Our Correspondent
Diphu, April 14 (EMN): Karbi organisations including Karbi Students Association (KSA), Karbi Students and Youth Council (KSYC), Karbi Students Union (KSU) and Karbi Farmers Association (KFA) convened a joint press conference on Thursday and condemned the provocative statements made by prof. Gyanendra Barman.
KSA president, Thangsing Timung informed that, ‘in a tribal conference held on April 12 in Diphu, organised by Janajati Faith and Culture Protection Forum, East and West Karbi Anglong District Committee, professor of Cotton University, Guwahati, prof. Gyanendra Barman gave a provocative speech intending to divide the tribal communities in Karbi Anglong on religious lines.
Timung said, “He should first understand the Indian constitution and what secularism means. In the fundamental rights, it is mentioned ‘freedom to culture and religion’. Dr. Barman coming to Karbi Anglong and giving such hate speech has only tried to divide the tribal communities”.
He also said the KSA, KSYC, KSU and KFA condemned the organisers of the tribal conference backed by RSS for organising such a meeting and warned them in the coming days that they should refrain themselves from holding such a conference failing which, all the students, cultural and social organisations will oppose.
Timung also said the RSS, Janjati and prof. Barman should understand that in India there are around 200 Scheduled Tribes speaking different languages and professing different religions.
‘If any violence or clashes take place, the RSS, Janajati Faith and Culture Protection Forum and Dr. Barman will have to bear the responsibility’, he said.
The students and youth organisations asked prof. Barman to apologise for his inflammatory speech.