Assam supplies half of India's oil and 15 percent of the world's tea, but its people have nothing to show for it. The ULFA, drawn from the ranks of those who call themselves Asamese, was supposed to cede its fight for a socialist state in Assam when it signed a peace deal with the government in January 1992. The hard-liners said "screw that" and began a campaign of kidnapping and extortion against the rich tea growers. The Indian Tea Association quickly put together a 7,000-man private army to protect itself from ULFA thugs. Their bases are in Bhutan.
There have been reports of large-scale extortion and attacks on police stations throughout Assam by both ULFA and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), formerly called the Bodo Security Force. Security forces have stepped up their operations against the militants and rounded up large numbers of both suspects and weapons. Assam state officials, however, are hoping that the government in New Delhi will send in a paramilitary force to end the rebels' kidnappings. For now, Assam is an especially dangerous place if you grow tea. Crumpets, anyone?
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