Author: Nava Thakuria

The author is a Guwahati-based journalist, who writes for various media outlets based in different parts of the globe.

Guwahati: Patriotic People’s Front Assam (PPFA), while appreciating the State minister of housing & urban affairs Ashok Singhal for taking a ride in city buses recently to understand the problems of daily commuters, urges him to focus on the quality night city bus service. Singhal in his statement assured that he would maintain a consistent effort to streamline connectivity in the city under the guidance of State chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma (who recently flagged off 100 new compressed natural gas run city buses). “Question that arises, why the government in general and transport department in particular can not ensure…

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Guwahati: Chalachitram national film festival 2022 kicked off on Thursday at Jyoti Chitraban auditorium in the city, where film director Aditya J Patwardhan and actor Kankana Chakraborty lighted the inaugural lamp. Organised every year under the initiative of Chalachitram, a subsidiary of Viswa Sangbad Kendra Assam, the two-day festival is aimed to propagate the cinema as a powerful catalyst of social change and a rich handloom of heritage. ‘The Land of Hidden Treasure’ by Sanatan Karmakar was screened as the opening movie, where Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra vice-president Jeetul Sonowal, film maker Bhupen Kaman, Banalata Baishya, Namrata Dutta, etc were present.…

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Guwahati: Assam Book Fair (2022-23) begins with fanfare among the book lovers in the region on Thursday. Jointly organised by Publication Board Assam and All Assam Publishers & Book Sellers Association at Assam Engineering Institute playground in Chandmari locality of the city, Asom Granthamela was inaugurated by the reputed Indonesian performing poet Tara Noesantara on 29 December. She appreciated the culture of book reading among the common people in this part of the world and later performed a poetic cultural show along with a co-artiste with traditional Indonesian flavour. The inaugural ceremony also witnessed the release of 15 valuable books,…

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If anything can be viral in social media these days, why not rumour about the untimely demise of a prestigious newspaper! And it happens only in India! The country’s premier English daily The Statesman’s origin edition in Kolkata was recently stated to be closed down. The grand old Statesman House (4, Chowringhee Square, Kolkata-700001) was also rumoured to be sold to a businessman in 2019. But in reality the newspaper, often termed as a symbol of prestige for its readers, continues publications from New Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Siliguri and also Kolkata. Even the Bengali Statesman has been published regularly from the…

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Guwahati: Nation should be a priority for everyone. Leaving aside all differences we have to work tirelessly for welfare of the nation, thus said Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat, while addressing a conclave of Swayamsevaks and Karyakartas today at Hajongbari locality in the city. Attending the concluding program of three-day (9 to 11 December) Prerona Shivir (inspiration camp), held at Chandrapur Vidyabharati School in Chandrapur, where over two thousand volunteers belonging to RSS’s Uttar Asom Prant participated, the RSS chief added that the organised effort can only bring success in any work or assignment. “Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar…

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Guwahati: Over 500 local, regional and international organizations of Myanmar (Burma/Brahmadesh) have urged the UK foreign secretary to sanction all companies involved in supplying aviation fuel to the trouble-torn southeast Asian nation, as its ruling junta have intensified aerial attacks over its own people, who have raised voices against the military dictators. In a recent letter addressing James Cleverly, secretary of State for the foreign, commonwealth & development office, London, United Kingdom, the pro-democracy organisations requested the government to ‘ensure no British companies is involved, directly or indirectly, in the supply of aviation fuel to the Myanmar military junta’. They…

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Guwahati: A splendid show by hundreds of sanitation workers’ children at Sonaram playground in Bharalu locality of the city on Sunday mesmerised thousands of audience, where 200 pupils performed Bhortaal Nritya and 500 participated in a group Sattriya dance program. Organized by Valmiki Sangeet Vidyalay on the eve of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar’s death anniversary, the cultural show titled সমতাৰ ছন্দেৰে জীৱনৰ জয়গান (celebrating life with equality) was also enjoyed by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who lauded the initiative of Dr Hedgewar Memorial Trust run music school. Talented children of sanitation families selected from 20 slum araes in the…

