Letters to The Editor

The coming Assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam are do or die for the TMC, Congress and the CPI(M). The TMC and the CPI(M) were draggers drawn politically a few months back. The scenario changed dramatically with the emergence of the BJP in West Bengal. Suddenly both the TMC and the CPI(M) are trying for a poll alliance along with the ever-sinking Congress which once again proves beyond doubt that there is no permanent enemy in today's politics. Ideology of the parties is thrown into the waste bins also evidenced in Assam's political scenario where one can witness the pre-poll tie-up of the Congress and the AIUDF. Who can forget the thunderous statement of Ex Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi "WHO IS BADRUDDIN?"

They are all strange bedfellows with different ideologies. Let us see and wait how the electorates react.

Lanu Dutta Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

Responsibilities

of the media

India being a democratic country and freedom of speech and expression remaining in its Article 19 (1) (A), media is the fourth pillar of the country. Media plays an important role in informing the people around them and acts as a people's agency to collect news for them. The media has a big responsibility to see that the news they present is accurate and in the interest of people. If the media gives false news that can damage the reputation of a person or class of society, it can do a lot of damage because reputation is a valuable asset of a person or society. Therefore, the media should carefully examine the news items before reporting them. The rights of journalists have given the responsibility of checking and balancing administration and government. Whenever there is a social evil of corruption and oppression, journalists are the first to voice. Freedom of the press is important for the smooth functioning of democracy. Media professionals follow many rules and guidelines. A journalist must seek and speak the truth. They are the voice of the voiceless millions. He is not a mere writer, but a voice changer.

Sanghamitra Konwar,

Dibrugarh University.

Need to conserve AIR Tezpur

Mass media is very important for communication of people with distant lands. The radio centre of Tezpur is the oldest one and is listened to by many people. The radio centre of Tezpur employs many people and their services will be lost because of its closure. It is very important to keep the radio centre working so that the jobs of these people can be saved. Undeniably, all institutions should move with times and public broadcasting services aren't an exception. The radio centres of Tezpur and Dibrugarh are still working but their quality has deteriorated. So keeping all these in mind decisions should be taken to improve the quality of services of these two stations.

Manish Kashyap,

Tezpur.

Modi government

If any party or section of people is not happy with the Modi government or the acts passed by this Government, people have the right to show their displeasure and can protest. But they have no right to cause inconvenience to the public. They cannot hold the Government to ransom. The best way to show the door to the incumbent Government is during the elections. Let the parties worth their salt come out with their manifestos declaring that their party will abrogate all Acts passed by the Government after they come to power.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog.

Age limit

During the COVID pandemic all AASU leaders were indoor. Some voluntary organizations came out with permission from the government to offer help to the needy by distributing rice, wheat, pulses, fruits, oil, etc. When the situation started to be normal, the middle aged so-called students came back to the streets with their favourite pastime i.e. agitations. The students' body was seen 'planting black flags' during the Prime Minister's visit. I fervently request the AASU to kindly fix an age limit for joining it and retirement.

Joel Goyari,

Dimakuchi.

Best tableau

The 72nd Republic Day parade will go down in the history books for displaying truly Indian culture. The tableaux of Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab were notable. Earlier certain states under the rule of Congress glorified the invaders of India. The likes of Aurangzeb, Shajahan of Moghul period found place in pride of India's function, the Republic Day. The then Karnataka government a few years back made Tipu Sultan as theme of state's tableaux. The Congress people in quest to please a particular religion can stoop to any extent. One wouldn't be surprised if the Congress ruling state comes out with tableaux with Mohd Ali Jinnah as the theme.

Our state tableau was also nice as it displayed tea industry and tourism. The pride of Assam one-horned rhinoceros was also displayed. Both the tea industry and tourism are backbone of the State economy.

Manthan Rudra Kashyap,

Boko.

Enrollment rate of higher education

According to the latest data from the All India Survey of Higher Education, the enrollment ratio in our country's higher education institutions is only 27 per cent. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that the gross enrollment ratio of this higher education is prepared in proportion to the population of 18-23 year olds. This means that the enrollment rate in higher education or undergraduate level in India is not as high as expected. Compared to India, the rate of higher education in the developed countries of the first world is quite high and promising. For example, 88.2 per cent in the United States, 70.3 per cent in Germany, 65.6 per cent in France, 60.6 per cent in England, 51.3 per cent in Brazil, 49.1 per cent in China and 36.4 per cent in Indonesia. It is a matter of concern that the enrollment rate in higher education is significantly lower in India than in developed and rich countries, which is of course very unfortunate. The main reason for not being able to qualify for college or undergraduate enrollment in the age group of 18-23 years is the inability of the majority of the population to progress to higher secondary level. In developed countries, the rate of enrollment in higher secondary education is higher than the enrollment rate in college or higher education. In case of higher education in the country, such data prove that the number of people who have successfully completed the high school or secondary school level has not increased proportionately. Only the improvement of primary and secondary education will make possible improvement of higher education. The Government of India has enacted the Right to Education Act to make education free up to secondary level. Even the mid-day meal scheme has been implemented in schools. Despite these facilities, primary and higher secondary education is still underdeveloped. It is only through the improvement of primary and secondary education that it will be possible to achieve success in the field of higher secondary and subsequent higher education.

If India does not succeed in leading the way in higher education, it will continue to lag behind in the overall development of the country. At present, there are 993 universities and about 40,000 colleges in India. Our students should get world class or highly advanced modern education as a resource of the country in these institutions of higher learning. On the other hand, it must have the necessary facilities. Otherwise, in the days to come, there will be brain drain and India will have to depend on developed countries. Of course, India has recently put a lot of emphasis on improving the quality of education through the National Education Policy (NEP 2020). This is a very good sign. In the meantime, the NEP has fully integrated the infrastructure to make it a reality. However, it is important to ensure that higher education is equally available to all sections of the society in addition to attracting the youth of the country towards higher education. As citizens of third world developing countries, therefore, in order to introduce India in the context of the whole world, the proportion of enrollment in higher education needs to increase proportionately.

Heramba Nath,

Kamrup.