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Friends of Assam & Seven Sisters (FASS)
is a non-profit non governmental organization, an international
'think-tank' which is aimed at providing an inspirational energy and a
motivating force for overall revival and development of the North East
India in all its spheres. By the phrase 'Assam & Seven Sisters' we
mean specifically the eight states of North East India: Assam,
Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and
Sikkim. During the British Raj and till after India's independence,
all these states of the North East India except for Manipur, Tripura
& Sikkim, were within the geographical boundary of the old state of
Assam. After India's independence however, the region has been further
fragmented and several new smaller and smaller states & sub-states
are still being formed. Along with these new states, one also sees the
rise of various insurgent groups in the North East which are still
continuing unabated. Political fragmentation, a sense of
insecurity and a quest for ethnic and regional identity fomented a
climate of insurgency in several parts of the region and this was
aggravated by dissatisfaction with hegemonic domination and frustration
with the lack of development. Overall, in spite of its rich natural resources, the North East suffers from acute underdevelopment and has remained one of the most backward regions of the country. The standard of living of the people in some states has lagged as much as forty per cent behind the rest of the country. We
believe, among various other factors, the situation reflects poorly on
the governance of the North East by the central political leadership
combined with a lack of understanding of the cultures of the region
with the required sensitiveness on one hand and a lack of proper local
leadership on the other.
From
remote past people of different races immigrated into the North East
India making it a big melting pot of different human races and
cultures. In fact, all the five major races of the world, the Negritos,
the Austro-Asiatics, the Dravidians, the Mongoloids, the Alpines &
the Nordic Aryans– all emigrated and settled in this land in one time
or another, a unique phenomenon which did not happen anywhere else in
the world. This has a great significance for the present
multiculturalism of the people of the North East. As we see,
culturally the North East has been influenced by the Indian as well as
the Chinese culture, and in a wider sense, we may say that culturally
the North East is the meeting ground of the East and the West. It is
not surprising therefore that one of the main problems of the North
East seems to be the confusion and ignorance about the region and its
multifarious cultures within and outside the North East. The
fragmentation and isolation policy of the various parts of this region
since the British Raj has turned this melting-pot into a stagnant
‘salad-bowl’ of cultures.
Against this background, Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS)
offers a common platform for the people and all friends and
well-wishers of North East India to respond and work for the common
good of the peoples of the North East and make the North East shine in
its own glory which is its due. Friends of Assam & Seven Sisters (FASS) believes
in the role of the democratic process, a process which has been
weakened in the North East region during the last couple of decades. In
this respect, Friends of Assam and Seven Sisters (FASS) would
endeavor to help in fostering proper understanding amongst the
people within and outside the North East, and to strengthen the
democratic process with liberty, justice and equality for all people.
One
of our goals is to spread proper knowledge of North East and to discuss
and offer enlightened perspective of its numerous problems and arrive
at their rational and balanced solutions.
To achieve our goals, we propose :
* To
study and promote the thought of general welfare and strengthening of
the democratic values of the people of the North East.
* To promote research and studies on the social, cultural and economic problems of the North East.
* To engage in cultural, educational, and social action, based on such research.
* To endeavor for overall economic and cultural development and integration of the people of the North East to its best
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