Asom inseparable part of India: Deka

Condemning once again the recent killings indulged in by the ULFA as an inerasable blot on the Assamese society, the Asam Sahitya Sabha today asserted that Asom was, is and would remain an inseparable part of India. The Sabha also said that it would start mobilizing people against violence, beginning with State-wide silent processions and public meeting on January 24.

“The recent massacre of innocents by the militant outfit is an inerasable blot on Asom’s heritage – something that has brought shame and disgrace to the Assamese society. Since time immemorial Asom has been exhibiting a sense of oneness with India, more so socially and culturally, and has contributed significantly to the great Indian civilization,” Sabha president Kanaksen Deka said at a press conference.

Ridiculing the ULFA’s charge about imposition of ‘Indian colonial rule’ on Asom, Deka said history was witness to Asom’s inseparable links with Indian culture and heritage. “Asom took active part in India’s Freedom Struggle resulting in the martyrdom of a number of Assamese, and after Independence too, several worthy sons of Asom such as Gopinath Bardoloi, Rohini Choudhury, Dharanidhar Basumatari, etc., were among those who worked on the Indian Constitution,” he said. “The allegation that Indian colonial rule had been imposed on Asom through the Indian Constitution, therefore, is totally false, misleading and nothing but a sinister conspiracy to devastate Asom,” Deka said.

Urging everybody to thwart the forces bent upon destroying the age-old unity, bonhomie and brotherhood among different sections of the State’s people, Deka said that stalwarts like Srimanta Sankardev, Jyotiprasad Agarwala, Hemanga Biswas, to name only a few, came from outside and enriched Assamese art, culture and literature like no other. “These great persons together with luminaries Lakshminath Bezboruah, Bishnu Rabha, Abdul Malik, etc., always sung the praise of Indian civilization and heritage while enriching Asom’s socio-cultural life and strengthening its social fabric,” he said.

Deka said the Sabha strongly denounced any attempt on the part of any quarters to take to arms under the pretext of solving the State’s problems. “Our appeal to the militant outfits is that they should endeavour to come to power through the democratic process by taking part in the elections and winning people’s support,” he said.

The Sabha president also called upon the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to ensure economic development in Asom for removing the common perception about the State getting a step-motherly treatment from the Centre.“A sense of deprivation and alienation has been haunting a sizeable populace of the State that the Centre has been neglecting them for decades. Dr Singh should take personal initiative in addressing some burning problems of the State like infiltration, flood, unemployment, etc., at the earliest,” he said.

Pointing out that protecting the lives and property of the people was the foremost duty of any government, the Sabha urged the State Government to ensure security to every citizen.Without sounding too much optimistic about the possibility of talks with the ULFA on the issue of sovereignty, Deka said that sovereignty was non-negotiable and could not possibly become the issue for talks with any outfit. “The Indian Constitution does not permit secession. However, there can be talks on other issues like the State’s development,” he said.

The Sabha also rejected the ULFA’s boycott call of the ensuing National Games and said that smooth holding of the Games was a question of pride and self-esteem for the State. “After a long time we are getting a chance to hold a national event, and it is our bounden duty to hold the Games without any hindrance and anomaly,” he said.

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