STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: BTC Chief Executive Member (CEM) Pramod Boro said that it is high time they projected the BTR as a destination for knowledge, erasing its age-old portrayal as a conflict zone, involving insurgency.
Addressing the media in the run-up to the ‘Bodoland International Knowledge Festival’ to be hosted by Bodoland University from February 27 to March 2, Boro said,
“It will be one of the biggest events in the BTR. We want to establish Kokrajhar and the BTR as destinations for education, knowledge sharing, and tourism with this event. Over the years, Kokrajhar and the BTR have been portrayed negatively. We were known for insurgency and backwardness. But time has changed, and we have moved ahead. Now we want Kokrajhar and the BTR to be known as a destination for intelligent people, not insurgency.”
Boro said that they want to draw knowledge and expertise from experts in various fields to enhance epistemic dialogue across cultures and communities.
“With this Knowledge Festival, we want to create an atmosphere of dialogue and participatory priority?setting for addressing concerns of contemporary human society which would promote scientific temperament to address social and economic concerns of the society in a post-conflict scenario,” he added. On the political front, Boro said, “The political scenario in Assam has changed with emphasis on education and other important sectors.”
When asked which party or parties he would like to side with during the Lok Sabha poll, Boro said, “Everybody has a principle. I will follow my principles and the needs of society. We did not compromise while Bodoland was under violence. Why should we compromise now?”
Three to four embassies will be participating, and one of them will be from America. There will be ex-militant, progressive farmers. More than 300 invited delegates from across India will attend, as will 35 international delegates from 14 countries. More than 10,000 participants will take part in the Knowledge Festivals, including students, academicians, researchers, development practitioners, government officials, politicians, entrepreneurs, farmers, and SHG members, among others.
The four-day event will witness the participation of Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammed Yunus from Bangladesh, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister of State for Education and External Affairs Dr. RK Ranjan Singh, Assam Legislative Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimari, and Vice Chancellors of five different universities in Assam, among others.
Furthermore, the Bodoland International Knowledge Fest will document knowledge exchange for ongoing learning and praxis: knowledge-action-reflection by various BTR communities of practice. The thematic area of this festival is the achievement of social development priorities and key Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 in the contemporary world.
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