Letters to the Editor: Rising crime graph

Through the column of your esteemed daily, I would like to draw the attention of the authorities concerned towards the deteriorating law-and-order situation in the city. Guwahati is infamous for criminal activities occurring in broad daylight every day. Robbery, theft, mobile snatching, chain snatching are some of the day-to-day incidents. Newspapers and television channels keep reporting such crime stories again and again. No proper and permanent solution to crime by the authorities can be said to be the reason for its rise in the city. Criminals commit these crimes right under the nose of the administration and not many of them get arrested early. People feel unsafe to step out of their houses due to the rise in such criminal activities. Recently, many incidents of theft and robbery have been reported. One incident reported thieves breaking into a business establishment and stealing a printer and some cash near the Garchuk Police Station. In another incident, thieves broke into the house of a resident in Dhirenpara and looted Rs1 lakh in cash and over 4 tolas of gold ornaments. In spite of informing the local police station about such incidents, people do not get any solution. Moreover, the lack of harsh punishment while dealing with such criminals is the reason why they keep committing such crimes.

Therefore, it is a matter of concern and the concerned authorities should take necessary action to tackle the deteriorating law-and-order situation.

Eliza Nath,

Cotton University.

India's biggest problem

India's viral economic problem is unemployment. In the first few years of post- Independent India, the importance of reducing, unemployment was perhaps inadequate appreciated. The great bulk of Indian economic literature before 1996 did not deal with employment as a critical issue, still less as a central issue. It created a backlog of unemployment. The crucial role of employment generation as a critical factor or empowerment as a 'key development' indicator is, however, now appreciated. It is only if we proceed from the goal of full empowerment with people doing something useful, even with little doses of capital and organization, that we can eradicate some of the worst forms of poverty. In the Indian situation, a programme for alleviation of unemployment by the creation of widespread and large-scale employment opportunities, therefore, is vital. It has to be unhesitatingly accepted that unemployment is one of the three most vital ailments from which the economy is suffering, the other two being the population explosion and an unequal distribution of wealth, quite apart from stilted economic growth. Most of the people of India are educated, but they are suffering from unemployment because of due to lack of job opportunities.

Disha Moni Das,

Cotton University.

Three warrior races

As far our history during the Mughal era is concerned, there were three main warrior races who fought against the Mughal invaders and created problems for the Mughals. They were the Rajputs from Rajasthan, the Sikhs from Punjab and the Marathas from Maharashtra. They fought many epic battles against the Mughals, which are inscribed in history books with golden letters. Rana Pratap Singh, Ranjit Singh and Chhatrapati Shivaji were great heroes representing the above warrior races, whom we still remember with great pride. Interestingly, all the three above-mentioned States of Rajasthan, Punjab and Maharashtra have their own heroes at present time, who are Ashok Gehlot, Bhagwant Singh Mann and Uddhav Thackeray. Is it not an irony of fate? The greats like Rana Pratap Singh, Ranjit Singh and Chhatrapati Shivaji must be turning in their graves.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.