The blast in the Guwahati-Delhi Rajdhani Express on Thursday morning is believed to have been carried out by the Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA) to avenge the public stripping and beating of an adivasi woman during protests in Guwahati late last month. At least five people were killed and 12 others injured when an improvised explosive devise ripped through a compartment of the train in Golaghat district in eastern Assam. Thursday’s blast is a reminder that the failure of the state to ensure justice for the victims of the ugly clashes in Guwahati between adivasi protestors and Assamese locals will encourage people claiming to represent the victims to raise the gun. It may be recalled that following the anti-Muslim massacres in Gujarat in 2002, scores of Muslim youth across the country joined militant groups to avenge the killing of innocent Muslims. There is a danger that the Assam government’s failure to take stern action against those who attacked adivasi protestors last month will provoke a similar response from adivasis. The blast on the Rajdhani could be followed by more attacks and counter-attacks. The government must act to stop the likely cycle of violence.

However, the attack on passengers on the Rajdhani was a horrendous and counter-productive response.   By opting for violence, the ANLA has made the adivasi people, who it claims to represent, more vulnerable to future attacks. The ANLA has warned of more violence until the government confers the Scheduled Tribe status to adivasis in Assam. The group should realise that its chances of getting such status will be weakened if it continues to carry out terrorist attacks. The ANLA, an outfit with less than a hundred members, has moved quickly from abductions and extortions to attacks on trains. Its previous attempts at carrying out blasts had failed. The successful blast on the Rajdhani will boost its morale. The government should crack down on the outfit before it grows into a monster.

Trains from the northeast have often been the target of terror groups fighting the Indian state. Security on this route is supposed to be tight. The Rajdhani Express, which links Guwahati with Delhi, is known to be particularly vulnerable to terrorist attacks – there was a failed attempt on the train last year - and security on this train in particular is supposed to be tight. The latest blasts indicate that this security is not tight enough.