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The real treachery
In a bizarre twist, some from the opposition first screamed retaliation after Pahalgam, and when that happened, screamed de-escalation and ceasefire, and as soon as a pause was announced, screamed, 'Why stop? Why not take it all the way?'
The same dispensation returned 93,000 Pak POWs without us getting back anything in return, including the 54 Indian PoWs rotting in Pak jails; did not retaliate against all the terror attacks that happened during their tenure on our soil even when the military wanted to; and kept awarding concessions after concessions to the enemy, be it trade, treaties or cultural and sporting exchanges. The only thing these people did was try and blame it all on RSS and so-called Hindu terror, exonerating Pak of any involvement in them whatsoever. If that's not treachery, then what is?
Krishnanjan Chanda,
Guwahati.
Unpaid election remuneration
Through The Sentinel, I would like to draw the kind attention of the District Commissioner of Sivasagar regarding non-payment of election remuneration to the polling officials engaged in counting duty of the recently concluded panchayat elections.
It has been more than 10 days since the counting process has been over, but the remuneration of the polling officials is hitherto unpaid. Moreover, no communication from the department concerned, too, has come up informing us regarding this inordinate delay. As such, through this column of The Sentinel, I request the District Commissioner of Sivasagar to look into the matter.
Arindam Gautam
Milon Nagar, Dibrugarh
City’s biodiversity and forest encroachment
The recent incident of leopards straying into residential areas of Guwahati and the recurrence of landslides on the hills are not uncommon. It definitely shows that the city's biodiversity, which is one of the most important and vital components of the environment for all living things, is in peril. This is obviously due to the loss of balance between the human settlements and the natural environment of the city. The readers of your esteemed daily have come to learn from the May 22 editorial 'Conservation of biodiversity in Guwahati forests' of your esteemed daily that Guwahati, the capital city and the gateway to the Northeast region, in Kamrup metropolitan district, has 12 reserved forests with 28,380 hectares of Reserved Forest areas. But sadly about 4,240 hectares are still under encroachment. Although the state forest authorities and local administration jointly carry out anti-encroachment drives on and off in different areas, the exercise has proved completely futile, as the land which has been recovered from the encroachers comprises a minuscule percentage of the total land under their encroachment. Now, a question arises: how could the encroachers gather the courage to settle in RF areas and get an electricity connection despite the Forest Department's objections? The situation has reached such a stage that it has prompted the National Green Tribunals (NGT) to intervene and direct the state government to undertake expeditious steps for the removal of the encroachment, as 15 percent of the total RF areas in the city have already been encroached in the Kamrup (Metropolitan) district, and it is gradually increasing to 50 per cent or more. The city, which once boasted wide-ranging flora and fauna in RF areas, is now crying for the green cover, resulting in silt and debris clogging the city's drainage network in the plains, especially during the monsoon. The maintaining of the balance between nature and humans will be possible when the state government comes out with well-thought-out projects for the construction of low-cost and affordable housing for the migrant families to prevent them from encroaching upon the city's hills and RF areas. Raising awareness about the importance of conservation of biodiversity among this section of people has become an utmost necessity for sustainable growth and development of socio-economic parameters, peace, progress and happiness in our lives. There is no doubt that prevention of encroachment in RF areas and non-forest hilly areas will not only reduce the ongoing incidents of human-wildlife conflicts, but it also immensely helps in the efforts to address the aggregating problems of artificial flooding and severe landslides in Guwahati. We, therefore, need urgent and effective policy execution for the conservation of Guwahati's biodiversity, as a city of greenery is the dream of every city dweller.
Iqbal Saikia,
Guwahati.
Banu Mushtaq, a born fighter
It is heartening to note that Kannada author and activist Banu Mushtaq has bagged the coveted International Booker Prize 2025, with GBP 50,000, for her collection of short stories "Edeya Hanathe", translated as "Heart Lamp" in English. Penned between 1990 and 2023, the 12 short stories in the book have poignantly captured the trials and tribulations of Muslim women. That her compilation was recognised among books from Italian, French, Danish and Japanese languages is all the more salutary. Banu is known as a progressive writer with a strong mind of her own.
Described as a "born fighter" by several Kannada litterateurs, she is never known to pen her thoughts from her ivory tower. On the contrary, she is a grounded storyteller who almost always connects with people's emotions. That's precisely why her short stories have a wide readership cutting across sections of society. She has often stood up against chauvinistic religious rules and rituals. The foremost quality of Banu's writing is probably her ability to tell the readers the "uncensored truth". Brought to the literary forefront by the late P. Lankesh, editor of the trendsetting Kannada weekly "Lankesh Patrike", Banu cultivated her own set of ardent readership akin to her contemporary, the late Sara Abubakar, another Lankesh protégé. Both Banu and Sara liberally contributed to the popular "Lankesh Patrike", patronised by lakhs of Kannadigas in the 80s and 90s.
Dr Ganapathi Bhat
(gbhat13@gmail.com)
Parents are silent heroes
Parents are life's first blessings – silent heroes who guide us before we can walk, speak, or even understand. They sacrifice sleep, comfort, and dreams to see us smile. Their love is often unspoken but runs deeper than words. They carry our burdens, hide their pain, and give without expecting anything in return. As we grow, we may forget their struggles, but their prayers never stop. We should respect them, take care of them, and make them proud – not just in success, but in kindness and gratitude. Because behind every strong person, there's a parent who believed and supported us but never gave up.
Sofikul Islam,
Goalpara, Assam