Gogoi will face the music in polls: Indigenous tribal sahitya sabhas

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 2: The convening committee of the Indigenous Tribal Sahitya Sabhas, Assam (ITSSA) has said that Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi will have to face the music in the coming Assembly elections for his government depriving various indigenous tribal sahitya sabhas of their funds and delaying release of funds under non-Plan head to them.

In a statement issued to the press, ITSSA office-bearers said: “Under Plan head the Department of Higher Education used to provide Rs 30 lakh to the Axam Xahitya Xabha (AXX), Rs 10 lakh to the Bodo Sahtya Sabha (BSS), Rs 5 lakh each to the Mising Sahitya Sabha (MSS), Tiwa Sahitya Sabha (TSS) and the Rabha Sahitya Sabha (RSS). The Department of Higher Education used to release funds meant for the tribal sahitya sabhas through the tribal sub-plan of WPT & BC Department. However, on May 13, 2015 WPT & DC Minister Sumitra Patir took a decision to divert it by providing Rs 10 lakh to Dhemaji College and Rs 15 lakh to Dhakuakha College. However, the this decision had to be rolled back following pressure from the sahitya sabhas concerned. However, due to failure on the part of the Department of Higher Education and the Fince Department, the funds for indigenous tribal sahitya sabhas have not been released as yet.”

The office-bearers further said that in the non-Plan head, the AXX used to get Rs 12 lakh, BSS Rs 1.05 lakh, Dimasa Sahitya Sabha (DSS) Rs 4 lakh from the Department of Higher Education. “This year, the BSS was supposed to get Rs 5 lakh and the Fince Department has also approved it. However, the government is yet to release the funds. Nor has there been any arrangement made for the payment of funds to the sahitya sabhas of Deoris, Garos and Karbis. This makes it crystal clear that the Congress Government in the State led by Tarun Gogoi has no intention to develop literatures and cultures of the indigenous tribes in the State,” the  ITSSA office-bearers said.