They observed a minute’s silence for the 1,180 martyrs of Bodoland movement. That’s routine. They observed a two-minute silence for Bhupen Hazarika. That’s a huge departure from routine. The silence would have been that of a graveyard, but for the whirring of the generator set at one corner of the field at Silikabari, 6km south from where the Absu’s five-day cycle rally covering 10 districts culminated this morning. It was no coincidence...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Northeast rebels at Ramlila by Nishit Dholabhai
Anna Hazare’s movement has got support from at least two Northeast outfits that till a few years ago had been wielding Kalashnikov assault rifles. Dilip Nunisa, chairman of the Dima Halam Daoga (pro-talks) group that is in a peace pact with the Centre, was at Ramlila Maidan today with his deputy Yathong and publicity secretary S. Langthasa. “We could not meet Annaji but met some other leaders of his team and expressed...
More »The politics of migration by Sushanta Talukdar
For 55-year-old Mohimuddin of Goroimari, which falls in the Chaygaon Assembly constituency in lower Assam's Kamrup district, the protection of minorities from undue harassment in the name of identification of foreigners was the prime issue until a few years ago. This time round, he is more worried about the backwardness of his village coupled with price hike. A poor peasant with seven mouths to feed, Mohimuddin says the prime demand of...
More »Cong draws NGO flak for job scheme show
A review of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) implementation in the state revealed "poor performance" by the Congress government, according to North East Social Trust (NEST), an NGO. With barely two days left for the state to go for the first phase of assembly polls, a study conducted by NEST, found that out of 3,749,672 household provided with job cards under MGNREGA, a staggering 24,36,848 households did...
More »Violence displaced Adivasis file status report in HC
In a matter relating to displacement of Adivasi population in Kokrajhar district of western Assam the Gauhati High Court accepted a status report from petitioners in the matter. Petitioners were displaced on account of violence in the 1980's against them and had approached the court seeking relief.Petitioners who were driven out of their homes during a communal riot at the time of autonomy movement of Bodo tribal community in Assam...
More »