China's duplicity over LAC: Letters to the Editor

China's duplicity over LAC

After the meeting on September 11 of the foreign ministers of India and China, S Jaishankar and Wang Yi, some Indian officials had informally claimed that the purpose of the talks - objectives and principles of disengagement was achieved. But skeptics had insisted not to prematurely hail the five-point agreement struck at the SCO meet in Moscow, while warning India of Chinese duplicity and their policy of 'fighting and talking'. This new Panchsheel had, without even once referring to the term Line of Actual Control (LAC), promised to abide by existing border protocols to avoid the escalating tension, to disengage quickly to ease tension, and had also assured to work towards new confidence building measures. Now, the Chinese have yet again proven why their promises and agreements cannot be taken at face value. In a statement, written in Mandarin and offered to the Beijing correspondent of an Indian daily, the Chinese foreign ministry has reiterated its 1959 claim line as LAC, making a unilateral assertion which it knows is anathema to India. Worse, it has blamed the border standoff, tension and clashes entirely on the Indian Army, making a mockery of the dialogue process. This is not new, yet this statement is important because it finally, after decades, makes the Chinese recalcitrance on the border issue its officially declared policy. With Beijing reiterating its claim on 1,597 kilometers of Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh on the basis of November 1959 cartographical claim, national security planners believe that Chinese Army may use this claim to put pressure on the six other areas of differences in the western sector that have not been impacted in the ongoing standoff between the two countries.

The then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao ought to be blamed for accepting the term LAC with no mutually agreed definition in 1993 during his Beijing visit when the two sides signed the Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the LAC. Now, the Chinese have gone back to Zhou Enlai's letter of November 7, 1959, to highlight and underline the claims that they have made all along without exchanging maps to scale. For the Chinese, it is a 'traditional, customary line' but it is only a 'disconnected series of points that could be joined up in many ways', as former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon explained in his book. Now, the Modi government can quote Jawaharlal Nehru to reject the 1959 claim, asking the Chinese whether it is something that they created by aggression. India has never accepted the so-called unilaterally defined 1959 Line of Actual Control (LAC). This position has been consistent and well known, including to the Chinese side.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog.

Street animals and their safety

Street dogs and other animals who roam and sleep on roads have no safety of life. We all have come across the dead bodies of dogs, cats and sometimes of cows lying crushed on the roads and sometimes even on National Highways. Pained by the sight, I tried to ask some of the drivers who run public vehicles about what they think about the death of dogs and other animals on roads and to my shock, I got the most unwanted answers. Most of them said, "It is the animal's fault that it comes suddenly in front of the car". And some said, "It's better that they died, who will stop just to save their life in this busy world? The answers were as if they have no value for their life. And I appealed to them to please make some noise before starting their vehicles so that the street animals sleeping under or around your vehicle get aware that the vehicle is going to start and they can move away. Also the government should make some street animal shelters so that the busy cars don't ram into them. This will bring safety to the animals and they will feel homely.

Neha Singh,

Tezpur.

COVID testing

Amidst COVID-19 pandemic, the BJP government in the State has been announcing various schemes for the welfare of the people of Assam. It is, however, customary for every government in office to announce various welfare schemes for the public before every election to woo voters. But unfortunately, this time the situation of the country in general and States in particular is totally different from that of the previous years. The situation can be termed as uneasy. The general public have opined that some of these schemes are less important than action-oriented plan to save human lives in this pandemic situation. The government should have given more importance on the recovery of COVID-19 affected people with required treatment rather than renovating religious places of worships. There have been diverse opinions in the nature of treatments being offered to infected patients at different COVID-19 treatment centres. It is hoped that equal treatments (at least 90%) will be given to all patients in various centres meant for COVID-19 patients.

However, we want to focus on a particular point on this pandemic. This is about the COVID-19 testing/screening facilities of the State. It has been felt that most people are hesitant to go for infection testing of COVID-19 because of getting harassment due to standing in queue for hours together at the testing/screening centres. Moreover, there are no such separate screening centres for senior citizens. As house collection of swab samples at present is difficult, the government should increase the number of screening centres (with phone numbers) for easy access to people. There should be separate centres for senior citizens such that at a prescribed time, one can go to the centre to get his/her swab sample collected and also getting the result within 24 hours. It can be mentioned here that many private hospitals of the State demand a hefty sum (not less than Rs 4,000) for testing COVID-19 infection which even middle class people cannot afford, let alone the weaker section. Moreover, it has now become a good business for those hospitals in looting money for testing COVID-19 infection from any visiting patients before consultation for health related problems with the doctor. We appeal to the government to consider the above mentioned points for necessary action.

Dr P.C. Sarmah,

Jorhat.

Rising crimes against women

It is observed that crimes against women have been increasing in many States of India. Most recently, the brutal gang rape and assault of a Dalit woman by some upper class criminals in Hathras, UP has shocked the people. I would, therefore, like to request the Government to frame some laws so that this type of crime is deterred conspicuously. For the time being, the culprits should be given exemplary punishment through fast-track hearing of the case.

Putul Sarma,

Biswanath Chariali.

Political leaders and COVID protocols

Through your esteemed daily, I would like to bring to focus the issue of how political leaders violate COVID-19 protocols, while expecting the public to follow the same protocols.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the whole world in its grasp, and India is one of the worst-hit countries by this contagion. These unprecedented situations have made the administration enforce some strict protocols regarding the movement and gathering of people. It has been asserted time and again that these protocols are for the welfare of the public. Political leaders, particularly from the ruling dispensation have time and again pleaded with people not to gather in large numbers or partake in any social or public gatherings, in the name of public safety.

However, a close look at the activities of these very political leaders over the past few months would be enough for us to see how these politicians have been blatantly violating their own COVID-19 protocols. In a visit to Barak Valley last month, Assam Health and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was seen among crowds of hundreds, with many of the people in the crowds not even wearing masks or maintaining social distancing norms. Even if we look at the Opposition, in a recent event announcing the formation of a new political party in Assam, most of the political leaders were photographed without masks or maintaining social distancing.

This raises a serious question: Does this virus affect only the general public? Are politicians immune to the virus? Looking at the names of the high-profile people who have been affected by the virus over the past few months, there is one clear answer to this question: NO. This raises another question: Why should only the general public be subjected to such restrictions? Doesn't the Constitution of India guarantee equality to all its citizens? Do these political leaders hold a higher position in the eyes of the law?

It is high time the public questioned these politicians. How can they call themselves representatives of the public, if they can roam around freely to fulfil their own objectives while the public have to follow a plethora of restrictions?

Akash Bhattacharjee,

Hailakandi.