Letters to the EDITOR: Priyanka’s Goal

Priyanka’s goal

Dhubri is the western most district HQ of Assam and also a river port, having very close trade relations with Bangladesh. We the Asomiyas understand that Assam extends from Dhubri to Sadiya. But sadly because of its latest demographic pattern, Dhubri gradually has lost its past glory and tradition and has become a bastion of the linguistic minority community. For quite some time it was the unofficial HQ of AIUDF that had one Badaruddin Ajmal as MP, who represented Dhubri for decades. But in the last parliamentary election, Rakibul Hussain from Congress beat him by a record margin of over 10 lakh votes, making Dhubri the strongest citadel of Congress. Very soon Priyanka Vadra and her brother Rahul Gandhi are coming to Assam to bolster the morale of the linguistic minority community, who are the backbone of Congress support. So naturally, instead of visiting Jorhat, the constituency of APCC president Gaurav Gogoi, both Priyanka and Rahul have made the right decision to visit Dhubri. For the siblings, Dhubri means Assam, and Assam means Dhubri.

Dr Ashim Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

 Work culture is permanent fix, not eviction

The 4 August news article, ‘Eviction is a temporary fix; Assamese youth filling labour gaps is a permanent one’, has drawn our attention. There is no doubt that the large majority of the people of the state are extremely happy with the ongoing statewide massive eviction drive to ensure an Assam free of illegal Bangladeshi settlers and secure in its cultural identity after more than four decades, which has been made partially possible by the strong administrative response and political will of the present government demonstrated under the visionary leadership of the state CM.

Now a common man's question: Is eviction the only answer to obtain the permanent demographic security? The answer is obviously 'NO'. Our culture and demography will, in fact, remain intact in the hands of indigenous communities forever when educated Assamese youth come out in large numbers onto the street, leaving all social perception behind and taking immense inspiration from music legend Bhupen Hazarika's evergreen line, "Dignity of labour," to start doing manual work right from labour to small-scale marketing of agricultural produce, which is being done by small street vendors from outside.

When the indigenous communities take full control of their own economic ecosystem, demographic shifts will be far less vulnerable to outsiders. Each and every educated youth of the state must keep in mind that fostering local entrepreneurship through productivity is the real cultural shift, which never comes from doing odd jobs in other parts of India or standing in queues for low-wage government and private employment in the state.

The time has come for every Assamese youth to fill the gap of labourers, as various mega infrastructure projects are underway in the state capital Guwahati and other districts. One must not forget the truth that for immigrant settlers, earning money whatsoever matters more than the nature and hours of the work, which they start doing from temporary camps, and finally it evolves into permanent settlements with families. Our struggle with illegal immigrants will continue; at the same time, our deeper internal battle with our attitude towards work, livelihood and economic self-reliance should also continue till we succeed in completely closing the labour vacuum and help our state become ‘Aatma Nirbhar’ and economically vibrant in all respects. We should stop saying that Assamese people do not know how to do business. We should rather start saying that Assamese youth can do everything if they are well-motivated and supported to bring about much-needed change in the state's work culture landscape.

Iqbal Saikia,

Guwahati.

Remembering the Hiroshima bombings

The world cannot thrive without peace and tranquillity despite bombastic war rhetoric and rituals by powerful countries. Nothing can be more traumatic than witnessing and surviving ravaging wars. Physical and emotional scars left behind by world wars are indescribable.

Hiroshima in Japan was rattled on August 6, 1945, when the United States dropped a lethal atom bomb on it during World War 2 to leave a trail of unimaginable destruction.

The ‘Little Boy’ bomb released 15,000 trinitrotoluene (TNT) force, killing about 80,000 people on the spot, and the number rose to 140,000 by the end of the year. Extremely tragically, the survivors of the incident, termed Hibakusha, experienced life-threatening diseases like malignancies that crippled their lives. Of course, many were rendered homeless and deprived of their properties.

August 6 is aptly observed as ‘Hiroshima Day’ to offer tributes to all those who were directly and indirectly affected by the atomic bomb. Equally importantly, the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war should propel world leaders to never go for them again. By the same token, Hiroshima should be a symbol of hope and healing, resilience and reconstruction.

Dr Ganapathi Bhat

(gbhat13@gmail.com)

 Cricket is a team game

Cricket was at its best when India clinched a heart-stopping 6-run win over England in the final Test at the Oval, wrapping up the series in unforgettable fashion. Mohammed Siraj’s exceptional bowling performance, claiming five wickets, including three crucial dismissals on the final morning, turned the tide after England’s strong start. Despite Joe Root and Harry Brook’s centuries, India’s unwavering belief and Siraj’s heroics sealed the unforgettable win. With due respect to Jasprit Bumrah, though ridiculously — gloriously — both the matches won by India did not feature Bumrah.

This proves that cricket is a team game and one player does not make you win an entire match. Yes, there are rare instances like this. The Oval Test will be remembered for its nerve-wracking finish and Siraj’s match-defining spell, which ensured India ended the series on level terms.

I will never forget when Ajit Wadekar’s men won at the Oval by a thin margin in 1971; India claimed their first-ever away Test Series win in England. Indian fans brought an elephant to Oval to celebrate, and from that point onwards, Indian cricket never remained the same. In this same spirit there are moments that will live long in the memory – from England’s record chase at Headingley to Shubman Gill’s double-century (no sign of captaincy burden; instead, he amassed 754 runs across five matches, marking the second-highest tally ever by an Indian captain on English soil) at Edgbaston and Joe Root’s masterclass at the Oval.

Ben Stokes’ inspirational leadership, Jofra Archer’s return at Lord’s, the fire of Mohammed Siraj, Rishabh Pant’s celebration and the composure of Woakes in adversity all reminded us why Test cricket continues to pack stadiums across England and Wales. The performance of both the teams has been commendable, and both sides captains, Brian Stokes and Shubman Gill (his calm leadership and dependable scoring earned him the Player of the Series award), are both presented with a Pataudi medal and the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar trophy.

Whatsoever, the Indian bowlers have created history by winning hearts in the fifth Test match on the Oval ground. Any amount of praise for this will be less. Many congratulations to both the Indian and English players.

Bidyut Kumar Chatterjee

(bkchatterjee9@gmail.com)