'Bhaag Northeast Bhaag'

Lately, we have been exposed to an offensive television advertisement with the title ‘Bhaag Northeast Bhaag’ written in Assamese. The word bhaag in Assamese does not have the same semantic value that the word does in Hindi. The word bhaag in Hindi means run. It also has other semantic values that approximate the meaning of the same word in Assamese. But in Assamese, the word bhaag means to flee or to run away. It does not mean run. And what does the irresponsible use of the word bhaag achieve in Assamese? It simply urges everyone in the State to run away or flee somewhere. It does not state where they are to go or why they must run away. It is just a stupid and offensive call to run away or flee—since that is what the word means in Assamese. It shows a bride uccountably getting up from the marriage ceremony in progress and running with her would-be husband without rhyme or reason. There is another clip of a middle-aged woman who abandons a saucepan of boiling and spilling milk to join a group of runners with her daughter-in-law. There is also a clip of a man who is getting shaved in a salon who gets up and runs with soap on one half of his face to join the runners. The entire oft-repeated advertisement is stupid, totally lacking in purpose and an insult to every inhabitant of the Northeast. It is also mischievous because it goes without the me of the sponsor. For the self-respect of every individual of the Northeast, this stupid and mischievous advertisement must be banned and removed from the small screen and the perpetrator of the mischief suitably punished.