@guwahatiplus | /c/gplusguwahati www.guwahatiplus.com
Volume 06 | Issue 25 Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2019 Price `10
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G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19 2019 @guwahatiplus | /c/gplusguwahati www.guwahatiplus.com
Volume 06 | Issue 25 Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2019 Price `10
Happy Rongali Bihu
INSIDE
Lok Sabha elections in Assam: Top contenders in the second phase PG 06
Will our politicians dance to the tune of Bihu amidst Lok Sabha polls? PG 08
Assam records 78.23% voter turnout in first phase of LS polls Mrinmoyee Hazarika @guwahatiplus
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Blenders Pride Magical NIghts 2019 arrives in Guwahati
rate of voter turnout in the first phase of the 2014 election, the constituency continued its trend of having the lowest rate of voter turnout in 2019 with 74.81%. Expressing his view on voter turnouts across the five constituencies, Debabrata Saikia, leader of opposition in Assam Legislative Assembly, told G Plus,
ssam has registered a 78.23% voter turnout in the first phase of polling that took place on 11th April. The state recorded 67.40% voter turnout until 5 pm on the polling day in the Lok Sabha (LS) elections 2019. But the final outcome increased drastically by more than 10% at the end of the counting of the ballots. In phase one, five constituencies viz Tezpur, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur went to polls. In the last 2014 general elections, 78.75% of the “This time, ‘Modi magic’ did not voters exercised their franchise in work. the first phase of polling in Assam “The kind of publicity made which has a total of 14 LS seats. by BJP and the enthusiasm that Out of the 50,80,004 voters who we got to see among the people took part in the first phase of the during the 2014 LS election is 2014 general election, 26,29,008 not there. The reason is because were males and 24,50,996 were people expected a change and females. The voter break-up of the ensuing elections are yet to come in at the time of Polling Constituency filing of the story. percentage This time, Kaliabor recorded the highest Tezpur 79.15% turnout of voters with 82.09%, followed by Tezpur Kaliabor 82.09% with 79.15%. Dibrugarh recorded Jorhat 77.49% 77.26% voter turnout, while Jorhat and Lakhimpur Dibrugarh 77.26% registered 77.49% and 74.81% voter turnouts, Lakhimpur 74.81% respectively. With 77.78%, Lakhimpur Average 78.23% had registered the lowest
hoped BJP would fulfil its prepoll promises. But, that did not happen. “According to me, the additional voters who came out in support of Modi last time are not there. People have cast conscience vote and we are happy with the outcome of the voter turnout.” However, the ruling party BJP offered a different view on the tempo of the voter turnout in the first phase of polling. Sunranjan Dutta, media panellist, spokesperson, BJP, said, “Its individual’s choice on whether to cast his/her vote or not. “But, our (BJP) intact capacity in terms of involvement of people has increased by 3%. Previously, in 2014, we used to do lots of promotional and other activities publicly. But, now after coming to power, we are putting more focus on our internal policies related to elections. “Our rallies have witnessed large gatherings and they have come out to vote. Even, I know people who have come a long way from Germany and Honk Kong just to cast their votes.” Out of five constituencies in Assam where polling had completed, Tezpur has 14,94,878 electors, while Kaliabor has 17,31,610 electors. The Jorhat LS constituency has 13,60,328 electors, while Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur have 13,12,195 and 76,03,458 electors, respectively. n
Special Coverage Inside
Guwahatians to vote for candidate, not for party G Plus News @guwahatiplus
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hile the 2014 Lok Sabha (LS) elections voted for a change to topple the Congress Party that was in the Centre for two tenures (2004 to 2009, 2009 to 2014) and people voted for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), this time a majority of Guwahatians are planning to vote for whom they feel would be the best candidate. “The irony of our country is that people do not vote for the candidate but for the political party. If the best candidates are evaluated and voted for in the entire country, the country will have the best leaders who will be instrumental in developing the country,” said a BJP state executive member under condition of anonymity. He said, “I am not voting for Queen Ojha but I am voting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi because he is the best candidate.” While some internal people of the BJP agree that the candidates should be given importance and not the party, the Congress Party feels that it has fielded the best candidate. Sanju Baruah, spokesperson of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC), talking to G Plus said, “Bobbeeta Sharma is the best candidate as she is qualified, culturally active and has done many things for the society.” Baruah feels that if people vote evaluating the background of all the candidates in fray in Guwahati, Sharma will surely win. Though every political party will support its own candidate, Guwahatians are trying to study the manifestos of every candidate in fray. Abhinava Singh, a city-based college student, talking to G Plus said, “I researched the background of Bobbeeta and Ojha but I am not impressed with either. I am trying to gather information about Upamanyu Hazarika now. If I don’t get a candidate whom I consider eligible I will press the NOTA
button.” Singh is a first time voter and along with him many of his friends have vowed to vote but only after evaluating the candidates’ backgrounds. Even some business class voters of Guwahati feel that it should be the candidate people should vote for, and not the party. A city-based businessman, Kedar Nath, talking to G Plus said, “I voted for BJP in 2014. No doubt Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister but I have also heard that the Gauhati Member of Parliament (MP) did not perform well during her tenure as the MP. This time I am wondering whom I should vote for as all the candidates are new and I do not know much about them.” A total of 19 candidates have filed their nominations from the Gauhati Lok Sabha constituency which will go to polls in the third phase on 23rd April. From the Gauhati seat, some of the prominent candidates include Bobbeeta Sharma from Congress, BJP’s Queen Ojha, Manoj Sharma from Trinamool Congress (TMC) and independent candidate, senior Supreme Court advocate, Upamanyu Hazarika. Additionally, Bharatiya Gana Parishad’s Dr Avijit Chakraborty, Swarna Bharat Party’s Pankaj Das and Ratul Kumar Choudhury from Samajwadi Party have also filed their nominations. Further, from among the lesser known political parties, Rajib Kakati has been fielded from Hindustan Nirman Dal, Partha Pratim Baruah from Voters’ Party International, Sadek Ali is contesting from Republican Party of India (A), Ranvijay Kumar Rai from Rashtriya Jansambhavna Party, Rubi Neog from National Republican Congress and Mamoni Sarma from Purvanchal Janta Party (Secular) have filed their nominations. On the other hand, independent candidates include Faruk Ahmed Bhuyan, Junmoni Devi Khaund, Pranab Jyoti Das, Shankha Sinha, Utpal Borgohain and Alimuddin Ahmed.
4 General Election 2019
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2019
Candidate watch: Sushmita Dev
Sushmita Dev records great performance in her first tenure as MP Nehal Jain @NehalJain96
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ushmita Dev, a member of the Indian National Congress and the President of All India Mahila Congress, is the sitting member of Parliament from Assam’s Silchar constituency. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, she received 3,36,451 votes while her nearest rival from BJP, Kabindra Purkayastha polled 3,01,210 votes. This time too, the Congress has fielded Dev from Silchar constituency where she will be
going against Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate Dr Rajdeep Roy. History says that in the absence of a strong Muslim candidate in Silchar, it’s usually advantage Congress. Father of the sitting MP, late Congressman Santosh Mohan Dev had represented Silchar five times out of his seven terms as Member of Parliament. Dev holds a degree in BA (Hons) from Miranda House, an LLB (Corporate and Commercial Laws) from University of Delhi and an LLM from King’s College London. Born to a family of politicians, she entered the state assembly in
Silchar MP records 80% Lok Sabha attendance
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ccording to the data published by PRS Legislative Research, the sitting Member of Parliament from Silchar constituency, Sushmita Dev, recorded 80% attendance during her tenure in the Lok Sabha. It is to be noted that the national average attendance of MPs in
a whopping 96% and 94% attendance in the Budget Session 2014 and Winter Session 2018 respectively, she recorded merely 25% attendance in Budget Session 2016 (P.1). Further, she has recorded 100% attendance in two sessions - Winter Session 2016 and Winter Session 2017. It may be mentioned that
2011. Dev became a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly in 2011 and served in the post till 2014. She was appointed as a member of Committee on Empowerment of Women and Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests in September 2014 and as a member of Joint Committee on the Enforcement of Security Interest and Recovery of Debts Laws and Miscellaneous Provision (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in May 2016. Additionally, she was appointed as a member of The Central Advisory Committee for the National Cadet Corps in 2018.
The incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) from Silchar constituency, Sushmita Dev has made a place of distinction for herself by her performance in and outside the Parliament and was crowned with the honour of being the best parliamentarian in 2017. The Congress is now confident that Sushmita Dev will continue to rein in Silchar. n
Dev attends highest number of debates among fellow state MPs
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he data published by the PRS Legislative Research revealed that Dev’s performance in the Parliament is way above the state average. In terms of the total number of parliamentary debates attended, the national average has been calculated at 67.1 debates per MP, state average is calculated at 46.6 debates per MP, but Dev has been present at 85 debates, which is the highest number of debates attended by an Assam MP in the 16th Lok Sabha. She has attended debates pertaining to issues relevant to Assam like the updation of National Register of Citizens and request to not create any harassment to the genuine citizens of India who are living in Assam, demand to sanction adequate relief funds for northeastern states to mitigate the effects of flash floods, need to revive Cachar Paper Mill and Nagaon Paper Mill in Assam, demand
for rhino conservation and rhino corridors, Aadhaar enrolment in Assam and expedite pending rail and road projects in Assam. Further, she has attended various debates pertaining to national issues, especially women and child related issues. These include
debates on The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018, The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016, request to sanction the requisite amount for the construction of the Nirbhaya Centres across India, and regarding safety of women.
318 questions raised by Dev in the last 5 years
the Lok Sabha stands at 80% while the state average stands at 74%. Interestingly, only six Members of Parliament (MP) in the 16th Lok Sabha managed 100 per cent attendance, none of whom belongs to the opposition Congress party. Dev, who started her term with 83% attendance in the First Session, has recorded dynamic attendance throughout the tenure. While she recorded
among the 14 MPs (7 from Bhartiya Janata Party, 3 from Indian National Congress and All India Democratic Front each and 1 Independent candidate) representing the state of Assam, Dibrugarh MP Rameswar Teli has recorded the highest attendance at 92% with Karimganj MP Radheshyam Biswas right behind at 89%. Among the lowest attendees is Barpeta MP Siraj Uddin Ajmal with 34% attendance. n
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ushmita Dev has fared well in terms of the number of questions raised by an MP in the Parliament as well. While the national average stands at 293 questions and state average is just 164, Dev has raised a total of 318 questions. Only one other state MP, Badruddin Ajmal with 404 questions, has surpassed Dev in terms of the number of questions raised. The Silchar MP has asked a slew of questions pertaining to matters of state and national importance. Among the various issues on which she has raised questions are - Applicants for citizenship, Revival of paper mills,
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Triple Talaq, Funds to Assam, Safe city plan for women, Solid waste management, Production of coal, Nirbhaya fund, Policy for sanitisation and UNICEF Report on Child Deaths. The last question raised by Dev was on February 13, 2019. The question,
raised to the Railway ministry, was related to the incidents of looting. n
General Election 2019
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19 2019
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3 Private Member’s Bills introduced by Dev, all remain pending
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ushmita has surpassed the state as well as the national average in terms of the number of Private Member’s Bill raised by an individual MP in the Lok Sabha as well. While the national average is calculated at 2.3 Bills per MP and state average is 0.8 Bills per MP, Sushmita Dev has raised a total of three Private Member’s Bills in her first term in the Parliament. The bills introduced by Dev are - The Constitution (Amendment)
Bill, 2017 (Amendment of article 32, etc), The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2017 (Insertion of new Chapter IIA and IIB), and The Gauhati High Court (Establishment of a Permanent Bench at Silchar) Bill, 2016 However, all the three bills are still pending before the Lok Sabha.
