Gandhi Jayanti: The dilapidated Gandhi Mandap.

-  Saurav Biswas.

Situated on the top of the Sarania Hill, the 42 year old two storeyed structure Ashram cuts a very sorry state of the Institution. Dedicated to the people by Smt. Late Indira Gandhi on 2nd October, 1970 was aimed to carry out Gandhian ideals & research work. But as said a lot happens on paper, nothing has happened in practical. The place has become a haven for petty crimes & activities due to lack of security. A wireless station is located behind the Ashram but that doesn't serve the purpose of security to the Institution.

The Ashram is looked after by a single caretaker who gets a monthly salary of just mere ` 2500 / month. When we asked him on how he manages with the money he just glanced at the skies and passed a smile onto us. We came to know that his father was also the caretaker of the Ashram & so he took over the job due to his father's old age.  On discussing the problems faced, what came into light was about the water scarcity, the garden lacked an expert attention, illegal encroachment on the Sarania Hill & lack of infrastructure in building up the Library situated on the first floor of the Ashram.  

Still every year the Ashram gets a fresh coat of paint before the Gandhi Jayanti & our administration pays their formal visit to grab the newspaper headlines. Earlier elderly & young group of people visited the place for morning walks, but now its quiet rare to find someone. There has been decrease in the number of visitors which strongly indicates that either the place has lost its charm and glamour or the way to Ashram has been narrowed under thick forest.

In this way if things roll on, then perhaps the glory of the Institution would be found only on books & webpages. Scenario would have been different if things shaped up nicely with hard & strict administration. It is also painful to learn that inadequate funds for the maintenance of the Ashram & its employees led to the crisis.

Hopefully if the citizens, organisations & the administration come together & join towards the BUILD UP, we may soon see the place regaining its lost glory. At present, we can just glance at the silver lining & hope that it really happens for sure. 

“The camera is a great medium to get close to Mother Nature”

- Uttam Kalita.

In this competitive age we are so busy with ourselves that we often fail to enjoy the beautiful creation of nature. Photography helps to draw our attention towards this fascinating creation and find solace from our hectic schedule. It adds another dimension to the entire beautiful thing around us by capturing nature’s gift in all its purity for us.

Whenever we see a beautiful a painting we praise the painter for creating such an amazing masterpiece. Similarly in case of Photography photographs are the masterpieces and photographers are the ones who bring Excellency in them. 

As for me, Photography started as my hobby and slowly turned into my passion and my profession. I was so involved in my hobby that I myself didn’t know how and when it became my passion. It gives me immense pleasure, ultimate joy, complete satisfaction in capturing some beautiful moments .It is in just inexplicable. Whenever I go I never feel bored as my best friend “my camera” is always there with me to capture the precious moments of time. 

As far as my Subject of photography is concerned, I am interested in nature and wildlife photography, I even shot theme base photographs, and Butterflies are one of my favorite models (object). I always appreciate their poses and their attitude which gives new dimensions in nurturing the creativity in me. They never fail to make my pixels the most popular and adorable one. Black and white photographs are my favorite. It expresses what I see and feel more effectively than color ones. I love to create street photographs too which speaks out various facets of life. I find myself framing everything around me and taking a picture of it in my mind. 

During my childhood, I love to stand in front of camera, but the scenario changed when I reached my college life. I took up camera in my hand and unexpectedly got positive responses from every one. Since then I have been involved in Photography and very satisfied in this carrier option.

I would like to compare my feelings of owning my first camera to that of a child getting his favorite toy demanded by him, it was simply immeasurable. In fact it was the most memorable day as it was on my 20th birth day. I am doubly satisfied as it was the result of my tireless effort to possess my precious friend. In fact, I tried very hard and worked till late night to afford it. 

   My current camera is Fujifilm S3300 which is good enough for me right now. I would love to upgrade to the Cannon 7D but being a student it is quite not possible for me to buy it right now however I definitely see myself capturing my objects with this in the near future. My ideal would be a DSLR which would give me a lot of freedom and control of the settings.

My first achievement was when I received “Photographer of the month” at enajori.com which boosted my determination and encouraged me to relentlessly try to create something new. After this success I got myself immensely involved in this profession and the output is really good, after that I received Grand winner in the 7sisters.in Photography Competition. 

