In Tripura hundreds of women -- dubbed by the media as 'married widows' -- wait for their abducted husbands to return, or at least have a glimpse of their bodies if they are dead.
Militants abducted Anju's husband, Manish Chandra Rai, on November 14, 1999. Since then there has been no news of whether he is alive or dead. Anju, a devout housewife, wants to believe that he may be alive and refuses to call herself a widow.
So is the case of Bibha Saha. Ever since militants of the banned All Tripura Tiger Force abducted her husband, Jeevan, a daily wage earner, in 1999, she has been hoping that one day he will walk into their ramshackle house.
Both Anju and Bibha have paid at least Rs 10,000 each as ransom despite living in poverty and with no clue about their future.
At the other end is Gita Nath Sharma, whose husband Dilip was a successful contractor in the Public Works Department. A philanthropist by nature, he helped the tribals in his area. On one of his visits to the interior areas of Khowai sub-division in the state's western district, gun-toting militants took him away.
Since then Gita has paid Rs 700,000 in ransom, but there is no sign of Dilip.
Anju Rai, Bibha Saha, Gita Nath Sharma, Kanan Ghosh, Basanti Debbarma, Kamlabati Debbarma or Pramilla Orang. Different names, different castes but bound by one tragedy.
Socially they are not widows. They continue to wear their sindoor and perform all the rituals expected of a Bengali Hindu wife. Deep down they are perhaps aware that their husbands are no longer alive, but in the absence of any proof they are loath to relinquish hope.
Someone like Gita faces another problem. She cannot inherit her husband's property or operate his bank account due to an archaic law -- Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
A clause under this law stipulates that the death certificate of a missing person can be issued only after seven years of his/her disappearance.
On the brighter side, the authorities have woken up to difficulties faced by victims' kin. A proposal to amend the Indian Evidence Act, allowing the issue of a death certificate after two years, instead of the earlier seven-year wait, was unanimously passed by the state assembly and is now awaiting Presidential assent.
In the meantime, survivor certificates are already being issued to the kith and kin (so that they can get inheritance and jobs) in all cases where victims are believed dead.
In many ways, it's an old story being re-enacted of insurgency having turned into a business. As Ratanlal Nath, leader of the opposition and Congress legislator, said, "Abducting is big business here."
The figures speak for themselves. In the six years between January 1997 and December 2002, some 1,790 abductions were reported throughout the state. Nearly half of them ended in tragedy -- 196 hostages have been confirmed dead and the police are clueless about the remaining 450 victims.
The year 2000 was the worst. Four hundred and seventy six people were abducted. Then there was a drop in 2001 with only about 200 people being taken away, while the figure for 2002 was 159. But this year the trend is again alarming. Between January 1 and May 15 this year, over 90 people have already been abducted.
The motive has become so commonplace that the victim's kin start collecting money even as they find out about the abduction. The ransom amount invariably ranges between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000.
Tripura has been living with this menace since the early '90s.
The All Tripura Tiger Force and National Liberation Front of Tripura, led by tribal leaders, resent the overwhelming presence of Bengalis and other non-tribal groups in the state. Their stated aim was to free Tripura from the clutches of 'Indian colonial forces'.
In a way, the roots of militancy can be traced back to 1947. At the time of independence, indigenous tribals and non-tribals shared a ratio of almost 50:50. Currently, however, it is 70:30 in the Bengalis' favour -- the tribals lagging behind economically and developmentally. This was the social schism the two militant outfits were tapping into.
But over the years ideology has taken a backseat. As Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar said, "Earlier, the militants targeted only the non-tribals. Today, even poor tribals are victims of their tactics. Moreover, most people have now realised that the militant leaders are only after money."
But this is a small consolation for the poor in the interiors of the state. What they want is more security and guarantee that militants will not have a free run.
Aware of this demand, Sarkar and his team are now working on a resettlement plan for tribals, in addition to beefing up security in the remote areas. Until that is done, abductions will remain a major menace for the people in Tripura.