It may be mentioned that the last time a Private Member’s Bill was passed by both Houses was in 1970. This was the Supreme Court (Enlargement of Criminal Appellate Jurisdiction) Bill, 1968. Fourteen private member’s bills — five of which were introduced in Rajya Sabha — have become laws so far. n
Constituency watch - Silchar Lok Sabha
Close fight expected in Silchar as D-Day nears Nehal Jain @NehalJain96
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he Silchar Parliamentary constituency, one of the 14 Lok Sabha seats from the state of Assam, is set to go to polls in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections 2019 scheduled on April 18. As per the estimates of 2011 census, out of the total 16,77,821 population, 81.2% is rural and 18.8% is urban. The percentage of scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) is 14.54
and 1.03 respectively out of total population. Situated in the southernmost region in the state of Assam, Silchar is a Bengali-speaking constituency located by the banks of the Barak River, popularly called the Barak Valley. The economy in the Silchar parliamentary constituency is reliant on crops such as tea, rice and other agricultural products. It also survives on limited industry such as paper-making and tea-box manufacturing. In the history of Lok Sabha elections, Silchar has remained a Congress stronghold since In-
dependence, with the BJP gaining ground only in pockets. The Congress has won the seat seven of the ten times it went to polls, of which five times it was won by Santosh Mohan Dev. BJP has won the seat thrice and it has always been by Kabindra Purkyastha. At the time of the previous Lok Sabha elections in 2014, Silchar witnessed a tough fight between the Congress and the BJP, with a margin of merely 35,241 votes. While the Congress won with 42.07% votes in their favour, BJP trailed with 37.66% votes. The AIUDF candidate Ku-
tub Ahmed Mazumder received 10.69% of the total votes while Trinamool Congress candidate Wazid Reza Oswami received 1.04% votes, AGP candidate Bijoy Krishna Nath received 0.96% votes and AAP candidate Abdul Mannan Barbhuiya received 0.38% votes. Further, 0.54% votes were casted for NOTA (None of the above). In 2014, Silchar had a total of 10,60,175 registered electors among which 5,54,540 were males and 5,05,635 females. The constituency had seen a 75.44% voter turnout with 7,99,830 exercising their franchise.
Silchar Lok Sabha constituency covers seven assembly segments - Silchar, Sonai, Dholai (SC), Udharbond, Lakhipur, Barkhola and Katigorah. Combined, they have a total of 11,91,289 voters enrolled for the 2019 elections, out of which 6,13,931 are male voters, 5,77,283 are female voters and 75 are third gender voters. These voters will exercise their franchise in 1,461 polling stations that have been set up in the constituency by the Election Commission. Continued on Page 07
6 General Election 2019
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2019
Lok Sabha elections in Assam: Top contenders in the second phase and Kokrajhar) will be voting on April 23. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,
Nehal Jain @NehalJain96
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ith the completion of first phase of polling for the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, the state is gearing up for the second phase of polling with five constituencies (Karimganj, Silchar, Autonomous district, Mangaldoi and Nowgong) set to go to polls on April 18. Among the 14 Lok Sabha seats of Assam, five constituencies (Tezpur, Kaliabor, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur) went to polls in the first phase on April 11 and the remaining four constituencies (Gauhati, Barpeta, Dhubri
the fight is expected to be between the Indian National Congress (INC) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which won an unprecedented seven seats in the last Lok Sabha elections. The BJP is contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Assam in alliance with
Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). The BJP will contest in 10 Lok Sabha seats leaving the AGP three seats (Kaliabor, Barpeta and Dhubri) and one seat to the BPF (Kokrajhar). The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) led by perfume baron Badaruddin Ajmal is another strong contender from three constituencies namely Barpeta, Dhubri and Karimganj. The filing of nomination for the second phase of the election ended on March 26, and the withdrawal of nominations after scrutiny ended on March 29. Here’s a list of the top contenders in Karimganj, Silchar, Autonomous district, Mangaldoi and Nowgong constituencies that are scheduled to go to polls on April 18.
Karimganj
Radheshyam Biswas VS Kripanath Malla
VS
In Karimganj (SC) parliamentary constituency, the major players are sitting MP of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Radheshyam Biswas, BJP’s Kripanath Malla and Congress candidate Swarup Das. Since 1991, the Karimganj Lok Sabha seat has been won twice by the BJP and four times by the Congress. In 2014, turning the tables, the All India United Democratic Front candidate Radheshyam
Biswas managed to win the seat for the first time. With the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill acting as a factor this seat will see a tough three-cornered battle between the Congress, BJP and the AIUDF. Part of the Barak Valley, Karimganj is notably a Muslimdominated constituency. The community forms over 50 percent of the electorate. The AIUDF, a Muslim dominated party, has made inroads into this constituency in recent years. The Karimganj Lok Sabha seat has eight assembly constituencies with AIUDF holding four, and two each by the Congress and BJP.
Silchar
Autonomous District
Dr Rajdeep Roy VS Sushmita Dev
Biren Singh Engti VS Horen Singh Bey
VS
In the absence of an AIUDF candidate, the Silchar Lok Sabha constituency is set to witness a straight fight between the Congress and the BJP. Altogether there are 13 candidates, including Congress candidate and sitting MP Sushmita Dev and spokesperson of Assam Pradesh BJP Dr Rajdeep Roy.
Additionally, Shyam Deo Kurmi of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), Hitabrata Roy of the All India Trinamool Congress and Badrul Islam Barbhuiya of the All India Forward Bloc are some of the prominent names that will contest the elections from Silchar Lok Sabha constituency. History says that in the absence of a strong Muslim candidate in Silchar, it’s usually advantage Congress. Father of the sitting MP, late Congressman Santosh Mohan Dev had represented Silchar for five times out of his seven terms as Member of Parliament. Silchar Lok Sabha constituency covers seven assembly segments - Silchar, Sonai, Dholai (SC), Udharbond, Lakhipur, Barkhola and Katigorah.
VS
From the Autonomous District (earlier Diphu) Lok Sabha seat the Congress has approved the sitting MP and veteran Congress leader Biren Singh Engti to contest the Lok Sabha election while BJP has fielded Horen Singh Bey to challenge Engti. While Engti is the sitting MP, Bey is a member of autonomous council (MAC)
and executive member (EM) of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC). Seventy-four-year-old Engti has won this seat five times for the Congress in his two innings starting from first win in 1977 and then again in 1984. In the second innings, he successfully won in 2004, 2009 and 2014. The constituency comprises two tribal autonomous districts: Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong. These two autonomous territories are home to several indigenous tribes in Assam like Karbi, Dimasa, Kuki, Biate etc. The Autonomous District seat has five assembly constituencies. All the five were won by the BJP in the 2016 Assam assembly election.
Mangaldoi
Nowgong
Bhubaneswar Kalita VS Dilip Saikia
Rupak Sarmah VS Pradyut Bordoloi
VS
In Mangaldoi Lok Sabha constituency, Congress MP Bhubaneswar Kalita will lock horns with BJP’s Dilip Saikia. The other two candidates who also filed their nominations from Mangaldoi are Pradip Kr Daimary of the United Peoples’ Party Liberal (UPPL) and Biren Basak of the Bharatiya Gana Parishad (BGP). In 2014, Congress candidate Kirip Chaliha
lost by only 22,884 votes to BJP’s Ramen Deka. With strongman Kalita this time as Congress’s candidate and BJP’s Ramen Deka facing anti-incumbency, the tide may turn in anyone’s favour. Bhubaneswar Kalita, who had spearheaded the Rajya Sabha campaign against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the upper house, will start his campaigning with the same issue in focus while Dilip Saikia will have a tough time defending his party. Mangaldoi has ten assembly constituencies - Kamalpur, Panery, Kalaigaon, Rangiya, Mangaldoi (SC), Majbat, Sipajhar, Udalguri (ST) and Dalgaon. While the BJP and BPF share 4 each, Congress and AGP hold one constituency each.
VS
From Nowgong seat, former Congress minister and AICC secretary, Pradyut Bordoloi will witness a direct contest against BJP’s Member of Legislative Assembly Rupak Sarmah. This is one of the oldest seats of BJP which it has been winning in Assam. Minister of State for Railways, Rajen Gohain is a four-time winner from BJP in the Now-
gong Lok Sabha seat. The BJP-AGP alliance has seven MLAs in this parliamentary seat and it would be a tough battle for Bordoloi who hails from upper Assam to wade through. The BJP has fielded MLA Rupak Sarmah to contest the coming general elections, despite the sitting MP Rajen Gohain getting a clean chit for a rape case against him. The seat comprises nine legislative assembly constituencies in three administrative districts namely – Morigaon, Nagaon and Hojai. In Morigaon district, there are three LACs namely – Jagiroad, Morigaon and Lahorighat. Of the nine assembly constituencies BJP has 6 and rest three are with the Congress, AGP and the AIUDF.
General Election 2019
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19 2019
7
Congress citadel in Barak Valley at an advantage with no AIUDF candidate
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fROM Page 05
n Silchar, Muslim voters constitute about 35% of the electorate and play a deciding role. In the absence of an All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) candidate, the constituency is set to witness a straight fight between the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Congress’s sitting MP Sushmita Dev will be going against BJP’s Dr Rajdeep Roy (who is an orthopaedic surgeon by profession) in Silchar during the ensuing Lok Sabha elections 2019. Making the fight very challenging for Dev and Roy are the 11 other candidates in fray for the seat. In fact, how many votes they can swing will decide who has
the last laugh in Silchar. Apart from Sushmita Dev and Rajdeep Roy, the other candidates
are Shyam Deo Kurmi of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), Hitabrata Roy of the All India Trinamool Congress, Badrul Islam Barbhuiya of the All India Forward Bloc, Nazia Yasmin Mazumdar of National
BJP & Congress spend approximately Rs 8 crores on social media campaigns in the past 2 months G Plus News @guwahatiplus
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ith social media becoming significant, it comes as no surprise that the two main contenders in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Indian National Congress are also using social media strategies to boost up their sales, i.e. votes.
