Assam Forum of Great Britain (AFGB) organized its 4th Annual conference at the London School of Economics on September 5, 2015. MP Sarbananda Sonowal sent a good will message appreciating the efforts of the Assamese diaspora to contribute towards solving the problems of Assam. Dr. Jitendralal Borkakoti, AFGB Chairman, has stated that the objective of AFGB is “to galvanize Assamese people both in England and Assam to think and find solutions for the serious problems of Assam”. He also stated that a Memorandum to Prime Minister Modi was accepted by Ajit Doval last January, and it raised eight important problems of Assam.
This year three burning issues of Assam were discussed in the conference. Smitana Saikia in her paper on “Crisis of ethnic identity: who is an Assamese?” comes to the conclusion that it is impossible to define an Assamese identity as the Assamese society is a composite society; and this has been increasingly realised both in the political and social circles in Assam. In the absence of an inclusive definition of an Assamese identity, it will not be possible to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, as it is divisive. The emphasis should be on Clause 7 so that the people of Assam become united in their struggle to achieve rapid economic development. Dr. Rituparna Sarma and Ms. Rimli Das, in their paper on “Gender Issues in Assam”, reports a worsening situation in Assam with spiralling violence against women including abduction, molestation, rape, dowry killings, and witch hunting. They have pointed out the disturbing development of girls and young women being kidnapped or lured by traffickers. Ignorant and economically disadvantaged people in the remote areas of Assam should be made aware by police and relevant NGOs.
There was also a Panel discussion on poor governance in Assam and how corruption has become institutionalised in Assam. The Panel (Dr. Aburba Baruah, Dr. Jitendralal Borkakoti, Zaved Ckoudhury and Dr. Dinesh Kakati) has stated that good governance requires capacity building, accountability and transparency. It has been pointed out how, because of poor governance, (a) allocation under Five Year Plane remain unutilised (Rs. 13,093 during 2001-02 and 2012-13), (b) how the Water Resources Department failed to use allocated funds (to the tune of 38% to 60% during the period 2002-03 to 2011-12), and (c) how the Government of Assam routinely fail to submit utilisation certificates (20,000 certificates are pending from 58 Departments amounting to Rs.12.000 crore from 2001-02 to 2013-14). Only a movement from civic societies can lead to an end of blatant corruption.
1 Aug 2017 - 11:36am | AT Staff Reporter
Ten economically weak meritorious students who had performed excellently well in the last HSLC and HS examination in 2017 and two critically ill person of Kalaigaon neighborhood were given...
24 Jun 2012 - 7:06pm | editor
The condition of the renowned Assamese poet Hiren Bhattacharjya refuses to improve. But experts from Delhi and Kolkata are providing the best possible treatment at the Dispur Hospital where he has...
29 May 2023 - 7:08pm | AT News
Guwahati: Expressing profound grief at the demise of seven brilliant students of Assam Engineering College (AEC) in a tragic late-night accident on 29 May 2023, All Assam Engineer’s Association (AAEA...
4 Oct 2011 - 4:21pm | editor
Electronic Media Forum Assam has expressed profound grief at the sudden and untimely demise of young television journalist Manideep Boro. The active journalist from Kokrajhar, who had vast...
Udalguri, Assam - In a devastating incident that took place today, Raju Keunt, a 47-year-old resident, lost his life after being trampled by a wild elephant at the Orangajuli tea garden. The unfortunate incident occurred under the jurisdiction of the Paneri police station in Udalguri district. Keunt was attempting to feed bananas to a group of wild elephants when the tragedy unfolded.
Eyewitnesses reported that Keunt had ventured close to the elephants, hoping to interact with them and feed them some bananas. Unfortunately, one of the elephants became agitated and charged at him, resulting in the fatal trampling. Despite the efforts of the tea garden workers and nearby residents to...
Chuachandpur's Rural Women Upliftment Society (RWUS) has stepped forward to provide assistance and relief to the grief-stricken family of Late David Hmar, who tragically lost his life on July 2, 2023. David was brutally beheaded by an armed mob during an attack on his village, Chinglangmei, located in the Samulamlan Block of Lamka.
The untimely demise of David has left his family devastated, especially considering their already precarious financial situation. David hails from an impoverished family, where his father is afflicted with Hemiparesis, a condition that has rendered him unable to work and provide for the family. As the sole breadwinner, David worked on a small farm, struggling...
