Letters to the Editor: Silent suffering of stray dogs

Silent suffering of stray dogs

Stray dogs are a common sight on our streets, yet their daily struggles are often ignored. One of the biggest problems they face is hunger. Most stray dogs survive on leftover food thrown on roadsides or depend on the kindness of a few people. When food is not available, they remain hungry for days, which makes them weak and sick. Their situation becomes even more painful during heavy rains, floods, or extreme heat, as they have no safe place to rest or protect themselves.

Apart from hunger, health problems make life even harder for these animals. Many stray dogs are injured in road accidents, attacked by other animals, or harmed by people. Diseases such as rabies, skin infections, and parasites are common among them, but very few receive proper medical care. The lack of vaccination and sterilisation also leads to a rise in their population, increasing the struggle for food and survival.

Cruelty towards stray dogs is another disturbing reality. Instead of showing compassion, some people treat them as a problem. Cases of beating, poisoning, and chasing them away are not uncommon. Such behaviour causes unnecessary suffering to animals that are already struggling and shows a lack of humanity in society.

The answer to this problem is not violence but understanding and care. Programmes for sterilisation and vaccination, along with awareness campaigns, can help control the stray dog population in a humane way. Support from local authorities, animal welfare groups, and citizens is essential. Even small actions like offering water, feeding them, or informing NGOs about injured dogs can help save lives.

Stray dogs share our streets and neighbourhoods. They experience pain, hunger, and fear just like any other living being. By treating them with kindness and responsibility, we can reduce their suffering and build a more caring and safer society. It is time we listen to their silent suffering and take responsibility for their welfare.

Nayan Nath

Cotton University

Give deep thought to New Year resolutions

 "What the new year brings to you depends on what you bring to the new year," it is said. Even as the first day of the new year dawns, people rush to make resolutions only to break them without a fuss.

It is to be remembered that every end is a new beginning, and one has to consider every day in the fresh year as the best in his/her life. Generally resolutions collapse like a pack of cards because they are not backed by deep contemplation.

When daily resolution is possible and preferable, it is not wise to keep them at the fag end of the year. The attainability of the resolutions is not given serious thought. It's like cheques people draw on a bank where they have no account.

Kicking off a bad habit, for example, requires a sense of urgency on the part of the habituated person, and by the time the new year arrives, the determination to arrive at a resolution might as well have diminished. 

Any work demands preparation, so do the pledges.  Some individuals are physically ready, but their minds say 'no' because they are loath to rise above little things. Staying put with a resolution may mean parting ways with friends: a very painful reality, and it tests the strength of character. 

Everything boils down to coordination between the mind and the body.  Besides, resolute people require lifestyle sacrifices.  Extravagant to simple life is "normal", and a change in way of living is a "necessity".

Dr Ganapathi  Bhat

(gbhat13@gmail.com)

Racism against Northeast Indians

The recent death of Angel Chakma, an MBA student from Tripura, in Dehradun after an alleged racial attack is a grim reminder that nothing has changed since the killing of Nido Tania in Delhi a decade ago. Despite outrage and promises, racism against people from the Northeast continues unchecked.

Students from the region are still abused, racially profiled, and treated as foreigners in their own country. Institutional apathy and the absence of accountability have allowed such violence to persist. These are not isolated incidents or unfortunate exceptions; they are part of a sustained pattern of discrimination and violence that exposes a serious moral and social failure. Until racism against people from the Northeast is acknowledged as a national crisis and addressed with firm legal, administrative, and societal action, such tragedies will continue to stain the conscience of the country.

Sangeet Borpujari

Gauhati University

Season

for book lovers

This is the season of Book Fairs, and book lovers throng to these book fairs to purchase their favourite books. In this digital age, people access reading on their computers and smartphones, and thus they miss the pleasure of reading physical books with a pleasant smell. Nowadays, readers fail to visit the District libraries and any other library due to loss of reading habits, leading to the closure of many small libraries. It is astounding to note that many young writers also skip reading to write something without depths of knowledge, and thus, few people immerse themselves in the world of books.

Many people appreciate books, as seen from recent book fairs, and it'll negate the apprehension of Zubeen Garg that a gamosa can't save a nation devoid of books. But still more positive responses are awaited, and the reading habits of the new generation must be upgraded so as to keep them abreast of books, magazines and newspapers regularly, and then only the printed works will be sustained, which will be the best tribute to the legendary singer, Zubeen Garg.

Benudhar Das

Galiahati- No. 2

Barpeta