Recently, Facebook took down around 700 pages on its platform associated with various political parties for showing “coordinated inauthentic behaviour.” The list of pages taken down by the social media platform included 687 pages that were associated with an IT cell of the Indian National Congress (INC) and 15 pages that belonged to IT firm, Silver Touch that handles duties for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Based on a report by Indian television, these pages were spending a large amount of money on promotions and advertisement. The 687 accounts linked with Congress had spent around Rs 27 lakhs between August 2014 and March 2019, while the 15 pages
associated with BJP had spent twice that amount, almost Rs 48 lakhs starting from June 2014 to February 2019. All political parties are spending a substantial amount of money and manpower to refine their social media strategies. Based on Facebook’s Ad Library that stores data related to political ads of national importance, political advertisers spent more than Rs 8 crore in less than two months, with BJP leading the ads chart. According to the same report, one of the toprated pages called, “My First Vote For Modi” spent approximately Rs 61 lakhs in the past two months. This page is also giving out free gifts and merchandise to people who promise to vote for BJP, which indicates even higher expenditure. Modi merchandise on social media and otherwise has been possible because of ample expenditure from the party. In addition to that, TV, print and radio campaigns also have seen huge investments in promotions from BJP. BJP has done heavy advertising starting early on all platforms possible, while Congress has only indulged in spending about 25-30 percent of what BJP has spent. It should be noted that BJP’s victory in the 2014 polls was probably the biggest ever in the party’s history and has mainly been attributed to the intelligent use of social media as a means of promoting and campaigning through programmatic advertising.
most MLAs in a parliamentary People’s Party and Independent constituency have first-mover candidates Ashitava Datta, advantage over others. They not Ashutosh Bhattacharjee, Nazmul only have the manpower at their Haque Laskar, Puran Lal Goala, disposal, but can also quickly Shuvadeep Datta, Mohendra help in changing the tide through Chandra Das, and Sabindra Das. With less than a week ASSEMBLY PARTY ASSEMBLY PARTY remaining for Silchar BJP Katigorah BJP Silchar to cast their votes, Sonai BJP Barkhola BJP electioneering is going Dholai (SC) BJP Udharbond BJP on in full Lakhipur Congress swing in the active or passive participation constituency. While Congress where the margins are thin. President Rahul Gandhi came We have tried to understand down to campaign for Sushmita how the parties stand against Dev, Prime Minister Narendra each other when it comes to MLA Modi came down to add grist to the representation in the Silchar Lok poll mill of Dr Rajdeep Roy. Sabha seat in Assam. Members of Legislative In the 2016 Assembly elections Assembly (MLAs) tend to play the the BJP managed to grab six out of role of vanguard during the Lok the seven assembly constituencies Sabha elections as parties with
with MLAs from the ruling party elected from Silchar, Sonai, Dholai (SC), Udharbond, Barkhola and Katigorah. Congress has only one MLA representing the Lakhipur assembly. With such dynamics, it remains to be seen who wins from the Silchar seat this time.
Silchar by the numbers:
Polling: 18th April Polling stations: 1,461 Voters: 11,91,289 Female: 5,77,283 Male: 6,13,931 Third gender: 75
8 General Election 2019
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2019
Will our politicians dance to the tune of Bihu amidst Lok Sabha polls? Mrinmoyee Hazarika @guwahatiplus
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ith Bihu being around the corner, people across the length and breadth of the state are gearing up to celebrate the festival. Even though the politicians are busy campaigning for the LS election, the flavor and charm of Bihu has not failed to grip them. We spoke to few of our politicians to know how they are preparing to celebrate our Bapoti Xahun Bihu and welcome the onset of spring. Here are the excerpts of what they told us about their preparations for Bihu amidst the election season.
Tarun Gogoi (Former Chief Minister, Assam)
“We will definitely celebrate Bihu. Election is another Bihu for us. We will celebrate both. Bohag Bihu is the most auspicious occasion for us and we will take part in the festival. At the same time, we will seek blessings from the people of Assam to vote for us.”
this time I am producing songs only for the election. “I have produced our (BJP) official song “Akou ebar modi sarkar,” which is sung by singer Simanta Shekhar and has become a massive hit. The song is being
played everywhere including 25,000 election booths and rallies. It has given me immense pleasure and complemented the activities that I usually do during Bihu, which is compiling Bihu and folk songs. “My schedule is packed throughout the Bihu season until 23rd of April, by preparing posters, banners, street plays, production presentations and social media content. Our party is celebrating election, the biggest festival of democracy and Bihu hand in hand. The party has its own way of celebrating the festival. It is committed to the culture of the indigenous people and the party workers will definitely celebrate Bihu.”
Mominul Awal (BJP minority cell chief Assam Pradesh)
Pabitra Margherita (BJP state spokesperson, Assam Pradesh)
“This Bihu is fully dedicated to “Akou ebar modi sarkar.” Few years back, I produced Bihu songs during the season, but
“Since I am busy with the election, there is little time left for me to make any prior preparations for Bihu. I am currently in upper Assam and the nature here has already given the sign of the festival. The atmosphere now smells of Bihu, with the people getting ready to welcome the festival amidst preparations for the polls. So, our minds too have started to have the feel of Bihu. “Yes, my schedule is tight, but I have started noticing the joy on people’s faces at the market. The poll preparations cannot mar the spirit and fever of Bihu.”
wishing health and prosperity to everyone during Bihu.”
Haider H. Bora (General Secretary, AIUDF)
“Bihu is our ‘bapoti xahun.’ It is the identity of Assamese people. It comes naturally to the minds and lives of Assamese people. The very
Debabrata Saikia (Leader of Opposition, Assam Legislative Asembly)
“This time the election is our Bihu (laughs)... We hardly get any time to think about the festival. I don’t even know whether I will be able to spend the time with my family or not.
“Now-a-days, indigenous Assamese foods are available throughout the year and as an ardent lover of these foods I buy them from the market whenever I want to. “Bihu songs are now played in all the seasons, leading to a decrease in craze for the festival. “Still, I will continue to follow the traditions of taking blessings from my elders,
word ‘Bihu’ naturally brings joy and sensation to the minds of the people. “This feeling cannot be overpowered by any other feeling. Even a person undergoing treatment at a faraway hospital in Mumbai becomes joyous when he hears the word, Bihu. “Therefore, I wanted to say that the natural attitude and enthusiasm that we have for Bihu is always there. But, as the upcoming election has consumed most of the time, people are finding it hard to make preparations for Bihu. “Though political activities are keeping the people busy, yet the age old spirit of the festival remains the same. The spirit is there among our party workers too. Our party president and Dhubri MP, Badruddin Ajmal, is wishing a very happy and prosperous Bihu to all the people of Assam.”
Angoorlata Deka (MLA, Batadroba, Assam)
“This time Bihu and election are happening simultaneously and hence the momentum for both began long back. “I have to keep a day or two aside for my family to celebrate the festival amid the election. The feel of Bihu comes only when we shop for our near and dear ones, when we gift them something as ‘Bihuwan’. “The joy of shopping for our beloved ones ahead of Bihu has a special place in our lives. This time, because of the election, people might not get enough time to shop. “But, I have managed sometime out of my busy election schedule to shop, so that I can gift something, whatever small it may be, to my friends and family. “I have travelled across the state to campaign for the election, which gave me an opportunity to meet and greet people.” “I am wishing a very happy Bihu to all the people of Assam including the voters of the remaining two phases of the election. I pray for the well and safe celebration of both Bihu and election.” It seems that the ongoing Lok Sabha election might be keeping most of our politicians busy, they will still find time to take part in the Rongalis bihu celebration. It will only be after the second phase of polling gets over these politicians will truly get time to spend time with friends and family.
Weather report for the week Guwahati
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SATURDAY Mostly Sunny
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General Election 2019
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19 2019
Bihu and Elections: An imbalanced ratio
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here are many core issues in this trailblazing society of ours, which if discussed or delineated can create a lot of hype as well as hue and cry. The primary reason of it is that the society we reside in is composed of a lot of opinionated persons, who more or less love voicing out or giving their analysis on topics bothering a community or the society as a whole. Thus in one or the other way, the burgess takes full advantage of the “Right to freedom of speech and expression” guaranteed under article 19(1) (a) of the Indian Constitution. The conspicuous fact is that like every time, the glorious state of Assam and its ever so generous denizens have reached such a juncture, where they are witnessing two important events colliding or merging with one another. And in fact both the events are of crucial importance, especially because of their impact upon the society. If on one hand, the people of Assam are readying themselves up to celebrate the “Lifeline of the Community” i.e. the Rongali Bihu, on the other hand they are also trying to keep in terms with the General Lok Sabha Elections, the importance of which is second to none, especially when we take into consideration the fact that India is considered to be the largest democratic country in the
world. Thus in short, the residents of Assam in this period must keep both their spirits of nationalism and regionalism alive. However this is not the first time that the people of Assam would witness both the important events happening together. In yesteryears as well, there have been instances of both the events falling together, and much to the people’s happiness, the fact is both the events had moved together peacefully without chaos. But the pivotal question that lingers around is: Are we turning a blind eye towards the negative impact of elections upon Bihu? And to answer this question we must have to take certain issues into consideration. In the present context, it is known to one and all that the General Elections of 2019 will be conducted in Assam in three phases i.e. on April 11, 18 and 23. And now if we carefully take these dates into consideration, then we would notice that these dates are exactly in that time period when the Bihu celebrations shall remain at its peak. Thus this means that the unique ambience that the festival of Bihu creates, somewhere down the line would be greatly affected by the occurrence of elections, as politics and culture are poles apart from one another. In simple words, the essence of Bihu can never be kept intact or balanced
especially when there is something called elections orbiting it from every angle. The second most important issue that cannot be ignored at any instance is the adverse impact that elections can have upon the structure and the anatomy of Rongali Bihu. The common perception is that whenever we confabulate about Rongali Bihu, it brings to our mind folk music and tunes, Bihu dances etc. But even this important facet of Bihu is polluted by the extremely loud noises that the candidates contesting elections use in order to popularize themselves or blow their own trumpet. So the natives are left with the dilemma that whether they should try to break the monotonous routines of their humdrum lives by wetting themselves up in the cultural waves of Bihu or simply make their zeal and enthusiasm get punctured by hearing all those over repetitive self proclaimed stuffs. Bihu, which was originally celebrated in the rice and paddy fields or under tree shades was later given a different dimension when it was organized on the stage for the very first time, under the visionary leadership of Radha Govinda Baruah. And in the present time, it is almost impossible to consider the festival of Bihu without the Bihu Functions that are organized in every nook and
corner of the state. But the sad fact is that when the ambience of elections lingers around, even the Bihu stages experience the effects of elections, since we have clearly witnessed how most of the artistes use the stages to voice out their opinions regarding whom to vote, why to vote or vice versa. Thus although people try to avoid these stuffs and keep themselves busy in the milieu of Bihu celebrations, unfortunately even the Bihu stages get politicized and that directly destroys the main motive of celebrating the festival. Not only this but also some of the political leaders use the Bihu stages to popularize themselves or their persons of interest, thus politicizing it to a greater extent. Most of the banners surrounding the Bihu functions are no different either as they are mainly used to portray certain political agenda and motives, thus directly diminishing the objectives of celebrating the festival. The common people on the other hand are made to experience an ambiguous scenario, where they become bewildered by the fact that whether they are experiencing Bihu and elections together or more of elections and less of Bihu. Moreover, the noticeable fact is that even some of the singers during Bihu, come up with songs having a flavour of elections, thus ruining the natural and melodious tunes and lyrics of
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GUEST COLUMN
Bishaldeep Kakati
Bihu. Thus it feels that when Bihu and elections combine directly or indirectly, the ego of elections almost completely engulfs the flavor and fervour associated with Bihu celebrations. However, the need of the hour is that we must find ways to ensure that the festival of Bihu is not adversely affected, especially when there are elections happening at the same time. The people need to understand that both the events are of equal importance and if sometimes they fall together, the common masses should not make a mess of it by completely mixing the two as one single event. The burgess should accept both the events one at a time and must lay significant importance to both in the manner it is necessary. The cultural aspect of Bihu and the political aspect of elections should never be combined, so as to maintain the salubrious balance between the two. And thus it remains the duty of each and every individual of Assam to formulate a rational ratio between the two for the greater interest of all the citizens.
