 "Music Katha Ha"  "Music Pitae ha "  Lover Boy Amit |
“
'Indian Idol' uniting ethnically polarised
northeast
By Syed Zarir Hussain, Shillong, Sep 22 : Two young singing sensations - Amit
Paul from Shillong and Prashant Tamang from Darjeeling - of the much watched
reality television contest "India Idol" has left the whole of India's eastern
region hysterical.
The highly rated musical show on Sony TV has reached its climax with the two
performers vying for the crown, results of which are to be announced Sunday
where one contestant would be eliminated based on the least number of votes
received on SMS or phones.
But for the people in both Darjeeling and in the northeast, the two singers are
already winners for more than one reason.
"The craze and enthusiasm for making Amit Paul the next 'Indian Idol' is
something unprecedented with people from elderly villagers to kings and
politicians, including the chief minister, joining the bandwagon," John F.
Kharshiing, spokesperson of the Federation of Khasi States, the apex body
campaigning for legal status for the durbars in Meghalaya, told IANS.
"Amit is already a winner as he has helped in uniting the region through music,"
said Meghalaya's Education Minister R.G. Lyngdoh.
For the records, Amit is a Bengali-speaking youth born and brought up in
Shillong - a city that was witness to a string of bloody ethnic riots in the
mid-80s between the tribal and the non-tribal people.
The growing schism in the northeast between the indigenous population and
'outsiders', a term broadly referred to people speaking other Indian languages,
has become a matter of concern.
In this context, the euphoria and the support from people across the northeast
for Amit is something heartening.
"We have conferred him the honorary title of Meghalaya's 'Brand Ambassador' to
foster peace, communal harmony, and excellence," Meghalaya Chief Minister D.D.
Lapang told IANS.
Lapang is personally spearheading the campaign to drum up support for Amit.
"We are all proud of Amit for the success and fame he has received so far. His
achievements have helped people from all walks of life and communities to come
together and this clearly reflects that music has no cultural barriers," the
chief minister said.
From government offices to the tribal king's durbars, the chief minister's
secretariat to the Raj Bhawan, and schools and colleges - the only topic of
discussion in Meghalaya is the 'India Idol' contest.
Last year, Assam's Debojit Saha had won Zee TV's "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge
2005", earning him the coveted title "India's Voice".
Debojit was again a Bengali-speaking youth from Assam's Silchar town in the
Barak Valley. The Assamese-Bengali divide in Assam is an age-old phenomenon with
groups triggering animosities between the two communities for petty vested
interests.
But when Debojit stormed into the finals, the whole of Assam backed him with the
powerful All Assam Students' Union (AASU) leading the campaign for votes through
SMS and phone calls.
On earlier occasions, a demand or any campaign launched by the AASU in the
Brahmaputra Valley (Assamese speaking areas) failed to elicit support from the
Bengali dominated Barak Valley.
But AASU support to Debojit changed the equations and united the Brahmaputra and
the Barak Valleys. So much so that a general strike called by the AASU few
months after Debojit's victory got spontaneous support across the Barak Valley.
"The Amit phenomenon could very well unite the northeast, especially in states
like Nagaland and Manipur where the ethnic divide is so huge...we want more such
talents from the region to come up so that we can stand united without any
bloodshed," said Kishore Singh, a college student in Manipur's capital Imphal.
But for the moment though, people across Meghalaya and other regional states are
glued to their mobile and landline phones voting for Amit.
Amit's rival in the contest Prashant Tamang from Darjeeling is also drawing huge
public response with the authorities forced to enforce a ban on the sale of
liquor Sep 22-24, fearing wild parties if he wins.
A local cop, Tamang's supporters across Darjeeling and other parts of West
Bengal have been working overtime to garner support.
--- IANS
More News / Articles on Amit here
Indian Idol | Indian Idol News | Indian Idol Videos |
Indian Idol ...Official website of Indian Idol, musical reality show on SET,
Talent Hunt, Indian Pop Idol, Idol Images, Exclusive Videos, Indian Idol 3,
Indian Idol 3 News, Watch Indian idol on Daily motion Share Your Videos. Sony
Entertainment Television Asia (SET )INDIAN IDOL songs. Listen to INDIAN IDOL
songs. Artists songs from album INDIAN IDOL. INDIAN IDOL.Hindi music, Indian
songs, Bollywood Movie soundtracks Download Music Download mp3 music songs
hindi songs hindi music bengali music movie bollywood Shahrukh Khan Amitabh
Bacchan ash dvd hero heroin listen music songs north east india shillong
meghalaya assam hindi music hindi songs durga puja deepavali singer playback
singer acotr actress india mp3 music songs download online music