Letter from the Editor-In-Chief

Thursday, 05 August 2010 18:30

Letter from the Editor-In-Chief

August 2010

Greetings from Eastern Panorama on the occasion of our 63rd Independence Day, a day which reminds us of the great sacrifices made by our freedom fighters to achieve the independence of the country all those years ago.

Sadly, we have, through these years, inculcated a pattern of development in the country which helps the rich become richer and the poor poorer. In spite of all the initiatives and developmental schemes, today we have over 42 crore people who live below the poverty line in the country as per the research findings of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) developed and applied by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative with UNDP support. This data is in relation to only eight states of the country but gives us a glimpse of the sorry state of affairs as they stand right now. The pertinent question here is ‘Where did we go wrong?’

One of the reasons why poverty prevails in India is the unsound delivery system where even the best thought of schemes are not allowed to achieve their full potential. The Mid – Day – Meal Scheme is a prime example of this.

This issue of Eastern Panorama has featured an article entitled ‘Politics, the Path to Prosperity’ which suggests the need for looking at corruption at the political level.

Keeping in mind the momentous occasion of the Indian Independence Day, we felt it appropriate to focus on interesting facts about the independence of the country. The value and significance of the Ashok Chakra has almost been forgotten. Similarly, the Indian National Flag and its colours, their significance etc have been focused on in this issue. We have also carried a feature on Indian Independence which gives you a glimpse of the lesser known facts relating to independence. If I may quote, “The Deewan of Junagadh was a person called Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto. His son, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, grew up to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan (was executed by Zia-hl-Haq in 1977)... and his granddaughter, Benazir Bhutto served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan twice in the late 80s and the 90s.”

The bi product of this mismatch in development is a rise in terrorism. Sadly, today, 50% of India is in some way or the other affected by terrorism. The North East is no exception to this. Even children are not spared as has been vouched by the fateful bomb blasts at Dhemaji in Assam on the 15th of August 2004 wherein ten children lost their lives. Today, terrorists are kidnapping children in Manipur and are forcing them to join ‘the cause’. Is there no end to human cruelty and selfishness?

Terrorism is best combated by society itself. The initiative which has led to the creation of the ‘Children Educational and Career Development Centre’ at Dhemaji is a step in this direction and is indeed praiseworthy.

Terrorism is a problem and it is seemingly omnipresent. A solution needs to be arrived at and society itself has a vital role to play in the finding of this solution through dialogue and compassion.

We live in a free India and that freedom has been attained through immense sacrifice. Will we today bow our heads and become willing slaves of terrorism?