Letters to THE EDITOR

In a local news channel some days back, the so-called intellectual and think-tank of Assam Dr. Hiren Gohain made a fervent appeal to all the indigenous people of Assam to support Badruddin Ajmal and another new ally of the Congress for the ensuing Assembly poll Ajit Bhuyan and company to oust BJP from Dispur. For secular Asomiyas, Dr. Gohain is like a rock of Gibraltar who never changed his stance towards his fellow Asomiyas since 1962, the Chinese aggression. The real think tanks of Assam who fought relentlessly and worked for the people are Bharat Ratna Lt. Gopinath Bordoloi and Bharat Ratna Lt. Dr Bhupen Hazarika. It is unacceptable when someone like Dr. Hiren Gohain is called think tank and intellectual in front of Lt. Gopinath Bordoloi and Lt. Bhupen Hazarika.

But in today's scenario when a few local organizations call him the think tank and intellectual then I would like to request those organizations like the AASU to recommend his name for the prestigious Bharat Ratna title. Prior to that they can make him the advisor of the organization.

Dr. Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati

Game changing

Like Assam, West Bengal is also scheduled to have elections in April-May. The ruling All India Trinamool Congress is shaky this time as several key leaders have resigned from her Cabinet and also from the party. Mamata Banerjee has till now played the biggest appeasement card till date when she prohibited Vijaya Dashami to make way for Muharram. Even in some mandir management committees she never hesitated to appoint Muslim cleric but its vice versa was never done. Cleric Furfura Sharif, who holds a big influence among the Muslims, gave Mamata Banerjee a big setback. Maulana Abdus Siddique's Furfura Sharif sect launched a new party named Indian Secular Front and he declared to fight the elections in alliance with another 'secular' party AIMIM of Asaduddin Owaisi. Now it is the game changing move. In West Bengal there are two sects of Muslims, one is Deoband which has its roots in Uttar Pradesh and the other is Furfura Sharif sect. Now, Mamata Banerjee has to severely depend upon the Deoband sect.

Mamata Banerjee must be cursing her fortune. In this crucial phase a big chunk of her loyal voters for whom she has done everything to appease them left her. Her government released a big amount for the development of masjids and madrassas. The salaries of imams and jonabs were increased manifold. Regular iftar parties during the Ramzan month from the tax payers' money were organized just to keep their votes intact. Is it the beginning of the end? Let's wait and watch.

Julie Bhuyan,

Sivasagar

Open letter to Ripun Bora

For the first time I am writing in any newspaper. My questions are straight to APCC president Ripun Bora. An acid test is awaiting him. It is make or break 2021 for him. My first question is: do you think you are the right choice to lead Congress in 21 the Assembly elections? If you have any doubt, please resign and hand over the mettle to some deserving ones. In my opinion you are a liability to the party.

Second question is: why are you so keen to ally with a foreigners' party called AIUDF? Are you only thinking about consolidating Muslim votes? If yes, don't call your party a secular party. If you ally with the AIUDF you will lose a huge chunk of Hindu votes. My suggestion is that your party should fight in all the 126 constituencies. At least the Congress will build a base.

Third and the last question is: why has your party changed the demographic pattern of the State? Only to grab power your party allowed lakhs and lakhs of illegal migrants to settle in our State, thereby displacing the indigenous people. After settling them you all started the appeasement policy and at the same time taken for granted the indigenous Hindu people by fooling them.

I hope Ripun Bora would respond to me.

Dhiman Senchowa,

North Lakhimpur.

Expatriate Indians praised by UN

All Indians are proud of this moment, as a recent United Nations report claims that Indians are very dynamic and proficient in all fields. The report also mentions that the number of Indians living in foreign countries is higher among the citizens living abroad. According to the United Nations, 1.8 crore Indians live in different parts of the world and these 1.8 crore Indians earn Rs 5 lakh crore every year and send it home. According to the United Nations, the number of expatriates in the world is 280 million, which is almost equal to the total population of Indonesia. The United States has the largest number of expatriates in the world. As many as 5.1 million expatriates living in that country. Germany is the second most populous country in case of expatriate population after the United States. According to the United Nations, the number of expatriates in Germany is 1.3 crore, in Saudi Arabia 1.3 crore, in Russia 1.2 crore and in the UK 1.0 crore. The United Nations recently reported a 30% drop in the number of expatriates due to the corona pandemic.

