Altogether 5 persons have been injured in group clash with a section of local residents is Tinsukia district on Sunday. The clash took place in Shantipur on the NH 37 when a group of persons had an altercation with a group of local residents over a family matter where these persons who came on two vehicles from Roing threatened the local residents showing sharp weapons.Then an irate f mob accepted the challenged and attacked them before handing them over to police.The vehicles were damaged in the incidents. Police have already re
PermalinkSubmitted by Molokhu on Thu, 02/09/2010 - 01:50
MEDIA-- The New 'Divisive Agent'
Border problems have been plaguing the north-east states since sometime. As if political greed, student leaders, irrational insurgents, outside power lobbies were not enough, now we have a new entrant to add fuel to the fire. This new agent is the frenzied Media which flares up every issue as a border related problem. Take the example of the quarrel between two families in Sadiya last week. It revolved round a marital dispute between a Mising family from Assam and a Nyishi family from Arunachal Pradesh. The manner in which the skirmish was reported in the media, especially the television media, the entire incident was given the colour of an inter-state conflict.
I was very surprised at the news presentation of ‘News Live’ regarding this incident. On Sunday at 11:30 a.m. when I switched on the TV, this news was repeatedly telecast. The way of news presentation in most news channels is sick. Urgent treatment is required. If such news is presented in such a sensational fashion, anyone and everyone will be provoked at the propaganda. News in Assam has become very judgemental. News should be news. My father related me of times when the Nyishis (then called Dafalas) and the Misings (then called Miris) used to have skirmishes now and then. But at that time there was nothing called two states, one being Arunachal Pradesh. So things didn’t take the menacing shape of inter-state dispute. For example, a couple of weeks back, there was a fight involving a few boys from the Nocte tribe and a few boys from the Singpho tribe in Bordumsa, Arunachal Pradesh. Had the Nocte area been in Assam and the Singpho area put in Arunachal Pradesh, the media would have had a feast by blowing the quarrel out of proportion and calling it an inter-state dispute. Actually this entire idea of statehood in north-east, a territory with more than 200 tribes will be a failure in the 21st century. The best administrative arrangement for a ethnically diverse region like north-east would have been that of a Zonal Republic (based on zones for administrative efficiency) with English as the official language because of its international spirit and usage. But that would never be a reality because of the ethnic politics, misguided notions of insurgents and vested interest of the power lobbies who operate from other parts of India as well as Bangladesh. These are the band of people who best benefit from unrest in north-east states.
I would also request the Journalists Association of Assam and senior journalists to take the initiative of organizing training classes for the news producers, reporters and cameramen on the pattern and style of news presentation from time to time. We need trainers from channels like BBC and Times Now, since most of the news channels in Assam are aping the uncultured manner of news presentation rampant in Hindi news channels like Aj Tak or India TV. Its high time quality is ensured in the style of news reporting in the TV channels of Assam for the present breed of channels is lowering the taste and refinement of the people of Assam and several areas of the neighbouring states as well. The reporters and news editors have no knowledge in distinguishing constructive criticism from cheap sensationalism. News channels should not be used to create a society steeped in misinformation and vile tastes and attitude. The media should endeavour to promote a sober and informed society.
PermalinkSubmitted by Sumon on Thu, 02/09/2010 - 20:56
INCREDIBLE NORTH-EAST INDIA !!
From here in Bhubaneshwar, two areas in the world looks confusing and strange. Whenever there is a news on inter-tribal riots in African countries like Sudan, Nigeria, Congo etc, it makes me wonder how the rival tribes identify each other since they all look the same.
In India, North-east is amazing. These days we are getting stories of two states Nagaland and Manipur locking horns. When reading about the Nagas, it is found that there are numerous tribes among Nagas. My question is, why does an Angami, Ao, or Maram think they are Naga? Why the Kukis think they are not Naga. If Angami, Konyak, Tangkhuls have different histories, Kukis are also different. Why are they not Nagas? They are also hill tribe and are Mongoloid in look like the Ao or Angami. Angami, Konyak is so different from Tangkhul. Then why does Tangkhul leader Muivah bring Angami, Konyak etc in Nagalim and not form a separate land for Tangkhuls in Nagaland.
We read in tourism advertisements of north-east as land of seven sisters. The person who termed this sobriquet should rethink. Every now and then neighbouring hill states like Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram take away Assam’s bordering forest areas and there is fighting. Going by the scenario this doesn’t look true. Anyone will say the region to be that of ‘seven enemies’.
