Letters to The EDITOR: Value-driven development

Value-driven development

The recent editorial ‘Choosing value over volume in Northeast’ is timely, as NE is central to the nation’s journey of Viksit Bharat by 2047. During her recent visit to Meghalaya, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has rightly highlighted that the NE’s strength is organic farm produce. She said that the Northeast is entering a decisive phase of value-driven development in the agriculture and horticulture sectors. So, the future belongs to those who produce the best and not those who produce more. Therefore, every single traditional grower of the region must be registered with easy accessibility to the GI logo for building strong brands around unique produce from the NE. It is the GI tag that can attract both domestic and global buyers to trace the origin and heritage of the produce and pay a premium price for the same without hesitation. Apart from it, the farmers of the region need to be backed by a robust and credible quality-driven value chain that assures consumers of authenticity. There is an urgent need to narrow the gap between policy guidelines and structural framework. We need to strengthen institutional capacity across the entire region to ensure effective planning, implementation, and monitoring of fund utilisation aimed at vigorously promoting organic farming practices. The Northeast’s youth, entrepreneurial energy and women farmers are the prime drivers of NE’s value-driven growth in the coming days.

Iqbal Saikia,

Guwahati

Zubeen: A people’s artiste

 Through this column, I would like to highlight the unnecessary attempts by some people to claim the legacy of Zubeen Garg according to their ideologies. Zubeen Garg was never confined to any particular political belief or camp. He was a cultural legend of Assam whose music transcended religion, language, caste, and political boundaries.

Throughout his illustrious career, he sang devotional songs dedicated to Lord Shiva, Goddess Durga, and Lord Ganesha, besides Borgeets, folk songs, patriotic songs, and modern melodies. His art reflected the diversity and richness of Assamese society. Therefore, it is unfair to portray him through a narrow ideological lens. Artistes possess the freedom to express themselves beyond political and social divisions. Instead of engaging in endless debates over his identity, we should honour his immense contributions to Assamese culture and remember him as a people’s artist who united hearts through his music.

Heramba Nath,

Hindumaizali, Kamrup

Adopt, don’t shop for pets

 I wish to draw attention to the growing trend of purchasing expensive pet breeds in Assam. Many people buy such pets merely as a status symbol, while others do so out of loneliness or simply to imitate others. This mindset often overlooks the thousands of stray dogs struggling for food, shelter and care on our streets.

With the scorching summer heat affecting both humans and animals, adopting a street dog can make a real difference. Providing a homeless animal with a safe shelter is an act of compassion and responsibility. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation has also encouraged citizens to adopt pets rather than buy them. Society should value kindness over display and choose adoption whenever possible. Every adopted animal gets a second chance at life and receives the love and care it deserves.

Kaushik Nath

Haibargaon, Nagaon

An apology can heal wounds

An apology is a pristine gesture that does not belittle the seeker. It acts like a glue to hold relations together. Philosophers have placed the concept of apology on a high pedestal, elevating it above ego. Repairing wounded minds and re-establishing relations by letting go of one’s ego are top aims of tendering an apology. People who say ‘sorry’ know they are not immune to making mistakes. Simultaneously, realising the capacity to confess one’s own mistakes provides the utmost satisfaction to the mind. ‘Sorry’ is equated with ‘love’ in some writings. When ‘sorry’ is said, the sadness associated with knowing that a mistake has been made is replaced by a satisfaction that the error is undone. 

It is not about winning or losing. It is more about the relief of having a heavy burden lifted off one’s shoulders. A quick apology can be incredibly effective; it’s always preferable to express regret before the wounds become stale. That being said, a person has to back an apology with action. Apologising without meaning is likely to water down the inviolability of the word. Team leaders and family members would vouch for the importance of saying sorry over being right when winning the war is far more important than losing battles. 

Dr Ganapathi  Bhat

gbhat13@gmail.com

Can AI replace human creativity?
Artificial Intelligence is transforming how we create, generating paintings, composing music, drafting articles and designing products. But AI cannot replace human creativity. It can analyze vast data and mimic patterns, yet it lacks emotions, lived experience, cultural understanding and the imagination that lets humans go beyond existing information. Human creativity springs from intuition, memory and the impulse to challenge conventions, giving work emotional depth and lasting impact. AI is a powerful tool that expands creative possibilities. It speeds repetitive tasks, suggests unexpected combinations and offers fresh perspectives. Musicians, visual artists and writers use AI to generate ideas they refine with human judgement. The most striking innovations will come from collaboration: humans set vision and values, while AI provides scale, speed and analytic power. Risks remain : overreliance can produce formulaic outcomes, reduce diverse voices and complicate authorship. Addressing these issues requires ethical guidelines and human-centred design. In short, AI enhances creativity but does not replace the human ability to feel, question and invent. The combination of human sensibility and AI’s power can unlock new creative frontiers while preserving the essence of meaningful art.

Nilakshi Borah 

Golaghat 

PM Shri school playground renovation

Through the esteemed columns of your widely circulated newspaper, I would like to draw the attention of the concerned authorities and the general public to the urgent need for the repair and renovation of the playground of PM Shri Lakshmi Bazar High School, located at Lakshmi Bazar under the Malegarh Development Block in Sribhumi District.

The playground of the school is presently in a dilapidated condition. The ground surface is uneven and lacks proper drainage facilities, resulting in severe waterlogging during the rainy season. Consequently, students are unable to participate regularly in sports and physical education activities. Despite being a PM Shri School, the institution lacks the adequate sports infrastructure necessary for the overall development of its students.

Sports and physical activities play a vital role in shaping the character, discipline, and health of young learners. Therefore, the repair and renovation of the playground have become an urgent necessity. Furthermore, the construction of a mini stadium would provide a suitable platform for sports training, inter-school competitions, and various youth development activities. Such a facility would not only benefit the students of the school but also the youth of the surrounding rural areas.

I, therefore, earnestly request the concerned authorities, particularly the Sports & Youth Welfare Department and the Education Department of the Government of Assam, to take immediate steps for the renovation of the school playground and sanction the construction of a mini stadium at PM Shri Lakshmi Bazar High School.

I shall be grateful if you kindly publish this letter in your esteemed newspaper to highlight this genuine public concern and help draw the attention of the authorities concerned.

Abdul Malik Choudhury

Lakshmi Bazar, South Karimganj