Letters to The Editor: Parliament rowdy

The Indian Parliament has become a congregation of rowdy elements who are out to create lawlessness of every kind. The parliament has become a laughing stock and an object of ridicule. The rowdy elements enjoying all kinds of luxuries at the cost of the exchequer should be debarred from attending parliament and also be prevented from entering the House at any time in the future.

Chandan Kumar Nath,

Sorbhog.

Are we truly independent?

15th August 1947. It was the day when India was declared a free nation. So long, we were deprived of our basic rights during the reign of the British. From 1947, democratic India emerged. Recently we have celebrated 75th Independence Day but I wonder, "Are we truly Independent?"

We have indeed grown as a developing nation and we have some great achievements in every field. We got our constitution in 1950 but basic human rights are ever violated. We are puppets politically and also democratically. We live in a country where the constitution guarantees freedom of speech whereas the government doesn't. Today laws are made by elected representatives and are just thrown at us. When we speak loudly and publicly about our rights and discuss some social matters exactly at that time they come to us and start to torture us. Scams, Scandals, poverty, corruption, unemployment etc., are also prevailing in our motherland and here also people judge by gender issues. It is the picture of an independent nation.

We will be truly independent only when we are allowed to speak the truth out loud without fear, and when we will be free from prejudices and hypocrisy. Independence isn't being just free; it is being evolved so that you can feel the pain of mankind and try to work for the betterment of it. We are independent only when we have broken the chain of society and uplift our environment for women when we uplift our thinking for a better version of us.

Somikhya Rani Dutta,

Cotton University, Guwahati.

Reservation for

Kalita community

Through your esteemed daily, I would like to draw your attention to the Kalita caste reservation issue. Currently, the total population of the KALITA community in Assam is more than 70 lakh (7 million people) making about 40% of all the indigenous Assamese people in Assam. The Kalitas come under the unreserved category i.e. the General Category in present-day Assam and hold pride in their rich ancestral lineage. The "KALITA" people are of the first Aryan group that came to the erstwhile land of Kamrupa at least two thousand years ago. Kalita people are the only Kshatriya community of present-day Assam. Great Vaishnavite saint Madhavdev who was the disciple of Saint Sankardeva was also a Kalita. Although the Kalita people had been continuously migrating in waves from the North of India since the last 2000 years to Assam/Kamrupa, the most recent lineage of a Kalita family who migrated to Assam was of Assam's great freedom fighter Maniram Dewan.

If we take a glimpse at the communities availing reservation at the national level, we would note that even the Patels of Gujarat, Yadavs of Central India are classified as Other Backward Classes(OBCs) and the Singhs and Kaurs of Punjab fall under the Scheduled Castes (SCs) list when in hindsight, we know that these communities are already sufficiently represented and have excelled in various fields in the national and international arena like sports, administration, politics et al. Likewise, all the local ethnic people of the other Northeastern states like Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal, Sikkim, Mizoram are also given reservation under the Scheduled Tribes quota. But the Assamese Kalitas and the Sarmas also need to be adequately represented so that they get ample opportunities to excel at the national and international levels and get the chance to enter reputed institutes/services like the IAS, IPS, IITs, IIMs, ISRO etc.

But, as Kalitas have been in Assam (or the erstwhile Kamrupa region) for at least 2000 years now, the bigger question is - why is such a huge indigenous Assamese Community like the Kalita Community is deprived of political and caste-based reservations within their state?

The Kalita community has been demanding ST status since 1988, however, the successive governments have ignored this demand. After six tribal groups of Assam were granted reservation status by the Centre in 2018, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale had said that the Government would like to provide reservation to economically backward people of certain general caste communities like the Kalitas and Brahmins in Assam. But, unfortunately, no steps have been taken in this regard so far.

We hope that the newly elected Assam Government takes certain steps to ensure that the Kalita community is granted ST/OBC status by the Centre so that people acknowledge the rich history and heritage of 70 lakh people of the community- one of the largest ethnic groups of the Northeast.

Partha Pratim,

Beltola, Guwahati.

India's splendid victory at Lords

We have witnessed one of the most fascinating Test matches at Lord's that India won by 151 runs and left England completely shell-shocked. Matches such as these make Test matches the most exciting format of the game. A team that would've done well to save the match, went on to win it.

At this level, the game is played mostly in the mind. What Shami-Bumrah did with the bat, they probably will never do it again in their careers. But the mental assault that unbroken partnership inflicted on the Englishmen, resulted in their tame 120 surrenders in the final innings. The Indians bowled superbly without a doubt but there were no demons on the pitch. Seeing such a reversal of fortunes within a short span of unbelievable lower-order batting by the Indians did England in. The heated exchanges on the field and Bumrah getting hit on the helmet twice just fired him up enough as he showed more resilience in his batting and the incredible fighter that he is.

An earnest appeal to the Indian batsmen, 'please score some runs consistently'. Not every time, your bowlers will score runs and take wickets too. Let them focus only on things they are supposed to. Well done Team India. Keep playing this exciting brand of cricket.

Subhasish Das,

Lalganesh, Guwahati.