Letters to The EDITOR: When headlines travel faster than facts

When headlines travel faster than facts

Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I would like to highlight an alarming trend in today's news environment, which is the speed of headlines surpassing the speed of facts. News outlets feel this constant pressure to be the first to break a story, and in the rush, there's an increasing tendency to issue updates before they are adequately verified, especially on the internet. Headlines are designed to grab attention, notifications pop up, and articles start spreading everywhere long before anyone knows the whole story. At a time when audiences are overwhelmed with information, the need for responsible journalism is more important than ever. Readers deserve accurate facts, proper context and balanced reporting and not narratives driven by haste.

Later, maybe, someone adds a small correction, but that update never gets the same spotlight as the original headline. It just slips by, barely noticed.

This isn’t just a bad habit. It chips away at the trust people have in the media. Journalism isn’t a race; it’s a responsibility. It’s supposed to serve the public, not just serve it first. When facts get lost, rumours and wild guesses take over. And when people stop believing the news, the information just stops mattering. With so much thrown at us every day, it’s more important than ever for journalism to be careful, honest, and balanced. It is important for the media companies to stick to what really matters, which is trust. Trust is the main element of good journalism; it's the backbone, and honestly, it’s the only thing that’ll keep it standing. I sincerely hope the media organizations continue to place verification above virality, ensuring that trust remains the foundation of journalism.

Prerana Paban Saikia

(ppsaikia220@gmail.com)

Shameful act

During the Christmas celebrations, members of local right-wing groups allegedly entered St Mary's School at Panigaon in Nalbari on Wednesday. Apart from chanting slogans, the members resorted to damaging Christmas decorations and accosting the students and staff. As the Indian Constitution guarantees every citizen the right to practise and celebrate their religion, such an incident evoked sharp reactions from various quarters in the state. While no major injuries were reported, the unexpected incident left the local Christian community shaken. Surprisingly, the incident occurred just after Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended Christmas greetings to citizens, emphasising values of compassion, coexistence and respect for all faiths. The PM's message highlighted India's cultural diversity and the importance of harmony during festive occasions. The contrast between the PM's appeal and the incident sparked widespread debate across social media, raising concerns over the safety of religious communities. The CM's immediate intervention in the matter deserves to be appreciated. It is time for the civil society to speak out against such irrational behaviour on the part of a group of ideologues. What is needed is to create an environment for enabling the next generations to celebrate festivals with a spirit of joy and love, not fear and hatred. Upholding the composite structure of the country is the shared responsibility of every member of the society.

Iqbal Saikia,

Guwahati

Foul sewer smell in Greater Japorigog

Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I wish to highlight the persistent problem of foul sewer smell and poor drainage in the Greater Japorigog–Nayapur area of Guwahati. Due to irregular cleaning, the main drain remains clogged, especially during the rainy season, causing stagnant water and unhygienic conditions. This poses a serious health risk to residents.

Additionally, traffic congestion has increased due to illegal encroachment by roadside vendors, creating inconvenience for pedestrians and commuters.

I request the concerned authorities to take immediate steps to clean the drains and remove encroachments.

Jafrin Sultana

(jjafrin19@gmail.com)

Syncretic festival

Urban Christmas displays in India reflect commerce rather than lived faith. Malls and bakeries present a borrowed aesthetic that feels familiar to global consumers but distant from everyday Christian homes. Indian Christians celebrate Christmas through regional customs shaped by language, food and neighbourhood life. Paper stars, rangolis, lanterns, and nativity scenes express continuity with local traditions. This quieter, domestic Christmas rarely features in public imagery. The gap matters because it reduces a diverse religious practice to a single imported style that neither represents history nor community experience.

Jubel D'Cruz,

(jubeldcruz@yahoo.com)

Cancellation of trains by NFR

Northeast Frontier Railway’s (NFR) recent decisions regarding train operations in the Northeast have caused serious concern among passengers. The plan to convert the overnight Guwahati–Sairang (Aizawl) Express into a daytime train is particularly disappointing. This train not only connects Guwahati with Mizoram but also serves important stations of southern Assam such as Hailakandi, Lalabazar, Jamira and Badarpur. The overnight schedule was extremely convenient for tourists, officials, businessmen and daily commuters, enabling them to reach Guwahati in the morning, complete their work, and return the same night.