In a bid to shape the future of climate action, indigenous communities and local Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Assam joined forces on June 30, 2023, for a community consultation on COP28, the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Held at Rajputana Login, Jorhat, this event provided a vital platform for communities to express their concerns, contributions, and recommendations regarding the upcoming critical climate conference.
The consultation, organized by the North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS) and supported by various Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), aimed to ensure that community...
IIT Roorkee, in collaboration with astronomers from India, Japan, and Europe, has made a significant breakthrough in the study of gravitational waves. An international team of astronomers has recently published their findings in the Astronomy and Astrophysics journal, providing evidence of ultra-low frequency gravitational waves and shedding light on the humming of our universe.
Using some of the world's most sensitive radio telescopes, including India's largest telescope, uGMRT, the team monitored pulsars, which are rapidly rotating neutron stars, to detect these waves. The pulsars, acting as cosmic clocks, emitted radio beams that were analyzed for changes in arrival times caused by...
Assam TMC chief and AITC national spokesperson Ripun Bora on Thursday strongly condemned the shocking incident reported from Ghograpara Police Station in Nalbari district where an underage girl in lock up was stripped by a police officer and being photographed. Bora alleged that the actions of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma to empower Assam Police personnel against controlling crime resulted in extreme Police Raaj in the state. The shameful incident which happened at Ghograpar Police Station on the unfortunate night of June 21 is reported by the girl on June 26 at Nalbari district head police station, however no action was taken on that complaint till 28th June. Commenting on this, Ripun Bora...
The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Guwahati Off-Campus celebrated its 10th Convocation ceremony on June 23, 2023. The event was held at the Maniram Dewan Trade Centre Auditorium, Guwahati and was graced by the presence of Prof. Manorama Sharma, Professor (Retd.), Dept. of History, North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), who served as the Chief Guest. The Director of the Institute, Prof. Shalini Bharat and Officiating Registrar, Prof. Sasmita Palo were also present at the ceremony.
During the convocation ceremony, 154 students who graduated in the year 2023 were awarded their degrees. One student was conferred with a PhD degree in Social Sciences while 112 students obtained their...
The TMC Assam unit has opposed the draft delimitation proposal published by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday evening. The proposal is prepared based on the 2001 census, which the TMC claims is not correct as there has been a change in the population pattern in the state. Assam TMC chief Ripun Bora has alleged that the ECI is following the dictates of the BJP party and that the delimitation process on such short notice reflects the assurance of electoral gains through voter division. Bora also stated that the delimitation cannot be accepted without the completion of proper NRC and that TMC has been demanding delimitation on the latest census. The TMC has rejected the draft...
We are deeply concerned about the continuing ethnic violence in Manipur between the Meitei community and the tribal Kuki and Zo communities. We demand an immediate halt to this violence that is causing large scale disruption of lives, livelihoods and properties and unleashing even more terror among people.
The immediate trigger to this violence was an April 2023 Manipur High Court order advising the state government to grant the Meitei community (members of which now have either OBC or in some cases SC status) the status of Scheduled Tribe. Thereby, the Meitei community would have access to land that is currently reserved for tribal communities. Several spates of violence broke...
Assam TMC chief Ripun Bora on Thursday in a couple of tweets expressed his angst for the inaction of the Central Government in not taking any steps to investigate into the alleged links between Assam CM Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and BJP leader Ram Madhav with terrorist outfit. In a tweet, Bora questions the credibility of the Government of India as it has been using central agencies like CBI & ED against opposition leaders all the time. Then why is GOI silent on the allegations of Assam CM Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma being involved with Kuki militants in the Manipur election in 2017? Bora demanded a NIA probe into the allegations and arrest of Sarma under NSA Act. Meanwhile, he also stated...
Here's an appeal for donations for the relief effort currently being undertaken by by Rural Women Upiftment Society, Manipur.
Online donations can be made to the organisation through at https://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-rural-women-upliftment-society .
Dear friends,
The devastating ethnic violence and arson that unfolded in Manipur since May 3rd, 2023, have left a trail of destruction, claiming the lives of over 100 people, injuring more than 5,000, and displacing an estimated 70,000 individuals. Numerous homes, villages, and churches have been reduced to ashes, leaving families without shelter or land to return to. The situation is dire and urgent...
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