Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has accused the TMC government in West Bengal of preventing the implementation of central welfare schemes, depriving the state's residents of benefits such as Ayushman Bharat and PM Kisan.
Spearheading the protests against the dams, the All Assam Students' Union, Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) and All Mishing Students' Union have raised the alarm that these mega dams would have a catastrophic effect on life and livelihoods of people living in the downstream areas of the Brahmaputra river in Assam.
At a time when tension was already high among the North Eastern people in different parts of the country and rumours were triggering their exodus, a statement by the All India Assam Students Union leader in Guwahati about the death of an Assamese passenger in Andhra Pradesh has further heightened the tension.
It was in July last year an unprecedented spell of communal riots broke out in the Bodoland Territorial Council area in Assam, involving the Bodo tribes and immigrant Muslim settlers.
Nearly three months after students and teachers launched protests demanding the removal of Tezpur University Vice Chancellor (VC) Shambhu Nath Singh, the Ministry of Education (MoE) asked him to proceed on leave and ordered the setting up of an enquiry panel to probe into the allegations against him, according to officials.
The Indian government's announcement of 10,000 additional seats in medical colleges next year, part of a plan to add 75,000 seats over five years, has been welcomed by education experts and stakeholders. The move aims to address the shortage of medical professionals and reduce the outflow of Indian medical students to other countries. The budget also includes infrastructure expansion at five new IITs to accommodate 6,500 more students and an allocation of Rs 500 crore to set up a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education.
Garima Saikia Garg, wife of the late singer Zubeen Garg, appeals to the public to maintain peace and support the singer's manager, Siddhartha Sharma, following Zubeen's death in Singapore.
'The Indian Army and paramilitary have to land more in Assam as the situation is very bad, especially in upper Assam,' says BJP MLA Binod Hazarika whose home was burnt down by mobs.
Zubeen Garg was not just Assam's voice, he was its heartbeat, its rebellion, and its song of unity in a land often torn apart.
After successfully blocking construction at the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation's 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro-electric Project at Gerukamukh in Dhemaji district of Assam, the anti-dam brigade comprising several organisations were on Thursday called for negotiation by the Assam government in Guwahati.
Two motor-bikes were torched, while some private cars were seized by crowds in Jalukbari near the Guwahati University, sources said.
All shops, business establishments, schools and colleges remained closed. Attendance in government offices and banks was thin.\n\n
The on-going mass agitation against the construction of 2000 MW Subansiri lower hydroelectric project along the Assam-Arunachal border has intensified. Anti-dam protestors have resisted the movement of two turbines meant for the mega dam project that is being constructed by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation at Gerukamukh at the foothills of Arunachal Pradesh.
The All Assam Students' Union on Tuesday organised demonstrations across Assam demanding steps to evict fundamentalist forces from the state.
The prime minister witnessed the protests when he travelled to the Raj Bhavan in Guwahati, where he will spend the night, from Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.
As political parties and the All Assam Students Union protest against the India-Bangladesh land pact signed on September 6 in Dhaka, the governor of Assam has called for a special one-day session of the Assam assembly on October 17 to discus the issue, as demanded by the opposition parties.
Nandita Saikia, a BA student at Moridhal College in Dhemaji district, was attacked by Rintu Sharma while she was returning home from her college on Saturday, police said.
As the state Wildlife and Forest Department's all 'efforts to gear up vigil in the habitats of endangered one-horned Asiatic rhinoceros' has come to a naught, the All Assam Students Union alleging nexus between rhino poachers and a section of people in power in the state has demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation into incidents of rhino poaching in the state.
'Political protection allow groups to recruit, rearm and operate with reduced operational pressure. That increases their bargaining power and their ability to destabilise.'
Retired army personnel will be appointed as additional superintendents of police to impart training to the police force in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in Dergaon on Monday.
For the banned ULFA, it is the people from the 'Indian sub-continent' who are illegal migrants in Assam and not the 'trespassers' from neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal.
Businesses and banks in Guwahati were open and vehicles plied the roads but schools and colleges were closed. Stray incidents of clashes were reported in West Bengal.
Leading the protest against 'India-Bangladesh Land Pact' that was signed on September 6 in Dhaka in presence of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, the All Assam Students Union on Thursday brought out a protest rally in the city.
A mass protest mobilised by anti-dam protestors from Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS), All Assam Students Union (AASU) and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) on Thursday stopped a turbine component that was being transported to the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydro-power Project in Dhemaji district of Assam.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will commence hearing on October 17 to examine the constitutional validity of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act relating to illegal immigrants in Assam.
Agitators at Tezpur University on Sunday vowed to enforce a shutdown at the institution, which has been witnessing sustained protests since mid-September against alleged irregularities by Vice Chancellor Shambhu Nath Singh, till a formal communication from the Centre regarding the VC's removal is received.
Social media influencer Ranveer Allahbadia and other individuals associated with a YouTube reality show, "India's Got Latent, " face legal trouble after complaints were filed in Mumbai regarding offensive and vulgar content on the show. Two separate complaints, one with the police and another with a city court, were filed by members of the BJP and Congress, respectively. The complaints allege that the show promotes abusive language, vulgarity, and nudity. The YouTuber, with almost 16 million followers, has since apologized for his distasteful comments on parents and sex, which had sparked widespread outrage. The complaints seek action against Allahbadia, show host Samay Raina, fellow YouTuber Ashish Chanchlani, the show's makers, judges, and participants.
'...in the minds of the youth of Assam.' 'Now, no protests happen in Assam because of fear of police encounters.'
The two neighbouring states have disputes over 12 areas. There are minor differences over six of these areas and the states have decided to resolve these on priority.
Parliament is set to debate the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram and election reforms, with key discussions led by Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Shah.
The Assam Congress on Monday suspended its MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed with immediate effect for "repeatedly violating" the party's discipline, a senior leader said.
It isn't easy for a girl from Gopal Nagar to chase a dream. But Pinky was extremely determined. A force unto herself, she was going to go places. Literally. Till it abruptly ended one morning on the tarmac at Baramati airport.
Amid widespread protests against the citizenship bill in the state, the govt suspended Internet services to 'prevent spreading rumours'.
'We will not accept the CAA and EIA. We have been protesting against the CAA since 2016, but this government has not listened to us'
The Assam government has set up an eight-member committee to prepare a framework for implementation of all clauses of the 36-year-old Assam Accord, especially the Clause-6 report prepared by a central panel pertaining to protecting the cultural, social and linguistic identity and heritage of the indigenous people, officials said on Saturday.
Section 6A, which was incorporated in the Citizenship Act 1955 following the signing of the 1985 Assam Accord, was upheld by the Supreme Court.
A day after it was reported that a teenager was killed at the hands of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit faction) cadres, other organisations have slammed the state for failing to resolve the militancy along the border. Anurag Kashyap reports
