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Assam News In
Brief
Highlights of the month:
GUWAHATI, AUGUST, 2011:
CURRENT TOPIC
People of Assam witnessed development of Anna vs Govt case
eagerly and expect a positive conclusion as corruption has crossed limits
in all levels.
.
NE Media &
Publishing Corporation formed:
Hridayananda Gogoi along with a team has formed a media unit
named & styled NE Media & Publishing Corporation
.
The first adventure of the NE Media & Publishing
Corporation would be a fortnightly newspaper in
English titled NORTH EASTY MAIL, which
got RNI approval.
The probable launch would be in the month of September,
2011.
...........................
SWARNALIPI, a monthly journal on art
culture literature and socio ploitical issues was released by noted critic
& writer prof (rtd) Dr Gobinda Prasad Sarma on 29 jan 2011 at Guwahati
Press Club amidst intellectuals and journalists present. Speaking on the
occasin he emphasized on role of a quality magazine in bringing out a group
of writers to a forefront of social responsibilities and hoped that the new
magazine would perform that role besides generating creativity among new
bloods. Presiding the session senior jounalist Jyoyi prasad Saikia loaded
emphasis on isssues and topics selected by the magazine in its first issue
and revealed that it would definitely be able to overcome all hurdles and
take a time stand. Speking the ocassion several others also expressed
satisfaction that swarnalipi would fill up the vaccuam during this period.
The magazine is edited by senior journalist and writer Hridayananda Gogoi.
..........................................
.......................
ASIAN
VIEWS DOT NET RECEIVED WARM CONGS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTION OF PINJORA,
THE ASSAMESE TRANSLATION OF AGATHA CHRISTIES THE MOUSETRAP BY RAM
GPOSWAMEE AT RABINDRA BHAWAN GUWAHATI ON 14, 15 DEC, 2010. DEMANDS ARE COMING FROM
OTHER DISTS TO ENACT THE SAME. FIND PHOTOS IN PHOTO FOLDER-- MOUSETRAP IN
ASSAM
.................
BIG DAM
CONTROVERSY. STATE WIDE CAMPAINING BY KMSS.
THE GOVT,
SAID NO HARM FOR THE STATE.
...........
Festivity
of Durgotsova remains among all castes and creeds. Bad weather and sudden flood
in Guwahati city destroyed the spirit to an extent.
........................
Indias
success in Commonwealth Games increased peoples spirit across the state.
People are very much enthusiastic about games.
.............................
The Chief
Minister asked all his Ministers to devote more time on development works
in their own constituencie
............................
People
warmly greet The Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi who has reached the state on 10th
of September. Meanwhile doctors of Asian Heart Institute declared him fit
for work. He was released from the Asian Heart Institute few days back. He
will look after his office at Dispur soon.
As per
doctors the Chief Minister is gradually recovering and his organs are
functioning normally.
Chief Minister
Tarun Gogoi was operated by Dr Ramakanta Panda and his team of doctors at
Asian Heart Institute at Mumbai on Aug 4, 2010 and he responded
successfully after two operations.
.
Former Chief Minister P K Mahanta elected as
the Leader of the Opposition in state Assembly.
........................................................
Mixed reactions prevailed across the state
after Mahanta elected as the Leader of the Opposition.
...............................
.........................................................
PREVIOUS TOPICS
.................
FLOOD AFFECTED AREAS UNDER OBSERVATIONS.
.
Guwahati Celebrated 150 YEARS OF RABINDRA
JAYANTI IN DIFFERENT CORNERS.
.
BPF got majority and ahead to form
their govt.
BPF decided to include Congress
party in their council
Foreseeing gain in the Assembly
polls.
.
ASSAM ASSEMBLY ENDS AFTER SEVERAL
CONTROVERSIES RAISED BY THE OPPOSITIONS.
THE ASSEMBLY PASSED THE BUDGET
ADMIST THE OPPOSITIONS.
.
THE R S ELECTION IS EXPECTED TO GIVE
IMPACT IN THE ASSEMBLY ELECTION NEXT YEAR.
......................