The proposed daytime timing will force passengers to spend the entire day travelling and reach destinations only by late evening, resulting in loss of productive time and additional hotel expenses. Such an awkward schedule will discourage rail travel and indirectly benefit hotels and night bus operators rather than genuine rail users. NFR must reconsider this impractical move.

Equally unfortunate is the decision to discontinue the bi-weekly Guwahati–Haflong–Badarpur Tourist Express. This same-day return train, equipped with a Vistadome coach, played a major role in boosting tourism in Haflong, Maibang, Jatinga Lumpur and nearby areas. Many homestays and small hotels flourished due to this service. Although the train ran up to Badarpur, passengers from Silchar and Agartala also depended on it. Instead of increasing its frequency and capacity, discontinuing such a popular train is highly unjustified.

Moreover, attaching the Vistadome coach to the Guwahati–Sairang Express makes little sense, as a 13-hour sitting journey and locomotive reversals at Lumding and Badarpur defeat the very purpose of scenic viewing. A better solution would be to retain the overnight Guwahati–Sairang Express and introduce a separate daytime service for Vistadome experiments. The Tourist Express should run at least six days a week with AC and non-AC Chair Cars and pantry facilities.

Abhinav Phangcho Choudhury

Kahilipara, Guwahati

Concern over Dighalipukhuri flyover construction

I wish to bring to the notice of the authorities through your highly regarded newspaper the ongoing construction work of the overbridge near Dighalipukhuri, next to Guwahati Club and Rabindra Bhawan, which has been a cause of immense concern both to the people and to the environment.

The project caused a prolonged traffic jam in one of the city's busiest areas, which resulted in more air and noise pollution and a great deal of inconvenience to commuters, office workers and residents. A more serious issue is the mass felling of trees in and around Dighalipukhuri and Rabindra Bhawan—areas that are recognized for their great ecological importance and rich green cover. Dighalipukhuri has always been the urban green space and the pollution-absorbing area in the centre of the city. The cutting down of the big trees in this area creates a lot of problems for the local ecosystem, destroys biodiversity and exerts additional pressure on the already weak environmental balance in Guwahati. The whole issue of reclamation of land through environmental degradation is a serious one when it comes to sustainable urban development. It goes without saying that it is the duty of the executing agencies to incorporate stronger environmental regulations, to ensure the least possible ecological damage and to carry out compensatory afforestation at once. A fair and open environmental impact assessment of the project is likely to reduce the public unease to a considerable extent.

I trust that the issue will be granted urgent priority with regard to the environment and the people of Guwahati.

Mayur Gopendra Das

Cotton University

Guru Gobind Singh: An Upholder of Justice and Human Values

Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth and last Sikh Guru, was the most fascinating and remarkably dazzling personality ever known in our history. A rare combination of character, compassion, determination, self-discipline, equality and heroism, his sense of commitment to human rights and justice was quite strong from his early days. When he was a child, he stood up to the Kashmiri Pandits, who were living in constant fear as Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb wanted them to convert to Islam. An ace strategist, visionary and excellent administrator, Guru Gobind Singh was a true leader of masses. As a versatile warrior, he had ultimate mastery in handling various kinds of weapons and had tremendous abilities to move the people for the cause of righteousness. If Guru Nanak Dev was almost Gandhian in his approach to human life, Guru Gobind Singh Ji's view was that human rights must be protected from oppressors even if one has to take up arms — when all peaceful means have been tried and failed.

In fact, Guru Gobind Singh was very particular about the importance of character in one’s life. He knew well that without a strong and pure character, one cannot withstand adversity nor can one fight against atrocities. His two sons – Shahibjadas – Baba Ajit Singh and Baba Jujhar Singh – embraced martyrdom while fighting the enemy. Two Shahibjadas – Baba Fateh Singh and Baba Zorawar Singh – were bricked alive and later killed at the behest of Wazir Khan. Guru Gobind Singh was the greatest among the greats. Swami Vivekananda, a great philosopher and monk, was all praise for his ‘self-sacrifice, austerity, self-discipline and his heroism’.

“Both Hindus and Muslims of the time were living under the regime of intense oppression and injustice. Guru Gobind Singh not only recognized a common interest but also gave them the courage to realize it. So, Hindus and Muslims alike followed him.  He was a true upholder of justice and human values.

CKS Ramani Maniam 

(ravishingramani@gmail.com)