Letters to the Editor

Vicious design

Of late we come across some very disturbing news that some foreigners are visiting India on tourist visa to preach Christianity in remote places across the state. Very recently seven foreigners from Germany and Sweden visited Assam in the guise of tourist to preach Christianity in some remote areas inhabited by innocent tea tribe and tribal people who are in fact the indigenous sons of the soil.

In this regard I would to question the Xatradhikars, especially of Majuli, the epicentre of Sankari culture or xatriya culture regarding their utter inactivity in this regard. It is a harsh reality that instead of going to remote areas of Majuli to reach the innocent Mising people to spread the message and teachings of Mahapurush Sankardev, they usually confine themselves to the cosy comfort of the xatras singing kirtan and eating prasad, resulting in mass conversion of the local Mising people to Christianity. The mushroom growth of churches in the areas mentioned above simply proves my point. The recent atrocious arrogance shown by an organization named Sankar Sangha in Sivasagar against a few innocent people deserves a round of condemnation from all bona fide Axomiyas, as it has shamelessly divided our society which is not absolutely not the teachings and messages of Gurojona.

We are closely watching the activities of the Sankar Sangha and its secretary.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Are we living in a human society?

Every day when I wake up and check my phone's notifications, it pops up with headlines like '13-year-old Maya gang-raped and murdered'. Why in this era of modernization are we encountering such cases every day? Are we heading towards modernization in the real sense? Or we are just in dilemma of being modernized?

Modernization is development and a nation is not developed until and unless everyone is developed. No doubt people are getting educated, but there is a huge void of moral education among the masses. It is worthy of mentioning that the root cause of such evils in the society is linked to the issue of unemployment to a great extent.

The need to implement self-defence training in schools and colleges is the need of the hour. Strict punishment should be given to the offenders so as to give a lesson to others who indulge in such activities. Rapists deserve to be shot to death directly rather than being called to court hearings on date after date. I urge our legislature to look into the crime rate daily and tackle it well in time. Otherwise, it is shameful to state that we are living in a society of humans.

Hiyanjalee Rangra,

Gauhati University.

All-time low

If the 1983 World Cup win was unquestionably the loftiest point and a watershed moment in Indian cricket that completely changed its face, the ignominious defeat against England in the semi-final of the just-concluded T20 World Cup can be said to be an all-time low of the same. Though arguably both are results of two different formats in different eras, it still compels and gives room to make such a comparison, considering the two extreme natures of the outcome. Meanwhile, perhaps two costliest mistakes that caused Team India's ignominious defeat in the semi-final against England are: one, they managed only 38 runs in the powerplay with the archaic style of 'safety-first' approach that hurt them terribly. And two, not playing the premier leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and still persisting with the off-colour and out-of-sorts Axar Patel. Knowing well that traditionally leg-spinners are crucial to teams' fortunes in T20s, it is still a mystery why Chahal wasn't given a single opportunity to play in the World Cup. Both captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid owe an explanation to the Indian cricket fans on this critical point.

Ranganathan Sivakumar,

Chennai – 600 091.