Hearing of the Criminal Case filed by Mr. Gogoi
Guwahati, 17
May: In response to the appearance of the accused regarding the Criminal case no. 600/10 filed by
Hridayananda Gogoi, writer & journalist, against the vernacular
Assamese daily Amar Asom, the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate,
Kamrup (Metro) released the Executive Editor, Prasanta Rajguru, reporter
Goutom Sarma, writers Apurba Sarma & Prabhat Bora and the staff
reporter on bail. The other accused, the Editor of the newspaper Mr. Homen
Borgohain, printer & publisher remained absent on personal ground for
whom notice would be served to appear in the next date.
Gogoi
filed Criminal & Defamation suit against Amar Asom
Guwahati,
4 March: In the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Kamrup (Metro) and in
the Court of Civil Judge Kamrup (Metro) two cases were filed by
Hridayananda Gogoi, writer & journalist, against the vernacular
Assamese daily Amar Asom for publishing highly defamatory news items
intending to harm his reputation position & status in the society. It
is mentionable that the daily published several news items for a couple of
days following a Book Controversy raised upon publication of the English
translation of an anthology of Assamese short story by Sahitya Akademi. The
original Assamese anthology was edited by Gobinda Prasad Sarma, Sailen
Bharali & Hridayananda Gogoi and published in 2008 and the English
translation was released in 2010. Mr. Gogoi while registering the
Defamation Cases against the newspaper and eight others as accused demanded
Rs. Ten Cores from the newspaper as compensation. The cases were registered
under Indian Penal Code section 499/500/501/502 and numbered 600/10 and
60/10. In the meantime the court had sent notices to the accused newspaper.
.
REPORTS OF THE WEEK MAGAZINE
REGARDING THE 1000 CR SCAM IN THE N C HILLS DISTRICT OF ASSAM CREATED PANIC
IN THE STATE GOVT. THE ACUSED INVOLVEMENT OF THE TEN MINISTERS OF THE STATE
YET ANOTHER HEADCHE OF THE CHIEF MINISTER.
.
CONTROVERCIES NOT ENDED TILL
REGARDING CAKE CUTTING BY CM AND GOVERNOR.
Internal exercises increased to select
a favorable
President of the Assam Pradesh
Congress Committee.
.
The Gauhati High Court passed a
historical
order to the Govt. of Assam to take
steps for the
groups, parties etc. who declare any
kind of Bandh.
.
 Eminent scholar Dr Hiren
Gohain released the book DR INDIRA GOSWAMI: IN SEARCH OF MODERNITY by
Hridayananda Gogoi in presence of
Dr Indira Goswami & Mr. T G Baruah, Chairman of the Assam Tribune . Mr
Gogoi looks on the right side.
Hridayananda Gogoi presented his paper
Labyrinth of Discontentment in Dr
Indira Goswamis Fictions on the occasion of three days  National Seminar at Dept of MIL&LS in Delhi University
during 12-14 Nov,09
.
The Govt. of Assam has taken adequate
steps to hold the One Day Cricket peacefully. Security forces deployed in
serious zones.
The concerned authorities are alerted by
the State Govt. regarding by elections.
..
The Govt. of Assam has taken strong
measures to restore peace and harmony in the Bhimajuli areas of Sonitpur
district. Several Ministers, Leader of the Oppositions visited the affected
areas and made an on the spot study of the area following the Sunday
nights gruesome killing of of 12 villagers of the area by the NDFB militants.
..
Assam Govt. initiatives to solve out 5
years old hill district issue appreciated by all sections.
Tension not yet ended with NDFB.
..
High tension still prevails due to
frequent earthquake that hits around the North East. The partial damage of
several high rise buildings including State Secretariat Buildings also
creates reactions.
Govt. appeals to all to take utmost care
regarding this natural calamity.
The ASIAN VIEWS DOT NET RECEIVED
OVERWHELMED RESPONSE FROM THE stage of two days Drama Festival in memory of
Chandra Prasad Saikia on 29-30th Aug at Rabindra Bhawan, Guwahati. The
Assamese adaptation of Oliver Goldsmith's SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER as
Prem...aru Prem by Hridayananda Gogoi satisfied everybody and was enjoyed
performances of the celebrity artists.
(Details in Home Page)
.................................................