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Guwahati: On the occasion of death anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (popularly known as Babasaheb Ambedkar), Valmiki Sangeet Vidyalay, run by Dr Hedgewar Memorial Trust – which has been working for education, health and reforms in various under-developed localities of northeast India, has organised a cultural show titled সমতাৰ ছন্দেৰে জীৱনৰ জয়গান (celebrating life with equality) on 4 December at Sonaram playground in Bharalu locality of the city. The function, beginning at 3 pm sharp, will witness the performance of Bhortaal Nritya by 200 students and Sattriya dances by 500 students with other programs. Khagen Saikia, secretary of Dr…

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Guwahati: PrimeMinister Narendra Modi on Friday attended the closing ceremony of the year-long celebration of 400th birth anniversary of 17th century Ahom army general Lachit Barphukan held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. Congratulating State chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for successful conduct of the three-day celebration in the national capital, PM Modi exuded confidence this would prove decisive in ensuring Lachit Barphukan’s saga of courage, valour and patriotism don’t remain limited to the boundaries of Assam alone but spread across lengths and breadths of the nation. Modi stated that for ages, there has been a conscious attempt from certain…

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Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union law & justice minister Kiren Rijiju flagged off Lachit Divas cultural celebrations in New Delhi on Wednesday evening adding colour to the initiative to pay nationwide tribute to the legendary Ahom general Lachit Barphukan marking his 400 birth anniversary. Union minister Rameswar Teli and State minister Bimal Bora also graced the occasion. Born on 24 November 1622 at Charaideo in eastern Assam, Lachit Barphukan emerged as an extraordinary military strategist to successfully defeat the invading Mughals and thus the great patriot halted the expanding ambitions of Aurangzeb in the Battle of…

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Guwahati: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also happens to be chairman of Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra Society, attended the inaugural ceremony of Kalakshetra’s silver jubilee celebration in the city on Wednesday. Named after 15th century neo-Vaishnavite saint and an outcome of the historic Assam Accord, the cultural complex was inaugurated by the then President KR Narayanan on 9 November 1998. Built at an approximate initial cost of ₹19 crore, Kalakshetra has been diligently playing its conceived role of a channel for preservation, restoration, research and promotion of the rich cultural heritage of the diverse ethnic groups inhabiting the region.…

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Guwahati: The city-based scribes will observe the forthcoming National Press Day 2022 and discuss the state of press freedom in Northeast and India as a whole along with the relentless threats, pitfalls andchallenges to the journalists after the steady invasion of digital media users. Media persons, under the banner of proposed Assam Union of Journalists, to be affiliated by Indian Journalists Union (www.indianjournalistsunion.com) are requested to arrive at Hotel Blue Moon, Ujan Bajar (near Gauhati High Court) at 11 am on 16 November. Former publisher of Assam Express newspaper, Deepak Gogoi will host the program which will culminate at 2…

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As we are celebrating National Press Day on 16 November in India, let’s pay our heartiest tributes to everyone who contributed to the growth of print media and also the Press Council of India (PCI), its mentor and watchdog. Moreover, it should also be an occasion for the practicing media persons to introspect over their noble profession where it has been heading in post-pandemic era. Since its inception and functioning, the PCI continues to symbolize a free and responsible press in the largest democracy of the world. Among all press or media councils, functioning in various countries, the PCI is…

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Participating in a debate on satellite television or digital channels needs some homeworks to make the deliberations short and clear. Unless you face an arrogant anchor and unruly participants, the experience in talk shows normally emerges as an intriguing one. It happened to me, as I had recently participated in a digital media discussion on the pertinent issue of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, where the prime guest was none other than the immediate past State NRC coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma. The talk show host Dikshit Sharma put the questions in a clever way so that the issue…

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Guwahati: If a senior scribe is named and shamed in social media as a scam star, should or should not he respond to it? Moreover, when a particular social media post (following up with a series of posts onthe same television journalist) is liked and shared by thousands of non-media persons, can he ignore it for a long time? Does it mean that the said Assamese satellite news channel anchor has silently admittedhis involvement in the multi-crore rupees scam during the updation of 1951 National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam of northeast India during 2015 to 2019? Needless to…

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