Society / Assam

Nagaon, Jan. 27: Karbi literature will take a big step towards universal recognition tomorrow when the first novel in the tribal language is released. Authored by Lunse Timung, Kanthop Tang Angne (Bitter Hatred) holds a mirror to the Karbi tribe, whose conflict with the Kuki community has kept Karbi Anglong tense for several months now.

The writer today said he could not have hoped for a bigger stage ? the inaugural session of the Karbi Lamet Amai?s annual conference in Diphu ? to release the pioneering novel.

It will actually be a double celebration for patrons of tribal literature with...

Guwahati, Jan. 13: Come April, the beats of a 500-year-old Assamese folk song could be climbing its way up to the top of the national music charts. Sakhi ao mere sang tujhe le chalu Asam (come, friend, let me take you to Assam) is a Hindi number that is being attuned to the beats of a naukhel geet (boat race song) typical of Assam?s Barpeta district at the Jyoti Chitraban studio here.

The song will make its debut on all the popular music channels, including MTV, Channel [V] and B4U, in early April. ?Sakhi ao mere will be a peppy number, with charged beats, though it will have the typical touch...

GUWAHATI, Dec 31 ? The Assam Valley Literary Award for the year 2003 will be conferred on noted litterateur Nirupama Bargohain. The award, instituted by the Williamson Magor Education Trust, will be presented to Bargohain in a function to be held in March next year.

The award, instituted in 1990, is given every year to an Assamese author for creative writing and literary contribution to Assamese literature, said a release of the Williamson Magor Education Trust.

Born in Guwahati in 1932, Bargohain obtained her MA degree in Assamese from Gauhati university and in English from Calcutta...

HAFLONG, Dec 24 ? With the adoption of Roman script to be used in Dimasa language as per recommendation of expert committee constituted by Dimasa Latridim Mel (DLM) (Dimasa Sahitya Sabha) the two-day long 3rd general conference of the Dimsas Latridim Mel concluded on Sunday here. GC Langthasa, Minister, Hills Area Development etc welcomed the resolution of adoption of Roman script by the DLM. Addressing the open session as chief guest, he assured to give Rs 50,000 to the DLM from his MLA Local Area Development Fund.

Sanjib Deblaskar, representative of Banga Sahitya Sammelan, Silchar spoke...

GUWAHATI, Dec 24 ? Eminent poet and litterateur Bireshwar Baruah was today named for the coveted Sahitya Akademi award along with 15 others. Baruah, who has been contributing to the realm of Assamese litterateur for several decades, was selected for the award for his collection of poems Anek Manuh, Anek Thai Aru Nirjanata. Baruah, who retired as an able administrator in 1991 after serving in various capacities as an IAS officer, has authored 34 books. Essentially a poet, he showed equal ?lan in other fields of creative literature as well. Baruah had earlier been conferred with the prestigious...

NEW DELHI, Dec 23: Flooded with demands for recognition of languages under the Eight Schedule of the Constitution, the Government of India has decided to bring out a comprehensive list of languages in consultation with linguistic experts, Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani disclosed here today. He was replying to a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the Constitution (One-hundredth Amendment) Bill that proposes to give recognition to Bodo, Santhali, Bhojpuri, Maithili and Dogri languages under the Eight Schedule of the Constitution. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha yesterday. The decision to...

NEW DELHI, Dec 12 ? In a first-ever attempt of its kind to save Majuli Island, Assam Government and Satradhikars have jointly called for expeditious clearance of Rs 30 crore project to protect the Island besides demanding a bridge across Barhmaputra connecting Jorhat and Lakhimpur districts. A joint delegation led by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, few of his ministerial colleagues, four senior Satradhikars today urged Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to come to the rescue of the seat of the Vaishnavite culture.

The delegation of the Satradhikars included Pitambar Dev Goswami of Aauniati Satra...

Kokrajhar, Dec. 11: As a student at Gauhati Medical College in the Eighties, Bharat Chandra Basumatary took the Hippocratic oath to save lives. But he ended up as an outcast in 1992 after being arrested on charges of triggering a bomb blast in the busy Paltan Bazar area of Assam?s capital city.

Basumatary has come a long way since then. He laid down arms last week along with his comrades in the disbanded Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) and wants to start life anew. ?Yes, I am ready to resume my career as a doctor,? he says.

As many as 20 people were killed in the blast that made Basumatary...

HAILAKANDI, Dec 11 ? The five-day long traditional Gaan-Ngai festival of Rongmei Naga people and subsequently the golden jubilee celebration of their settlement in Pantiluang village of Hailakandi concluded recently. Social Welfare Minister Gautam Roy inaugurated it in a colourful function. It may be mentioned that the Gaan-Ngai is the biggest festival of Rongmei Nagas, the Kindred tribe of Zeliangrong Nagas of assam, Manipur and Nagaland. Certain delightful legends surround the origin of the festival. Moreover the festival is characterized by the religious workshop, offering rites and rituals...

GUWAHATI, June 8 ? The Director General?s office of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will take up the proposal for declaring the Charaideo maidams of the State and Unokuti Tirtha of Tripura as world heritage sites with the appropriate authorities offer developing them into properly conserved archaeological sites.

Disclosing this, the outgoing superintending archaeologist of the ASI?s Guwahati Circle, Dr Syed Jamal Hasan, also told The Assam Tribune here yesterday that the ASI had no plan to send the human bones and skulls recovered in the excavated maidam (Maidam No 2 of the four...