The much awaited expectations and prospects of the
Solar Eclipse ended. Thousands of people got this unique opportunity witnessing
the rare scene of this century. In several parts of the state this rare
scene was visible. Hundreds of people from different parts of the
country took this chance and witnessed this. The Dibrugarh University
became hub for many scientists came from several parts.
...............................................................................................
New areas affected by fresh flood in upper Assam.
Govt. directed District Administration to take up necessary actions.
...............................................................................................
People expressed dissatisfaction over the position of
Kaziranga National Park as it came out of the fray in the finalists list of
7 wonders in the world. According to sources the empathy of the Govt. made
it out.
.....................................................................................
Most surprisingly the much awaited final verdict of
the eminent Journalist cum human right activist Parag Kumar Das murder case
postponed till 28th of July. He was killed 13 years back in broad day light
in Guwahati while moved to pick up his son from a city primary school.
.....................................................
Dry Weather affected Tea Production in Assam,
informed sources in the capital.
.....................................
The Chief Minister ordered the authorities not to
demolish the heritage old hostels in Cotton College.
.........................
People concerned over the inclusion of Majuli as world
heritage site.
....................................................
THE OVERALL FLOOD SITUATION IN NORTH LAKHIMPUR IN
ASSAM STILL IN DANGER MARK.
......................................................................................
GOVT. READY TO FACE ANY SERIOUS STAGE.
..................................................
State assembly witnessed noisy scenes as Opposition
walked out.
........................................................................................................
PEOPLE EXPRESSED SATISFACTION ON MAMATA'S NE PLAN.
RAILWAY SOURCES .
................................................................................................................
Government of India puts serious eyes on the
development of NC Hills District in Assam and the MoHA is harvesting all
agencies to restore normalcy.
.......................................................................
The Regional Parties in Assam are trying to find out
new ways for revival.
......................................
The State Govt. has intensified the all round security
and asked the District administrations to keep strict watch on each and
everything that might cause threat to the lives and properties.
............................
The Principal Scientist of Chandrayan I, Dr Jitendranath
Goswami, who was felicitated in Guwahati, said that the first credit should
go to those who built the spacecraft and his job was the last bit getting
the scientific results. He added that his team at ISSRO are now trying to
explore the space as the new frontier for the country.
...............................................
.............................................................................................
People remembered the last Thursday(30th Oct) was a black
day to the people of Assam as serial Bomb blast took place in several
districts including Guwahati city claiming nearly 100 lives and injured not
less than 250.
...........................................................................................
The Chief Minister announced formation of a committee
to institute rehabilitation package in violent affected districts.
...................................................................................
The Bogibeel Bridge will be completed by 2012.
........................................................
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Vision
plan For North East
The
vision document for the North East Region (NER) for 2020 indicates an
additional investment of Rs 13,29, 891 crore, for a period of 15 years. The
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh released the document in New Delhi.
The projection covered structural changes in the economy of the region,
poverty eradication, maximizing self-governance, harnessing resources for
peoples benefit, capacity building in people and institutions,
strengthening infrastructure, creation of a centre for trade and commerce
and effective governance as the outcome of the initiatives suggested by it.
................................................
Green
Chemistry
The
application of Green Chemistry in industrial and research areas could help
mankind to use renewable bi-products and non-volatile substances which will
give an alternative source such as bio-diesel, bio-gas, non-hazardous
solvent that will reduce pollution from our environment, said Dr B.K. Das,
Prof in Chemistry, Gauhati University.
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Borders As Bridges
Chandra Prasad Saikia Memorial
Lecture
(First in the Series)
By Dr Dileep Padgaonkar
Former Editor, The Times of
India
I am pleased and honoured to be asked
to pay tribute to an exceptionally gifted son of Assam on the occasion
of his first death anniversary. The contributions of Chandra Prasad
Saikia to the republic of letters, and to the Republic of India as a
whole, are remarkable by any reckoning. During his life time he was
acknowledged and admired for his participation in the freedom struggle,
for his stimulating fiction and non-fiction and for his endeavours to
spread relevant information and knowledge through books, newspapers and
magazines. This corpus of work continues to provide much joy to those
who lead what is known as the `life examined.
