th century. With the various ethnic militant outfits having no clear-cut policy regarding the other groups, while some demonstrate a knee-jerk reaction leading to horrendous acts of ethnic cleansing, there seems to be no other thought than domination of the Other. A democratic perspective is singularly missing. What is the centre's outlook on these contentious issues?

Chattopadhyay's (EPW, 15 December 2012) impatient utopianism needs to be called into question. Lenin had a deep understanding of the ground reality of Russia in the immediate aftermath of the revolution, and in this context, there was no question of moving towards statelessness during the period of transition to socialism.