Diphu, July 18 (EMN): Assam University Diphu campus, on Tuesday celebrated its 11th foundation day at the AUDC campus, Diphu-Lumding Road with local Lumbajong MAC Ratan Teron as the chief guest.
In his speech Teron assured that the KAAC authority will do all its best for the development of the University. He said, it was a great privilege to have a campus of Assam University, where local students of the indigenous hill communities can study for master degrees and doctorate programmes. “Our students are talented and have the capacity to compete with other students as well, however many of them due to poverty in the family cannot go out to pursue their higher studies”, he added.
He also said to create the education atmosphere and coordination between the students, teachers and parents. He added, ‘the parents should see what his/her son or daughter is studying and at the same time students should be sincere in their duty and the teachers in classroom should teach well’. The KAAC authority will work for having a full-fledged University in Diphu, he assured.
Foundation day lecture was given away by senior fellow and founder director of North-East Social Research Centre, Guwahati, Prof. Walter Fernandes. He spoke on the unity, dissent and contestation in North-east and the overshadowing by the dominant class in the India society. He said ‘the dominant classes always try to show their dominant by criticising the colonial divide and rule policy and ignored the tribal movement for protection of the resources and culture. He further said, it is only in India that they tries to bring a single religion and single language system by the dominant classes thereby ignoring the language, culture and religion of the tribal people of Northeast and other smaller community in the country.
“The dominant classes by criticising the colonial system tried to impose a single definition of nationalism and they tried to impose a single religion-Islamic in Pakistan, Singhalas version of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Gangetic valley of Hinduism in India”, he said. The Upper caste of Gangetic Hindu men regarded themselves as really Indians and the rest were descendents. Development is going on the line of gender and caste. Then comes the food habit of the people. In the 1966 the famous Sanyasis march to Delhi for protection of cow forcing the Home Minister Guzarilal Nanda to resign. The dominant classes regarded themselves as the decision makers. There was also the imposition of a single language like Hindi in India, Sinhala in Sri Lanka and Urdu in Pakistan,” the speaker described.
He also mentioned that in 1950 there were the Gandian and the Christian volunteers not involved in contestation but in relief and welfare activities. Due to empowerment by the dominant classes and development do not reach to the public and the division of rich and poor became wider. Fernandes also mentioned of the contestation for self determination in Northeast, where the Naga nationalist movement for protecting of NE culture and autonomy. In the 1946 Phizo and his men went to Delhi for demanding self autonomy, but only Mahatma Gandhi knew of the problem and supported to it and rest were not interested. The Indian leaders understood only of the Gangetic valley and Dravidian-Aryan ideas and not the tribal India and not the Mongoloid NE. He also mentioned of the rise of feminism, which is against the tribal component. There still continues a dissent and contestation for lack of development and economic growth to the poor and deprivation to NE.
Prof. Narendra Singh, Dean of Student welfare (DSW), AUDC and president, AUDC Teachers Association in his speech mentioned the problem of students-teachers ratio. He pointed out that there was shortage of teaching faculties, lacks modern digital equipments and slow development work in the campus. Meanwhile, AUDCSU has submitted a memorandum to the MAC Ratan.
