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Paresh asked to give up �futile� struggle

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Sept 2 - Senior journalist DN Chakravartty today urged Paresh Barua, the self-styled commander-in-chief of the banned ULFA, to give up the �futile� armed struggle to �liberate� Assam and instead join a new march for Assam�s resurgence to catch the leadership of India through �our intellectual and moral excellence and social solidarity and collective resolution.�

Chakravartty, who was addressing a function organised by the Patriotic People�s Forum, Journalists� Forum of Assam and Journalist Association of Assam at the Guwahati Press Club, also submitted before Barua a �scheme for Assam�s resurgence�.

�The 78 thousand sq km of Assam�s land must remain intact, and all the ethnic groups and those of the Barak Valley must be entitled to equal rights and opportunities to live and prosper in an atmosphere of peace, equality and brotherhood. There would not be any discrimination anywhere. This should be the first condition of a resurgent Assam,� he said.

Secondly, Chakravartty added, Assam�s administration would be made completely free of corruption, incompetence and nepotism. �Strict laws would be made to restore tribal land to tribal people and secure full security of tribal land. Fixed areas would be declared as agricultural land, not to be used for other purposes,� he said.

The scheme also mandates that teaching of Assamese and local languages would be encouraged while promoting competence to gain full command over English and Hindi. On job reservation, it said that the indigenous people would get job reservation and emphasis would be laid on development of skill and competence of Assamese youths. �A new economic plan for Assam would be chalked out ensuring full utilisation of natural resources and protection of forest wealth,� he said.

Finally, a ten-year programme will be launched to educate, train and motivate ten thousand Assamese youths to compete equally with the best talents of the country in all spheres of life - technical, administrative, educational and political. �From among these ten thousand youths would emerge the future Ananda Ram Baruah, KK Handique, Dinesh Goswami and new Momai Tamuli Barbaruahs,� he said.

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