Invigorating debate session held in memory of Litterateur Dr. Mamoni Raisom Goswami

By Chandrakala Choudhury New Delhi, [India], 7th March (ANI): Late Indira Goswami, popularly known by her pen name Dr. Mamoni Raisom Goswami is a distinguished name in the world of literature. In 2000, she was honored with 'Jnanpith', the highest literary award in India for her immense contributions in the field of Literature. She was an eminent writer, a prolific author, a Ramayani scholar, an editor and former professor of Delhi University. Her life and her deeds have always been an inspiration for many. Taking a step ahead to commemorate her work and as a mark of tribute to the great litterateur of Assam, the All Assamese Student Association, New Delhi, under the guidance of several other senior members of the union, took this humble initiative to organize the first-ever Mamoni Raisom Goswami Memorial Convention Debate, held in the premises of Assam Bhawan, New Delhi. Young, vibrant, unstoppable, intelligent students from various colleges of the national capital as well as other universities came forward to debate and put out their best of opinions, sharing nuances on the development of the northeast region and emphasized that national media is most essential for development of India's northeast . It was a neck-to-neck performance among the youths and brought to light a pool of opinions on the subject. Some stood for the motion and others against the motion. It was indeed a session of knowledge par excellence. "The objective of the debate is basically to bring the two perspectives - of students who stay outside northeast and those who stay in the northeast - and when these two perspectives merged, we got to know a clearer picture of NE development vis-a-vis the rest of the country. It was also an opportunity to bring together the student community to exchange ideas and have a conversation; on how the development of northeast can be enhanced using the very powerful tool of the media", said Parash Moni, Organizing Committee member. "The students also got the perspective of how media itself reaches different regions of the country to ensure their development, he added. A total of 12 teams of students from different colleges of Delhi University took part enthusiastically, imparting knowledge and coming up with opinions and views on how northeast region can be developed. It was a brainstorming session among the participants as the debate competition served as a platform for the students to put forward their opinions on one of the most important topic - the role of national media is the most essential for development of India's northeast. The event saw the participation of young speakers from various other universities like Delhi Technological university, Chandigarh university etc. People from all walks of life gathered to witness the battle of knowledge. Speaking to ANI, a participant from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce Vivek Lohia said, "It is absolutely brilliant and a pleasure to come here to debate and talk to other people. I have seen so many people not belonging to the northeast talking and learning about the region. I really hope there can be more cultural events on this and I hope that a larger consciousness grows towards the northeast". The participants who belonged to different parts of India also got an opportunity to interact with their friends from the region, who are also their classmates, and get an in-depth knowledge about the rich culture and history of the northeast region. "Debate is an important part of arriving at a solution and to discuss about the problems of a particular place of our country. I think this is a wonderful platform that I got to be a part of, to discuss about the northeast. It is very important that we all take part in collective development of the country since it is an important part of our country", further added Preksha Gupta another participant from Delhi Technological University When asked about how youths can play a major role in the development of the region she said "One of the major things we can do is to have cultural centers and we can introduce more events like these so that we become more aware, just as I have been researching for this debate I got to know lot more so if we have similar events it will help people know more about the nuances of the northeast which will be a great start". It was one of the endeavors undertaken by the Assamese Student Association to create awareness and make the youngsters know about the immense contribution made by such a great litterateur of Assam -Dr. Mamoni Raisom Goswami. The event was graced by Professor Dilip Baruah, former principal of Cotton College and an alumnus of Delhi University, as the speaker of the motion. He also enlightened the youngsters with his motivational words and encouraged the youth in their great future endeavors. "I must congratulate the ASA for organizing such an event. It is a great tribute to the litterateur and I am sure they will keep it going for the years to come. This will bring together students from Delhi, Punjab and other parts of the country and they will get to know more about the northeast. This will breach the information deficit about the region", said Dilip Baruah, former principal of Cotton College, Guwahati The judges' panel included some of the eminent individuals from Assam, like Dr. Srutimala Duarah, associate professor, Handique Girls Collgege, Guwahati, Prof. Shaswati Goswami, associate professor, IIMC, New Delhi and Rakhee Kalita, associate professor, Cotton College. It was a fair judgment by the panel of judges. After a grueling competition among the youngsters, Kuldeep Bhattacharjya and Vivek Lohia grabbed the best speaker's award as well as the best team, representing Delhi College of Arts and Commerce. Moreover, the award for the second best speaker was conferred to Aditya Pant, PGDAV College and Subhrangshu Pratim, Hindu College. Preksha Gupta of Delhi Technological University was the best interjector of the debate. The event ended with a positive note giving a clearer idea about India's northeast region and its importance in taking the country on the road to development. (ANI)