 

I learnt a lot from my senior and fellow photographers, who guided me towards the intricacies of photography. My family members, my friends and my well wishers support is something I can never forget and is the driving force. I am very thankful to all of them. 

Lastly but not the least I would like to show my gratitude to 7 sisters.in for giving me an opportunity to share my views .Moreover there are lots of talented young photographers in Assam. They just need a good platform to showcase their talent and to fly high with colors taking this profession as their carrier option. 

  My endeavor is always in making my photographs speak and feel rewarded when someone identifies the same feeling with which I have captured those moments and I commit to try my utmost to offer some memorable works in my field.

The social medium and the revelation of the revolution.

- Abhilash Sharma.

The use of the internet, mainly the site for social fraternity and friendship has increased than anything else on the web. The new sites which give users the option of sharing and spreading their posts, videos etc. has flourished. But to what extent can the social medium be considered as effective?

To a very high level if you know how much the simple act of sharing your views has brought better and needed changes in the world !!

The use of the social medium is not merely to chat, share thoughts or make friends. It has grown in such a huge number that it can pose as a way to shake the mightiest institution, which has been seen in some parts, in Middle East part of the continent, where political leaders were changed on the power of the media.

Uses of the internet have been to many level, but the way it has been in the online way is more than any more used. When  a young teenager joins a social site, the person has his motive on to make more friends. It was this a few years before people changed the way they thought of social sites. They started to use these to put their views and they made it more than just teen based sites, the online world was becoming more than simple socializing. It was the better but not thought of usage of the web. Those who had no interest in world affairs began to be aware of the political situation in their country, the ideas which were earlier only to those who could spread them began to be among the entire mass of the country, simple it is but they got one means of being with their countrymen. While the leaders could not gather idea about the power that the tech generation has achieved and they were in a path they knew least. For a change the young minds had an edge of information over older leaders. A country had changed their leaders by the use of the web social community, and made many leaders to think about the usage of these sites and if they can be monitored for anything which was anti national. These have also made it very important to know the working of the social communities on the world web, if the politicians have to get the ideas of the masses and the issues which are running on the community. The use of these can be also unwise if the same is used to spread malice filled rumor which can affect the society and it’s working. Thus it is needed to check the materials which are circulated on the site for the sake of maintaining the user faith in the web. The most known usage of these are to show the way general mass wants to change in the nation as regarded to issues which they want to be solved and to get control on matters which they think should not be dealt wrongly! The importance the government has shown to certain pending cases has been due to the affect of the online groups. Some issues got solved by the intervention of those communities which spread their ideas on the web, and they made better usage of the connectivity they have. The   government has to even ban and control pages on the internet when they are doing more than they might to affect the young part of the nation. A more informed young country does sound good if it has the ideals in, and knows the bounds it follow... 

Assam Conflict: Chronology of Events ( Pre - Independence ).

Pre Independence Map of Assam ( 1932 )

Three intersecting strands: the Assam movement; the Bodo movement; and the movement for separate statehood for Karbi Anglong and North Cachar.

Assam Movement: Assamese vs Bengali,'Us' vs 'Them' feeling since colonial times; Creation of Pakistan (1947) and Bangladesh (1971) and the resulting inflow of refugees/illegal migrants; States' attitude to immigrants issue; Breakup of Assam; States' attitude; Assamese 'chauvinism' and its discontents-Bodo, Karbi Anglong, North Cachar. 

The Colonial Period

( The 19th century witnessed large-scale migration of non-Assamese labourers to Assam. They were brought by the British to work on the tea gardens. The British also brought bankers and traders from other provinces in the absence of a local business community in Assam. Bengali bureaucrats and clerks, lawyers and doctors who were trained in British administration were brought to Assam and the members of the traditional local aristocracy were reduced to insignificance. Apart from them, local Bengali artisans who had lost their jobs due to industrialization migrated to Assam to work as land tillers.)

1826: The Burmese ceded Assam to the British on February 24 as per the Treaty of Yandabo, thus bringing to end Ahom rule in Assam which had begun in the 13th century.  

1872: Formation of the Asomiya Sahitya Sabha in Calcutta to promote Assamese language and culture. This set a precedent for the establishment of similar associations. By a government regulation, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal was empowered to prescribe a line to be called the 'Inner Line' in each tribal area beyond which no British subjects and any foreign residents could pass without a licence or pass.  

