Tuesday, 17 November 2009The insurgency stricken Northeast India has slowly woken up to the ill
effects of insurgency turned terrorism and it has lately inspired a
cinemagoers association to organize a festival on the theme of
anti-terrorism. With an aim to highlight different perspectives of
terrorism in Assam and other parts of the region, the Gauhati Cine
Club has decided to go for a film festival in December exclusively on
the burning issue.
The week long show titled Guwahati Film Festival 2009 will be
inaugurated on December 10. The screening of the festival, to be held
at Rabindra Bhaban and Lakhiram Baruah Sadan, is supposed to include
nearly 50 award winning and critically acclaimed feature and short
films from India and abroad with the prescribed theme.
Northeast India, surrounded by Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet (China), Burma and
Bangladesh, gives shelter to over 20 active armed outfits, which are
fighting against the central government for many decades. With demands
ranging from sovereignty to self-rule, the insurgent groups have
almost waged a war against New Delhi that almost crippled the economy
of the alienated region. The prolonged armed struggle has already
snatched away thousands of lives form both the state and non-state
actors in the region that is home to around 50 million population.
Some of the militant outfits are still running training camps inside
jungles of south Bangladesh and northern Burma. New Delhi has
repeatedly asked both the governments to crack down on those camps.
Though Dhaka has shown seriousness on the issue, the Burmese junta
almost ignores India’s request. It is general understanding that the
junta is playing with the government of India on the issue and it has
neither the capacity nor interest to take actions against the
Northeastern militants taking shelter inside Burma.
Slowly but steadily, the conscious citizens of the region have come
out to the streets against the inhuman and unruly activities of the
insurgent outfits. Defying the diktats of the militants, the
electorates of the region have been participating in the elections,
conducted by the Election Commission of India, with huge turn-outs.
Moreover, the number of citizens participating in the Independence Day
and Republic Day (of India) are growing every year, even though the
armed groups continued their threats against such celebrations in the
region. There are instances, when the conscious citizens have
expressed their angers publicly against the militant leaders, who had
been masterminding the terror activities to keep the region burning.
Speaking to this writer, the secretary of Gauhati Cine Club, Kanak
Chandra Kalita expressed optimism that the coming festival will
receive significant response from the film lovers of Assam. Talking
about the theme of anti-terrorism, Kalita asserted that it was
everyone's duty to stand against terrorism.
"We expect a world of peace, prosperity and wisdom. And the terrorism
has no place there. That is why we have planned the theme for the next
Guwahati festival to be anti-terrorism. It will be a small
contribution from our end to understand and resolve the issue of
terrorism for the sake of humanity," Kalita added.
The four-decade old organization, Gauhati Cine Club has been
organizing regular screening of films of national and international
repute in the city. Established (under the leadership of Dr. Bhupen
Hazarika) in 1965 with an aim to create awareness about cinema as a
serious art form and also encourage debate and discourses about the
cinema in the society, the cine club publishes an annual cine journal
named 'Chitra Chinta'. Till date, the cine club has published some
exceptional books on the legendary film personalities like the
Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, pioneer of Assamese Cinema
Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwala, award winning Manipuri film director
Aribam Shyam Sharma etc.
Moreover, it organizes the film appreciation courses for the
interested filmgoers and also interactive sessions with distinguished
film personalities. The annual memorial lecture on Rupkonwar
Jyotiprasad Agarwala, the doyen of Assamese cinema, who dared to make
the first Assamese movie 'Joymati' in 1935 amidst all challenge and
difficulties, is also a praiseworthy activity of the cine club. |
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
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