HT Bureau
DIPHU, Nov 23: The conference of the 42nd session of the North-East India History Association (NEIHA) that began in Diphu on Thursday is bound to be informative and greatly benefit the local academic community.
The three-day conference that began at the Langkung Habe Memorial Auditorium Town in Diphu, is organised by the Assam University, Diphu campus in collaboration with the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC). The conference will conclude on November 25. Chief executive member (CEM) of KAAC, Tuliram Ronghang graced the inaugural session as the chief guest.
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Speaking on the occasion, the CEM said, “It is an honour and a privilege to host the 42nd session of NEIHA. I am grateful to NEIHA for giving the KAAC and the Assam University the opportunity to host this academic event. Conferences are a great way to bring people together which can lead to unexpected opportunities. I am sure this mega academic gathering will allow us to widen our perspectives. I hope we will get the chance to collaborate more in the future so that we may combine our resources and support one another’s development. I believe this will be a great first step toward strengthening our bond and partnership.”
CEM Ronghang also pointed out that the NEIHA is well known for drawing members from across the country and beyond.
“The conference will greatly benefit the local academic community. It is believed that the objective of history is to acquire knowledge about the past. In the Karbi context, various authors have made an attempt to learn and write about the past. The history of the Karbis has been passed down by oral tradition. It is customary of the Karbi forefathers to compose a song for every place they passed through and events that they encountered. Much of the songs and tales are sadly forgotten. A great amount of work remains to be done. NEIHA is playing a pivotal role in building connections and bridging gaps across communities in this region,” the CEM further said.
Vice chancellor of Assam University, Diphu campus, Professor Sivasis Biswas on the occasion said, “It is a great privilege to host such an event in the campus, which will be attended by more than 300 delegates from the Northeast. As the Karbi have a rich oral history it should be legitimate to introduce Karbi history in school and colleges of Karbi Anglong. The history of the Karbi has to be known to all.”
General secretary of NEIHA, Amena N Passah said that the association was founded in 1979 and the first session was held in 1980 at Shillong. Initially, it had only 69 members, which have now increased to over 1600 members. More than 90 per cent are lifelong members from eight states of the Northeast and a good number are also from the other part of the country.
It also has members from other countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Japan, Taiwan, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia and the USA. NEIHA publishes the proceeding volumes of the annual session before the next session. The seminar is usually held every year. She thanked the KAAC authority for hosting the event.
David R Syiemlieh former professor of the history department of the North Eastern Hill University and one of the founding members and former president of NEIHA and former chairman of the Union Public Service Commission of India said, “I am privileged to be a treasurer for two terms and general secretary for 12 years and a president of the association during the course of which I had made good connections with friends, fellow historian, research scholars from the region.”
On the other hand, two books were also released during the inaugural session of the programme. The books are ‘Slavery and Servitude in pre-colonial East-India’ by AK Thakur and ‘History of North-East India and New Research and Perspectives’ by Rusievam Shangphiang.
The president elect of NEIHA and professor of the Mizoram University, Jagdish Lal Dawar also attended the conference along with several other historians and scholars from Northeast India.
