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                     Vol.2, No.38 [*] August 14, 1997
                     --------------------------------

         Assam Online greets its readers on the eve of the 50th
                 anniversary of India's Indepencence.
   ---------------------------------------------------------------------

1  MOTHERS, NGOs MARCH FOR PEACE IN GUWAHATI 	          [S:14-AUG-97]
   -----------------------------------------
   
   Several hundred women, freedom fighters, senior citizens and Gandhian
   activists  on  August  13 took out a peace march from 'Bapu Kutir' at
   Kasturba Gandhi Ashram in South Sarania to the Congress(S) office  at
   Dighalipukhuripar  where  they  sat on a fast and an all-faith prayer
   meeting till 4 pm in protest against the cult  of  violence  and  for
   peace.  The  programme  was  jointly  organized  by  several  women's
   and child welfare  organizations,  AVARD,  NEIBM  and  several  other
   social organizations.
   
   D.N.Bezbarua, editor  of  the  Sentinel in a front-page appeal in the
   Sentinel urged the citizens of Guwahati to join in a procession to be
   taken out at Guwahati at 8:30 am on  August  15  to  protest  against
   violence and  counter-violence  and  seeking  a return to peace.  The
   appeal said:   We  have  lived  under  the  shadow  of  violence  and
   counter-violence for  far  too long.  This has not only destroyed the
   very fabric of our social structure, but also bought all  development
   activities to  a  grinding  halt.    We  cannot  go on endorsing this
   culture of violence by our silence.  We citizens  are  the  ones  who
   will  determine  whether  we are doomed on our present predicament or
   whether we shall  see  the  return  of  peace  and  normalcy  to  our
   trouble-torn state.
   

2  NDFB ULTRAS GUN DOWN 13 IN KAMRUP AND NALBARI	 [AT:13-AUG-97]
   ---------------------------------------------
   
   Thirteen persons were gunned down and one was injured by militants of
   National  Democratic  Front  of  Bodoland  (NDFB)  in  four  separate
   incidents in  Kamrup  and  Nalbari  districts.    A  group  of  15-20
   militants commandeered seven villagers to line  up  beneath  a  mango
   tree  in  the Lahapara village before they were fired upon from AK-56
   assault rifles.  All but one died in the incident.  After  committing
   the  massacre,  the  same group of militants went to Hatimura village
   under Rangiya police station and gunned down four  other  persons  on
   August 12.    In  Nalbari  district  two  persons were gunned down on
   August 10 and one goldsmith was killed on August 12 by the militants.
   
   Meanwhile, an attempt on the lives of the  Deputy  Commissioner  (DC)
   and Superintendent of Police (SP) of Nalbari district was foiled with
   the  timely  recovery  of  a bomb planted on the road near Kumarikata
   through which the DC and SP were scheduled to visit by suspected NDFB
   militants on August 12.
   

3  SANJOY'S FRIENDS PLEDGE; AVARD-NE TO RESUME WORK     [S+AT:13-AUG-97]
   ------------------------------------------------
   
   Several hundred friends of the dead AVARD-NE executive  Sanjoy  Ghose
   gathered  together  and took a solemn pledge in Hindi and Assamese to
   continue to work for a better  society  without  fear  or  malice  on
   August  12 at Rajghat in New Delhi. Among the prominent personalities
   who joined the pledge takin were L.C.Jain, Ajit Bhattacharjee, Sanjoy
   Hazarika, Arun Kumar Sharma, Raghu Rai, Prabhat Krishnan.
   
   AVARD had meanwhile decided to resume work at Majuli, left half  done
   by  Sanjoy.  Although,  no  time has been set, we have resolved to go
   back to Assam in response to the invitation from the people of Majuli
   who have pleaded  with  us  to  return  to  the  river  island,  said
   president of AVARD-NE, Mr P.M.Tripathi on August 12 in New Delhi.
   

