Letter From the Editor
Letter From the Editor
January 2008
Dear Readers,
Yet another year has passed. 365 days passing out gives us an opportunity to take stock of our own deeds and acts. When we review the year 2007 particularly in the context of the North Eastern region, we find a mixed reaction. Our reactions must remain confined to two broad categories of hope and despair. Hope for the quality of life which comes only through development in all sectors both in rural and urban areas. Despair, on the other hand, is largely made by man himself, which is apparent with the kind of killings, underground activities and mistrust on account of religion, caste and political ideology.
There may be hundreds of other reasons for our own sorrow but they are the offshoots of the three reasons which I have stated above, viz, the mistrust on account of religion, caste and political ideology. It is here, that every concerned citizen of the country and the media have a role to play.
In this issue of Eastern Panorama, we have reviewed the various aspects of 2007 which have made a difference to the community. The 33rd National Games held at Guwahati, happens to be the greatest spectacle of the year. Politics they say is a necessary evil. But we cannot live without politicians. It is the leadership of the politicians which make changes in the pattern of development which in turn only helps in improving the quality of life. Mr. Tarun Gogoi, Chief Minister of Assam in his second term as Chief Minister is an experienced man and the way the developmental projects are being taken up in the region is incomparable with any of the other states of the North Eastern region. Close to Gogoi, Chamling of Sikkim has been able to bring quantitative changes in all fronts. Smallness in size was indeed an added advantage which helped Mr. Chamling with such rapid development. Gogoi and Chamling are no doubt the politicians of the year.
The year 2007 saw a lot of talk on Look East Policy by the Doner Minister, Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyer but at the end of the year, he himself admitted that the Look East Policy of the government of India has not helped the people of north east. We call it the anti-climax of the year.
The North Eastern region has tremendous potentialities for the fashion show and modeling industry. This year, Akhuono Khezhie could reach up to Femina Miss India Contest and rightly she is the model of the year.
More than the beauty contest and the fashion industry, people are dedicated to the music and many youths from this region have achieved international recognition. This year, Prashant Tamang was crowned Indian Idol and Amit Paul was the runner-up in Sony Television’s reality show. They are indeed the music icons of the year.
The incident in Beltola Guwahati, is something which is not a part of the culture and tradition of the people of Northeast. It was the shame of the year.
A 50 year old Dilip Bharadwaj is trying to enter the Guinness World Records with 10,000 needle piercings this is the offbeat story published by us in 2007.
Northeast is the land of diversity. To meet the political aspirations of different tribal groups in the region, district councils were created under Sixth Schedule. Many of these district councils in many states are non-functioning and their impact is very very poor. But Bodoland Territorial Council is one of the fastest developing district councils where development activities can be physically seen.
The Arunachal government has received Rs. 225 crore from NHPC as an advance royalty for the power they are going to generate in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. This was indeed a smart deal.
Our investigations and survey reveal that Mr. Ratan Sharma is indeed the Business Man of the year as he has significantly contributed towards the industrial development of the region.
Mary Kom who entered the Limca Book of Records in 2007 and is a recipient of many national honours is indeed the sports person of the year.
The Social Activist of the year, without a doubt, goes to Irom Sharmila Chanu, for her perseverance and dedication to her people and her state and she drew the attention of the nation when she dramatically flew to Delhi. While the Teacher of the Year goes to Abijeet Bhattacharya of Tripura, who was instrumental in raising the success ratio of Tripura Civil Services examination by coaching students.
While we wish our readers a very happy and prosperous 2008, we hope things will be better in the days to come for every one of us.
Dr. K. K. Jhunjhunwala