Students in Former NC Hills Seek a New Image For Region With music

Haflong (Assam), Sep 9 : A section of students in the renamed North Cachar Hills district of Assam, intend to take on militancy and corruption through music.

The Dima Halam Deogah or 'The Black Widow' militant outfit created a bad image of the region. Besides, financial scam by N C Hills Autonomous Council in January this year brought disrepute to the district as well.

People of the district are eager to improve the image of their area with music.

Dima Hasao, an autonomous district in Assam, is home to Dimasa, Zenes, Kukis and Hmars tribes.

To mobilize public opinion a 'Rock for Peace', a music concert was organized here recently by local students under the aegis of Halflong Music Society.

Choir groups performed songs on national integration and self-motivation in an effort to end corruption.

"We have faced a lot of conflict in our district, so a lot of youth instead of choosing the right direction are going for power and are choosing the wrong option. So this programme aims to bring the youth together and give them a platform where they can come together," said Mercy Rongpipi, a peace activist.

"Whenever we go outside, people ask us where are we from? When we say we are from Haflong of Dima Hasao, they feel that it's a very dangerous place; only terrorists live there and as if only killings and corruption happens there. So we want to prove them wrong," said Dao, organizer of the Haflong Music Society.

Endless violence and corruption has been a major hurdle in the socio-economic development of the Dima Hasao district in the past.

"When you come from Guwahati, you can see the condition of the roads, houses and people out here. We don't have proper roads, or communication facilities. Our communication is completely in shambles. Not only the road communication, be it the trains or any other. Even the mobile phones that we use, it's not like available outside. The network stays off for more than half of the month. You can basically make out how much difficulty has been here," said DAO, organizer of Haflong Music SocietyMilitancy led to corruption and that in turn affected the growth and development of the region.

Today, people here seek peace and development. By Peter Alex Todd