Although we are citizens of a developing third world country, we Indians are truly hard working, courageous and disciplined and so on. For which the United Nations recognized Indias as highly dynamic and adept in all fields. We are not lagging behind in any field. History has witnessed the success of Indians in various fields.

Heramba Nath,

Kamrup.

Memories of 83 elections

Many of us might not have forgotten the 1983 Assembly elections. The restrictions were imposed by the Central government over the electorates. The election which was boycotted by many political parties, including the BJP was held amidst huge protests from the public. Only the Congress, CPI and the CPI(M) took part in that election. Many young people lost their lives to the bullets. Participation in the elections is right of every citizen. That was the dark period in the history of electoral politics of Assam. It is the opportunity to elect the right candidate/party which shall cater to our wellbeing for the next five years. The forthcoming poll in the State is an acid test for the bonafide Asomiyas to decide and act judiciously.

Aparna Sarma Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Farmers' victory

Finally, the Union government has seen reason and agreed to keep the contentious farm laws on hold for a year and a half. This is a moment of triumph for the farmers, who braved one of the worst winters in recent times to sit in the cold amidst a raging pandemic to demand what they believed was just. The farmers can seek a longer period of suspension and engage with the Government in an effective dialogue through their own committee to put forth their farms. The Government had taken a maximalist position when it rammed the farm bills through the Rajya Sabha without a proper division as priority demanded. Parliamentary democracy has built in mechanism to evolve consensus through committees and laws that impinge on the livelihoods of millions of farmers ought to have been discussed thoroughly in those consultative and standing committee before being rolled out like bulldozers on standing crops. The protest that ensued have taken a huge toll on the people of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh in terms of over 60 lives lost, six farmers committing suicide, disruption of traffic and livelihood, yet the farmers were remarkably restrained, not letting emotions override the philosophy of non-violence. The whole nation should salute these farmers for their fortitude, discipline, tenacity and endurance. They taught a few lessons in community living, langer and sewa to the rest of the nation, making this protest unique and peaceful. They should return triumphant to their villages. The planned tractor rally should now be a joyous victory parade celebrating the Republic and the farmer citizens, who send their children to fight and die for the Republic.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog.

Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to highlight the recently released India Innovation Index-2020 and Assam's position in it. This is the second edition of India Innovation Index released by National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, which ranks different States and Union territories of India based on how they support innovation and technology. For an effective comparison of their performance, the States and Union territories have been divided into '17 Major States', '10 Northeast and Hill States' and '9 City-States and Union Territories'. In the index of 2020, Karnataka has retained its position as top ranking 'Major State' for the second consecutive year followed by Maharashtra at the second and Tamil Nadu at the third place. Himachal Pradesh has topped among the 'North-East and Hill States' followed by Uttarakhand and Meghalaya. Besides, Delhi has topped among the 9 'City-States and Union Territories.'

In the India Innovation Index-2020, Assam has climbed two spots to the 6th rank among '10 North-East and Hill States'. But, this improvement of Assam seems meagre because Assam has comparatively more developed infrastructure and institutions for research and innovation than most of the Northeast and Hill States. Hopefully, the index will lead to healthy competition among the States and Union territories and our State Assam will draw lessons from the leading States to foster research and innovation in the State.

Phanindra Barman,

Sandheli.

Digital migration of workers

The Union Government has launched a National Migration Support Portal – Shram Shakti. It would effectively assist in the smooth formulation of State and national-level programmes for migrant workers. The diverse data that will be recorded via Shram Shakti include demographic profile, livelihood options, skill mapping, and migration pattern. Shram Shakti will be able to effectively address the data gap and empower migrant workers who generally migrate in search of employment and income generation. It may also support the Government for linking the migrant population with the existing Welfare Scheme - under Atma Nirbhar Bharat. This is a welcome move towards the digital migration of workers and offers them a national platform for skill training and employment opportunities.

Amit Singh Kushwaha,

Satna (MP).

Face-off between AASU and police

Ahead of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's State visit, the AASU engaged in a face-off with the police on Friday in Guwahati after the student activists were not allowed to hold a torchlight march. India is a democratic country and these type incidents should not happen.

Putul Sarma,

Biswanath Chariali.