Category Archives: 3 – Foundational Material

Posts from or about the Foundational Days of Just For Assam during October-November 2008, which were in the backdrop of the Assam Bomb Blasts of 2008. These include the initial meetings promoting a global sense of Oneness throughout the world towards a bright future for Assam. The JFA celebrates 30 November 2008 as its Foundation Day.

A Sweeter Taste Of Success – JFA Thanks the Donors of Project 30th October

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Several months on since the terror attacks of October 2008 in Assam, JFA’s Project 30th October is seeing fruition. History speaks of many a charitable attempt at Assam’s socio-economic woes nip itself after some initial gusto. But the JFA forged ahead: the donations collected were not in vain and are being used for what they were intended. Read to find out more.

Success tastes sweeter when everyone would have believed a low likelihood of it. Such is the feeling at the JFA as it executes the final acts of its charitable effort – a rehabilitation programme for survivors of the Assam bomb attacks of October 2008.

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Gatherings on Oneness: The London Convention of November, 2008

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Video clippings from the London convention of the Gatherings on Oneness organised by the JFA. These were a series meetings organised in the aftermath of the bomb blasts in Assam on 30th October 2008. The London convention – at the Royal London Hotel, Marble Arch – was also the foundational meeting for the JFA through which the JFA formally announced its foundation to the world.

Video 1: Introduction – Dr. Vikram Sharma and Bublee (Sanchayita).

Video 2: The Terror Attacks on 30th October 2008 – Nironkush Rick Das.

Video 3: The Big Debate, an Open House where JFA members and the audience discussed Assam’s problems and how best to tackle them – All attendees.

Video 4: Vote of Thanks – Anjan Pathak

The Day Terror Challenged Assam

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30th October 2008. That bright morning carried little indication of the events to come. Then it happened – over a ton of an explosive chemical cocktail burnt in thirteen devastating blasts across the region causing instant carnage and untold grievous injury. The incident has gone on to become India’s largest terrorist atrocity since several decades; the victims, ordinary people going about their daily lives. The United Nations Secretary General was prompt to condemn the atrocity. Excerpts: World Press Coverage: 30th October, 2008. Note: The JFA does not assume responsibility for the content or availability of external websites. Continue reading →

Just For Our Assam – A Poem by Siddhartha Sarmah

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The wheels of time grind on
A day ends as another is born
The dust settles on the blood, time starts the healing
Yet the loneliness lingers, the hunger, the mourning.
A Thursday comes, a Thursday gone
A day when a brutal death was born
Hundreds lie amidst the burning smoke; their bodies torn
Your brother’s father, sister’s husband, mother’s son.
As Assam cringes; a faceless terror is reborn.
Reach out your hand, link yours in mine
Let the night end, the rays of dawn again shine
Join in sorrow, join in joy
Just for Assam; together we will; together we can.
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  • Siddhartha Sarmah, Sheffield, United Kingdom.

We Need Your Help

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By Manju Barkataki, Seaham, United Kingdom.

 

“The sound of the blast shook me. The mid morning cup of tea fell from my hand and the cup broke”.

That was a piece of conversation over telephone with one of my friends from Guwahati on 30th October, 2008. The sound of the blast only broke the cup of my friend but in that moment, that sound wiped out hundreds of life and broke hundreds of hearts for ever.

The Thursday 30th October 2008 will be remembered as one of the bloodiest morning in the history of Assam. The terrorists, once again bathe our motherland with the blood of innocent people.

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Coming Together

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By Sumita Dutta, London.

It was an usual working day morning on the 30th of Oct 2008, when each of us were busy with the humdrum of daily routines – tubes to catch, school drop offs, babies to feed, assignments to complete when suddenly SMSes, phone calls and email urgently conveyed that serial bomb blasts have taken place in Guwahati, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Barpeta.

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