Elections are fascinating. The adrenaline rush of campaigning, countless debates, the anticipation of results, unpredictability, exit polls and final results. All of it. I participated directly in the last Assam Assembly elections as a part of Pranab Doley’s outreach team. Pranab contested from Bokakhat LAC, which is home to the famous Kaziranga National Park. Pranab…
Tag: Tribes
Over 2,000 people, representing about 1,486 Mising families from two villages in Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, have been demanding rehabilitation from the Assam government. Kusmita Morang and her husband Bishnu Morang were expecting their first child. The protest site, with makeshift camps in freezing cold, is not an ideal place for a seven-month pregnant woman. However,…
The State’s language law points to a homogenised nationalism overtaking minority linguistic and cultural aspirations The Assam government recently decided to promulgate a law to make the Assamese language compulsory in all schools, both public and private, including the Kendriya Vidyalayas, from Classes I to X. The State Governor has already given a formal assent to…
On first look, it feels as if nothing much has changed. The roads are still the same, half coarse, half muddy. The river is still the same. The water hyacinths are still there and are blooming to its glory. The bridge leading to my village is still broken. The school building still has no windows….
At the recently concluded Rusty Radiator Award given to the fundraising videos, which uses the worst kind of stereotypes, the Compassion International’s ‘The wait is over’ was a clear winner. The jury while giving the award highlighted that the video promotes deep-rooted perceptions of Western superiority over the South. It reinforces the white savior complex,…
Reasons like perennial flood, displacement by natural disasters and jobless growth have forced the people in Assam to flock the cities giving rise to increased regional imbalances and other problems. Assam, no longer can be complacent about the increasing menace. And efforts and measures in the key sectors like agriculture, unemployment and disaster management are…
“Sure God created man before woman. But then you always make a rough draft Before the final masterpiece” –Anonymous Fact 1: There are a very few discussions on Gender. Most of the times people try to avoid it seeing it as a controversial topic. Fact 2: Most of the discussion becomes unfruitful as every participant…
It was a year back. My friend had accompanied me to my village. It was festival time in my village and everyone in the village was dressed in their best and also the youth were dancing to the tunes of the drums and folk songs. She was so impressed that she opined “Your culture is…
In 1950, Jaipal Munda, the ferocious leader of the Tribal groups then, commented that the history of the tribal people have been a history of dispossession and exploitation. But he also put enormous trust on the Nehru government and expected an equal society where the tribes won’t be neglected. But the trust that he had…