Assam: FIR filed, Barak raises united voice against Dimasa Writers’ Forum

A CORRESPONDENT

SILCHAR: Cutting across political affiliations, leaders of both ruling and opposition parties raised voices of protest against the Dimasa Writers’ Forum. At least three FIRs have been lodged against Mukteswar Kemprai, president of the writers’ forum as he labelled the 11 language martyrs as ‘Bangladeshis’ and ‘infiltrators.’ Kemprai in a letter to Basanta Kumar Goswami, the Axam Xahitya Xabha President, opposed the stance of the Xabha supporting the demand for renaming Silchar railway station as ‘Bhasha Shahid Station,’ Silchar. In the letter, Kemprai said that the Bangladeshi infiltrators led the 1961 Language Movement opposing Assamese as official language and that during the agitation, 11 people were gunned down who were subsequently treated as language martyrs.

Former district Congress president Abhijit Paul lodged an FIR against Kemprai for making derogatory remarks against the martyrs, whom the people of Barak place at the highest pedestal. Later, ‘Baraker Awaz,’ a pressure group and another platform lodged FIRs against Kemprai.

Meanwhile, MP Parimal Shuklabaidya said, “We have to identify the divisive force behind this writers’ forum which has crossed all limits by insulting our language martyrs.” TMC MP Sushmita Dev said that Kemprai had little knowledge of history as he did not even know that Bangladesh was born 10 years after the 1961 language martyrs died. Silchar MLA Dipayan Chakraborty said that at a time when the Axam Xahitya Xabha president himself had written to the Chief Minister supporting the demand for renaming the Silchar railway station after the language martyrs, the remarks made by Kemprai had demeaned his own Dimasa community. Abhijit Paul however said that Kemprai was a mere part of a greater conspiracy being orchestrated in Dispur.  Socio-literary organizations like Barak Upatyaka Banga Sahitya Sammelon, Matribhasha Suraksha Samiti, Bhasha Shahid Smarak Samity, and pressure groups like Barak Democratic Front also condemned the statement of the Dimasa body.

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