Letters to The Editor

This letter has reference to the news item published in your esteemed daily ( Dt: 20/11/2020) captioned ‘Blow to Farooq’.
Letters to The Editor

All rounder!

This letter has reference to the news item published in your esteemed daily ( Dt: 20/11/2020) captioned 'Blow to Farooq'. In the said news piece it was stated that Farooq Abdullah, the then Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) misappropriated a huge amount of money given by BCCI for the development and promotion of cricket in the State. In that regard Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached property of the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir which he bought from his ill-gotten money. This simply proves that apart from playing politics, he played good cricket in the turf of Jammu and Kashmir.

A true All Rounder indeed!

Dr. Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Government's attitude

The obdurate attitude of the Central government towards the concerns of the farmers is a clear indication of some ulterior motive. Despite the provocations, the protesting farmers have been peaceful. The way they are managing the gathering is incredible with all activities of daily routine taken into consideration. In fact, it is proving to be a paradigm shift in public protest. Now, it is to be seen how the present dispensation responds to a mass movement that calls upon its conscience in a democratic and peaceful way to pay heed to their concerns.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog.

Health insurance

India is a huge country with a vast populace still reeling under the economic impact of corona. With the severe implications born out post corona , savings of common people are getting depleted at a very fast pace.

Private hospitals are having a gala time as people now prefer going to them for treatment owing to corona scare. But then, people end up using their saved resources as treatment in such hospitals is very costly and we end up paying through the nose. Depending on the disease, one day hospital stay might cost Rs. 1 lakh or more.

As such, a timely Government initiative can help our people get reprieve from such harsh reality facts. Our hugely successful Government can come up with health insurance plans for all irrespective of any class. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is one such scheme which prompted people to open up bank accounts and since the amount deducted yearly via ECS is a nominal amount, people are grateful.

A step taken in this regard will surely be an added bonus amidst this pandemic time and will be a boon to the people of India as a whole.

Purabi Pathak Barua,

Guwahati.

Join AASU and become ministers

There is famous saying that goes like 'Join the Navy and See the world'. Now going by the present trend one can safely quote 'Join AASU and become ministers'. There are other students' organizations like ABVP, NSUI, SFI, which represent the BJP, Congress and leftists ideology and if these organizations become factory for producing future politicians it is acceptable. The AASU cannot be clubbed with the above organizations. Since inception the AASU has been largely an apolitical students' body primarily concerned with the welfare of the students, which their constitution prescribes. With the passage of time the same non-political identity of AASU is not visible rather it is behaving like a political organization. By playing with the emotions of the people the AASU had floated a regional political party in early 80s. We all knowhow that political party betrayed the people. Now again, the power hungry AASU leaders have floated another regional political party and it is headed by again by ex AASU leaders. Who knows after next 15 years another set of AASU leaders would give birth to another political party to suit their personal agenda and interests.

Lanu Dutta Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Abolition of local radio stations is unfortunate

More recently, a directive from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has raised the possibility of narrowing down the far-reaching role of radio and television. From now on, all the States of the country have been asked to close down the programmes of regional and local stations of radio outside the capital. This means that from now on, regional stations will not be able to prepare and disseminate programmes on their own according to the station's directive. Such programmes will be disseminated only from the capital city. The Ministry has not closed down the regional stations but the directive will result in the abolition of many programmes in Dibrugarh, Tezpur and Kokrajhar in Assam. But it's against the broadcasting Act to deprive government media outlets of public services in order to reduce costs. It's learned that the Central government has taken such a decision to reduce the expenditure. It's a well-known fact that a large number of staff, artistes and artisans are working temporarily in such regional stations. Those people will become unemployed if the programmes of the stations are closed. The role of such regional centres will be limited only if the little numbers of programmes prepared by the permanent staff is broadcast from the capital city. In the wake of this decision of the Central government, there is a more dangerous motive than the austerity drive. If this decision of the Central government is implemented, the cultural and social diversity of each State is bound to lose its dignity. For example, the three regional stations of Assam have long been reflecting the cultural diversity of many communities in the State as well as informing the audience about the living style of different social groups and classes. Those programmes were not given any importance by the main radio station. If the programme is broadcast centrally from the capital and the local stations don't have the freedom to formulate their own programmes, the cultural features and diversity of the many communities adopted by radio will not be recognized by the government. Undoubtedly, this is an irrational and short-sighted decision of the Central government. Our future generations may question in the future in this regard.

Heramba Nath,

Kamrup.

Remove biased content from textbooks

The Karnataka Government is considering dropping relevant paras from the Class VI Social Science textbook which are deemed to be insinuating remarks against the Brahmin community. This is a welcome move towards inclusive education which ensures good quality and unbiased content in the schoolbooks. It is true that any misleading content in the textbooks cannot create harmony in the schools and also be dangerous for the students' future. The need of the hour is that the authorities concerned of all states and NCERT should re-examine the school textbooks and remove the prejudiced materials.

Amit Singh Kushwaha,

Satna (M.P.)

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