Sri Sri to give lessons of peace to top Northeast rebels

Guwahati: In his continued tirade to resolve the armed conflict in the Northeast, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is going to address Northeast Indigenous People’s Conference, which will be attended by many leaders of Ulfa, NSCN and Manipur rebel groups on Tuesday.

Pointing out that several former underground leaders, led by Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia, who is also the convenor of the event, will be present in the meeting, the organisers said that other prominent rebel leaders of Tripura National Volunteers, Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl and Dilip Nunisa of Dima Halam Daogah, the Assam-based militant outfit who laid down arms in 2013, would be attending the meeting.

“We have invited Gurudev to address the conference as he is known all over the world for motivating individuals and groups to resolve long-standing conflicts on the basis of love, equality, human values and compassion,” Ulfa general secretary Chetia said.

“The event will bring leaders from all walks of life, including leaders who had formerly taken up arms, on a common platform to debate, discuss and bridge the gap among various stakeholders in the peace processes and reduce the trust deficits that exist,” the organisers of the event said.

Apart from Ulfa leaders, a large contingent of leaders from Nagaland, including former army chief of NSCN(I-M) V.S. Atem, and civil society leaders from Manipur, like United Committee Manipur president Elangbam Johnson, would be present in the meeting, the organisers said.