4  BHRIGU PHUKAN RENEWS ATTACK ON MAHANTA		  [S:14-AUG-97]
   --------------------------------------
   
   Dissident  AGP leader Bhrigu Kumar Phukan on August 13 reiterated his
   charge against the Mahanta Ministry that it had totally failed on all
   fronts, putting required politics in  jeopardy.  Addressing  a  press
   conference in Guwahati, Mr Phukan said, he would go to the people and
   seek a  democratic  way out of the prevailing  chaos and anarchy. 'It
   is only if the people asked him that he would launch a new party,' he
   said. 
   
   He however, expressed  his  strong  opposition  to  President's  rule
   despite  accusing the Mahanta Ministry of failure to maintain law and
   order.  He said, he was still hopeful that the party leadership would
   rectify the serious mistakes pointed out by him and fulfill the hopes
   and aspirations of the people.
   

5  SEPARATE NE INDUSTRIAL POLICY SOON 		         [AT:12-AUG-97]
   ----------------------------------
   
   The proposed separate industrial policy for the Northeast as promised
   by the former Prime Minister H.D.Deve Gowda in Guwahati last year, is
   likely to be announced shortly.  This was disclosed by  the  Chairman
   of the  NEDFi, Mr Jayanta Madhab in Shillong on August 11.  The draft
   policy has  proposed  to  provide  substantial  tax  concessions  for
   industrialists  and  to  give a boost to the industrialisation of the
   industrially backward region by attracting private entrepreneurs  and
   investments, Mr Madhab said.
   

6  GOVT OFFICES TO BE LIGHTED UP ON I-DAY		  [S:14-AUG-97]
   --------------------------------------
   
   To commemorate the 50th  anniversary  of  India's  Independence,  the
   Government  of  Assam has decided to take up programme of lighting of
   offices of the deputy commissioners, sub-divisional officers,  circle
   officers  and  block  development  officers on the midnight of August
   14-15; according to an official press release.
   

7  RAJDHANI EXPRESS DRIVERS TO BE AWARDED		  [S:13-AUG-97]
   --------------------------------------
   
   The two drivers Mr Anil Das and Mr Premananda Bhagat of the  Rajdhani
   Express are to be awarded by the Assam Government a sum of Rs.100,000
   each  for  their  timely  action in averting a major loss of lives of
   passengers of the train when a bomb planted by BLT militants exploded
   in the rail tracks on August 11 near Sarupeta station in Barpeta.
   

8  DIPLOMA FILM FOR INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL		  [S:13-AUG-97]
   ---------------------------------------
   
   Mr Maulinath Senapati of Guwahati has earned the rare distinction  of
   becoming  the  first  diploma  holder  of  the  Film  and  Television
   Institute of India, Pune whose diploma film 'Niti' has been  selected
   for the International Festival of Film Schools.  The festival will be
   held in Mexico from October 8 to 15.  According to Mehboob Khan, Dean
   (Films)  Film  Institute,  Pune,  Mr Senapati has been invited as the
   director of the film.  He is the son of Mr P.L.Senapati and Ms Alpana
   Senapati of Basisthapur, Guwahati.
   

9  KATHA AWARD TO PHOOL GOSWAMI			         [AT:13-AUG-97]
   ----------------------------
   
   Ms  Phool  Goswami,  teacher  of  Sonaram  Higher  Secondary  School,
   Guwahati has been selected for the Katha award for  creative  fiction
   in Assamese for 1997 for her story 'Sahojatri' which was published in
   the Prantik  magazine.   The award will be presented in a function to
   be held at New Delhi.  It includes a citation and  Rs.2,000  in  cash
   and  the  story  will be published in the Katha Prize Stories series.
   The Katha awards, instituted in 1990, are given to writers of  'world
   class' short fiction in Indian languages every year.

______________________________[Mozz-BG]_________________________________
Compiled from newspaper and agency reports for private circulation only.
      [S=Sentinel, AT=Assam Tribune, Agencies = UNI, PTI, PIB]
              http://www.cyberspace.org/~mozz/aol.html  
  http://piglet.uccs.edu/~kalita/assam/news/news-from-assam-index.html
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