Land of Jewels (Sana Leibak)

AKRSU withdraws 1,000-hr blockade in Assam: Guwahati, Dec 28: The All Koch Rajbonshi Students' Union (AKRSU) on Friday announced that it will temporarily withdraw its 1,000-hour blockade from January 1. Disclosing this at a press meet here, AKRSU president Biswajit Ray said the decision to withdraw the blockade was taken to facilitate the participation of the public in the three-phase Panchayat polls, which begins from December 31. ''The Panchayat election enables the people at the grassroots to participate in a democratic process. We don’t want to disrupt it,'' he said. He added that the AKRSU would maintain a neutral role in the local bodies' election. On the blockade issue, Ray said the Chief Minister's assurance, through state Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma and press advisor Deba Prasad Bora, of a tripartite meeting involving the AKRSU, state and the centre had prompted the AKRSU to suspend the agitation. ''If the talks don't come through by J...

Sanamahi followers want constitutional recognition: Imphal, Dec. 26: The followers of the Sanamahi faith, the traditional religion of the Meiteis in Manipur, are set to launch a campaign demanding Scheduled Tribe status. Nearly 200 leaders of the faith assembled in Imphal East last week and resolved to launch a campaign for constitutional protection. “We will soon approach the Centre and seek ST status,” president of the Laiyingthou Sanamahi Thougal Kanglup, an organisation of the Meitei community, Oinam Menjor Khuman said. A majority of the Meiteis converted to Hinduism nearly 300 years ago following Bengali missionary Santidas Gosai’s influence on King Pamheiba. After the king declared Hinduism as the state religion, the Meities who practised the traditional Sanamahi faith were forced to convert to Hinduism. Descendants of a few families who continued to practise the faith secretly have now launched the movement for reviving the traditional Meitei religion. The number of followers ...

Assam mulls ban on Adivasi outfit: Guwahati, Dec 15: Assam government is contemplating on banning the Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA) that hit the headlines following its recent strikes, including the Rajdhani Express blast at Sungajan in Golaghat district on Thursday. Talking to newspersons here on Saturday, state government spokesman and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the government is considering to declare the ANLA a banned outfit. He said the police and intelligence agencies have details of the cadre strength and training camps of the outfit, and it may be banned very soon. The outfit, formed by tea plantation workers, has been demanding better facilities and more rights for its community which migrated to Assam form Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orrisa, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal during the British Raj. It also wants the inclusion of the Adivasis in the Scheduled Tribe list. ANLA ‘commander’ David Tirkey operates from Jharkhand, as was stated by the outfit’s ‘deputy...

Kyndiah invites six groups for talks: Guwahati, Dec 13: Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, PR Kyndiah, will have a discussion with the representatives of six communities of Assam, who are agitating for the status of Scheduled Tribe on December 18. Official sources said that the Union Minister has written a letter to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today expressing his desire to hold talks with the representatives of six communities on their demands. Sources pointed out that an all party delegation of the Assam Assembly met the Union Minister on December 10 and requested him to hold talks with the representatives of the communities demanding ST status. Source: The Assam Tribune