10 Special Feature
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2019
Unveiling ‘Pride’ Blenders Pride Magical Nights 2019 arrives in Guwahati Ace designers, Varun Bahl and Pallavi Mohan showcased ‘My Identity, My Pride’ with Sanya Malhotra at her stylish best at a grand event at Hotel Radisson Blu, Guwahati The coveted Blenders Pride Fashion Tour introduced its extraordinary new concept- ‘Pride’. The evening delved into the idea of ‘Pride’ through one’s choices, style and legacy, as designer maestro Varun Bahl collaborated with fashion sculptor Pallavi Mohan to curate a phenomenal experience with their exquisite ensembles. Captivating the audience with her charisma, showstopper Sanya Malhotra looked stunning in Varun’s masterpiece.
Socialite Bikram Rai Medhi (Centre) along with other guests
The evening’s entertainment
Designer Medha Saikia (R), Nandini Baruva (C) with friend (L)
Designer Pallabi Mohan (L) with Yankee Parashar (R)
Designers Varun Bahl and Pallavi Mohan and showstoppers Yankee Parashar and Sania Malhotra (L to R)
Special Feature
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19 2019
Designer Varun Bahl with show stopper Sania Malhotra (R)
“It is every individual’s potential to create their unique identity and to strive for authenticity. Blenders Pride Magical Nights brings this alive through an eclectic collaboration of the most stylish and talented in fashion, to deliver a never seen before and exciting experience to the consumers.” Mr. Raja Banerji, Assistant Vice President, Pernod Ricard India
Designer Prashantt Ghosh with friend
The models who set the ramp on fire!
Superstar Sanya Malhotra , the showstopper for the event
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12 General Election 2019
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2019
The Gauhati election Bobbeeta Sharma
Queen Ojha
Upamanyu Hazarika
Party- Indian National Congress Age- 52 years Total pending criminal cases- None Total number of cases in which convicted- None Total assets- Rs 3.48 crores (movable) Immovable- 12 crores Total liabilities- 1.73 crores Occupation- Media professional and entrepreneurship Educational qualification- Masters of Arts
Party- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Age- 67 years Total pending criminal cases- None Total number of cases in which convicted- None Total assets- Rs 8.12 crores (movable) Immovable assets- Rs 1.29 crores Total liabilities- Rs 3.40 crores Occupation- Business Educational qualification- Bachelors preparatory programme
Party- Independent Age- 53 years Total pending criminal cases- None Total number of cases in which convicted- None Total assets- Rs 2.86 crores (movable) Immovable- Rs 83.53 lakhs Total liabilities- Rs 26.02 lakhs Occupation- Lawyer Educational qualification- Bachelor of law (LLB)
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Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03
he Gauhati Lok Sabha seat consists of 10 assembly segments and this time a total of 19 contestants have filed their nominations from this constituency. Some of the prominent names who are set to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Gauhati seat include Bobbeeta Sharma from Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Queen Ojha and Manoj Sharma from Trinamool Congress (TMC). Additionally, Bharatiya Gana Parishad’s Dr Avijit Chakraborty, independent candidate and lawyer Upamanyu Hazarika and Swarna Bharat Party’s Pankaj Das have also filed their nominations. Gauhati constituency consists of 10 assembly segments including Dudhnoi (ST), Boko (SC), Chaygaon, Palasbari, Jalukbari, Dispur, Gauhati East, Gauhati West, Hajo and Barkhetry. During the last Lok Sabha elections in 2014, Bijoya Chakravarty from BJP emerged victorious with 7,64,985 votes polled in her favour. Her nearest
rival was Congress’s Manash Borah who bagged 4,49,201 votes. During the last Lok Sabha elections, a total of 15,11,729 voters turned up on the day of polling and the voter turnout was 78.64 per cent. Gauhati constituency is partially urban, as Guwahati city is also included in the segment. The SCs and STs constitute one-fifth of the total electorate. Further, Muslim voters constitute around four lakh of the population in the constituency. In the history of Lok Sabha elections in Gauhati, the seat has never had a single predominant party sweeping the elections for consecutive years for a long time.
Two-cornered contest
According to political analysts, this time the Gauhati seat will see a two-cornered fight from both the female candidates Bobbeeta Sharma from Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Queen Ojha. “I will not make any promises because my work is my identity and it will speak for itself,” said Ojha at a recent election rally. On asked why people should
vote for her, Ojha said, “I have been working for the development of Assam for the past 40 years and my vision is to make Assam corruptionfree. I have been a part of various organisations and have wide experience.” Speaking of political backgrounds, Sharma, married into a known Congress family, contested the state legislative assembly elections of 2016 from Gauhati East constituency but was defeated by BJP minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya. Talking to G Plus Sharma said, “I have good intention in my heart to work for my state and I have some well-thought-out plans for the development of my constituency. Each constituency segment has its own unique scope for development.” As far as experience is concerned, Queen Ojha has more political experience than Sharma as she has been active as a politician since the days of the Assam Agitation. She later joined Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and in 1996 became the Mayor of Guwahati after winning Guwahati Municipal Corporation elections. Ojha also contested for legislative assembly in 2001 from Gauhati East
constituency but was defeated by Congress candidate Captain Robin Bordoloi. Even Siddhartha Bhattacharya was defeated in the same year. However, apart from these two women candidates, the independent candidate Upamanyu Hazarika has also emerged as a strong contender from the Gauhati LS seat who can offer a tough competition. A senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India by profession, Hazarika is also the convener of the Prabajan Virodhi Manch. After filing his nomination papers, Hazarika said that he is contesting elections to fight for the rights of the indigenous people and also urged the people to vote for him in order to protect the identity of Assam. Hazarika told G Plus that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “dashed out hopes and aspirations of the indigenous people.”
Recent controversies
More recently, Queen Ojha and Upamanyu Hazarika were in the news for different reasons. While Ojha was caught in the middle of a row over her educational qualification, Hazarika caught
media attention when he used an empty BJP “office” for his own campaigning. Queen Ojha had come under scrutiny with regard to her educational qualifications. The Election Commission, on April 4, had decided to seek a report of the BJP candidate from concerned authorities for allegedly providing “false information” about her educational qualification in the affidavit. However, Ojha came clean in the controversy after the concerned presiding officer declared her educational qualification, which was submitted along with her nomination, to be true. The declaration was made after proper scrutiny carried out by the officer. On the other hand, independent candidate Upamanyu Hazarika recently entered an empty BJP office in Guwahati and started campaigning from there. The video of him campaigning from the BJP office was widely shared on social media. Speaking during the occasion Hazarika said, “Just like this office, the promises made by BJP are also empty.” He also distributed pamphlets
General Election 2019
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19 2019
13
ns: A ready reckoner Dr Avijit Chakraborty
Manoj Sharma
Pankaj Das
Party- Bharatiya Gana Parishad Age- 49 years Total pending criminal cases- None Total number of cases in which convicted- None Total assets- Rs 12.71 lakhs (movable) Immovable- NA Total liabilities- Nil Occupation- Business Educational qualification- Doctor of Medicine in Compound Homeopathy
Party- All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) Age- 45 years Total pending criminal cases- Five Total number of cases in which convicted- None Total assets- Rs 57.77 lakhs (movable) Immovable- NA Total liabilities- Rs 18.33 lakhs Occupation- Business of car service Educational qualification- 10th pass
Party- Swarna Bharat Party Age- 48 years Total pending criminal cases- Nil Total number of cases in which convicted- Nil Total assets- Rs 1.38 crores (movable) Immovable- Rs 4.61 crores Total liabilities- Rs 29.75 lakhs Occupation- Teaching, business Educational qualification- Master of Arts
and urged people to vote for him in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. After this, the BJP filed a police complaint against Hazarika for trespassing into the party office. They also claimed that certain important documents had gone missing. However, apart from these two women candidates, the independent
candidate Upamanyu Hazarika has also emerged as a strong contender from the Gauhati LS seat who can offer a tough competition. A senior advocate of the Supreme Court of India by profession, Hazarika is also the convener of the Prabajan Virodhi Manch. After filing his nomination papers, Hazarika said that he is contesting
elections to fight for the rights of the indigenous people and also urged the people to vote for him in order to protect the identity of Assam. Hazarika told G Plus that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “dashed out hopes and aspirations of the indigenous people.� Both the candidates have undergone the experience of losing
legislative assembly elections from the same constituency (Gauhati East). However, apart from these two women candidates, the independent candidate Upamanyu Hazarika has also emerged as a strong contender from the Gauhati LS seat who can offer a tough competition. A senior advocate of the Supreme
Court of India by profession, Hazarika is also the convener of the Prabajan Virodhi Manch. After filing his nomination papers, Hazarika said that he is contesting elections to fight for the rights of the indigenous people and also urged the people to vote for him in order to protect the identity of Assam.
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The CAB promise and its repercussions
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rime Minister Narendra Modi, in a massive election rally in Bengalidominated Silchar on Thursday, has once again reiterated his promise of bringing in the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 if voted to power. Apparently, as per his words, it is being done as a correction of the misdeeds of the Congress Party since the division of the country in 1947. However, in a note of appeasement of local sentiments, he added that “the step will be taken amassing opinions of the people of the state…” Strangely, in Assamesedominated Kendukona, he chose to be silent on CAB.
