Skip to content Skip to navigation

Fuss continues over Pakistani flag

An incident of recent communal violence in Udalguri district has bred a number of questions to argue between the administration and opposition parties as well as media. The issue of Pakistani flag hoisting in Mohanpur at Jargaon playing ground on October 4 last has raised a number of questions about the incident. First of all the chief minister, Tarun Gogoi, going through the media reports flatly dismissed the report of hoisting Pakistani flag. Following the publication of photographs in the newspapers and video clippings shown by the electronic media, the government spokesperson and health minister, Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma tried to defend the administration by over ruling the claims of Indian and Pakistani media which spread this news. Since then the ruling and opposition parties have started blaming each other. Whereas the ruling party claims it as the handiwork of the opposition, the opposition blames it as the total failure of administration.

Nobody can deny the fact that an incident of the communal violence has put the state government under very awkward position. This issue has raised certain doubts about the intention of the state government. It is astonishing that the violence in Udalguri erupted on October 2 and engulfed more places by the following day. The state government was under dark about the actual situation till the chief minister visited Udalguri after a week of incidence taking place and probe by the CBI was ordered.

In a press conference held on October 11, the government spokes person and Health Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma tried to explain the defects in the flag as an 'expert' and said it was not a Pakistani flag at all, by showing the footage of the video. He pointed out that the same was 'tailored by some non-Muslim' elements. Had it been made by a Muslim the defects found in it would not have occurred, he said. His statement created confusion in the minds of a section of minority people. They have taken the remark against them, as they feel that the minister had tried to say that 'Indian Muslims know better about the Pakistani flag'. Whatever be the intention of the minister, they pledge they are Indians and have no idea about the Pakistani flag as any other Indian.

Another aspect of Dr Sarma's statement was that Mohanpur area was a Bodo dominated area and after the outburst of violence on October 2 the minority community people fled out of the area and the flag was unfurled on October 4. Further he said that nobody was seen near the flag, as if the person who hoisted it was supposed to be present till his/her photograph was taken by the media persons.

Lapses by the government machinery were that the proper security to the people was not provided and simply transferring the District Commissioner and suspending the police official was not the solution to the problem. The chief minister did not visit the place till the opposition parties flayed the negligence of duty by the administration. The chief minister visited the place on October 9 to announce the compensation to the bereaved families. The tragedy with the state government is that it always decides to provide security to the people after the occurrence of some incidents. Such incidents could be averted if timely security is provided. The security forces demanded by the state administration are used mostly for the VIPs and not for the general people. This practice should not continue in this democratic country like India, people feel.

Comments

danny's picture

Tarun Gogoi has betrayed the people of Assam, he is playing vote bank politics, instead of protecting the indigenous people he is protecting the Bangladeshis. He wants to win the next election over the dead bodies of the indigenous people. Wake people of Assam time is very less for you all.

Pages

Add new comment

Random Stories

Assamese Wikipedia Education Program at GU

12 Oct 2012 - 10:53pm | editor
An Assamese Wikipedia Education Program is being organised at Gauhati University on October 14 by Center for Internet and Society (CIS) in collaboration with Department of Education, Gauhati...

ULFA challenges Modi

4 Feb 2014 - 12:29pm | AT News
United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has dared Narendra Modi to withdraw the non Assamese settlers from the state.In a strongly worded statement issued to the media on Tuesday, the outfit said that...

Baby Elephant found dead in Udalguri

20 Nov 2017 - 10:31pm | Robertson Tanti
The mysterious death of an elephant calf casts no less spell of shadow in Udalguri on Monday. According to Ranjit Tanti, a wildlife activist, the calf, aged around 8, was found dead at a paddy field...

Archbishop Menamparampil moves a third time

3 Feb 2014 - 11:36pm | CM Paul
Having retired on January 18, 2012 after being the bishop of Dibrugarh for 11 years and the Archbishop of Guwahati for 20 years, Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil takes up a new assignment on February...

