Letters to the Editor: Kudos to APSC

Through the columns of your esteemed daily, I would like to convey my highest appreciation to the present team of the Assam Public Service Commission ( APSC) for raising the quality of the just-concluded Assam civil service Combined Competitive Examination 2020 to a hitherto unknown standard. While all praise is due to the media for exposing blatant corruption and nepotism resorted to by Rakesh Paul and cohorts in holding APCS examinations earlier, credit and accolades must pour in for holding successive competitive examinations in the year 2018 and 2020 fairly, impartially and even-handedly. Out of academic interest, a glance at the General Studies questions left me flabbergasted. (I have no stake involved in APSC examination.) The questions were of very high standard, requiring conceptual clarity, understanding and analytical skills. Citing a few examples will drive home the contention:

1. Etymology of the words 'Asam' and 'Asamiya'.

2. Assamese farmers are organic by default.

3. How physiography of a region affects economic activities of a region with reference to physiographic units of Assam.

4. 'India and USA are natural allies'. Strategic reasons for India's closeness to USA.

5. Significance of 'probity' in governance. How probity and integrity can check misuse of power?

Many more examples can be cited. Questions of such quality highlight the top-class functioning of the APSC in its bid to redeem the pristine glory of Assam Civil Service, besides restoring the tarnished image of the hallowed Assam Public Service Commission. Kudos!

Gautam Ganguly,

Guwahati.

The Ukrainian crisis unfolds

The war will end, and leaders will shake hands. That old woman will keep waiting for her martyred son. And those children will keep waiting for their hero father. This famous line for the infamous conducts reverberates every time with a same sense of grief and emotions. Yes we are once again witnessing the crisis of conscience this time from the warzone hotbed, the capital city of Ukraine –Kyiv- where the Russians are bombarding the city, The conflict is not new, it dates back to the Cold War era, where the two blocs led by Capitalist USA on one side and Socialist USSR on the other were on their mission to extend their sphere of influence. Capitalist Bloc led by USA has their own aspirations to extend eastward to counter Russia and on the other hand, Russians have their own history of glory where Ukraine, Russia and Belarus were one part of the Greater 'Kievan Rus' sometime around 1200 years ago which was a superpower at that time and want to revive the lost glory, the era of the Greater 'Kievan Rus'. However, Russians aspirations met with a setback when the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (read USSR) disintegrated in the year 1991 and several erstwhile Soviet Union countries were born, got independence like Belarus, Romania, Latvia, Ukraine, and many other Central Asian countries which degraded the Russian sphere of influence in the region. This led to escalate the race of extending the sphere of influence from both sides, this time more vociferously. The US used the alliance of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (read NATO) to extend its sphere of influence in East Europe and Russia attacked Hungry and others.

The fresh tension in the capital city of Ukraine- Kyiv- is seen by many from the lens of geopolitics alone. Neither the fresh tension is a standalone event nor should it be seen from a single geopolitical angle. What prompted Russians to attack Ukraine: 1) Economic factors: Ukraine with a population of 43 million is a huge market. Second Ukraine is industrially most productive. Ukraine is a significantly an important source and supplier of raw materials, including, for instance, semiconductor-grade neon used in semiconductor manufacturing which is sought by the advanced nations as the most important ingredient for the 4th Industrial Revolution. This prompted Russians to take Ukraine under the Eurasian Economic community (EAEC) which is a regional organization led by Russia aimed for the economic integration of its member states. USA-led NATO did not like it since the capitalist bloc and NATO members had similar aspiration given the region's economic importance.

2) Geo politic strategic reasons: Russia is surrounded by Arctic and Pacific oceans in the north and east respectively so it is relatively safe on these fronts. The probable threat Russia presumes comes from the western border. History also corroborates this fact. Russians were attacked from the western fronts by Napoleonic France in 1812 and Nazi Germany at the time of the Second World War in 1941. This is the geographical ease and convenience the attackers might take into consideration today. The more pertinent and rather plausible factor is that most of the western borders of Russia, namely Georgia, Czech Republic and particularly Ukraine are either a NATO member or under the influence of NATO as talks are going on to take Ukraine under the NATO membership.

3) Domestic factors: The present day Russia is facing economic hardship and the vaccination project has not gone well. All this downgraded President Putin approval rating, so to boost his popularity what could be better than diverting the population to the matter of national importance posed by external treat. Since the war started, several countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russia.

New Delhi must be calculative in its approach as any untimely and hasty measures might have serious repercussions. New Delhi has to balance its stand between the blocs. Minister of External Affairs of India S. Jaishankar's efforts for a diplomatic effort is well thought of as Russia is an all-weather friend and a major defense supplier to India, apart from being a major economic trade partner. India's diplomatic balancing act is the need of the hour.

Rajat Jha

Guwahati

New cab service

Commuting has been one of the biggest challenges in metropolitan cities in this 21st century and because of the below-par facilities offered by the city buses, people were pining for something better. Uber and Ola cashed in on this opportunity and gradually became trusted brands for short-distance travels in the cities. When brands grow they gradually forget their initial aim of making people's lives better. The same is happening to these travel giants in Guwahati, the only city they are serving in the entire North-East. I was in Guwahati for some days for some personal work and like I always do when I am in the city, I ordered a ride on Uber, but my ride was cancelled four times and the fifth time when the cab arrived, the amount it displayed was almost double of that shown the first time when I ordered the ride. It was then that the driver of my cab felt bad for the extra bucks that I had to spent so he suggested a local app named PeIndia, which is now the talk of the 'travel town' for being fast and affordable. It was true to all the good name that it has been earning as all my next rides that I took in the city on PeIndia proved to be a hassle-free experience for me. Instead of giving our bucks to American companies like Uber, why not support our local entrepreneurs?!

Noopur Baruah,

Tezpur.