"It was amazing to witness the festival. We have been hearing about this festival for a long time but were too scared to come here because of the militancy problem in the district. But this time, with things changing for the better, a few of us decided to cycle from Guwahati to attend the event," said Albert, who covered 241km from the city on a bicycle to reach the venue of the fest.
The Karbi Youth Festival, purported to be the largest ethnic festival in the northeast, this year recorded over three lakh visitors, including more than 1,200 foreigners compared to just two lakh last year. The five-day festival, which began on Wednesday and ended on Sunday, showcased the traditional and ethnic diversity of Karbi Anglong district along with performances by national and international artists.
"As expected, the KYF was a huge success this time. Tourists from all over the world came here and witnessed our rich ethnicity. This year, the footfall broke all records, with more than three lakh visitors attending the festival. And the credit goes to the recently-restored peace in the district. With most of the militant outfits coming to the negotiation table, we hope the festival will gather an even bigger following in coming years," said Ranjan Engti, chief coordinator of the event.
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi's son Gaurav too participated in the event, informed Engti. "Gaurav said he hasn't seen such an amazing festival anywhere in the world. We hope he will help us get government support to promote the event," said Engti. He added the organizers have approached the state tourism department earlier but been faced with disappointment.
In the past few months spanning 2011-end and the beginning of this year, the hill district's major rebel outfit, the United People's Democratic Solidarity (UPDS), disbanded itself, while peace talks with both factions of another militant group, the DHD, have almost reached the final stage. Several other groups like the Kuki Revolutionary Army, United Kukigram Defense Army, Hmar People's Convention (Democracy) and Kuki Liberation Army have also laid down their arms.
In December last, 568 cadres of the UPDS formally laid down their arms in front of Assam Police. A total of 177 weapons, including AK series rifles, M-16 rifles, 40mm UBGLs and SLRs were handed over to the police along with ammunition.
UPDS joint secretary (political affairs) Waraju Mukrang who also participated in the festival said that it was a good experience. "It was nice," was his brief remark.