A Most Wanted Rival

The seething political rivalry between Himanta Biswa Sarma and Gaurav Gogoi has escalated into accusations of espionage and national security threats.

Assam

If politics is theater, then Assam’s Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has mastered the art of dramatic storytelling. His latest performance, an alleged Pakistani conspiracy tied to Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi’s British wife, Elizabeth Colburn, has all the elements of a political thriller. There’s an international angle, insinuations of espionage and the bogey of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). But besides the rhetorical flourish, what remains is a deeply personal vendetta wrapped in the garb of national security.

The timing of Sarma’s allegations is, unsurprisingly, political. His accusation is that Colburn, a UK citizen, had ties to Pakistan, worked under a Pakistani official and, by implication, was part of a broader ISI infiltration attempt during the tenure of Gaurav’s father, the late Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

The evidence presented so far is tenuous at best. Colburn, who has a background in climate policy, worked for the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), an organization engaged in environmental research. One of her past colleagues, Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, was a Pakistani national who had worked as an adviser to Pakistan’s Planning Commission. Sarma has drawn a straight line from this professional connection to a sweeping conspiracy theory about Pakistan’s alleged penetration of Indian political circles.

Sarma, a former Congress leader himself, has had a long and complicated history with the Gogoi family. In 2015, he dramatically switched allegiances to the BJP after feeling sidelined in the state Congress, where Tarun Gogoi was grooming his son, Gaurav, as his political heir. Since then, the rivalry has been personal, with accusations and counter-accusations flying between the two camps. The latest chapter in this saga appears to be Sarma’s attempt to cast Gogoi as an agent of foreign influence, a move designed to undermine his credibility ahead of the elections.

In the past, India’s political establishment has weaponized national security to settle scores. The late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was notorious for branding political opponents as foreign agents, a strategy revived by the current BJP leadership. From branding student leaders as ‘anti-national’ to accusing opposition figures of colluding with foreign governments, the playbook is familiar.

But this political theater raises a troubling question: Are accusations of national security threats being trivialized for political or electoral gains? If the BJP government genuinely believes that an Indian MP’s spouse is linked to Pakistan’s intelligence services, the matter demands a rigorous, non-partisan investigation.

Sarma has a history of making explosive claims that serve his political ends. Last year, he accused Gogoi of corruption, claiming he had misused central funds. In 2023, Gogoi, in turn, accused Sarma of securing government grants for a company run by his wife, leading to a defamation case. The ongoing battle between the two leaders is as much about controlling Assam’s political narrative as it is about real governance.

Meanwhile, the Congress’ predictable response has been to dismiss Sarma’s allegations as “laughable.” But in the era of social media warfare, political narratives are not easily erased.

Beyond Assam, this episode is symptomatic of a larger shift in Indian politics, where personal rivalries masquerade as matters of national importance. It underscores how easily accusations of sedition, treason, and foreign collusion are deployed for political mileage. Unfortunately, if overused, such actions erode public trust in genuine security concerns. If every political rival is accused of conspiring with Pakistan, then when a real threat emerges, will the public still believe it?

For now, Sarma’s claims remain in the realm of political spectacle. But in a nation where perception often trumps reality, it is clear that his accusations, regardless of their veracity, have served their purpose. Regardless of whether or not any tangible evidence emerges, Sarma has already won this round in the battle for political optics.