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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Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony and army chief General Deepak Kapoor are visiting Tawang on Sunday to take stock of the Indo-China border situation. Both they arrived in Tezpur on Saturday on a...
Assam governor J B Patnaik on Tuesday said that the ongoing orgy of violence is not a fit case to impose president’s rule in the state. Addressing a press conference In New Delhi, Patnaik appealed to the people of all sections to exercise restraint and to help the government restore normalcy in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri district where at least 33 people lost their lives.
Hundreds of people representing various minority organizations staged dharna in front of the Assam Bhawan in New Delhi, on Tuesday demanding steps to ensure safety of the minority people in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts. Shouting anti-government slogans, the protestors demanded deployment of more security forces to combat violence that spread to rural areas and neighbouring districts. Protesters said that the clash confines to only the Bodoland area. They alleged that the incident has been taking place for the couple of days even as no action has been taken.
Three members of the Broadcast Editors' Association on Tuesday called on Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in Guwahati and discussed the role of a section of media in the gory GS Road molestation case. Consisting of renowned journalists NK Singh Dibang and Ashutosh, the three member delegation discussed media role in building public opinion, competition among media houses and portrayal of regional news in national media. Later, Gogoi told the reporters that the discussion was positive.
Ethnic frenzy in three lower Assam districts has gone from bad to worse. The death toll has mounted to 32 on Tuesday. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has written to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and Defence Minister AK Antony asking for more paramilitary forces and troops to rein in the situation.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi called up the chief minister to get an update of the situation.
According to information, around 40,000 people have fled their homes looking for safer areas. In Kokrajhar alone 19 people were killed killed in Kokrajhar and 12 others were killed in Chirang and adjoining areas.Incidents of violence are taking place mainly in the...
In a fresh development, a senior police officer in the troubled torn Chirang district has put in his papers caught in an awkward situation after the orgy of violence erupted in the district. Bijni Sub-Divisional Police Officer Narayan Das on Tuesday resigned from office saying that he was unable to control riots. Violence spread to the district on Sunday two days after it erupted in Kokrajhar.
Meanwhile, shoot-at-sight orders and an indefinite curfew have been clamped in the district. A night curfew has been clamped from 6 evening to 6 morning. Miscreants set on fire hundreds of houses after the villagers fled to safer areas.
Train services to and from Assam remain severely disrupted on Tuesday following the ethnic clash in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts where death toll has gone up to 26.
Over 30,000 passengers have been remaining stranded at different places following violence where over 300 houses were reduced to ashes in over 30 villages.
According to NF Railway, 11 down trains from Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Kamakhya railway stations have been cancelled. Altogether 21 trains, including the Rajdhani Express, have been halted at different places along the route leaving more than 20,000 passengers stranded.
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TV journalist Gauravjyoti Neog was remanded to judicial custody after he was produced before the chief judicial magistrate in Guwahati on Tuesday. Neog, who filmed the GS Road molestation incident with the help of Amarjyoti Kalita was on Saturday was remanded to 3 days police custody which ended on Monday. He was arrested on Friday evening on the basis of some glaring evidence procured from several sources. Notably, other 14 people accused in the case have already been sent to jail a couple of days.
Railway Minister Mukul Roy on Tuesday sought deployment of adequate forces in Assam to ensure safety of passengers in the trouble torn Kokrajhar and Chirang districts.
In a letter to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Roy said that the violence-hit areas in lower Assam need assistance to ensure safety for the railway passengers.
Security forces Tuesday shot dead four miscreants in Kokrajhar. With this the death toll in group clash in two districts has gone up to 25. Kokrajhar and Chirang district administrations are yet to lift the curfew clamped on Sunday. Additional security forces have arrived in both the troubled torn districts. Police opened blank fire on Tuesday to contain unrest. Curfew is in force in Gouripur, Golakganj, Bilasipara and Chapar areas. More than 40,000 people have abandoned their homes and taken shelter in relief camps set up by the district administration. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nilamoni Sen Deka and Revenue Minister Prithibi Majhi have been camping in the districts. Director General...
Assam police on Tuesday got transit remand of Amar Jyoti Kalita a day after the main accused in the Guwahati molestation case was arrested in Varansi. Kalita was remanded to five days police custody when he was produced before a local court in Varansi on Tuesday in presence of a team of Assam police. Kalita would be brought back to Guwahati on Wednesday to be grilled in this connection. He and Gaurav Jyoti Neog, a reporter from a news channel filmed the molestation.
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