Violence strikes on Non-violence Day

The International Day of Non-violence and the holy Id-ul-fitre festival, both observed simultaneously on October, 2, 2008 and perceptive to communal harmony did not prove its worth so far the situation in a part of Assam is concerned. It was a day of violence in the district of Udalguri under the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), which spread to Darrang district and other areas around it as wildfire which led more than fifty innocent people including children and women killed and hundreds others injured. When Udalguri was burning, the state government was sleeping. Its slumber came to an end when a number of organizations flayed for its role at this critical juncture of the situation.

A joint team of All Assam Students Union (AASU) and All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) after visiting the violence-hit areas met Honorable Governor, Shiv Charan Mathur at Guwahati and submitted a memorandum seeking his intervention to activate the state government to safeguard the affected population of the disturbed areas.

They alleged that the situation in Udalguri and Darrang districts did not become explosive within a day. The reason behind it was an advertisement by the state government a few months back declaring the persons of doubtful citizenship as citizens of India. This step of the government encouraged anti-India fundamentalists and a fresh wave of infiltration began. The fundamentalists and anti-Indian organizations have become a threat to the social and cultural fabric of Assam, as their activities are reported from each and every corner of the country.

The memorandum to which signatories were AASU president and secretary, Sankar Prasad Roy and Tapan Kumar Gogoi respectively and ABSU president Rwn Gwra Narzary said that more the 85,000 indigenous people including Bodo, Garo, Koch-Rajbongshi and Kalita communities were affected in the violence. The state government remained mute spectator to these anti-India activities and also when Pakistani flags were unfurled at certain places.

The AASU and ABSU leaders have demanded full protection to the indigenous population of two affected districts and also protection of villages vacated by affected people from looting and burning, safe return of affected people to their homes, supply of food materials to affected people on priority basis. They have also demanded to make health care services operational, particularly for children and women and compensation to the families, who lost men and materials. They have appealed to the Governor to see that foreign nationals and fundamentalists are not rehabilitated with an eye to the vote bank of the ruling party. After a week of the incidents taking place the chief minister is now planning to visit the affected areas, another report said.