1873: Recognition of Assamese as the language of court and schools. Bengali community continued to have separate Bengali schools for themselves.

1874: Goalpara and East Bengali district of Sylhet added to Assam and Assam was constituted into a Chief Commissioner's province (Until now, British Assam had been part of a territory comprising Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, northeast India and present day Bangladesh and was called 'Bengal'. It was placed under direct administration of the Government of Bengal.). The Bengali-speaking population increased rapidly now on.

1880: Karbi Anglong and North Cachar placed under the category"frontier tracts". (The British government had a separate policy to deal with the hill tribals based on the basis of economic needs without interfering with the internal affairs of the tribes as maintained by the Ahoms. No land tax was levied except poll tax, house tax and hoe tax.)

1901: Census throws up a majority of Bengali-speaking people in Assam.

1903: Formation of Assam Association which was an association of the politically conscious, Western-educated Assamese middle class. It was led by Manikchand Baruah. Though elitist in composition, it never failed to represent the landed and industrial interests of the poor.

1905: Partition of Bengal and the creation of a new province called East Bengal and Assam (including Chittagong). The partition was vehemently opposed by the Bengali people. The Assam Association did not oppose the partition as such but urged the government for adequate safeguards for the rights of Assam and the Assamese.

1909: Manik Chandra Barua, member of the Legislative Council of East Bengal and Assam, brought the issue of immigration of non-Assamese people to Assam to the attention of the Council.

1912: Annulment of Bengal partition; Assam restored as Chief Commissioner's province with a Legislative Council of its own in Shillong, the capital. A section of Assamese intelligentsia raised the demand for the separation of Sylhet (Bengali speaking) from Assam.

1915: Formation of the Naga Hills District Council.

1916: Formation of the Assam Chhatra Sanmilan, an organisation that focused on literary, social and economic development.

1917: INC accepted redrawing provincial boundaries on linguistic basis. Following this, the question of transfer of Sylhet to Bengal came up for discussion in the Legislative Council.

1918: Goalpara session of the Assam Association sent a delegation to Montague led by NC Bordoloi to present Assam's case for the award of major provincial status, which it succeeded in winning. It extended support for the Montague-Chelmsford reforms.

1919: The Government of India Act changed the status of Assam to a Governor's province with an enlarged Legislative Council of its own of 53 members; however, the composition was such that the Indians could not have a majority and non-officials and Indians got little scope to exercise their rights. GOI Act changed the status of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar to"backward areas/tracts".

1920: Assam Association merged with the INC. Implementation of the Line System -- according to this, areas earmarked for the exclusive settlement of immigrants were segregated by a line to be drawn in each of the districts under pressure. Assamese intelligentsia raised the issue that Assamese language was in danger and that the people of Assam were being reduced to a minority in their own homeland. Non-Cooperation Movement; widespread participation of Assamese. The Assam Chatra Sanmilan was the first to respond to the movement and large numbers of students joined in. Assam Association and the Assam Valley Muslim Association also supported it. There was an increase in political consciousness which also manifested itself in regional demands including the rights of the"sons of the soil" and safeguards to check immigration from nearby provinces.

1921: Formation of the Assam Provincial Congress Committee.

1923: Formation of the Khasi National Durbar.

1926: A resolution on Cachar's (Cachar had a Bengali speaking majority) separation was moved in the Legislative Council but it fell through. Sylhet members were not willing to tag on Cachar and conceded that it was part of Assam. Ambikagiri Roy Choudhary and Nilmani Phukan floated the Asomiya Samarakshini Sabha (Society for the Conservation of the Assamese).

1927: The Simon Commission was appointed. It discussed the constitutional position of the hill areas of north-east India. The District Commissioner of the Naga Hills, Dr JH Hutton, Superintendent of the Lushai Hills, NE Parry and few others advocated the exclusion of the hills citing racial, religious, political and cultural arguments. They suggested the formation of a separate sovereign independent state to be called Crown Colony consisting of all the hill areas of north-east India, the hill tracts of Chittagong, Arakan, Burma etc. However, the plan was foiled.

