Visiting foreign students appeal for peace in NE

Guwahati, Sept 09 (UNI) 'Insurgency' precedes the name of North East not just for other parts of the country, but also for those who come to spend time in India, even if as students.

But a single visit to the region is enough to disperse all misgivings for these foreign students, though it may take a lifetime for other Indians to feel at home in NE. Sharing their views with the media here about the impression they carried about the region, the foreign students, pursuing different courses in New Delhi, who are in the city said they found Assam a peaceful and beautiful state, with no unrest visible on the fore to distract the tourist. Students from eight countries are here on a five-day visit on the initiative of the Cotton College Students' Union Society (CCUS), who had invited them here to facilitate interaction with the student community here. A total 14 students, studying in different streams in Delhi University (DU) and Jamia Milia Islamia, are from China, Laos, Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, Nepal, Thailand and Afghanistan. In Souan Pol of Cambodia, who is studying History under DU and is also an official of the tourism ministry back home, said, "I had an impression that Assam was a backward state and had no facilities.

But all these was changed after my arrival here." The student delegates said that the little knowledge they had of NE before the visit confined mostly to the insurgency problem and the movements for separate states the outfits were waging here.

Matun Bek of Afghanistan said, "We had heard about ULFA and the separatists movement here. We were a bit apprehensive about the situation here." His compatriot Sayed Jalal added, "We have grown up in similar conditions. We knew that insurgents could have targeted us to put pressure on the government to meet their demands." However, all their fears were dispersed after they reached Guwahati and had only fond memories of a peace-loving population, with smiles on their faces and greenery everywhere, to take back, they added. The Afghan students also appealed to the ULFA to shun violence and facilitate better growth and development of the region. Comparing the insurgency scene of India with their own country, the Afghan students said, "We all know foreign forces, especially Pakistan, creating problems in Afghanistan as well as India. We will definitely go back to our country after out education and help in its growth." The foreign students also admitted that there was a gap between the NE students and students from the other regions. The delegates from Laos and Thailand, however, maintained that the gap was not much and the foreign students were always comfortable in the company of NE students.

"We share great friendship with students from NE and never had any trouble with them," they added.

UNI