GUWAHATI, Dec 11: Though the All Bodo Students? Union (ABSU) is not directly involved with the functioning of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), it would keep a close watch on the activities of the Council to ensure all round development of the area, said the ABSU president Rabiram Narzary. In an interview with The Assam Tribune, the ABSU president said that the students? organisation would take all possible steps for the success of the BTC in fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of all sections of people of the area. He said that the ABSU would also keep a close watch on all the developmental schemes taken up by the BTC to ensure their proper implementation.
Narzary expressed the view that a congenial atmosphere is required for the success of the ?political arrangement? and the ABSU would take up confidence building measures among all the communities living in the BTC area to ensure peace and harmony among all sections of people. He pointed out that all sections of people of the BTC area welcomed the formation of the council and they want restoration of peace in the area. Only some forces from outside the BTC area are trying to create division among the people of the area and ?the unity among all sections of people would be our biggest weapon against such forces.?
The ABSU has always been interested in the socio economic development of all sections of people living in the Bodo dominated areas of Assam and the area witnessed trouble and even activities of anti-national forces because of lack of development. He hoped that the formation of the BTC would solve the problem by a great extent . He also said that the Bodo organisations would have to create awareness among the younger generation of people to make them self reliant instead of depending totally on the Government. Awareness should also be created among the younger generation about the need to eradicate corruption from the society as without doing so , no development is possible, he added.
The ABSU president admitted that over the years, due to its involvement in political movement, the students? organisation has not been able to concentrate much on the problems facing the student community. He said that from now on the ABSU would concentrate on improving the academic scenario in the BTC area. He said that the ABSU would hold talks with the Bodo Sahitya Sabha on the steps need to be taken for the development of Bodo language and literature. He said that majority of the Bodo medium schools in the State are in bad shape and the ABSU would discuss the issue with the BTC for improving the condition of it. He also demanded that the State Government should provincialise the Bodo medium schools all over the State if the Government is really interested in development of the Bodo community as a whole. ?We shall not remain silent spectators if the Government adopts any policy which goes against the interest of the students,? he asserted.
The ABSU is planning to hold seminars on introduction of job oriented courses by inviting scholars and academicians in different parts of the State and demanded that separate Bodo departments should be opened in Gauhati and Dibrugarh universities. Narzary said that at present Bodo departments are attached with the Assamese department in both the universities, which affected the development of the Departments. He also demanded that Bodo MIL teachers should be appointed in all the colleges having students of the subject as students are suffering because of shortage of teachers in most of the colleges of the State. He also demanded that the Central and State Governments should take immediate steps to clear the backlog of filling up of job quotas for tribal candidates in all the departments. At the same time, the ABSU is planning to launch awareness programmes on self- employment avenues and already career counselling camps have been organised in different educational institutions for the benefit of the students. Narzary said that the ABSU would now launch such programmes more vigorously.
On reports of formation of a new political party, the ABSU president expressed the view that the time is not yet ripe for the formation of a new party. ?We believe that we should wait for the appropriate time for launching a new political party as creation of a new party at this moment may result in power politics and in that case there is every opportunity of difference of opinion among ourselves. Right now all sections of people living in the BTC area are united and we should first try to maintain the unity to prevent outside forces from creating division among ourselves,? he added.