Now, we understand that election promises are essentially made to be broken. But this CAB promise looks a bit too serious to be ignored. Further, news reports from this Silchar rally also suggest that the PM chose to ignore the government notification that barred citizenship to anyone entering India after December 31, 2014. In a way, it can be interpreted that this notification and the date (which is not part of the CAB in its current shape), could well be changed to suit the BJP government that is hoping to come to power again. So what can the repercussions of such a step be internally, particularly in
Assam? If the protests and agitations of the recent past are of any indication, we will definitely have a replay of all those. Whipped up local sentiments, clear division between the Brahmaputra Valley and the Barak Valley, the BTAD stance etc will leave the state fragmented for the fear of absorbing lakhs of people - essentially foreigners who happen to be Hindus - in this state which has seen enough of usurpation. But what about the repercussions in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan where minorities like Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians are targeted for religious persecution and for whose rehabilitation the CAB has been designed? It is practical to assume that should the CAB be implemented and enacted into law, such persecution might well be stepped inhumanly in these three countries simply because India would welcome the persecuted minorities as citizens. The shrill election rhetoric apart, PM Modi, if back in power, would do well to tread with caution regarding CAB and explain the prudence (if any) of implementing it in clear terms rather than the bulldozing stunt he had attempted last time. Swapnil Bharali (Editor) @swapnilbharali
Urban-rural voting patterns
TPhase I of the grand Indian elections has now concluded leaving us all to ask just one thing – a somewhat low voter turnout; is this going to be the trend across the rest of the phases? This cycle has time and again proven to be an unhealthy deterrent to the Indian democracy. While the number of voters has been rising every 5 years, there is also the major challenge of ignorance in this younger demographic. It is not that they aren’t concerned about the wellbeing of the country. But to be honest, this ignorance is more at the deep seated dissatisfaction with the system and previous governments. There are eligible voters in the city who are still asking the question, where is my voter ID card? Well, this sense of “alarm” is unfortunately raised too late. The new voter that the EC and political parties hope to target is too laid back. While I’m not generalizing, this is a clear trend. The case is of course different with the rural areas where the youth is a little more involved. Of course this stems from the fact that elections and politics is an “aspirational” element in their lives. They get excited that a leader comes deep into their towns to woo them, talk to them and entertain them, even if it’s for just a day. However, the urban voter is a little apathetic. He says, “Your rally and tents across the city are only causing traffic jams getting me late for work.” He keeps this feeling repressed and then expresses his discontentment on poll day by sitting at home, enjoying his “holiday.” Well, there is always an opportunity for political parties to better themselves at this and for the youth to get more involved. It’s not about complaining for the next 5 years that makes you politically active, but spending an hour in the booth that gives you the right to do so. The season is on, Voting’or booth aru bhoot, duita’e hobo lage!
Sidharth Bedi Varma @sid_bv
Grief over Beef
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he incident in which 68-year-old Shaukat Ali was mobbed by antisocials and forced to eat pork in Biswanath District of Assam on Sunday, April 7, is truly unprecedented in the annals of the state. I am yet to come across any country anywhere in the world where people are punished for eating a particular item of food although such instances may be there in some parts of India and this is of recent origin. During my stint with the State Bank of India stretching over three decades, I was posted in different states of the northeast. I have had friends sitting by my side eating pork or dog meat, and it was not an issue at all. In 2010, my wife and I went for Haj. Even in a conservative country like Saudi Arabia, when we visited a mall in Jeddah, we found an enclosure selling pork. Only a board saying “Not for Muslims” at the entrance warned the faithful not to venture over there! In 2014, I had accompanied a delegation from the northeast that visited five southern states of India to get a feel of some educational institutions there. One late night, we went into a roadside eatery in Chennai to have our dinner. The menu was hung up on the wall and it had the portraits of different Hindu deities on the top. To my utter surprise, I found that beef was also included there! Well, that’s what makes “Incredible India!” In college, I was a student of biology and we had a chapter on “food cycle.” In short, the deer is herbivorous and it eats grass. The tiger is carnivorous and it eats the deer. Man is omnivorous and it eats almost everything. This is natural law. I pray and hope that biology is not reinvented by political dispensations now. What is more important is that self-styled goons should not decide who should eat what and what not. According to IndiaSpendData, over 150 people have been lynched by so called gau-rakshaks in the country during the last five years. Fortunately, this menace remained confined
O pinion Nurul Islam Laskar
mostly to the cow-belt of north and central India. Southern India and northeast were more or less not touched by it. Now it looks like the virus has penetrated our state. The antidote needs to be administered right away if we want to preserve the age-old spirit of love and brotherhood for which Assam is known all over. Please take note of the fact that India is the biggest exporter of beef in the world and has maintained its top position ever since 2014. So, all this drama in the name of beef is nothing but farce. Furthermore, the NSSO (National Sample Survey Office) statistics of 2015 proclaims that one out of
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ndia is the biggest exporter of beef in the world and has maintained its top position ever since 2014. So, all this drama in the name of beef is nothing but farce. every 13 Indians consumes either beef or buffalo meat. Therefore, one section of the population should not impose its own food habits on another section of the population. The cow belt, however, is notorious for its efforts to force the rest of the country to follow their dictums. At their insistence, in 1965, the central government had passed orders making Hindi the sole official language of the country. There were such massive oppositions, agitations and riots, following this order, in south India that it changed Indian politics forever. The government had to rescind its orders. Same kind of agitation and revolt is not unlikely if the government tries to impose the North Indian menu in every kitchen of India. All this however does not mean that Muslims should not show any respect for the belief of many Hindus who consider the cow as their deity. On one hand,
the Muslim must keep in mind that eating beef is not an integral requirement of faith and secondly, even if they want to consume beef, there need not be any fanfare or public display over it. Each religion must learn to respect the tenets of the others. It’s heartening that a large number of people, irrespective of faith, have come forward to condemn the Biswanath incident. Medha Saikia, the pioneer fashion diva of Assam, wrote in her Facebook post, “Our Assam was never like this. We have never seen so much of hatred, anger, and aggressiveness among our people.” True Medha, we want a stop to this. While law will take its own course to punish the culprits, my suggestion is that on the occasion of Bihu, the parents and teachers of the misguided youth come together to offer one day’s compulsory community service by cleaning the toilets and compounds of local naamghars to create awareness in the society for the need to uphold love and humanity at all costs. Even the civil society can participate in this initiative. My last words, “Let’s meet as friends, let not meat come in the way!” Nurul Islam Laskar is a motivation speaker and public relations consultant. nurul.laskar@gmail.com
Letter to the Editor rBJP & CAB It is very disturbing to know that BJP has once again reiterated its stand on Citizenship Amendment Bill, and is hell bent to reintroduce the bill in Parliament and get the same implemented. This is primarily with an eye for votes (in West Bengal, and some pockets in the northeastern parts of the country), and against the will of the people of Assam and the northeastern states of the country. What is even more perturbing is that the AGP, the regional party, that had severed its ties with BJP on this issue, has once again become a pre-poll partner of the ruling alliance. Post-poll, AGP can never say that it was not on the same page with BJP, as BJP’s election manifesto clearly states its position. BJP has once again proved that it is against the wishes of the public in general, and they would exploit the people of Assam and the northeast to its own advantage. All like-minded pressure groups who had protested against the passing of CAB in Parliament are now absolutely right in asking the electorate to vote against the Bill. The AASU, NESO, KMSS, etc should step up the pressure so that the nefarious design of the BJP is defeated at all costs. A Bhuyan Nagaon (Assam)
In Focus
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19 2019
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Bihu, Bihu Lagise with Abhishruti Bezbaruah Abhishruti Bezbaruah talks exclusively to G Plus about the makings of her recent song and the story behind it. Harshita Himatsingka @HHimatsingka
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bhishruti Bezbaruah, best known for her folk-fusion Bihu songs Roi Roi Roti and Tok Dekhi Mor Gaa, is celebrating the first anniversary of her most recent song, Kordoi Sokola. A veteran of music and sound design, technically Abhishruti has been in the industry since she was 6 years old, when she had started training with Pandits Rajan-Sajan Mishra of the Banaras Gharana. Since then, she has worked on a number of Bollywood, Hollywood and regional
projects including The Second Best Marigold Hotel, The Viceroy’s House, Highway, PK and English Vinglish. When asked why she has been continually making fusion Bihu tracks, Abhishruti said that she wanted to do something different for her audience. “Since childhood, I’ve always heard my father mention that every artist gives something to their audience during Bihu. So, I always wondered to myself, can I do something like that? Can I do something different where I can give a gift to my audience for Bohag Bihu? That’s how the idea of Bihu f o l k- f u s i o n came about,” said Abhishruti. For Kordoi Sokola, the idea of the music came to Abhishruti when she was at her pehi’s (paternal aunt) house which had a loom for making mekhla chador. “I heard this faint noise in
the background, a clickety-clack of the loom and I just tried to match the Bihu claps, the haath sapori to the tune of the loom and it matched and fused so well. That’s when I thought, we can do something where the base of the rhythm is the loom, we put our Axomiya Bihu lyrics on that, and give it a new soundscape by adding electronic music. It would be very traditional, and yet have a modern outlook,” she added, with excitement in her voice, while speaking of the origins of the idea for the song. She added that she also wanted a song which had very traditional lyrics where she could summon people, call people together to come and sing Bihu. In the creation of this song, Abhishruti was very particular with all the details. In explaining the kind of sound elements she used for Kordoi Sokola, she said that only sounds and elements that were relevant to Bohag Bihu were used and not random sound elements. “Bihu is essentially the New Year, the incoming of spring season. My concept was to incorporate sounds that were specific to this Bihu. For example, I would not use a bed, wood or other elements such as metals as they do not relate to this concept. Since Bihu means newness, New Year, what do we do in Bihu? We gift each other clothes, clothes come from the loom so I used the loom
sound. I used the percussion of rice, from which you make pitha and laru (traditional Assamese Bihu delicacies), and then for Assam, the river is such a main element, so I used the sound of the waves. All these elements are related to Bohag Bihu and so I was very particular about the kind of sounds used in this track,” ex-
When asked why she has been continually making fusion Bihu tracks, Abhishruti said that she wanted to do something different for her audience. plained Abhishruti. Another interesting aspect of her Bihu songs is that every year, she sings songs from different communities. For this one, she picked the Mishing community and thus, travelled to Majuli which has a rich culture and dense population of the Mishing people. Abhishruti informed that the song included traditional Mishing instruments such as the ‘ramdhaangungang,’ which is the male gogona, the dentuk, which is a bamboo instrument and the Mishing dhol. She used these instruments and
added the Axomiya ethnic flavor with the Hikoti (hichki, break in voice) element. The song was also made by adding certain Mishing lyrics and the use of VFX effects, thus mixing the old with new. Speaking of VFX effects, Abhishruti said that she wanted to try something new, something that nobody had done with Bihu songs before. So she came up with the VFX idea with the aim to mix traditional with modern to give her song a cosmopolitan look so that it appeals to the masses not only in Assam but also outside of the state. “A lot of my friends or acquaintances from outside of Assam would tell me that they don’t relate to Bihu songs, people dancing under trees, but Bihu is about dancing under trees. That’s the reason I wanted my song to have a cosmopolitan appeal. Even if it is in Assamese, people should connect. Nowadays, everyone watches music too, sometimes more than listening to it. Thus, you have to give them the entire package with perfect sound and sight,” added Abhishruti. Currently, she is working on a few projects with prominent Assamese directors and music composers. “I would like to wish all the readers of G Plus and everyone a very happy and prosperous Rongali Bihu and watch out for my next Bihu song in 2020!” she said in closing.
