Assam tastes BJP’s 100-plus win
It is a win-win situation for the BJP and it is third time in succession and considered a hat-trick of wins for the ruling dispensation. It’s off Congress, decimated across key constituencies, and lost the trust of the Ahom community, tea garden tribes, and even Muslim voter groups. Despite Congress's alliance plus UCC/delimitation debates, they failed to woo back their traditional support base. PM Modi applauded NDA karyakartas as the BJP crossed the 100-seat mark. The process of forming the next government will happen... promises we made will be fulfilled. Congress cancelled celebrations at the Guwahati office as the BJP neared the 100 mark. Assam gave NDA 79% of seats. After 10 years of BJP rule, voters doubled down instead of anti-incumbency. Sarma’s governance and stability mark the BJP's strongest performance in Assam yet — the first time any party/alliance crossed 100 since 1985.
Gundu K Maniam
(gundukmaniam@yahoo.com)
Historic mandate for BJP in Assam
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reported a massive victory in the 2026 Assembly elections in Assam, taking 82 seats out of 126. This result far exceeds the 64-seat mark, which is required for a simple majority to form the government independently. Congress was not even close this time and managed only 19 seats. This is considered to be a huge gap between them and the BJP, honestly hard to even compare. For the first time a political entity or alliance crossed the three-digit mark in Assam. Thousands of supporters danced on the streets, burst crackers and smeared each other with colours and distributed sweets to celebrate the victory.
Plavan Bhuyan,
T.H.B College, Jamugurihat.
Schools’ fates hang in the balance
The news article of your recent esteemed daily, 'Fate of 174 schools hangs in balance, so do those of students', speaks volumes of the shocking academic performance of students of those schools in the recent High School Leaving Certificate Examinations. Of 174 schools, there were 140 private and 34 government and provincialised schools where the future of failed students has hung in balance. This has significantly contributed to the decline of public trust in people-built educational institutions. Now comes a crucial question: what is the solution to the problem? We feel first authorities must conduct local surveys to understand what kind of curriculum people desire for their wards. Secondly, curriculum diversity should be introduced in every school based on students' abilities. Thirdly, subjects such as science, commerce, vocational courses, arts, literature, culture, entrepreneurship, etc. should be introduced in poor-performing schools after thorough discussion between departments, school authorities, and local communities. Fourthly, teachers should explain to parents how the new curricula aim to generate employment among their children. It is felt that if the state government is ready to genuinely collaborate with the Tata Group to introduce new curricula across the state with updated trained teachers, we can definitely be able to stop the "funeral march" of public educational institutions in the state. This initiative can be possible and successful if people of the state understand and support the policy of the state government. We must remember that our students are our most valuable human resource. We cannot allow their future to get nipped in the bud because of the lack of well-thought-out plans and policies of government. So, it is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders to make our future generations capable of facing challenges of day-to-day life themselves without becoming the burden of their parents.
Iqbal Saikia,
Guwahati
Over-dieting
versus no dieting
The body has to be positive and healthy to reject the ever-prevailing, often excessive, diet culture. "No diet day" on May 6 wishes to drive home the point that a body well cultivated does not require dieting. It challenges the overweight stigma through positive thoughts. At the extreme, it also advocates ‘accepting’ or ‘welcoming’ all types of physiques. However, accepting bodies of all sizes and shapes may be possible for an onlooker, but the subjects themselves may be averse to the idea of rejecting dieting.
British feminist Mary Evans Young, who introduced the no-diet concept in 1992, thought moderate to excessive dieting may herald certain types of eating disorders. Over the years, psychological disorders like anxiety were thought to be offshoots of rigid dieting. Contrarily, balanced nutrition intake and daily exercise may ward off the need to diet, it was felt. Overall, a line has to be drawn between balanced dieting and over-dieting to encourage healthy eating. Discrimination based on weight and appearance has to stop.
Dr Ganapathi Bhat
(gbhat13@gmail.com)
Adding judges is a mathematical bandage
The Cabinet’s approval to increase the Supreme Court's number of judges from 33 to 37 is a welcome step against the staggering 92,000 pending cases. However, adding judges is merely a mathematical bandage. Originally Article 124 of the Constitution mandated just seven apex judges, yet successive numerical expansions have never successfully eliminated pendency. To truly revolutionize our judiciary, we must implement innovative solutions & establish specialized regional courts of appeal. This deep restructuring would empower the apex court to focus strictly on constitutional matters instead of routine appellate litigation. Numerical enhancement is crucial, but procedural decentralisation & technological integration are the true ultimate keys to accelerating justice.
Dr.Vijaykumar H K
(hkvkmech3@gmail.com)