sentinelgroup@gmail.com
A rare honour
So very deservingly, the Assamese language has been declared a classical language by the central government. It is no doubt a very great honour for Assam and Axomiya-speaking people. Earlier, we still remember we the Axomiyas had to agitate, demanding the Assamese language be recognised as the official language of the state. That agitation was dealt with an iron hand by the then government, which resulted in young and bright Muzamil Haque attaining martyrdom.
But to our pleasant surprise, this time without any agitation by Axomiyas, the union government declared our language as a classical language, which it rightly deserves. It is a fact that the great Madhab Kandali translated the Ramayana to the Axomiya language in 400 AD.
In this regard, the present state government under Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma deserves all kudos along with our PM Modi. I, as an Axomiya, do believe that our opposition leaders will agree on this regard.
Dr. Ashim Chowdhury,
Guwahati.
Snail menace
The common garden snails have increased uncontrollably, doing much harm to the vegetable and horticulture gardens of the farmers in the Darrang district. These invertebrate pests have been troubling the farmers for years. The hordes of pests come out at night from their hideouts in nearby drains or wet jungles and devour leaves and stems of seedlings and vegetables. They also spoil bamboo fences, gates, house walls, courtyards, etc., leaving dirty slime tracks on them. The pests have proliferated largely because of their decreasing number of predators, such as snail-eating birds, reptiles, and animals. Controlling the increasing number of such snails has become a cause of concern for the farmers.
Kulendra Nath Deka
Dighirpar, Mangaldai
Bane of ragging
Successive state governments have left no stone unturned in curbing the ragging menace in educational institutions. Though most of them have anti-ragging laws in place, the lack of uniformity in law implementation continues to haunt society. What is frightening is that most ragging incidents are "adjusted" by the management of schools and colleges, and those that see the light of day are only the tip of the iceberg. Besides, some students hesitate to complain out of fear and are unwilling to put their future at stake. A shocking incident of ragging reported in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Assam's Nalbari district last month has proved that to eliminate ragging, a scrupulous and strict template has to be created.
All educational institutes in the country are expected to set up anti-ragging committees on their premises. These committees cannot rest by taking cursory action following stray ragging incidents. They should embrace education and awareness as their favourite campaigns. The committees will serve no purpose without transparency and accountability. The bane of ragging and raising its ugly head in schools is not a new phenomenon, but it is alarming that minds can deviate from the path of correctness at a tender age. Parental discretion cannot loosen a bit; parents have a huge role to play in joining hands with the administration of schools in tackling ragging by the scruff of the neck.
Dr Ganapathi Bhat
(gbhat13@gmail.com)