Sumon Das,
Bhubaneshwar, Orissa.
Flood waters continue to wreak havoc in Dhemaji district destroying paddy fields besides rendering thousands of people homless. According to information, floods have inundated 10 villages in the entire districts following incessant rains that lashed the district during the last 72 hours. Most of the houses have been severely damaged in the village.
Exodus seems to have stopped. Suggesting a gradual return of normalcy, hundreds of people from the northeast are back to Bangalore in three special trains from Guwahati on Monday. According to Northeast Frontier Railway, three special trains had left for Bangalore on Sunday taking back those who had fled from Bangalore fearing attacks. After four days of panic-driven exodus, the situation eased on Monday with police and railway officials saying it has stopped in Karnataka and reduced to a trickle in Tamil Nadu.
Normalcy is back. There has been no report of fresh incident of violence even as security has been beefed up on the occasion of Eid on Monday. Police and security forces have been deployed in all districts and regular reports have been received.
Eid celebrations are over in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri, which bore the brunt of the recent violence.Chief minister Tarun Gogoi participated at a community Eid prayer in Guwahati in the morning and called for peace and harmony in the state.
Three more bodies were recovered on Monday taking the toll in violence on board the Guwahati-bound train to five. Two bodies were recovered from a place between Belakoba and Raninagar stations. Two more bodies were found later at a place near Halakata, close to New Jalpaiguri station. The body of a man was found on Monday close to the tracks near Manguraj railway station on West Bengal border under the Northeast Frontier Railway.NF Railway authorities have yet to ascertain the reason. Besides, it was not clear if the five were among those fleeing Bangalore fearing backlash after the Assam violence as the police and railway authorities remained tight-lipped pending an investigation.
The...
Assam Gana Parishad legislator Alka Sarma on Monday said that the BTAD violence is not a conflict between Bodos-Muslim. Talking to reporters in Bangalore, she said that the implementation of the Assam Accord could have averted the tension. Sarma slammed Dispur for failing to deal with the tension by building up confidence among the people.
A team of the National Council of Churches in India is on a two-day visit to BTAD areas to take stock of the situation. They expressed solidarity with the victims of violence. Led by Solomon Rongpi, the Executive Secretary for Unity, Mission & Evangelism, the nine-member NCCI team has representatives from the Presbyterian Churches of India, the Young Women Christian Association, the Lutheran Church and others.
Seven Joint Secretaries are scheduled to arrive on BTAD areas and Dhubri to monitor the rehabilitation after the clash. The delegation of joint secretaries will visit Kokrajhar, Dhubri, Chirang and Baksa districts to oversee the steps for relief and rehabilitation of those affected during the recent violence.
Apart from Joint Secretary (Northeast) in the Home Ministry Shambhu Singh and Joint Secretary (Disaster Management) RK Srivastava, the other officers belong to the Ministries of Health, Rural Development, Food, Department of Drinking Water and Planning Commission.
The team will hold meetings with state government officials and take stock of the plans being chalked out to implement...
Body of more Assamese youth was recovered in West Bengal on Monday. Identified as Anil Das he hails from Majuli, who is a security guard with a hotel in Hyderabad. His body was recovered near a railway station in West Bengal.
Top pro talk ULFA leader Hira Sarania was arrested in connection with a sensational kidnap and murder case in Guwahati. Sarania was arrested by Guwahati police from Nalbari on a complaint lodged by Binit Jain’s family members who has been missing from August 1. He was arrested along with three others including a Gauhati High Court on Monday morning. The complaint was lodged at Dispur police station.
The Asia Book of Records has formally recognized the rarest sacred lamp at a Vaishnavite temple near Jorhat on Saturday. The lamp gets rare recognition for burning continuously for the past 484 years after it was lit up by the saint Madhavdeva in 1528 in Dhekiakhowa Bor Namghar.
The formal certificate was handed over to Jorhat Lok Sabha MP and former Union Minister Bijoy Krishna Handique.Madhabdeva, set up the historic Dhekiakhuwa Namghar in 1528 and since then the lamp has been burning continuously. Receiving the certificate, Handique said that the recognition would help in furthering the teachings of the two Vaishnavite saints Srimanta Sankardev and Mahapurush Madhabdeva.
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