Letters to the Editor: Vande Mataram

Vande Mataram literally means I praise you, Motherland. For every bonafide Indian, our mother means Bharat, which was renamed by the British as India. Bharat Mataram was the battle cry of millions of patriotic Indians who marched holding the Tricolour, demanding independence from the British, and attained martyrdom. Our Supreme Court named Bharat Mataram as the national song, which was composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in the 1870s. But very recently, a lawmaker from Maharashtra named Abu Asim Azmi, belonging to the so-called secular Samajwadi Party, refused to sing the said song as his religion did not permit.

According to the lawmaker, his religion is more important than his country. Besides him, there are people like Asaduddin Owaisi, Asad Madani, Mehbooba Mufti, Badruddin Ajmal, etc., to name a few, who believe that their religion is above the nation where they live. Given a chance, they might support Pakistan on vital issues. Our own Congress is also not lagging behind in this issue, as their leaders under Mani Shankar Iyer and a few colleagues have been to Pakistan seeking support to topple the duly elected government at the centre. Is this the fallout of being secular? In India, secularism simply means appeasement and has become a one-way street, which is dangerous to the nation.

Lanu Dutt Chowdhury,

Guwahati.

An opportunist

Journalist turned politician Ajit Kumar Bhuyan is the biggest opportunist and betrayer of Assam politics. During his tenure as a journalist, we became aware of his role as a mediator of the ULFA movement. He reaped benefits from both the government and the outlaw group. He inspired and urged the volatile youths of the state to take up arms against the country, which resulted in the loss of thousands of precious young lives. During the CAB/CAA agitation, he seized the opportunity to become a Rajya Sabha MP with the support of the Congress and AIUDF. We still remember that picture where Ajit Kumar Bhuyan was holding Late Tarun Gogoi by his right hand and Badruddin Ajmal by his left hand and climbing the staircase of the ECI Assam branch office to file his nomination. After getting elected, he has once again ditched the AIUDF supremo by branding him as communal.

Then why did he need the support of Ajmal and his MLAs? The answer is simple: he grabbed the opportunity to fulfil his political desire. Who knows, by tomorrow he might change his stance by dumping Congress and seeking support from the BJP to fulfil his political ambitions. After becoming MP, he is now accused of indulging in financial irregularities with the MPLAD fund. To divert attention from his involvement in the scam, he is now seen as very vocal about the delimitation draft proposed by ECI. I can assure the people of Assam that come 2024, he will be the first to offer a hand of friendship to the AIUDF and brand the party as ‘secular, progressive, and development-oriented’. Indeed, a big chameleon of state politics.

Spondon Hazori,

Biswanath Chariali

Delay in judicial process

It is a matter of grave concern that the number of cases pending in various courts of the country has crossed the 5-crore mark. Due to inordinate delay in the judicial process, many are hurt, undergo trauma, incur huge losses and some have died while waiting for justice for decades. It is high time that the authorities took necessary steps for early justice delivery as justice delayed is justice denied.

Jahangir Ali

Guwahati

Oommen Chandy - a great leader

Oommen Chandy, who died of cancer at the age of 79 on July 18 this year, was the former Chief Minister of Kerala who served as the state’s CM twice, from 2004 to 2006 and then again from 2011 to 2016. Always among the people, he never wanted to be alone. He was a leader whose compassion went far beyond political lines. He had even helped a student realize his dream by raising funds to build a house of his own. He was a devout Christian and a regular churchgoer. He put humanity above everything else and found his place in the hearts of people of all faiths. He demonstrated that political power was only a means to serve the people. He exemplified the essential goodness of human nature. He wore humility as an ornament. By the sheer power of his sincerity, he endeared himself to people. He identified himself with impoverished people. The people of Kerala will miss him.

Jubel D’Cruz,

jubeldcruz@yahoo.com