1929: Simon Commission visited Shillong. The Assam Chhatra Sanmilan took an active part in mobilizing the student community in the anti-Simon Commission agitation. Dibrugarh witnessed a complete hartal paralysing normal life in the state. Government of Assam brought up the Sylhet question before the Simon Commission and stated that it would not oppose Sylhet's transfer from Assam to Bengal so long as Assam's status as a major province remained unchanged. -Naga Club, Bodo community of Goalpara, various Goalpara groups, the Depressed People of Assam Valley, the Khasi National Durbar and the Cachari Juvak Sanmiloni made presentations to the Simon Commission demanding political power. In all, 27 representations were made to the Commission from the north-east region. Simon Commission designated the 'Backward Areas' in Assam as 'Excluded Areas' the reference being to areas excluded from application of provincial legislation.

1931: Noting the upward trend in Muslim settlement, the Assam Census Report called the Muslim Bengalis in Assam"invaders".

1933: Government in Assam decided to establish unilingual schools for the Bengali and Assamese students. All Assam Plains Tribal League formed under Bodo leader Rupnath Brahma.

1934: Formation of the Khasi States Federation.

1935: Government of India Act abolished dyarchy. Communal Award was adopted. The Act reorganized the backward areas of Assam in to the Excluded Areas of the North East Frontier Tract (now Arunachal Pradesh), Naga Hills District (now Nagaland), Lushai Hills District (now Mizoram) and North Cachar Hills District, while the Garo Hills, Mikir Hills and Khasi Jaintia Hills (later to become Meghalaya) were reconstituted as Partially Excluded Areas. The Act also reserved four seats in the 108 member Assam assembly for plains tribals and five seats for backward hill areas.

1936: Karbi Anglong and Cachar Hills fell under the Excluded and Partially Excluded Areas Act. Their administration was vested solely in the hands of the Governor. Jnananath Bora, a leading intellectual in Assam wrote an article in which he proclaimed that although the British had forcibly incorporated Assam into India, the Assamese had always considered themselves to be an independent nation. He also declared that it was the Congress movement which brought Assam under foreign (Indian) rule.

1937: Elections based on the 1935 Act. Though the Congress was the single largest party in the Assembly, it could not command enough majority to form the ministry and opted to form the Opposition under the leadership of GN Bardoloi. Saadullah formed a non-Congress ministry in Assam with the support of the European block and other tribal and non-tribal members. The ministry lasted from April 1, 1937 to September 18,1938. Ambikagiri Roychoudhary and Nilmoni Phukan, on behalf of the Assam Sanrakhini Sabha submitted a memorandum to Nehru stating that the withdrawal of the Line System would lead to greater inflow of immigrants into Assam. The memorandum pointed out how the Bengalis were developing an attitude of 'linguistic imperialism' towards the Assamese. Memoranda were also presented by the Asamiya Deka Dal which stated that the 'Bengali language and civilisation invaded Assam' and that the Assamese were being reduced to the position of a minority. Responding to these concerns, Nehru wrote to the APCC stating that the immigration issue was complicated and that it had become communal and that the real problem was how to"control and organise these immigrants."

1938: Saadullah resigned in February. First Bordoloi Ministry (19 September 1938-16 November 1939). Bordoloi achieved a coalition with the Tribal League. He promised a tribal belt in Assam where non-tribals would not be allowed to hold or buy land.

1939: A Working Committee of the APCC, appointed to look into the line system, decided that the Line System should not be abolished. Bordoloi ministry resigned. (Congress at the national level had decided to call for resignation of all its ministries following the Viceroy's decision to engage India in its war efforts.) Saadullah once again came in power. The government threw select professional grazing reserves open for settling more immigrants.

1940: Lahore Session of the Muslim League. It openly declared inclusion of Assam in Pakistan along with Muslim majority Bengal. 1941-50: The largest increase in urban population in Assam took place in this decade, largely attributed to the flow of Partition migrants primarily from the Sylhet district.

1941: Saadullah submitted his resignation. Formation of the second Bardoloi ministry. The Governor of Assam, Robert Neil Reid, supported the proposal of the Crown Colony and he enlarged the vision of the plan to include Tripura.

1942: Ambikagiri Raychoudhury proposed dual citizenship for Assam in the Indian confederation.

1943: Assam government led by Saadullah adopted, on the orders of the Centre, a new resolution on land settlement under the slogan of"grow more food." As per this resolution, grazing reserves in three districts were opened to the immigrant cultivators from Bengal. Also, surplus reserve areas in two other districts were opened for landless indigenous people. The Assam Jatiya Mahasabha and the All India Hindu Mahasabha raised cries of the Assamese and Hindus being in danger.

