1st January observed as black day

Cooch Behar January 01, 2010: On 1st of January, 2010, when the whole world was welcoming the new year with much joy, the members of All Kamatapur Students’ Organization (AKSO) took out a bicycle rally in Gauripur of Dhuburi District of Assam to observe 1st January as a Black Day. However, the local police took strong measure to stop the democratic and peaceful rally and arrested around 50 members of the student body. General Secretary of the AKSO, Uttam Kumar Roy condemned this act of the police and stated that the Government is trying to say that there is no space for democratic movement and the state is not going to respect democratic values. However, AKSO will continue to revive democracy in the proposed Kamatapur region. Roy also warned that any further neglect to the demand and issues of kamatapuris will be strongly responded. The arrested members of AKSO were released in the evening.
Talking about the black day, Mr. Roy said that in 1st January of 1950 the Cooch Behar State alias Kamatapur was made a district of West Bengal and thus the identity and integrity of the Kamatapuri people were disturbed. Since this was part of a conspiracy and against the will of the Kamatapuri people, AKSO is observing 1st January as a black day in protest of inclusion of Cooch in West Bengal. AKSO also demands the creation of Kamatapur State comprising areas of North Bengal and Assam.