Raising the spectre of CAA & NRC again
Of late, anti-CAA along with anti-NRC forces have been activated and noises are being made in the media. One is reminded of a few terrible days of Assam and the arson and mayhem let loose by mobs on the streets of Guwahati leading to great loss of public property, as also cancellation of the Japanese PM's visit here and the Indo-Japan Conclave planned to open up business avenues in the North-East. One wonders why a law formalizing the right to live here of persecuted religious minority people from neighbouring Islamic nations seeking refuge, having already come over to save their lives and honour, would attract such venomous opposition. Similarly, the proposed National Register of Citizenship (NRC) that exists in every nation and considered a must national document can set the cat among the pigeons, is a mystery. Probably the detractors want a trade-off, the CAA and NRC can be brought in only if millions of Bangladeshi and Rohingyas continued presence in our soil is permitted. Such antisocial and anti-national activists must be ostracized socially and shunned politically. A section of the media is seen amplifying such voices, they must also desist from doing so.
Krishnanjan Chanda,
Guwahati.
The world of Uncle Pai
Amar Chitra Katha is the best comic magazine in India. Started in 1967 by Anant Pai with 'Krishna' as the first title, the comic till today has sold over 90 million copies worldwide. Anant Pai (or Uncle Pai as he was fondly called by children), was the man behind the ACK (or Amar Chitra Katha) comics. His death on February 24, 2011 was a loss to the nation. Till today, ACK has published over 700 titles, not just in English, but in regional as well as in foreign languages. Anant Pai reintroduced India to young Indians and taught them about their roots and culture in a fun, non-preachy way that became an essential part of their growing-up years.
Jubel D'Cruz,
Mumbai
Woes of city bus passengers
The middle class of Guwahati city is almost entirely dependent on city buses for transportation. In a word, city buses are the lifeline of the city. But the transport system of Guwahati is still undisciplined.
Recently the fares of city buses were hiked. But the authorities concerned have not paid any attention to passenger amenities. The traffic-related problems faced by the people of Guwahati is not new. Passengers have protested against it but the problem still remains.
Some rules were also enforced for city buses a few days ago. But the rules were restricted to paper. The irony is, only few bus drivers are aware of the rules. The government has also taken various steps to make Guwahti a smart city but the traffic problem has been ignored. Another problem faced by passengers in city buses is their safety. Both male and female passengers have to deal with various unforeseen situations while travelling. Seats reserved for women or specially abled are also not used well in city buses. There is often a disagreement between passengers and drivers over fares. E-tickets have been arranged in new city buses. From personal experience, I have seen that in many tickets more rent is charged by incorrectly mentioning the name of the place. In such cases, it is important for the passenger to be aware. These seem to be minor problems. But due to these minor problems, many passengers are suffering. The transport department should also understand that small problems existing for a long time can create a big issue in due time and should move forward to solve them.
Liza Borah
Gauhati University
Boldest step
After Garukhuti eviction, the State Government has completed yet another massive eviction in Batadrova, the birth place of Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev. Almost 1,000 bighas of government land were under illegal encroachment by people of doubtful nationality for decades under the patronage of the then Congress government for the sake of vote-bank politics. It is very hard to believe. The alarming facts revealed by the illegal encroachers simply point to dangerous and nefarious designs of the few cabinet ministers of the then government. It is no doubt so far, the biggest eviction drive carried out by any government at Dispur which is very laudable and bold. As of now, the absence of Bhupen Bora, the APCC chief who tore his shirt in public as a mark of protest against the Garukhuti eviction, is very conspicuous. In no time we might be seeing our MLA from Sivasagar, Akhil Gogoi in the streets protesting against this eviction. The onus of rehabilitating those encroachers entirely lies with the Congress people who got them settled illegally for vote bank. All bonafide Asomiyas should socially boycott any Asomiya politician cutting across any political line who opposes this eviction. Thus far no far. Joi Ai Asom. AASU, are you listening?
Lanu Dutt Chowdhury
Asom