GUWAHATI, March 21 — During the almost two-decade-long on-and-off movement for first a separate Bodoland State then for more autonomy mainly spearheaded by the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), education was relegated to, background on Bodo-dominated areas in the State.The harsh reality that general students from the Bodo areas of the State have lagged miles behind their counterparts in other parts has dawned on the ABSU which now have the time to look into the matter in the post Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Accord.

Talking to The Assam Tribune, ABSU president Rabiram Brahma admitted that...

Shillong, March 20: The customs and central excise department appears to be in no mood to entertain requests by trade lobbies in Dhaka and Sylhet to reconsider its decision to suspend operations along the export routes in the Northeast.

As many as 13 land customs stations in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura were closed down following the abduction of customs inspector Dipak Mahanta and six traders by militants of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) and the People’s Liberation Front of Meghalaya.

Representatives of the Northeast Customs and Central Excise Federation said land customs...

Imphal, March 20: The AIDS pandemic in Manipur has assumed a new dimension with a large section of people in the “productive age group” of 21 to 30 beginning to fall prey to the disease.

The new project director of the Manipur AIDS Control Society (MACS), S. Sukumar Singh, today said the number of HIV-positive pregnant women was on the rise.

“With 2.4 per cent of pregnant women testing positive, we really have a problem on our hands,” he said at the inauguration of a two-day exhibition of materials for HIV/AIDS awareness programmes.

The exhibition has been organised jointly by the Lifeline...

Agartala, March 20: The Tripura Assembly, whose opening session commenced today, elected former handloom and handicrafts minister and sitting CPM legislator from Dharmanagar subdivision of North Tripura, Ramendra Debnath, as its new Speaker by a majority vote.

The treasury benches had submitted the name of Debnath through party MLA Manoranjan Debbarma to pro tem Speaker Samir Deb Sarkar before the session began at 11 am. The Opposition Congress-INPT combine submitted two separate proposals for electing Congress MLA Kajal Das as the Speaker. The proposals were supported and seconded by four...

Imphal, March 20: Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh’s promise to rehabilitate surrendered militants has failed to the cheer up the majority of the former rebels. Fed up with a “series of unfulfilled promises” many of them are now weighing various options, including returning to life in the jungles.

Ibobi had announced in the just-concluded budget session of the Assembly that surrendered militants would be given priority in the recruitment of the proposed 3rd India Reserve Battalion.

However, the surrendered militants have claimed that such promises are not new. “Three phases of...