Other Contents by Author

The Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi had expressed his views on the importance of 'healthy work culture' in the Harijan newspaper of 15th October,1938, emphasizing on hard work by the people of the country for attaining the goal of freedom. He dared to declare that 'declaring his birthday as a holiday should be treated as a cognizable offence'. This was a clear indication that the 'Great Soul' was confident of the might of his people, which later on succeeded in bringing freedom to the country. His experiments on Swadeshi movement brought good results. But it seems that the present situation has completely changed the whole thing and Mahatma’s dreams are shattered.Unfortunately, with...
The most respected and appreciated growth of the print media in Assam and particularly in Guwahati, for more than a decade seems to have taken a destructive path giving birth to a trend of malice among the communities they belong. It is now being used for personal grudge among the so called high profile people in the society.Since most of the media houses are controlled by major business houses, it has been noticed that they have themselves become news for last few months through their own acts and publication. Recently, it has been noticed that a few vernacular news papers defying all the ethics of journalism, have started mudslinging on their rivals for quite some time. Knowing it very...
Since the year 1989, Guwahati, the gateway to the north eastern India, has seen a mushroom growth in the Fourth Estate with entry of a number of newspapers and periodicals in various languages. Earlier, a few English and Assamese newspapers were published in Guwahati.  For getting the major and detailed news, the people had to wait till evening for newspapers from Delhi and Kolkata. No doubt the haphazard growth in the print media gave an opportunity to a large number of unemployed educated youths to join this challenging profession of prestige. With the information technology witnessing development at fast pace, the media houses failed to get the competent and trained workforce to...
India’s Lok Sabha polls in 2014, has brought a significant change in political scenario of the country after a decade’s rule of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by the century old Indian National Congress (INC). Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has come to power after ten years’ of struggle under the leadership of Narendra Modi, former chief minister of Gujarat. Although the BJP has got absolute majority in the polls, it has kept its flock together giving all the pre-poll alliance members their due share in the administration. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has assured the countrymen of fair deal in the interest of all sections of the...
Problem-torn state of Assam for several years is now passing through a critical situation on which the Congress Party-led state government seems to have turned deaf ears and eyes-shut, despite hectic efforts of local people, NGOs and media covering the news from each and every corner of the state. The party in power for last thirteen years is divided among several factions contesting to gain maximum benefit out of the prevailing situation. The entire state is running under serious violence related to burning houses of inmates, murder, theft, communal hatred, abduction, indecent behavior against womenfolk and aged persons, but the administration is standstill. Criminals are active and have...
Ignoring their leaders directive Reang refugees from various Tripura camps are moving to their homeland in Mizoram in disguise. For about fifteen years of hardship in various refugee camps of Tripura, the evacuated people from their homes seem to have lost confidence in their leaders, who did not agree to return to their homeland despite several proposals for their safe return to their state. A recent media report says that so far 631 people belonging to 124 families have returned to their homes under disguise. However, according to Tripura government sources only 178 members of 27 families have gone so far. Thousands of Reangs were driven out of their homes due to conflicts with Mizo...
Failures of Congress Party in the state of Assam during recently concluded Lok Sabha polls has shattered the dreams of state chief minister, Tarun Gogoi, who had promised before the Congress high command to win more than half of the total seats for his party. The state has 14 parliamentary seats, out of which Congress could get 3 (three) seats only. The ‘courageous’ chief minister did not lose heart even at this defeat. The defeat led the Congress party in turmoil and some legislators of the party revolted against the leader of the House and demanded change in the leadership. The chief minister refused to bow down on the demands of those who desired the appointment of a new leader to lead...
India claims to be the largest democratic country in the world. In a country where majority of people do not get proper education about their status other than to vote for a political party or an individual on the basis of their ‘vague assurances’ to look into their welfare being in power only does not carry any meaning. India’s constitution provided specific conditions to educate the people within shortest time after independence, so that they could be in position to think about right or wrong policies of the government and raise their voice against the ‘evil designs’ of their destiny makers. The constitution has been amended hundred times, but the people in general could not be benefitted...
Will power has an important role in human life and those who have stamina to fight all odds, set an example for others to follow for a successful life. Even disability can be defeated if a person has determination to lead a peaceful life. We find a number of cases in the world when people lose heart on their failures in life. At the same time there are certain exceptions, who despite many odds in their life make it worth living by their strong will power. Here is an example of the life of a person who came out from a small village of Siyani Belchhi in the district of Jamui in Bihar. Born on January 2,1952, Rakesh Pathak became a handicap suffering from paralysis in his right leg at his...
The election process for the 16th Lok Sabha in India is going on full swing and by the middle of May 2014, the  complete picture of winning candidates would come out. The reign of the country for the next five years would go in the hands of mostly new faces. As there is a ‘good crop’ of leaders spreading throughout the 29 states and seven Union territories having a number of political parties spread throughout the country facing different administrative, natural and environmental problems, the election results are not likely to go for a single party rule. Speculations are on the air that post poll polarization of political forces may take place just after the final poll results are...