sentinelgroup@gmail.com
I am writing this letter with sadness and anger, but also with hope, after seeing the young women of Lady Shri Ram College come out on the streets to protest. They are raising their voices after the terrible crime against a 17-year-old girl in Aastha Kunj Park. That incident shook all of us who have ever stepped out of our homes just to take a walk, study, or spend time with a friend.
Every time something terrible happens to a girl, the answer from the authorities is always the same. They shut the gates, tell women to go home early, and impose curfews. But we need to ask a simple question: Why are girls always the ones who get punished when a crime happens? Why are women told to stay locked inside their rooms after dark, while men with bad intentions are allowed to walk freely on the streets?
Stopping women from entering a park or being outside is not real safety. It just shows that the authorities are giving up on protecting us. It sends a message that the streets belong only to criminals, and that if a woman gets hurt, it is somehow her own fault for being outside. A park is a public place. The benches, the trees, and the fresh air belong to everyone. When you tell a woman she cannot use a public park, you are slowly taking away her basic right to live a free life. Women’s rights are basic human rights. A woman’s freedom should not end just because the sun has set.
It gives me courage to see women standing up for other women. The students protesting outside their college are not asking for special treatment. They are only asking for what is fair. They want working streetlights, broken boundary walls to be fixed, regular police patrols, and strict action against criminals. They are refusing to accept locks on their doors instead of safety on the streets.
Real safety does not mean turning our colleges and homes into prisons. It means making the city safe enough so that any woman can walk without fear at any hour. The government and police must stop controlling where women can go and start doing their real job of making our streets safe for everyone.
Dikshita Choudhury,
Pragjyotish College, Santipur
(dikshita396@gmail.com)
Nadir
The word ‘nadir’ means the lowest point. In the coming Nagaon bypoll, the level of the code of conduct that is supposed to be maintained by the contesting candidates has touched the nadir.
In this regard, one must and should quote the name of AIUDF candidate Maulana Badruddin Ajmal, who, on so many past occasions, did not hesitate to hit his opponents below the belt with words that were unheard of before. This may be due to his lack of proper educational qualifications and lack of knowledge about Assam’s history, culture and traditions.
In the past elections held in Assam, we have never heard such communal and unparliamentary words being used by a contesting candidate against his opponents. We still remember his performance in the last parliamentary election, where he lost by a record margin from Dhubri. It is in bad taste for democracy.
The EC should take note.
Joel Goyari
(joelgoyari685@gmail.com)
Drugs and
illegal activities
It is something of an open secret that the area around the Guwahati railway station has become a hub of various crimes. Moreover, the Railway Overbridge on B. Barooah Road has now turned into a hotspot for drug use. Multiple individuals, including minors, are reportedly seen using drugs in broad daylight and in public view. Again, in the shadow of the station, a different economy has taken root. One can find stolen phones, bootlegged liquor and drugs being sold in whispers. The area stretching into neighbourhoods like Panbazar has long functioned as more than just a transit point. It has become a magnet for illegal activities. It can better be described as a place of constant movement of strangers involved in crimes that often go unnoticed.
Children, mostly working as ragpickers during the day, are often found with plastic bags pressed to their faces, sniffing glue all day. It is a common sight around the station and the tracks. For some, sniffing glue has become a way to cope with hunger, exhaustion or boredom. In fact, there is hardly any substance that cannot be found there.
The transient population and the cluster of inexpensive accommodation in the vicinity of the station make it a prime centre for drugs and other illegal activities.
Now, what is the solution to the problem? The Guwahati railway police, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and personnel of the nearest police station must work in coordination and extend their policing responsibilities both day and night beyond the railway premises to make their monitoring more effective, especially around the overbridge, which is used daily by students and commuters.
Iqbal Saikia, Guwahati
(iqbal3107saikia@gmail.com)
Cricket beyond boundaries
Cricket has always been more than a game; occasionally, it becomes a diplomatic bridge that brings nations together beyond the confines of politics. India’s upcoming T20 encounter with Japan in Sano, near Tokyo, therefore, carries significance far beyond the scoreboard. The match is particularly evocative because cricket has a long, albeit unusual, history in Japan. The first documented cricket match on Japanese soil was reportedly played in Yokohama in 1863. More than 160 years later, India’s visit could help the sport break new ground in a country where baseball commands overwhelming popularity.
The encounter also symbolises the deepening India-Japan relationship, which has evolved through decades of diplomatic engagement, economic cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. Sport can complement these ties by creating an informal arena where young people can connect, compete and understand one another. India’s cricketing stature and Japan’s growing enthusiasm for the sport could together open up fresh avenues for coaching, grassroots development and cultural exchange.
Yet, the match should not become merely a ceremonial fixture. Cricket administrators and institutions ought to follow through by organising clinics, school programmes and exchange initiatives in Japan. Indian players, too, can help popularise the game by engaging with local communities and budding cricketers. Such sustained engagement could nurture a durable cricketing ecosystem and give bilateral friendship a youthful, human dimension.
In an increasingly fragmented world, such encounters can help bridge cultural chasms, dispel stereotypes and foster mutual respect, trust and understanding. Let us therefore look beyond runs and wickets: when cricket crosses borders, friendship can take root.
Dipen Gogoi, Jorhat
(gogoidipen3686@gmail.com)
Tourism is key
for economy
That tourism is a key sector for boosting a country's economy is an understatement. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has been observing September 27 as World Tourism Day since 1980. Governments around the world aim to instil a sense of “responsibility” among travellers because responsible travellers are a boon to tourism. Tourism has contributed significantly to India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and tourist destinations are centres of attraction for both travellers and the government. Additionally, tourism is also a major source of employment in India.
In a country as diverse as India, it is indeed a laborious task for the government to keep tourist places spick and span, which is why the role of citizens in maintaining the orderliness of key tourist destinations becomes so vital. “Connectivity, Cleanliness, Certainty” are the three essential ingredients that make a tourist destination much sought after. There are a few unexplored tourism treasures that should be tapped and allowed to blossom through robust advertising and better access.
Dr Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
(gbhat13@gmail.com)