Chord of Harmony: The Sattras & Dargahs of Assam, like the subjects themselves, is actually a reflection of the philosophy of humanism and universal brotherhood propagated by the great saints of Assam, Srimanta Sankardeva and Azaan Pir—a philosophy nurtured and carried forward by the later apostles and followers of both the saints. The Sankardeva movement, spearheaded by the Vaishnavite monasteries called the sattras, not only watered down the system of discrimination on the basis of caste, but also strived to save the society from practices of religious bigotry and untouchability by creating a system of harmonious co-existence. If the sattras remind people of Sankardeva’s contribution to social cohesion and the socio-cultural and literary resurgence in Assam, the dargahs, as the graves of the Muslim spiritual leaders are known, have remained the strongest symbols of the teachings of the Muslim pirs who did come to spread Islam, but stressed on unity among people of all faiths. No wonder, these dargahs spread across Assam are a favourite destination of both Muslims and Hindus, besides people of other faiths. Wasbir Hussain and Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta bring out the stories of these religious leaders who were great unifiers of people by featuring some of the sattras and dargahs.
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Police arrested a surrendered KPLT militant on Friday. Identified as Maniram Rongpi, the surrendered Karbi militant was arrested from Nagaon.
He was arrested a day after three insurgents in connection with rhino horn smuggling.
Violence resurfaces in Karbi Anglong when a KRA militant was killed at clash with UKDA militant on Friday.
The clash took place in the evening at Sinhasan hill where the KRA militant died on the spot. The KRA militant was identified as Janghao Thawhaw who was attacked with sharp weapons. An UKDA militant was also injured in the incident.
In yet another shootout in Guwahati, president and secretary of a village panchayat, were shot at and seriously injured by miscreants in Kamrup on Friday.
According to police, Saniyadi village panchayat president Mokibur Ali and Secretary Mojinur Ali had withdrawn Rs 2.60 lakh from a bank and were on way to Guwahati when unidentified miscreants opened fire at them at Agiathuri.
Later, both of them were admitted to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital.
A group of senior officials of Assam and Mizoram on Friday decided to continue talks to ease tension along the inter state border.
In a resolution passed at a crucial meeting held in the Silchar Circuit House, both sides decided that border tension should be de-escalated in Cachar-Kolasib belt during the last few days.
Cachar Deputy Commissioner Harendra Kumar Dev Mahanta and his counterpart from Kolasib in Mizoram, Niharika Rai attended the meeting along with senior police and administration officials. They further decided to hold quarterly meetings in Silchar and Kolasib. Top ranked police officials from Dhalai in Cachar and Vairangte in Kolasib will hold monthly meetings.
CPM leader Prakash on Friday came down heavily on the UPA government for the recent decision to increase the FDI insurance and the pension bill.
Addressing a public meeting in Chirang on Friday he said that CPI(M) would give an united fight with other political parties to defeat the move.
He further visited relief camps in the violence hit districts of Kokrajhar, Chirang and neigbouring Bongaigaon. He also interacted with the camp inmates and called upon the state government and the BTAD administration to take measures so that people can go back to their homes at the earliest.
Tension still grips Haflong town on Friday. The prohibitory order was also discontinued in view of the withdrawal of the Dima Hasao bandh called jointly by the North Cachar Hills Indigenous Peoples' Forum and its students and women wings.
Curfew was imposed following violence during a 48-hour bandh called by the NCHIPF to press for bifurcation of Dima Hasao district into two autonomous districts.
CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat on Friday called upon people to defeat divisive forces---trying to divide the society in the name of religion.
In his address at a public meeting at Bijni Karat held that the recent cycle of violence in BTAD areas had nationwide repercussion.
He said that the exodus of people of North-East people from Bangalore, Hyderabad itself manifested it. He flayed both Delhi and Dispur alleging the failure in ensuring safety and security of the people.
A hardcore ULFA militant was killed at an encounter with security forces in Tinsukia district on Thursday. The gunbattle took place in the wee hours at Torani reserve forest near Pengeri. Acting on a tip off that a group of ULFA-men was hiding in the dense jungle police and army personnel launched an operation where the gun fight took place. ULF militant Wangli Moran was killed on the spot while others managed to escape from the spot.
Businessman Ramesh Agarwalla was found dead in Tinsukia on Thursday three days after he was kidnapped at gunpoint. His body was found at a tiny village in the district. Meanwhile, police have three youths in this connection. When Agarwalla went missing his family members denied receipt of any extortion notices. More arrested are awaited.
Yet another sensation murder rocks Guwahati. A group of dacoits killed a businessman in the city on Wednesday night. The incident took place at Bhetapara area. A few armed miscreants attacked businessman Dilip Saikia and his employees with sharp weapons. Some of the family members also sprang upon the dacoits. Local residents in large numbers also came out to their rescue. Saikia was rushed to the hospital. But he succumbed to his injuries on the way. The local resident captured a dacoit before it was handed over to police. A pistol was found from the spot.
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