Society / Assam

GUWAHATI, June 6?The State Government has made a fresh request to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs to reconsider the demand of the Koch-Rajbongshis of the State for inclusion in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST), excluding areas of North Cachar Hills and Karbi Anglong Autonomous Councils.

The justification provided by the State for inclusion of Koch-Rajbongshis in the ST list is that these people are categorised as STs in West Bengal and Meghalaya, while in Tripura, they are treated as Scheduled Caste (SC); the Assam Institute of Research and Training also recommended inclusion of...

GUWAHATI, June 5 ? Dowry being a universal phenomenon in India, Assamese society too joins the bandwagon, reveals a study conducted in Kamrup, Barpeta, Dibrugarh, Dhubri and Sonitpur at the behest of the Assam state committee of All India Democratic Women?s Association (AIDWA).

The study was conducted in the five district involving 234 unmarried women and 237 guardians, with 20.9 per cent of the respondents having held that dowry as a system is common among Assamese people. However 79 per cent of the respondents felt that they can be married without dowry while 20.9 per cent felt that they...

GUWAHATI, June 2? Ever heard of a film whose script had to be changed on location because a character?s wife did not want her husband to play dead? It has happened in the case of the Mising VCD film Miro that was canned recently. Though it is virtually impossible in mainline cinema, Mising VCD films, that have seen a spurt in recent years, are known for their adaptability. After all they cater to an audience who are very sensitive in nature and for whom such films have become the rage. Hollywood and Bollywood may be going through a lean phase but local Mising films are a roaring success.

VCD...

GUWAHATI, May 29 ? A series of ring wells with terracota rings on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra may help in establishing the age of the Brahmaputra Valley Civilisation. A team of the Guwahati Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), led by Superintending Archaeologist Dr Syed Jamal Hasan, recently discovered a series of about ten ring wells buried under about two metres of earth at Borachuburi village, one kilometer ahead of Da-Parbatia in Sonitpur District. The place is located along the northern bank of Brahmaputra river.

Exploration in the area led to the discovery of...

GUWAHATI, May 29: The Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) which has been in the news for all the wrong reasons, beginning with the lack of basic amenities to the invasion of rats, is now grappling with another problem? that of mass exodus of superspecialist doctors who, after their return from higher training abroad, resign from their Government jobs at the GMCH. These superspecialists from the GMCH are send abroad by the State Government for higher training, but as they quit the GMC after their return, the fruits of their training fail to reach the poor patients of the State who are...

Guwahati, May 27: The holiest shrine in the Northeast and the pride of Assam, Kamakhya temple, is all set for greater glory.

The Centre has set into motion the process for designating the temple ? revered as the seat of tantric cult in the country ? as a ?monument of national heritage? and bring it under the supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

ASI sources said the Haigrib-Madhav temple in Hajo would also be brought under the agency?s protection. The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Vishnu with the head of a horse.

The Kamakhya temple atop the Nilachal hills was built...

GUWAHATI, May 27 ? Following the directive from the Union Tourism and Culture Ministry, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Guwahati Circle, has sent a proposal to the ASI Director General to declare the historic Kamakhya temple on the Nilachal hillock in the city, as a ?monument of national importance?.

In its proposal to the ASI DG, the ASI Guwahati Circle, on May 6, 2003, described the Shakti shrine as a ?living monument? with a large number of the visitors visiting it daily. Practice of animal sacrifice is still prevalent in the monument, while ?modern constructions? have been...

GUWAHATI, May 20 ? Lack of awareness among the people regarding preservation of the aesthetic beauty of ancient monuments coupled with paucity of fund makes it a tough task to preserve and maintain the archaeological sites in the State. As on date the State has a total 93 archaeological sites which are manned by only 35 monument attendants as the department doesn?t have budgetary provision to engage at least one attendant per monument. Obviously the archaeology department in the State needs active support from the community to preserve and maintain these monuments. Unfortunately that is what...

PATACHARKUCHI, May 2 – The once famous aged-old pottery industry craft of greater Bajali area is presently on the verge of extinction as the same is now struggling for existence at the sole efforts of some skilled craftsman.

Used by the mankind since ancient times, earthenware still play a unasideable role in the day-to-day life. Without the use of earthenware life becomes nearly impossible even though alternatives of earthenware are being produced with the development of science and technology. At a time when plasticware is available and is durable compared to earthenware, the earthen...

Guwahati, April 28: In village after village across Assam, a silent revolution is changing the face of the once superstition-ridden society and giving a new mantra of life to hardened criminals.

Consider this: In Khagail village of Karimganj district, former dacoits are now actually serving as village policemen and helping the people combat crime at the grassroots level.

Indeed, just two years after its launch, Assam police’s ambitious Project Prahari has brought back smiles on the faces of thousands of people and proved the sceptics wrong.

An acronym for “people for progress”, Project...