APSC
CCE notification
It's been quite a few days since the results of the CCE 2020 have been declared. As serious aspirants, it is our request to the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) authority to release the notification for the next CCE prelims as soon as possible. We have been waiting for the notification for a long time. We know that the APSC doesn't conduct the CCE every year like UPSC, but our ages do not wait for us. It becomes anxious to wait for the exam every time. The APSC authority should consider this. We have high hopes from the new chairman. It's our request to issue the notification for the next CCE and relieve us from our anxiety.
Some aspirants.
End of an era of excellence
The demise of Barpeta Xatra's revered Burha Xatriya Late Basistha Dev Sarma truly marks the end of an era of excellence in the history of Assam's Vaishnavite Xatriya culture, originally preached by Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev in the 15th century as a part of the Bhakti Movement. Born on April 1, 1938 in the Barpeta district of Assam, Late Sarma was instrumental in propagation of the 500-year-old Xatriya culture and played a vital role in the unification of more than 300 branches of Barpeta Xatra situated across various parts of Assam. An author of various popular Xatriya literary works like Naaokhelor Geet, Mahoho Geet, Thaanor Baatori Sudha, Sundaridia Pub Haatir Thionaam etc., he was pivotal in spread of Vaishnavite Xatriya culture not only within Assam but also beyond in Tamil Nadu, Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra etc. Apart from his literary works, he was also known for composing, directing and acting in some of the very popular socio-cultural and religious dramatic works like Shribatsa Sinta, Nol Damayanti, Sati Beula, Mathura Purir Mathura Das etc., some of which also aired on All India Radio. He was elected and served as the 'Deka Xatriya' of the highly-revered Barpeta Xatra from 1993 to 2007, and thereafter took over as the 'Burha Xatriya' in 2007, the post which he continued to dedicatedly serve till his death. During his celebrated tenure, he made whole-hearted efforts for uplift of the society by bringing people from backward and tribal areas under the ambit of Xatriya culture. An exponent of the highly renowned Xatriya art form 'Barpeta Thio Naam', Late Sarma was bestowed with the Srimanta Sankardev Award in 2017. Having lived his entire life following the ideals of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev and Mahapurush Shri Shri Madhavdev, Late Sarma breathed his last on the 22nd of this month. His demise has created a void which will be very difficult to fill in the days to come.
Manish Kumar Chowdhury,
Duliajan,
Keep
two-wheelers at bay from teenagers
Two-wheelers, be they motorbikes or Scootys, are dangerous for teenage girls and boys. Two-wheelers are always unsafe and prone to accidents. As such, parents should not allow their children to have either of the two vehicles. Accidents caused by two-wheelers took a heavy toll of bright and promising young lives in Assam, which resulted in irreparable loss to victims' families and to the society as well. My heart bleeds whenever I come to know about such deaths on roads. Teenagers drive two-wheelers for thrill. Teenage students can be seen risking their lives by driving two-wheelers at a break-neck speed. Too much energy and enthusiasm within young bodies and minds make them behave irresponsibly. When I see such reckless behaviour of youth on the roads, I always pray God for their safety. What else we can do for them?
Moreover, two-wheelers emit more pollutants than four-wheelers. Parents should teach/insist that their children should use public transport rather than two wheelers to attend their college/university. Moreover, use of two-wheelers would distract the youths/ students from their studies, which happen to be their prime objective. Rather, they should be encouraged to use bicycles. Alas, we have many miles yet to go to make separate tracks for cyclists in our cities/towns. At the end of the day, our society has a major role to play to put our future generations on the right track and also to help them imbibe good habits in their lives.
Prafulla Dowarah,
Guwahati.
Bhupen Bora
Memory is still fresh in our mind when APCC president Bhupen Bora tore his shirt for the illegal encroachers when the government evicted the illegal settlers from Gorukhuti last year. Now, Bhupen Bora is again back in the news. He is supporting Miya Museum which was erected in Pub Goalpara's Lakhipur block by some people who are suspected to have links with jihadi forces. The conscious people of the state cutting across all religions, caste, creed and sex have condemned and univocally supporting the government for sealing the Miya Museum. It is disgusting that that a century-year old political party has a state president who is directly vouching for those people who have entered our territory and are now trying to change the demographic scenario of the state. One shouldn't be surprised if tomorrow Bhupen Bora and company endorse the blueprint of Islamization of Northeast India. In the lust for power, people like Bhupen Bora and few more can sell their motherland. I do not know why the Congress leaders of Upper Assam are voicing their protest against the establishment of Miya Museum. It is well understood that Congress leaders of lower Assam will support Miya Museum as majority of them are from that community and those who are from the mainstream community are keeping mum for the sake of Miya votes.
