(Top) Schoolchildren light candles in memory of Mumbai terror attack victims in New Delhi and (below) Hare Krishna Deka addresses the gathering during Nagarik Sankalpa Divas at Shanti Uddyan on Sunday. Pictures by PTI and Eastern Projections

Nov. 30: Over a hundred citizens today took a pledge to fight terrorism and communalism, which pose a serious threat to the security and safety of people across the country, a month after the serial bomb blasts shook the state on October 30.

Around 150 citizens, including college students and social activists, gathered at Shanti Udyan on the north bank of Dighalipukhuri this morning to take the pledge.

The ceremony comes a month after the October 30 serial blasts that left over 80 dead and hundreds others injured.

Poet and litterateur Nalinidhar Bhattacharya administered the pledge at a solemn function organised by the Assam Nagarik Samaj (ANS), a city-based voluntary organisation.

Among those who took the pledge were former director-general of police Hare Krishna Deka, poet Samir Tanti and writer J.P. Saikia.

The mood at the venue turned sombre when the citizens took the oath in unison to “eradicate the menace of terrorism and work for peace” and paid homage to those who died in the terror attacks in Assam and Mumbai.

During the hourlong function, Tanti recited a poem against terrorism written by him for this particular occasion and appealed for peace and love among all sections of people.

After the pledge was taken, Deka and Saikia spoke briefly against terrorism and the need for reinforcing communal harmony in the wake of the wave of terrorist attacks across the country.

Saikia, who lost one of his relatives, Sabina Sehgal Saikia, in the Mumbai terror attack, led the citizens in paying homage to the people who died in the terror rampage in the country’s financial capital.

The secretary of the ANS, Paresh Malakar, said they organised the pledge-taking ceremony in a bid to bring conscious citizens together to rally for a good cause.

“We decided to organise today’s programme because we believe that it is the duty of every right-thinking citizen of the country to denounce terrorism,” he said.

“In this hour of crisis, we need to stand united irrespective of our religious and other differences. I am happy that this programme has attracted a considerable number of citizens,” Malakar said.

He added that they want the people, particularly the youths, to understand that terrorism does not confine itself to one religion and we all need to join hands to ensure that such terrible incidents do not happen again.

Another programme was also organised by the Guwahati branch of Marwari Yuva Manch at Fancy Bazar near Central Jail today to condemn the Mumbai attacks and to remember the victims of the October 30 serial blasts.

Hundreds of people paid floral tribute to the victims of the serial blasts during the programme.