12-hr bandh called in Sribhumi on Sept 3 over dist's name change
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Silchar: The Committee to Resist the Renaming of Karimganj District, which has been spearheading protests against Assam govt's decision to change the name of the district as Sribhumi, on Sunday announced a 12-hour total bandh across the Sribhumi district on Sept 3.
Assam govt announced the change of the name of erstwhile Karimganj district on Nov 19 last year.
The decision of calling a bandh was taken in a meeting held under the chairmanship of committee convenor Sunit Ranjan Dutta. The meeting expressed "deep concern" that despite continuous protests since Feb, the state govt has not taken any positive steps. The bandh call, leaders said, is aimed at making the people's voice heard more forcefully.
Speakers also condemned BJP IT cell leader Amit Malviya's reported remarks describing the Sylheti dialect as a "Bangladeshi language" and criticised attacks on poor Bengali-speaking communities in Assam and other states. They alleged the name change move was taken "unilaterally" with "communal intent" and in violation of democratic traditions, erasing Karimganj's role in landmark struggles such as the Nankar Rebellion, the Chargoala Muluk Chalo movement, and the language movements of 1961, 1972, and 1986.
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The meeting also highlighted long-standing grievances in the Barak Valley, including the closure of the Cachar Paper Mill in 2015, reduction in assembly and district council seats, and recruitment policy changes that allegedly deprive local unemployed youth of lower-grade jobs in govt offices. Speakers criticised the poor condition of connectivity, the medical college, and the district hospital, terming them evidence of the state's "parochial and discriminatory attitude.
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They accused the govt of "inhuman and communal" actions by evicting poor residents without rehabilitation. Leaders vowed to continue the united fight of Bengali, Manipuri, Bishnupriya, Hindi-speaking and other communities against the renaming.
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