Purabi Miri
Jakhalabandha
Mahabharat and jihad
With the assembly elections in some states, namely Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat knocking at the doors, all the political parties, both national and regional, are gearing up their political activities to woo the voters, which is very natural. But most alarmingly while doing so it is now seen that minority appeasement has become the main mantra for the pseudo-secular political parties to secure minority votes, even by deriding one's own religion. Communal violence in West Bengal under TMC in particular has even forced the NIA to probe into some vandalism committed by the so-called minority community against the majority community during Lakshmi Puja. Congress leader Shivraj Patil, a self-styled leader without any mass base, went to the extent of comparing Mahabharat with jihad to be one up in the race in the minority appeasement competition.
All this has started happening in secular India. Our constitution makers must be turning in their graves to see the utter misuse of the word 'secular' by these opportunist politicians who are in fact traitors.
Joel Goyari,
Tangla.
Threat to Assamese language
When I was turning over the pages of an Assamese daily, I suddenly noticed a title. After going through the whole text, I came to know that All India Radio (AIR) Dibrugarh stopped broadcasting its daily news bulletin in Assamese from October 25 following the directive of Prasar Bharati. AIR, Dibrugarh has been taking an important role in every aspect of Assamese life since 1968. AIR Dibrugarh, which was established on February 15, 1968, is India's sixth biggest medium wave radio station, transmitting in both AM (567kHz) at 529.1 metres of MW and FM (101.30MHz) bands three times a day, with a 5-minute regional news bulletin at 6 PM every day.
In the name of cost-cutting, the Assamese language news bulletin of Akashvani Dibrugarh will no longer be available to us for whom the radio is close to the heart. For the greater interest of the Assamese language, our government could have taken initiatives for keeping the journey of broadcasting Assamese news bulletin continuous. In the 19th century too, the Assamese language had faced the same barrier in different phases. In recent times not only the Assamese language but many regional languages in the country are seen facing trouble in carrying out a smooth journey. Such decisions of Parashar Bharati will erase a marvellous journey and will certainly add more threat to our beloved mother tounge. I urge the authority concerned to take a positive decision in this regard.
Aditya Ankur Nath
Tezpur
Mitigating drone attacks is crucial
Our Indian Army in the border continue to have difficulties with the movement of drones used for airdropping weapons, ammunition and drugs with over a thousand such operations carried out by Pakistani extremists at various locations along the border over the past five years.
When it comes to terrorism, drones provide a threat that is especially difficult to counter. It is becoming more likely that terrorists will use drones to drop bombs or possibly biological weapons over Indian territory. Drones are being used by Pakistani terrorists to smuggle drugs, weapons, ammunitions, to kill our soldiers and also public. Today's drones can carry a payload that is roughly the weight of a revolver or grenade but as technology advances swiftly, they will soon be able to carry 5 to 8 kg, which is more than enough to wreak havoc on public gatherings also. Due to the lack of adequate security infrastructure to detect and respond to such a danger, experts predict that future attacks will most likely involve commercial drones. Our Indian army, which is tasked with policing hundreds of kilometre length of the border with Pakistan has shot down drones to the maximum extent possible while also preventing the entry of several unmanned aerial vehicles. Inter-Services Intelligence and other Pakistani extremists have started using drones more and more frequently lately. One can easily suspect that terrorists supported by Pakistan's spy agency like Inter-Services Intelligence are using high-end Chinese drones that are sophisticated, silent and able to fly at higher altitudes. According to army experts and news reports, Pakistani militants and their intelligence are also capable of adapting consumer-grade drones to carry bombs or chemicals that, if dropped over a crowd of people, could have a devastating effect. According to news, our army and the Punjab Police worked together to bust a gang that had been smuggling drugs and weapons across the border repeatedly from many years. The Indian army has also made the decision to reward the public also who shoot down an intruding drone (as per news reports). Since a long time, the Indian Army has been engaged in combat with Pakistani extremists who employ a deadly fleet of drones. We should be grateful for our army, which is doing everything in its power to protect the public from tragedies of any type. Therefore, it is essential that our defence research and development organization should consider drone detection and develop mitigation strategies as soon as possible that can aid in boosting cross-border security.
Vijaykumar H K
Raichur