Chandra Prasad Saikias insights
into the existential woes that afflict individuals and communities in
this country have lost none of their shine. They illuminate the path
each one of us is called upon to traverse to reach our chosen
destination. The last statement, I suspect, would have brought a wry
yet benign smile on the face of Chandra Prasad Saikia. The reason is
simply this; he seems to have preferred the rigours of the journey to
the smug satisfaction of reaching his destination. He revelled in the
good fight a fight for freedom, for justice, for knowledge that leads
to emancipation from fear and want, regardless of its outcome.
It is therefore no surprise that
for his majestic novel Maharathi, Saikia derived inspiration
from the Mahabharata. The greatness of this epic lies of course in the
fact that it vividly depicts the incessant clashes of ideas and desires,
of reason and emotion, of virtue and the debilitating effect of power.
Nor is it a surprise that the main character of Maharathi is
Karna, arguably the most tragic, and hence the most moving, complex and
interesting protagonist of the epic.
Karna, you will recall, suffered a
traumatic crisis of identity from his very birth until his violent end
on the battle-field of Kurukshetra. An illegitimate child of Kuntee and
the son god Surya before she married Pandu, he was brought up by the
charioteer Nandana (or adhirathi) and his wife Radha. When Kuntee
finally told him that she was his real mother it was only to extract a
promise from him that he should not slay his half-brother Arjuna in
war. By this time Karna had already pledged his services to the Kaurvas,
a pledge he was honour-bound to respect even if this meant causing
offence to his real mother.
long the way, he suffered two
other mortifying set-backs. He wanted to be tutored in the use of arms
by the great teacher Parshurama. But he knew that Parshurama would
never consent to impart training to a Kshatriya. So he tried to pass
off as a Brahmin. Only after he had completed his training did
Parshurama discover the deception. In his rage he pronounced a curse:
Karna, for all his formidable skills as a warrior, would meet his death
during an encounter with Arjuna on the field of battle.
The third set-back was no less
serious. Karna had appeared at the swayamvara of Draupadi. Other warrior
suitors who preceded him had been unable to lift the giant bow. He not
only lifted it but easily bent it and fixed the bow string. This is
when Draupadi intervened to say that she could not marry the son of a
lowly charioteer. This was humiliation enough for Karna. To add to the
humiliation was what followed next: another warrior bent the bow and
won Draupadis hand. The lucky suitor was none other than Arjuna.
For Chandra Prasad Saikia, Karna
was of course a potent metaphor of what Indians in general, and the
people of the north-east in particular, have been reduced to:
individuals braving every conceivable odd to safeguard their honour and
dignity, their peace of mind, their identity. The threat to the
individual comes from various sources: ethnic strife, communal
tensions, lack of economic and social development, negligence by the
central government, corrupt and mediocre governance in the states
comprising the north-east. Though they are talented individuals in this
part of the country find themselves, much like Karna, at the mercy of
malevolent forces which they are unable to tame.
In this encompassing darkness the
insights that Saikia offered through his voluminous writings provide
beacons of light. He stressed, for instance, that peace would not reign
in the north-east until there was greater connectivity between the
region and the rest of India. Such connectivity was required first and
foremost within the region itself between the seven sisters and between
villages in each one of these states.
But connectivity, we now realize,
would be of little avail unless efforts are made to develop sectors
like tourism, to train people in entrepreneurship, to create
opportunities to process the regions raw materials and produce in
order to add value to them. Over the years efforts have been deployed
by the Central government, and by civil society groups, to bring peace
between warring state and non-state actors. If these efforts have not
always met with success it is because to be effective peace must be perceived
to be just. It cannot be imposed through the suppression of democratic
rights. Indeed, peace-making will prove to be a chimera if the troubles
in the region are approached uniquely from the angle
of `security.
In any event, the endeavours
witnessed in this part of the nation over many decades to end endemic
strife were rooted in the belief that peace alone can lead to
development. This is of course a truism. The time has come to look
beyond it. This has become an imperative in the face of the sea-change
in the mind-set of the rest of India. Across the country there is a
burgeoning mood of optimism that poverty can be rolled back and
internal conflicts can be settled through quality education, real
empowerment and growing opportunities for entrepreneurship. Nowhere is
this more valid than here in the north-east. The physical and social
infrastructure in this region has suffered from neglect. The lack of
adequate roads, air-links and other components of transport and
communications has meant that citizens of the north-eastern states have
not been able to develop strong market linkages with the rest of India.
