By Biswajyoti Das

TALAP, India, Feb 13 (Reuters) - A military crackdown on separatist rebels in northeastern India has failed to quell a rebellion where insurgents are outfoxing authorities, partly thanks to mobile phones and support from alienated villagers.

In the latest effort to squeeze the militants, Indian Home Secretary V.K. Duggal visits Myanmar on Tuesday to request it to launch military operation against the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) insurgents who New Delhi says have bases there.

India has deployed thousands of soldiers over the last month to hunt guerrillas it blames for massacring some 80 people, mainly Hindi-speaking migrant workers, in January.

But so far the crackdown appears to be backfiring. Strong-arm tactics from security forces have angered many local people, and attacks have continued nearly daily.

Many villagers around Talap, a focus of the insurgency about 600 km (360 miles) east of Assam's main city, Guwahati, say they pass sleepless nights as soldiers pick people up for questioning.

Some suspects are beaten and even elderly people have complained of torture, many local inhabitants say. Family members of ULFA cadres complain of harassment by security personnel.

"We cannot move freely and we do not have our civil rights," said Biren Barua, whose cousin was shot dead by the military on Jan. 28, on suspicion of being an ULFA cadre.

The ULFA renewed attacks after government talks fell through last year. Officials say the group quietly built up support networks during talks -- a network that provides them with shelter, food and intelligence during the crackdown.

India's northeast, joined to the rest of the country by a thin strip of land, is home to dozens of ethnic groups, and several major separatist rebellions.

The ULFA, which accuses New Delhi of ignoring its needs and polluting Assam's culture, has battled for independence for 26 million people in the tea- and oil-rich state since 1979. Some 20,000 people have been killed.

Most Assamese are Hindu, but most speak the Assamese language. The ULFA has tried to bolster its popularity by targeting migrants from other parts of India, whom they accuse of diluting their culture and taking their land.

DESERTED STREETS

In Talap, once bustling shops are deserted. A few people look suspiciously on strangers. Army vehicles passing through break the uneasy silence.

Many people are angry that basic amenities like healthcare and schools are out of reach, while the government spends millions for counter-insurgency operations.

"Deprived people in rural areas of the state continue to support ULFA, as they feel the government has failed to look after their interest," said Birinchi Neog, convener of the People's Committee for Peace Initiatives in Assam, a civil group pushing for peace.

ULFA has managed to kill around 10 people in the last two weeks around Tapal despite the arrest of hundreds of suspected rebel sympathisers.

"The ULFA will have its support base among the people until and unless the government does something to look into their basic grievances," Narendra Jain, a businessman in Talap, said.

Officials say rebels are outfoxing security forces with the help of mobile phones to pass on information on troop movements.

"Tremendous use of mobile network by the militants is one of the major reasons why we could not achieve the success we had expected," the official added.

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