Songs of jungles echo in ex-ULFA man's book

Guwahati, Nov 30 (UNI) A sense of betrayal and bitterness coupled with continued focus on the goal and a search to achieve it, could perhaps sum up the emotions in the novel penned by a former hardcore ULFA militant.

The writer, Raktim Sharma, was a 'junior commissioned officer' of the 'central organisational cell' of the proscribed outfit when its cadres were flushed out of Bhutan by the Royal Bhutan Army in December 2004. He is the second one from ULFA to have written a book.

The book, titled 'Boranga Ngang', which means 'Song of the Jungle' in Bhutanese, is based on his experiences during the 'Operation All Clear', which was believed to have been a major set back for ULFA.

Another known figure of the outfit, 'publicity secretary' Mithinga Daimary, had his collection of poems released at the Frankfurt book fair recently. Daimary, who writes under the name Megon Kachari, is currently behind bars after being captured during Operation all clear.

Talking about his book, which is set for a December release, Sharma said, ''My attempt is to present the picture of ULFA cadres during the operation and how we strived to survive, with many of our colleagues dieing before our eyes.'' Sharma had joined the outfit in 1996 and had been in Bhutan till 2004, when he returned to the mainstream. A well-educated youth, he had undergone guerrilla training in Bhutan and was in contact with the top leaders of ULFA.

Asked about adopting the path of violence, he said, ''People will rise against the powers that try to exploit them.'' On his flight from Bhutan, which forms the subject of the book, Sharma said, ''We encountered many hardships. Our group went without food for ten days at a strech, we suffered from malaria and spine chilling cold. Of the 15 people, we were left with only eight after a single night of encounter with Bhutan's Army.'' He futher said his prolonged illness forced him to surrender.

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