Tariffs, taxes, interest rates and
economic policies and the rules and procedures governing them have come
in the way of creating adequate job opportunities. This explains the
high number of educated unemployed which, in turn, accounts for the
ease with which they succumb to the lure of religious extremism and
separatism.
Massive state investments are
therefore urgently needed to develop infrastructure in such a way that
the north-east becomes a destination for capital, both Indian and
foreign, and, by and by, spearheads Indias economic integration with
ASEAN and south-west China.
Indeed, it is the north-eastern
states that can, and must, take the lead to ensure that borders with
the neighbouring countries are construed as bridges, not as barriers.
What is required for the good of the north-east and for the good of
India as a whole is a seamless to-and-fro movement of goods and
services, of people and ideas across borders.
It is in this context that
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjees speech, delivered in
Shillong on 16 June 2007, assumes all its significance. Mr Mukherjee
emphasized the critical importance of the north-eastern states in the
promotion of Indias `Look East policy. The immediate neighbours of
these states are China, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The
region, along with the rest of India, shares strong civilisational ties
with its neighbours. These bonds can only facilitate synergies in all
areas of economic endeavour which, in turn, can prove beneficial to the
well-being of populations on both sides of a border.
Minister Mukherjee gave examples
of projects undertaken by the Central government to increase connectivity
between the north-east and the countries in the neighbourhood. I shall
not enumerate them here for his speech has been extensively covered in
the press. It is to his credit however that he acknowledged the
futility of such projects unless the problems facing the north-east are
addressed on an urgent basis. In other words, even while attempting to
turn borders with our neighbours into bridges, what is also needed is
to bring down the barriers of religion, ethnicity, language, culture
and class that pit one section of the people in this region against
another.
Thus, it is a matter of great
satisfaction to me that the lords and masters in Delhi now seek to use
the north-east as a launching pad for Indias economic and foreign
policies. And they seek to do so bearing in mind that the launching pad
can be robust only if the legitimate aspirations of the people of this
region are effectively addressed. I know this is a tall order if only
because no consensus exists about determining the legitimacy of a given
set of aspirations. Indeed, the way diverse groups define legitimate
aspirations seems to suggest that a meeting of minds and hearts may
well be a mirage.
But I do not despair. I am
convinced that the one sure method to blunt divergences, to reconcile differences,
is to follow the path of education, empowerment and entrepreneurship
within the north-east region and, alongside, open up channels of
communication and trade with the neighbouring countries.
It is in such an environment of
economic and social uplift that the quest dear to the heart of Chandra
Prasad Saikia the quest for identity will acquire a different
impetus. As people within the north-east engage with one another, as
they reach out to people in the rest of India, as they seek to interact
with people in the neighbouring countries, they will realize that in
todays world it is possible, even necessary, for every Indian to be a
bearer of multiple identities. Or, if you will, he or she must
cultivate an identity by drawing freely from cultures of other peoples.
An identity which refuses to engage in such a give and take -- in order
to remain pure and pristine, so to speak is fated to shrivel up, to
turn bigoted and aggressive, and to threaten others to no good effect.
What drives this obsessive yearning for a single, monochromatic
identity is often greed for power. And on this count we can do no
better than to recall what Karna in Chandra Prasad Saikias Maharathi
has to say on the subject.
`Power blinds people. It makes man
heartless and inconsiderate. The thirst for power can really turn
people inhuman. It turns friends into foes
. I would rather I
were gone before I witness the temptation of power, its misuse, and its
naked form. Would someone throw me into the sea.
So let me conclude by saying: Let
our democracy check the abuse of power. Let our knowledge destroy the
barriers of prejudice and hate in our minds. Let our people be
empowered to lead a life of dignity. Let their entrepreneurship
enrich them. In a resurgent Asia all this is within our grasp. I am
convinced that Chandra Prasad Saikia would have said much the same
thing had he been in our midst today. And he would have said it with
far greater eloquence than I can possibly command. Thank you for your
attention.
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