A video of a mob thrashing a man in Biswanath Chariali for allegedly carrying beef and thereafter forcing him to eat pork went viral after which an FIR was registered at Biswanath Chariali PS. G Plus followers react: Aniket Rai What about the victim who was selling beef in the name of mutton/pork during Navratri in a Hindu majority area? If you want to live in peace; learn to coexist and respect the religious sentiments of the community that forms 80% of Indian population. SnehalDeb 1. Attackers have been arrested within 24 hours. 2. He was selling beef by calling it mutton for two years. That side also needs to be reported and people’s sentiments also needs to be respected. (Not sentiments of those who attacked but other locals who used to be his customers). John Chanda This is not done. People should not force him to eat pork. It is against his religion. Gunda Raj is not permitted in civil society. We have law to look after this and because of this incident one political party should not be targeted as there is no political person seen in the video. Sohail Rahman Forced to eat pork, What a shame! I don’t understand the problem of this mob. What is the problem if someone likes to eat beef or any other meat? It’s his/her choice. I love beef and it is one of my favourites. Why do you care? I also like pork, chicken, fish and mutton. Will you stop me now? I dare you.
Chowdhury Joydip Now everyone will bring politics in this, but I can see only a bunch of useless/jobless people with nothing to do in life showing their curiosity and pretending to be responsible Hindus when we can see only shame here. There should be a thorough investigation on the culprits who could be seen on the video. Abhilasha P Gautam This surely must be done by Congress activists. Trying to defame BJP by framing an incident. Now that elections are approaching we will see all kinds of inhuman and cruel activities. It’s just funny how we public become puppets at the hands of politics. God will do justice and punish these people. May they all rot in hell. Anurag Deb These are BJP’s clear intentions of creating communal violence in Assam. The guys behind the incident were definitely paid by the political party to do so. Only the people of Assam themselves can save the state from a communal violence from taking effect. See what the government has done in the past 5 years and not who was made to eat pork and who was made to eat beef before giving your precious vote in this election.
16 General Election 2019
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2019
Constituency watch - Nowgong Lok Sabha
Constituency watch - Autonomous District
Nowgong, a BJP-stronghold since 1999 Srijit Banerjee @SrijitBanerjee
N
owgong is the 10th Lok Sabha constituency of Assam. It has been a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stronghold from the late 1990s. BJP’s Rajen Gohain is the sitting MP and has been representing the seat since 1999. Gohain again managed to win the seat for BJP in the 2014 general election. Since 1951, the seat has been won by the Congress. Veteran Congressman Dev Kanta Barua represented the seat in 1951 and 1977. From 1957 till 1971 Liladhar Kotoki of the Congress represented the seat and from 1984 till 1996, Muni Ram Saikia of the Asom Gana Parishad represented the seat. In 1998, Nripen Goswami of the Congress won the Nowgong seat defeating Rajen Gohain (BJP). Soon after that because of the political instability at the centre in which the Atal Bihari Vajpayeeled government failed to secure confidence motion in the house, the country went for another election in 1999. It was in 1999 that Rajen Gohain won the seat for first time for BJP defeating his Congress rival Nripen Goswami ASSEMBLY
PARTY
ASSEMBLY
Jagiroad(SC)
BJP
Lumding
Marigaon
BJP
Laharighat
Raha (SC)
BJP
Jamunamukh
Nowgong
BJP
Barhampur
Hojai
BJP
by a margin of 35,428 votes and retained it till 2019. However, Gohain was involved in a rape charge and a case was filed against him in 2018 that hurt his chances of retaining the seat this time. Gohain
himself opted out of the race for candidature citing legal issues. There were rumours that his wife Rita Gohain might get the ticket. Eventually, just before the last date of nomination filing Gohain’s name was cleared of the charges, but he was denied the
ticket and again the speculation started as to who the BJP will field from the seat. The national party finally decided to field their MLA from Nagaon Sadar constituency, Rupak Sarmah for the Nowgong Lok Sabha seat. Rupak Sarmah is a businessman by profession and a cultural worker. Presently, he is the president of Alumni Association, Nowgong College. PARTY The Congress, BJP on the other Congress hand, nominated AIUDF Pradyut Bordoloi as their AGP candidate from the constituency. Bordoloi was the minister of state for home affairs and later promoted as minister of state with independent charge for environment and forest in the Congress government. He was also the minister for power, industries and commerce
in Tarun Gogoi’s cabinet. He represented Margherita Vidhan Sabha constituency from 1998 till 2016 after he lost the election to BJP’s Bhaskar Sarma with a difference of 22,744 votes during the 2016 Assam assembly election. Bordoloi is one of the vice-presidents and chairman of the media department, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee. Nowgong has 8 candidates who have filed nominations for the seat. These candidates are Rupak Sarmah from the BJP, Pradyut Bordoloi from the Congress, Sahadeb Das from the All India Trinamool Congress, Saiful Islam Choudhury from Asom Jana Morcha, Azgar Ali from the Purvanhal Janta Party, Golapi Saikia from Voters Party International, Sukanta Majumdar from Bharatiya Gana Parishad and Zakir Hussain who is an independent candidate. However, the main battle for the seat is between Rupak Sarmah of the BJP and Pradyut Bordoloi of the Congress. It will be a tough fight in Nowgong as both the parties have fielded fresh faces for the seat; it will be a tug of war and only on 23rd May the results will be clear as to whom the voters of Nowgong gave their mandate to.
Nowgong by the numbers:
Polling: 18th April Polling stations: 2,283 Voters: 17,90,684 Female: 8,72,249 Male: 9,18,386 Third gender: 49
Autonomous District: Tribal groups to decide fate of winner Saumya Mishra @saumyamishra03
T
he Lok Sabha elections kicked off across India on April 11 and five constituencies of Assam also went to polls in the first phase. Now all eyes are set on the second phase to be held on April 18. Autonomous District is one of the five constituencies which will go to polls in the second phase along with Karimganj, Silchar, Mangaldoi and Nowgong. The constituency seat is reserved for the scheduled tribes. The Autonomous District Lok Sabha constituency is made up of two autonomous districts Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao. The seat will go to polls in the second phase of elections on April 18 and is set to witness a direct fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress. There are a total of 7.95 lakh voters in the constituency, out of which 4.04 lakhs are male while 3.90 lakhs are female. Further, there are only six registered third gender voters in the district. Additionally, 1,174 polling stations in total have been set up in the constituency for the elections. The Autonomous District seat consists of five assembly segments namely Haflong, Bokajan, Howraghat, Diphu and Baithalangso. The BJP has fielded Horen Singh Bey this time while the Congress, which will be in a two-cornered contest, has fielded its sitting MP, Biren Singh Engti. Apart from the two prominent names, a total of six candidates are contesting the elections from the Autonomous
district constituency. Some of the other candidates include independent candidate Jones Ingti Kathar, Lienkhochon from National People’s Party, Holiram Terang from Autonomous State Demand ASSEMBLY
PARTY
Haflong (ST)
BJP
Bokajan (ST)
BJP
Howraghat (ST)
BJP
Diphu (ST)
BJP
Baithalangso (ST)
BJP
Committee and Dewan Rongpi from National People’s Party. The Congress party won the seat five times, out of which Biren Singh Engti has won from the seat consecutively for the last three Lok Sabha terms in 2004, 2009 and 2014. Apart from the Congress, independent candidate George Gilbert Swell and Jayanta Rongpi of Autonomous State Demand Committee have also won from the seat for three terms each. In the 2014 general elections, Engti won the elections and defeated his closet rival Joy Ram Engleng by 24,000 votes. In the last elections, the voter turnout was 77.40 per cent. The constituency is home to various tribal groups including Dimasa, Kuki, Karbi, Biate, Naga, Hmar and Rengma. The tribal population is expected to play a major role in these elections and political analysts say that it will be interesting to see which way their votes will swing this time. Experts say that the political situation often becomes volatile in the Autonomous District constituency as certain armed factions are active in the area.
Riding the CAB: How BJP and Congress will handle the proposed Bill post polls
O
ne bill, two parties, myriad possibilities the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 or CAB has been a major point of contention for both the BJP and Congress, the two main contenders of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. It has been used as a campaign agenda by both parties and might play a major role in deciding who comes to power on May 23. The Bill, if passed, will amend the Citizenship Act 1955 and make the process of gaining Indian citizenship easier for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It proposes to relax the norms to apply for citizenship by reducing the 11-year requirement of Indian residency to six years for people
belonging to the afore-mentioned six religious communities. Since the past few months, the CAB has become a burning issue in the country and this has been more so in Assam and the northeast, primarily due to the general perception about the presence of a high number of suspected illegal immigrants. Major protests broke out all across the region opposing the proposed bill and these also received support from popular figures, celebrities and intellectuals as well. The protests rose to such a crescendo that even political alliances bore the brunt. Those opposing the CAB are of the opinion that the passing of the Bill will nullify the provisions of the Assam Accord of 1985, according to which, the cut-off date for deportation of illegal
immigrants, irrespective of religion had been set as March 24, 1971. The protests also found voice in the form of senior student leaders as well as other political parties who are incidentally a part of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA). With the LS polls already kicked off, the BJP has resolved to enact the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill with party members, including Assam chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowala and NEDA Convener, Himanta Biswa Sarma having said that they are firm on the passing the Bill. This resolve has been reaffirmed by union minister Rajnath Singh who added that CAB would be passed while protecting the linguistic, cultural and social identity of the people of the region. Earlier this year, the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha
on January 8 but was stalled by the Rajya Sabha on February 12. It is now supposed to be tabled in Rajya Sabha in the budget session on June 3, but it will likely lapse as the current term of the Lok Sabha ends before that. Using this as major leverage against the ruling party, Congress has expectedly taken the exact opposite route. In their manifesto, the party leaders have mentioned that they will make provisions for the immediate withdrawal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill if elected to power. This is one of Congress’s major claims and the party hopes that this will help them gain a strong foothold in the region once again. This year’s LS polls promises to be an eventful affair and is set to go down to the wire with both parties trying to push their
respective agenda and promises to another level in order to win over the voters and the CAB certainly seems to be one such factor that might swing the odds. However, the general consensus has been that neither party seems to be having an upper hand as of now. While the BJP seemingly failed to deliver on many of its promises in the eyes of the voters, the Congress does not seem to have really made any significant ground since the last polls. This also might turn out to be a poll where regional and allied parties might play a huge role in either of the parties coming to power because the tides have changed. What could have seemed like a piece of cake, might also turn out to be a bite too large to swallow!
In The News
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19 2019
17
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Woman chops up vegetables to 1.35 Cr litres of liquor sold in five days before feed family for a year 1st phase polls in Assam G Plus News @guwahatiplus
F
rom 7th April to 11th April, 1.35 crore litres of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) was sold in Assam. Though the authorities claimed that the campaigners were under strict vigilance the figure itself is indicative that liquor was used to woo voters for the forthcoming elections. Though the government had announced 48 hours dry day from 5 pm on 9th April in the areas where the first phase of polling was conducted – Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Kaliabor and Tezpur – the Assam excise department sources revealed that in five days usually around 80 lakh to 1 crore litres of liquor gets sold out, but sale before the 1st phase of Lok Sabha polls looked like a
departure from this trend. Even in Guwahati 40,000 cases liquor were sold from 7th to 11th April, which comes to 36 lakh litres of liquor which is unusual normally, informed the excise department source.
Representative image One “full” bottle contains 750 ml and in one case there are 12 bottles. One case is measured as 9 bulk litres which is 9 litres. The second and third phase voting is around the corner and voters in every area of the city and the state are expecting good gifts from the politicians and liquor is considered as one of the best gifts during elections.
