Sensitization Campaign

• Six numbers of sensitization campaigns are planned in a year.
• Aashwas has identified a cluster of seven villages in each of six districts where there is a history of ethnic or terrorist violence.
• Seven such campaigns were already conducted in a groups of villages (1) Rangia under Kamrup District, (2) Majuli sub-divisions under Jorhat district (3) Numrup under Dibrugarh District (4) Rupshi under Dhubri District (5) Hahchara under Sivasagar District & (6) Singiaputani under Nogaon District. (7) Serfanguri under Kokrajhar District

A REPORT:-
1 st Sensitization Campaign at Kekerikuchi, Rangia wef. 24/01/2002 to 30/01/2002

• These villages had been ravaged for years by incidents related to extremism.In January,13, 1998 a group of armed extremists had killed 17 villagers in Kekerikuchi.
• The people in all these villages have been living a life of terror. The children are quite traumatized. Distrust, fear inter-community tension, movement of extremists and action of the state have caused a serious breach in social life in general causing irreparable damage for the village children mentally, educationally and socially.
• The campaign has started on January,24,2002 with a briefing session by the 'AASHWAS'team with the important persons of 7 (seven) villages and a group of 48 boys and girls. The local groups of villagers donning white T-shirts were dispatched to the each house-holds of the7 villages with a questionnaire. The questionnaire was on health, access to medical facility of children concern for children etc.
• On the 2nd day, 2 (two) workshops were simultaneously organized at village Kekerikuchi and Dwarkuchi. In these workshops noted Gynaecologist Dr. (Mrs) Alaka Goswami and Child specialist Dr. Jnyanen Sarma assisted by 2 other doctors had interacted with women of all the 7 villages on issues like mother and child care. The enthusiasm of village women could be gauged from the questions they asked the experts on rearing of children and other issues. That day had come to be recognized as a red letter day for the villagers. As per the invitation of Aashwas, internationally renowned ,Dadasaheb award winner ,President of Sangeet Academy , Doyen of eastern Indian cultural tradition and the darling of the people of Assam, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika had set foot in Kekerikuchi and Dwarkuchi villages- to share their grief and agony, to inspire and to treat the child as the central issue in their scheme of things. While doing so, he sang his immortal number ….. "If men does not think about men who will, tell me men"…. Miss Kalpana Lajmi the great film maker from Mumbai and the noted columnist Dr. Bikash Baruah along with Dr. Bhupen Hazarika had ignited collective passion for a better tomorrow in those villages.
• It was the Republic Day on the Day-III of the campaign. While the extremists in Assam had given their usual boycott call the Nation had celebrated it with great enthusiasm.
• Villagers and youth of village Kekerikuchi, Jaljali, Dwarkuchi Pathalikuch etc would also rather join the Nation in celebrating the Republic Day with a difference. More than 250 youth of these villages took out a procession in bi-cycle covering of all the 7 villagers calling upon people to usher in peace and denounce violence. The procession was accompanied by a group of artists from Gyan-Vigyan Samiti of Assam Science Society who had performed street plays and sang songs of ethnic amity in all the villages where ever the procession stopped.
• Mean-while an inter school elocution and quiz competition in Assamese and Boro language were held at Kekerikuchi ME school where participants vigorously defended the cause of peace. The topic of elocution was "Peace, not arms only can bring about changes in the society".
• On the 4th day of the campaign H'ble DGP, Assam & Chairman Aashwas along with the Deputy Commissioner, Kamrup, Sri A.A. Hazarika, ACS and some senior citizens of Guwahati had visited Kekerikuchi village. The dignitaries paid floral tribute on the memorial of the 17 people killed on the fateful night of 13th January,1998.The dignitaries also planted saplings on the memorial side. It was a historic day, for, on this day the neighbouring Boro villagers had pledged to help reconstruct the memorial in collaboration with the other village people.
• It was a sentimental day .Some people remembered those ghastly nights, but it was also a day of redemption. At the initiative of Aashwas All Boro Student Union, on behalf of the neighbouring villages of Kekrikuchi contributed a token amount for reconstructing the Memorial. The hitherto mutually suspecting communities held hands of each other and cordoned the memorial site and pledged to live in amity. The collectivity sang aye aye to the tune "whether it is peace we want or not".
• After the dignitaries had left noted psychiatrist Dr. Jayanta Das interacted with the victim families as a way of psychological counselling.
• Mr. Bhabesh Mahanta editor of a science magazine, interacted with the local teachers to give them tips on how to teach young children.
• In the same day at Dwarkuchi High School a Motivation Campaign for self employment of the unemployed youth was in progress. Speaking on the occasion Sri H.K.Deka, IPS, DGP,Assam and Sri A.A. Hazarika, ACS, D. C .Kamrup called upon the youths of the areas to concentrate in earning their own bread. A street play by Gyan Vigyan Samiti against issue like idle living ,non repayment of loans and wasteful expenditure etc. was also performed. The workshop was addressed by Mr. Nurul Islam Laskar Chief Manager of SBI, Mr. Amarjyoti Das, Faculty Member of SIRD,,Dr.Samar Gogo & Dr. P. Goswami, Veterinary Deptt. The speakers enlightened the gathering on the departmental schemes for self-employment.
• Aashwas has approached an NGO called Tribal Welfare Society to follow up on behalf of the willing members of the villagers to approach the right department for training and other facilities for their rehabilitation. Ms Maria Mangte, chairperson of the NGO and her team have already started the works in this direction.
• The last day was the day of education assessment of the 7 villages. Several teams of educated youths had attended all the schools of 7 villages and noted down their observations in a set of questionnaires provided to them. The observations were primarily on the following:
  • School discipline.
  • Teacher's commitment.
  • Commitment of the student.
  • Dropout rates.
  • Building and infrastructure
• The campaign apparently had its desired impact in not only scaling new heights of community policing but also ensuring to treat the child as a central issue in a violence ridden ambience Sri V.K.Rama Setti, IPS, SDPO of Rangia Sub-division said that Project Aashwas has brought in with its weeklong activities in the tragedy hit Kekerikuchi village and the impacts left on the minds of the inhabitants of seven most underprivileged villages of Rangia Sub-division.
• As it is observed , the project was one of the most wel come breather of fresh air in an area that was long struggling with a sense of insecurity, mutual suspicion and total lack of confidence in the administrative institutions since the monsters of terrorism raised heads - culminating in the killing of seventeen innocents in fateful evening of 13th January/1998.
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