1944: The All Assam Ahom Association, formed in the late 19th century, declared,"Assam without Sylhet has a legitimate claim for free and independent existence in the event of India being divided territorially into Pakistan and Hindustan." The Muslim League wanted to include Assam in East Pakistan. The Assam Tribune, which mainly championed the views of the Assamese upper caste elite, in one of its editorials complained that the Saadulla Cabinet was"imbued with the idea of Pakistan" and the Land Development Scheme was"meant to reduce the importance of the Hindus both politically and numerically." These apprehensions that the people of Assam were harboring were aggravated by statements of people of political eminence at the Centre. For instance, Humayun Kabir, the private secretary to the Education Minister Maulana Azad wrote in his monthly review,"One can easily visualise a Bengali State, comprising of about ten million people and living in a compact area. Such a State would include the present administrative province of Bengal and some of the outlying districts in Assam and Bihar. In fact, the province of Assam may be wholly incorporated in it. Cachar and Sylhet in the Surma Valley and Nowgong and Goalpara in the Assam Valley are Bengali majority districts. There can hardly be an Assam if these districts join Bengal."

1945: Immigrant peasants demanded the abolition of the Line System.

1946: Last ministry before India gained independence; led by Bordoloi with support from the tribals. APCC bought off a pact with the tribal leadership -- the former promised constitutional safeguards like a tribal belt where land would be inalienable in return for tribal support. Appointment of the Cabinet Mission under Sir Stafford Cripps. Assam Congress rejected the Cabinet Mission Plan to group Assam and Bengal together. On the other hand, Muslim League favored the Grouping Plan. Popular protest under the Assam Pradesh Congress led by Gopinath Bordoloi forced the Central Congress leadership to cede their demand. AASU, Assam Jatiya Mahasabha, and a number of tribal students organisations protested against the Grouping Scheme of tagging Assam to Bengal. Gandhi's support to the state Congress tipped the scale in favour of Assam even though Nehru and Azad were unwilling to heed Bordoloi's concerns and blamed him for delaying the transfer of power. In his discussions with the Cabinet Mission, Bordoloi advocated that the Centre's powers be restricted to defence, foreign relations and special emergency powers. The state Congress was aware of the demands for sovereignty put forward by several sections in Assam and it consistently stressed maximum possible economic and political autonomy for Assam under a new federal set-up. Bordoloi in his discussions with the Cabinet Mission had wanted the Centre's power to be restricted to defence, foreign affairs and special emergency powers and demanded "fullest possible autonomy." He also pleaded for cutting off Sylhet from Assam. The Assamese members also demanded that the rights of the Assamese people be protected through Constitutional safeguards and economic exploitation by the Centre be stopped. The Assam members opposed Article 3 of the Draft Constitution (empowering the Union Parliament to redraw state boundaries) and Article 21 (relating to the appointment of state governors by the Centre). Ultimately, the Grouping Scheme fell through and Assam was not merged with Bengal. On the other hand, it lost its fight in the Constituent Assembly to secure greater financial and political autonomy for the provinces. The Khasi-Jaintia Political Association demanded that a federation of the Khasi areas be given full cultural and political autonomy within a sovereign Assam. Formation of the Naga National Council and Mizo Union.

We will continue in our next post with Post Independence chapter in the history of Assam Conflict: Chronology of Events.

Data Source : South Asia Forum for Human Rights. 

*NOTE : The above note published on behalf of PROJECT BUG - Build Up Guwahati is truely a content of  South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR). By publishing the note we are not endorsing any organization ( also this is'nt a publicity stunt ) and in the note if any information is found misleading & controversial ; we are not liable for it as the content is generated by SAFHR. Our aim of publishing the content is to bring the content into everyone's notice about our History of Assam ( as per South Asia Forum for Human Rights ).

Launch of Project MUKTI ver. 1.0

The launch of Project MUKTI , an initiative by Project BUG - Build Up Guwahati is scheduled on 25th January 2012 , at Dona Planet , 18:00 hrs IST. The project is designed to encourage people & spread the message on certain fields of society where we are lagging behind. With team effort , we will try our best to reach out the masses with the message. Hopefully, social media & other mediums will play a big role in the coming days for the development of the region.

Waiting for you to join us on this initiative on the aforesaid date, time & venue.