Letter from the Editor-in-Chief
Dear friends
In all probability Mr. Narendra Modi is likely to be the new Prime Minister of India in the month of May itself. A person who has been termed communal, a murderer, maut ka saudagar, etc has fought this election on the plank of development. Development is an issue which touches everyone’s life. It is a tragedy for the nation that even after six decades of the independence of the country the elections are fought on grave issues like water and electricity. The political analysts also feel that the Congress will have its lowest number of MPs in the coming Lok Sabha ever since the country got its freedom. This may be a blessing in disguise as this will give scope to the Congress for introspection. Rightly Mr. Jairam Ramesh said that it is time for Congress to review itself. The most interesting thing expected from this election is a clear mandate for Mr. Narendra Modi which will only help him to take decisions of all sorts with confidence and without having to deal with the issue of pleasing his coalition partners and thus change the course of Indian politics. It is interesting to note that the people of India gave its last clear cut verdict in 1984 in favour of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, father of Mr. Rahul Gandhi. Interestingly this election is being fought between these two. Read the election related articles in this issue which will give you a glimpse of what is ensuing for the country in the days ahead.
Our magazine is dedicated to the people of the North East region of India. It is not only the weaknesses but the strengths of the North East that are regularly highlighted by way of giving due coverage to the talented people of the North East region. To mark the completion of 22 years of Eastern Panorama, we have also presented our Achievers Awards to ten outstanding personalities who have made outstanding contributions towards a positive change in the society. The Tetseo Sisters were awarded for their contribution in the field of music, Martin Luther Christian University received the award in the Education category, the State Bank of India was awarded for its corporate social responsibility, Ms. Wansuk Myrthong and Mrs. Anshu Jansempa both received the achievers award for their contribution in Adventure Sports, U Sumar Sing Sawian was awarded under the Cultural Promotion category, Shri Shankar Lall Goenka, Managing Trustee of Jeevan Lal Mungi Devi Goenka Public Charitable Trust received the Achievers Award under the NGO category, GVK EMRI’s 108 Service of Meghalaya was awarded the Achievers Award in the Social Service category, Shri Utpal Baruah was awarded under the Photography category and Shri Chandan Borah was given the Achievers Award under the Rural Entrepreneur category.
An achiever always stands out from the crowd and he dares to think out of the box. Our Achiever Awardees this year are the true heroes of North East. Our heartiest congratulations to all of them.