sentinelgroup@gmail.com
UCC Bill: A historic step
The recent passage of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2026, in the Assam Legislative Assembly marks a watershed moment in our state's legal and social history. For decades, personal laws have often left women vulnerable to discriminatory practices regarding inheritance, divorce, and marital rights. By codifying a uniform civil framework, this legislation takes a monumental stride toward securing equal rights for daughters, wives, and mothers across diverse communities.
The decision to completely ban polygamy and standardise the legal age of marriage, i.e., 18 for women and 21 for men, is highly commendable. Furthermore, ensuring that daughters have equal inheritance rights to intestate property provides long-overdue economic security for women. Critics have raised concerns, but the government's move to preserve traditional religious rituals-be it Vedic Vivah, Nikah, Ahom Chaklong, or Anand Karaj-demonstrates that uniformity does not mean the erasure of our rich cultural tapestry.
While the implementation will undoubtedly require a robust administrative setup, the passage of this bill is a triumph for the constitutional values of equality and dignity enshrined in Article 44. It is time we looked at this reform through the lens of social justice rather than partisan politics.
Smriti Patar
Gauhati University
AI taking over
creativity in Assam
Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to express concern regarding the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) over human creativity, especially in Assam's emerging digital and artistic landscape.
Assam has always been known for its rich cultural heritage, literature, music, cinema, and traditional art forms. However, with the rapid rise of AI-generated content, many young artists, writers, musicians, editors, and designers are beginning to fear the loss of originality and the human touch in creative fields. Today, AI can generate songs, paintings, scripts, voice-overs, and even news content within seconds, often reducing the value of genuine artistic effort.
Recently, AI-generated Assamese musical projects and tribute albums inspired by legendary singer Zubeen Garg have gained attention across digital platforms. At the same time, many creators in Assam's social media and content creation space are increasingly depending on AI tools for editing visuals, writing captions, and producing creative material. While technology certainly makes work easier and faster, excessive reliance on it may slowly discourage critical thinking, imagination, and emotional storytelling-qualities that define true creativity.
Another concern is that AI systems often fail to properly understand regional languages and cultures. Assamese digital content is frequently misidentified or poorly represented online, showing how technology still struggles to preserve linguistic authenticity. In a culturally rich state like Assam, this can eventually weaken the uniqueness of local artistic identity.
AI should be treated as a tool to assist human creativity, not replace it entirely. Educational institutions, media organizations, and cultural bodies in Assam must encourage originality and the ethical use of technology. Protecting local art, literature, music, and creative identity is essential to preserving the soul of Assamese culture in this digital age.
I hope this issue receives wider public attention and encourages meaningful discussions on balancing technology with human creativity.
Kaustav Sarma,
(kaustavsarma023@gmail.com)
Plagiarism detection facility in colleges
Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I would like to draw the attention of the UGC, the Ministry of Education, the GOI and the Government of Assam towards the urgent need for extending plagiarism detection software facilities to colleges across Assam. At present, the education ministry-supported 'ShodhShuddhi' plagiarism detection scheme is available only for universities, while provincialized and government colleges remain deprived of such essential academic support. In today's research-orientated higher education system, plagiarism checking has become mandatory for research papers, dissertations, seminar papers, and publications. However, colleges do not have access to any government-supported plagiarism detection software.
Private service providers such as Turnitin and DrillBit charge very high subscription fees, which are extremely difficult for colleges with limited financial resources to afford. The absence of accessible plagiarism detection facilities has adversely affected academic integrity and publication standards in many institutions.
Therefore, I sincerely request the UGC and the Government of Assam and other stakeholders to introduce a special scheme for colleges under which plagiarism detection software facilities may be provided either free of cost or at highly subsidized rates. Such an initiative would greatly strengthen research culture, improve academic quality, and encourage ethical research practices in higher educational institutions of Assam.
Dr Kumar Chandan Jyoti,
Asst. Professor, PDUAM
Dalgaon, Darrang
Scrap the
ornamental DCM posts
Speculation is rife that the Congress high command has decided to appoint as many as three deputy chief ministers (DCMs) in Karnataka after the new chief minister takes over, apparently to balance the power equations. The DCM position does not hold any constitutional importance because it is a political post aimed at placating certain castes, communities, and individual egos. Keeping key competitors in check by creating parallel power centres is another tactic employed by chief ministers.
When the coalition era began in India, political compulsions forced party bigwigs to opt for DCMs in the states, akin to the deputy prime minister at the Centre. Are there clear guidelines defining the role of a DCM? While the high commands and the chief ministers downplay the post of DCM by projecting it as one among equals, it goes without saying that the DCM enjoys power-official or unofficial-next only to the chief minister. Therefore, there is no point in retaining the ornamental post of DCM.
Dr Ganapathi Bhat,
(gbhat13@gmail.com)