Title - Absu relaunches stir with hunger strike

GUWAHATI: With the Centre yet to announce the date for talks, All Bodo Students' Union re-launched its agitation for a separate state of Bodoland with an indefinite hunger strike at Kokrajhar Higher Secondary School ground on Thursday.Addressing the members of the union, Absu president Pramod Boro said it is the time to experiment how effective our democracy is and how much space is there for democratic people. The students' body had suspended its agitation after chief minister Tarun Gogoi offered to mediate for holding dialogue with the Centre on August 7."I think fasting is the highest form of non-violent movement and as a citizen of the country where the great Mahatma Gandhi was born, we respect this way of movement. Now, we are going to experience the sincerity of people in power towards democracy", he said.He added that the students' body has launched its highest way of movement to get the legitimate and democratic rights of the Bodos. "If the government is democratic, then it will definitely listen to us and address our problems," he told Absu activists.

Hundreds of Absu activists and members of other allied Bodo organizations assembled at the school ground in the morning to take part in the fast. Boro said the students' body has started the hunger strike with only 1000 people but when it ends the number of participants will be over 1 lakh.

Absu's next programme is a 24-hour national highway blockade on August 28, which will be followed by a 24-hour rail blockade on September 10.

Chairman of Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) Hejen Haokip and general secretary K Gangtei were also present. In his speech, Gangtei said the KSDC supported the Bodoland stir. He added that the Kukis were also deprived due to negligence of the government.

Also lending support to the non-violent movement of Absu was NDFB (Progressive) president Dhiren Boro, who said the Bodos have their own language, culture, identity but were suppressed by successive governments.

He appealed to the central government to solve the long-pending issue of the Bodos once and for all.