The city of Guwahati witnessed a unique programme yesterday, 31st December, the last day of the 20th Century and also the dawn of a new millennium.
^{The participants welcomed the new millennium with a symbolic protest against black forces of reaction and evil who have been raising their ugly heads in India and doggedly trying to push back the country from the onward march for a better tomorrow. In the age of scientific and technological revolution, nay, in the age of electronic revolution, the forces of communalism and fundamentalism in India seem hell-bent to push the country back to the age of savagery and brutality with obscurantist ideas.
The participants organised a Backward March symbolizing the forces of reaction. More than one thousand people participated in the unique protest.
The programme was jointly organised by thirty-two different mass organisations and cultural organisations and also by a host of prominent personalities of Assam. The organisations include, among others, the SFI, DYFI, CITU, Kisan Sabha, AIDWA, IPTA, UCF, different organisations of the banks and insurance employees including the SBISA, BEFI, UBIEU, different literary organisations like Natun Prithvi Parishad, Natun Sahitya Parishad, Ganasankriti Bikash Samiti etc.
Among the prominent personalities signing the appeal include Dr. Amalendu Guha, Dr. Hiren Gohain, Lakhyadhar Chaudhury, Dr. Chandra Mohan Sarma, academy award winner Nilmoni Phukan, artists, Mahendra Borthakur, Anil Das, Miral Kuddus, Abdul Majid, cultural celebrities like Dilip Sarma and Sudakshina Sarma, Mukut Bhattachayya, Dr. Sujit Chakraborty, Abdul Mamman, TarakCh. Goswami etc. etc.
After marching backward, the participants formed a Human Chain to pledge for preserving the unity and integrity of the country and for expressing the solidarity to March Forward to the next millennium by resisting the dark forces of reaction with strong determination to create a new world of prosperity and happiness for the entire mankind.
The unique programme started with famous songs of Joti Prasad Agarwalla by Dilip Sarma. The IPTA, Guwahati unit also joined by singing chorus.
Actor Miral Kuddus placed a resolution condemning the hijacking of IA plane to Kandhar by the terrorists and demanded immediate release of the hostages.
A section of protesters also wore black aprons with the superscription’s on it like ‘stop saffronisation’, ‘ stop nuclear race’, ‘No to liberalisation’, etc. etc.
The programme ended with a song by IPTA and with the simultaneous burning of aprons. Large number of people witnessed the symbolic protect actions.
It may be noted, originally the organisers planned to mobilise around two-hundred leading activists for symbolic protect action. However, the figure surpassed and crossed one-thousand mark with the enthusiastic participations of the people.}