M
ost of us give ourselves a nice pat on the back when we prep our lunches for a whole week or if we’re organised enough to get everything ready to go in the slow cooker before we go to bed. But one Australian mum has put us all to shame by chopping a year’s worth of vegetables for her family to save herself time every evening. Her freezer is now stuffed full of zip-lock bags containing an incredible 65kgs worth of veg. Her stash includes 20 kgs of potatoes, 15 kgs of carrots, 15 kgs of sweet potatoes and 10 kgs of tomatoes as well as courgettes and pumpkins. The former chef splashed out £45 on the vegetables at a wholesale market and says she will use it all in the months to come. Posting on Facebook , she wrote: “Veg prep for what feels like the next year. “Carrots: sliced, roast chucks and chopped. Potatoes: chunks, sliced and diced for mash. Onions: sliced, chunks and onion rings. I do it so I don’t have to waste time every night chopping up veg for dinner, as we all work and I have university and the two kids have
Unending Cricket Fever at ‘The SQUARE’!
after school sports. “It’s not pre-cooked, just raw, and the roast vegetables turn out great. Just thaw them out the night before - and the diced up vegeta-
bles are perfect for the slow cooker and spaghetti etc.” She’s not the only mum who impressed other parents with her incredible prep skills. Earlier this year people were wowed by a woman’s snack organisation. The mum-of-two spent 11 hours prepping a staggering amount of food for her kids to enjoy over the next few weeks. Describing herself as a “first-time kindy mum”, she says extreme preparation made her feel like she had “sold her soul.” She now has bags filled with 60 pizza scrolls, 28 sandwiches, chopped oranges, cookies and snack bags of grapes. (Source: mirror.co.uk)
W
ith the IPL fervour gripping the nation, ‘The SQUARE’ at Novotel Guwahati, GS Road is currently offering ‘Buy 3 Pay Only For 2’ on select brands of beverage to pump up the spirit of all crickets fans in the city. This steal deal offer is available from evening 8 pm until midnight. So, celebrate your love for cricket with the best of offerings until May 5, 2019.
18 Review
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2019
Starring: David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Daniel Dae Kim, Thomas Haden Church Director: Neil Marshall
Cinepolis, Christian Basti 09435025808 Hellboy (English) 09:00 AM, 11:45 AM, 02:30 PM, 05:15 PM, 08:00 PM Romeo Akbar Walter 09:10 AM, 12:45 PM, 05:45 PM, 09:05 PM Shazam (English) 09:30 AM, 03:25 PM,
Movie w Revie
06:20 PM, 09:15 PM Kesari 09:40 AM, 02:40 PM Dumbo (English, 3D) 12:10 PM The Tashkent Files 12:20 PM, 08:45 PM Blackboard VS Whiteboard 03:45 PM The Legend of These (English) 06:35 PM
Hellboy
H
ellboy is a 2019 American superhero film based on the Dark Horse Comics character of the same name. It is a reboot of the Hellboy film series, and the third live-action film in the franchise. The film draws inspiration from the comic books Darkness Calls, The Wild Hunt, The Storm and the Fury, and Hellboy in Mexico. The film follows Hellboy and his closest allies as they battle an undead sorceress who has the intention
of destroying the world. The film did not live up to its mark at all. Now, if it was because of Guillermo Del Toro and Ron Perlman’s exit, nobody knows. Making the project into an R-rated reboot does not help at all. The film has no imagination and it just carries on for the sake of it. Trying to be a badass movie with punchy dialogue, it fails to do both and just seems like a lousy movie. There were no risks in the film in terms of script or design, and that really shows
05:00 PM, 08:00 PM Hellboy (Hindi) 11:00 AM Kesari 11:15 AM, 05:15 PM Romeo Akbar Walter 02:00 PM, 08:15 PM Kaneen (Assamese) 02:15 PM
Grande Cines, Paltan Bazar 09854017771 Hellboy (English) 10:15 AM, 12:00 PM, 02:30 PM, 08:40 PM Shazam (English) 12:30 PM Romeo Akbar Walter 03:00 PM, 08:00 PM Kesari 05:45 PM
Anuradha Cineplex, Noonmati because there is no big payout towards the end. Everything just is and that is not how you would describe a badass film. Too many gory battles, not enough gravitas. Harbour and Jovovich’s performance did receive some praise from critics but it is minute and could not save the film even though they might have tried. All in all, got a few hours to kill and enjoy gory alien battles? Go for it. If you said no to any one word in the above sentence, it’s a hard pass. n
Hellboy (English)
The Tashkent Files 05:00 PM
0361 2656968 Hellboy (English) 05:00 PM Hellboy (Hindi) 11:30 AM, 08:00 PM Romeo Akbar Walter 02:15 PM
PVR Cinemas, Dona Planet 08800900009 Shazam (English) 09:30 AM, 03:25 PM, 09:20 PM Hellboy (English) 09:45 AM, 12:30 PM, 03:15 PM, 06:00 PM, 08:45 PM
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Romeo Akbar Walter 12:25 PM, 06:20 PM
Dell Inspiron 15 7572
D
ell is one of the bestknown names in the laptop market, and the Inspiron line is usually full of reliable, affordable models well suited to home users, students, and people with basic needs. Inspiron laptops are designed for everyday productivity along with entertainment. The laptop is priced at Rs. 97,982 including taxes in India. Design: The Inspiron 15 7572 is relatively portable for a 15-inch laptop. It’s just under 20mm thick and weighs 2kg. The lid is aluminium with chamfered edges while the base is also a metal shell that wraps around all four sides and the interior frame is reinforced with a magnesium alloy. This laptop is available in two whimsically named colour options, Jingled Gold and Theoretical Grey, but both have conventional brushed metal finishes. The top
lock slot. One
and sides measure just about 5mm thick, and the bottom is approximately 3.5cm. The keyboard deck on the Dell Inspiron 15 7572 is a wide swathe of grey plastic with a rubberised finish. The keyboard layout is basic with compressed arrow keys and Fn-key shortcuts for paging, media playback, and system-wide controls. You get white backlighting with two levels of intensity. Specifications and Software: The Dell Inspiron 15 7572 has a power inlet, a collapsible an Ethernet port, an HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports, and a 3.5mm combo audio socket on the left of this laptop. On the right, you’ll find a USB 2.0 port, SD card slot, and security
of those USB 3.0 ports will let you charge a device even when the laptop is off, but the absence of USB Type-C is surprising. A white LED on the lower front lip tells you when the laptop is charging. The Dell Inspiron 15 7572 has a Core
i7-8550U CPU. has 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SATA SSD as well as a 1TB spinning hard drive.
Only about 104GB is available on the SSD due to Dell’s hidden partitions for Windows recovery and support software. The battery has a 42WHr capacity and a 65W charger is included. For connectivity, there’s dualband Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1. The 15.6-inch IPS screen has a full-HD resolution, The webcam can take photos and videos at up to 1280x720 pixels. Verdict: It offers a lot of good features and decent specifications, and it’s quite portable for a 15-inch laptop. It runs well and should be fine for home users. However, there are some truly unfortunate design decisions including sharp metal edges and a practically useless webcam.
Feature
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19 2019
Argentina, a country endowed with beauty
I
was pleasantly surprised one fine morning when my son had called up from Bangalore to say that he is transferred abroad. However, the spirit was partially dampened when he disclosed that he is posted in a faraway place called Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. With limited geographical and political knowledge about the Latin American countries, my wife and I were busy calling up our friends and relations here and there to know more about Buenos Aires. Our friends had divergent views and some were quite sceptical about the whole idea of working there. To our great relief we could at last contact an old friend of ours who had long years of experience in Latin American countries. His first hand knowledge on the socio-cultural environment in Argentina inspired us to permit our son to take up this exciting assignment. We could not resist the temptation of taking a holiday trip to this interesting country of Football fans out of our inquisitiveness couple of months after he left. We boarded South African Airlines from Mumbai International Airport in the month of
time. The beautiful boulevards, well planned roads, monolithic structures, well-behaved, friendly and soft spoken people all around made us feel at home. Spanish is the widely spoken language here. It is a normal practice for the general people to communicate with sign languages, if someone does not speak Spanish as most of the population in the city do not understand English. The city is located on the western shore of the estuary of Rio de la Plata on the South East Coast of South American Continent. The literal meaning of Buenos Aires, as intended by the founders in the 16th Century, is “fair wind” or “good air.” After decades of political turmoil Buenos Aires is federalized at present. Argentina is an upper middle income economy. Prior to 1880s, Argentina was an isolated backwater, dependent on the salted meat, wool, leather and hide industries. Argentine economy began to experience swift growth after 1880 through the export of livestock and grain commodities through British and French investments, marking the beginning of a significant economic expansion and mass European
Tourism sector is growing at a very fast pace in Argentina and it is a major revenue earning sector for the country. The
The literal meaning of Buenos Aires, as intended by the founders in the 16th Century, is “fair wind” or “good air.” After decades of political turmoil Buenos Aires is federalized at present. Argentina is an upper middle income economy. industry is employing a huge number of workforces. Between 2002 and 2017, the number of foreign visitors has doubled despite a relative appreciation of the local currency “Peso” visa-vis the US Dollar. Visitors are fl o c k i n g
to this country as it is
September that year. It was a long flight with its first hopping at Johannesburg after a continuous flight of around 14 hours. The flight to our destination city of Buenos Aires took another 10 hours from Johannesburg. We were awe struck by the beautiful nature and the climate in the city of Buenos Aires after flying for over 24 hours from Mumbai. All our tiredness and jet lag disappeared in no
immigration. Among the major exportitems beef, citrus fruits, grapes, honey, maize, soybeans, sunflower seeds, wheat, leather goods, dairy products are on the top of the list. The country is self sufficient in petroleum products and rich in minerals. Different metals and minerals mined include coal, copper, lead, magnesium, sulphur, tungsten, uranium etc. In other words this is a country with abundant natural resources.
perceived as affordable, exceptionally diverse and safe. A trip to Buenos Aires is incomplete without witnessing and participating in a Tango dance. Tango is a partner dance that originated in the 1880s along the Plate River, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay and it spread to the rest of the world. Today many forms of Tango exist. Among the Tango dancing circles the authentic is considered to be one closest to the form of originally danced in
19
Jayanta Madhav Barua Argentina and Uruguay. UNESCO has included Tango in the intangible Cultural Heritage list. Argentina is one of the largest wine producers in the world. Going by the history of wine production in this country, the vines were planted in Santiago by the Missionaries who brought the plants from Mexico in the middle of sixteenth century because they could not celebrate mass in Christmas without wine. With the flow of the large number of European immigrants from Spain, Italy and France who are all traditionally wine producers and consumers the industry has grown very fast. The per capita wine consumption in Argentina today is around 28 litres, which is very high compared to many countries in the West. The Argentine wine is associated with fabulous country landscapes, horse polo, Tango and beautiful women. It is competing well with the major wine producers like United States, Australia,
Gauchos who live in the open plains at traditional ranches. The Gauchos come out to demonstrate the ring races and horse riding skills and directly interact with the tourists. A day-long trip also includes an “Asado,” which is a traditional Argentinean barbecue that includes both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (varieties of local wines) and dessert with coffee and tea. The fun does not stop there. It is followed by folklore and Tango show. The show is of participative type and the tourists are invited to sing and dance. The people are very inquisitive about India and fond of Bollywood songs and dances. A full-day or half-day trips to the delta islands in the Tigre River is a must for a tourist and see the impressive cathedrals and mansions built by the city’s old aristocratic families. These stilted homes and delta dwellers access goods and services through a network of floating
Chile, South Africa and New Zealand. Wine testing sessions are very popular among the tourists. A popular traditional hot beverage in Argentina is “Mate.” It is prepared by steeping dried leaves of Yerba Mate in hot water. It is a caffeine-rich infused drink and it has quite a bit of similarity with tea. It is drunk with a metal straw. The straw is traditionally made of silver and called Bombilla by the locals. While in Argentina, one should not miss the “Fiesta Gaucho” (Gaucho party) in the countryside. One can witness the Argentinean cowboys or
markets. The only mode of transportation to these beautiful houses is through private boats and small ferries. This is a unique suburb built around the swampy land and meandering waterways. A cruise along Tigre River and day-long outing to the delta islands is a very refreshing experience. In short, our trip to this wonderful country with so many diversities and natural beauty is an experience to be cherished for our whole life. (The author is a widely travelled freelance writer, motivational speaker and a mechanical engineer)
20 Fun Jayashree Bose Certified Feng Shui, Chinese astrology, date selection consultant & author, jbose@jayashreebose.com
Sudoku
On 13th April, spend time connecting with others. On 15th April, avoid scheduling any meetings, especially with your seniors, as you are bound to have disagreements. On 16th April, you will be emotionally hurt either by parents or seniors. On 18th April, your views might not be accepted by others. Avoid any alcohol on 18th April.
Just avoid dealing with your seniors on 13th, 15th & 16th April. On 15th April, you will be emotionally hurt by your seniors or parents’ words & actions. On 16th April, you could have disagreements with your boss. 18th April will be an ideal day for you to mingle with seniors, people at work & build your work network.
15th April will be a great day for you to connect with your boss & share ideas. It will be a good day to host all important meetings. You could invite your parents or workmates for a Bihu get-together. 14th April will be an unpredictable day, you could feel your parents or boss don’t appreciate your efforts at all.
16th & 17th April will be great days for you to connect with seniors & share ideas with them, you could host important meetings on these dates. Avoid scheduling any important meetings on 15th & 18th April. You could have issues with seniors or your extended family on 13th, 15th & 18th April. On 13th April, avoid trusting anyone with your secrets.
17th & 18th April will be great days for you to share ideas with seniors & build a relationship with them. On 19th April, you could have issues with seniors & parents. On 13th April, be careful of your words & actions, as you will create your own problems.
17th & 18th April will be excellent days for you to schedule important meetings. Your seniors will be receptive to your ideas. On 17th April, you could feel seniors and/or parents are ungrateful, they don’t appreciate you. 14th April will be a slow day for you.
On 15th April, be careful of your words & actions as you will create your own problems. 16th April will be a great day for you to share ideas with seniors or simply just connect with them. You could schedule important meetings on this day. You could invite your parents or boss for Bihu dinner.
15th April will be a great day for you to build a rapport with seniors & people at work, host your important meetings on this day. Avoid making any promises on 19th April. 14th & 16th April will be slow days for you.
13th April will be an ideal day to share ideas with your boss or connect with people at work & family, probably have a Saturday dinner with your business network. 14th April will be unpredictable, avoid over planning. 17th April will be a slow day for you.
13th April will be a great day for you to build your relationship with seniors & people at work. Put your best foot forward. Be careful of your words & actions on 18th April, as you will create your own problems. On 19th April avoid trusting anyone with your secrets.
Watch yourself on 13th, 16th & 19th April. Avoid making any promises or getting into a confrontation. Share ideas with your seniors or generally build a relationship with people at work on 15th April, host your important meetings on this day. You could feel emotionally betrayed by seniors or parents on 18th April.
15th & 16th April are ideal days for you to mingle with seniors, people at work & build your work network. If you are on Bihu holidays, spend time connecting with friends & family. Avoid everyone & anyone on 14th & 17th April, as you are bound to get into a disagreement.
2.
Which classical Indian language literally means “mountain region?”
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Which hill station of south India is nicknamed “The Kashmir of South India?”
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Which popular leader was known as the “Iron Man of Assam?”
5.
What is the name of the chutney made of bamboo shoot, pork fat and king chilly in Arunachal Pradesh?
6.
What unique record is held in the history of Assamese cinema by this movie?
Dr. Soubhadra Chakrabarty This quiz has been brought to you by Brain Jam, a property of Priya Communications
Dilbert By Scott Adams
curio-city
Leonardo da Vinci was born in which village?
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Daily Sudoku: Thu 11-Apr-2019
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7 last 4 9week 8 2solution 5 6 3 1 8 2 1 3 6 7 5 9 4 6 5 3 4 9 1 7 8 2 1 3 7 6 4 2 9 5 8 9 6 2 7 5 8 1 4 3 5 8 4 1 3 9 2 6 7 2 7 5 9 8 3 4 1 6 4 1 8 5 7 6 3 2 9 3 9 6 2 1 4 8 7 5 Daily Sudoku: Thu 11-Apr-2019
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Word of the week 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
1.
Vinci, his name means Leonardo of Vinci Malayalam Munnar Bishnu Ram Medhi, the first elected CM of Assam Pika Pila Piyali Phukan (1955) by Natasurya Phani Sarma won the first Presidential merit certificate award for an Assamese movie at the National Film Awards
curio-city
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knackered alacrity noun adjective [uh-lak-ri-tee] [nak-erd] cheerful readiness, promptness, or British Slang. willingness: We accepted the invitation exhausted; very tired with alacrity.
Crossword Across
Down
1 Loosely woven cloth from Scotland (6,5) 9 Impromptu (9) 10 Animal (with nine nine tails?) (3) 11 Himalayan country (5) 13 Excellent — shining bright? (7) 14 On ship (6) 15 Purist (6) 18 Arctic deer — a Rio cub (anag) (7) 20 Best possible (5) 21 See 23 22 Fling (9) 24 Fifth book of the Bible
(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2019. All rights reserved.
These predictions are based on the month of birth and are about an individual’s work environment, parents and extended family.
(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2019. All rights reserved.
Horoscope of the week
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2019
2 Fit (3) 3 Person whose speech is not well organised (7) 4 Married partner (6) 5 In which position? (5) 6 Acquit — clear (9) 7 Entertainment area with coin-operated machines (5,6) 8 Narrator (11) 12 TV show (9) 16 Issue (7) 17 Male domestic servant (6) 19 Bathroom basin (5) 23, 21 UK resident who the tax man accepts as having their "true" home elsewhere (abbr) (3-3)
Last week’s solution
Lifestyle
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19 2019
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Vaastu for Spring Cleaning Hemanta Kumar Sarmah Engineer, Businessman, Advanced Pranic Healer and Su Jok Acupressure specialist.
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pring cleaning is the practice of thoroughly cleaning a house in the springtime. The practice of spring cleaning is especially prevalent in climates with a cold winter. In many cultures, annual cleaning occurs at the end of the year, which may be in spring or winter, depending on the calendar followed. It is a custom among Christians to do spring cleaning before Good Friday. It is also a tradition among the Persians of Iran. You
could opt to do this cleansing of your surroundings on the onset of spring and the Indian new year. When we accumulate old stuff in the form of clutter, we use up mental space as well as physical space. By clearing the clutter, we generate space in the mind with a lease of freshness. Positive surroundings are created by clearing and re-organizing. The main entrance, kitchen and the bedroom are major areas where there should not be any clutter. The energy flows through the main entrance into the rest of the house. If the energy is blocked by clutter in your front door, it can’t move freely through the rest of your home in a positive way and
it creates a wrong impression. Do not keep anything like a garbage bin or rack of shoes near the main door. The kitchen represents our career success and how others perceive us. Get rid of clutter in this area which can lead to increased wealth and career success. Clean the kitchen gadgets regularly. Do not keep the broom in the kitchen. Empty the garbage bin from time to time and keep it covered. The bedroom is the place where you can take rest and recoup for the next day as clutter in the bedroom hampers sleep.
Vaastu for Worship in the home Worship of gods and performing religious rituals to start the day gives you confidence and blessings in addition to peace of mind. But, if Vaastu rules are flouted while doing this, you may have negative effects rather than
getting benefits. Certain idols and statues of gods are forbidden to be kept at home. Do not keep the dancing Nataraj Idol, Bhairav Mahadeva (signifies destruction), Shani (Saturn) or Rahu and Ketu idols.
They can spell ill-effects. Many of us worship several gods and goddesses and tend to keep them in the puja area or temple. This is not good, as some gods and goddesses are not compatible with each other.
Opinion of an expert should be taken. For example, Goddess Lakshmi and Lord Kuber should not be kept together though both are rulers of wealth. Broken statues should also not be kept in the house. The idols
Bihu Special Recipe: Chicken with Bamboo Shoot Shimu Dutta
A
s with all festivals, Bihu is a time of feast, frolic and fun. Given below is a festive recipe that you can make for your friends and family that will leave them asking for more.
Ingredients: yy Mustard oil - 2 Tbsp or as required yy Turmeric - 1 Tbsp yy Salt to taste yy Green chilies - 10/12 slit yy Ginger garlic paste - 2 Tbsp yy Chicken - 1 Kg yy Black pepper - 1 Tbsp yy Potato - 2-3, diced, medium size. yy Bamboo shoots - 2 Tbsp
Method: yy Heat the oil in a kadhai or pan. yy Add ginger garlic paste
with a little water and stir fry for a few seconds. yy Add the chicken, turmeric powder, salt, potatoes and stir fry and cover the lid. yy Cook in a medium flame. When it is half cooked, add
black pepper and stir, cook for another 15-20 mins with the lid closed. yy Once the chicken is ready, add the bamboo shoots and green chillies, cook for 1 minute. yy Serve hot with steam rice.
should be kept in such a way that their backs are not visible while offering puja. It is best to have the statues of gods and goddesses in the sitting position rather than the standing position.
Why do you travel? I don’t travel for photos to post, I don’t travel for likes to score, I don’t travel “because it’s swag BRO!!!” Neither do I travel for a reputation to hold. I travel for the love of traveling, I travel for the love of nature, I travel for the need of peace, I travel for my addiction to bliss, I travel because there’s so much more than malls and cakes, So much more than pretty faces and first dates. So much more to life than living, And so much more in experiencing than just possessing. There’s people to meet and sights to see, There are cultures to awe at, there’s places I’ve to be. There’s food to taste and love to seek. Because you never know where you’ll find someone, who’ll make your knees go weak. There are things to learn and mistakes to make. There’s things to imbibe from nature, a million more than we could ever take. Because mine’s a life to live, not a life to spend, How many more of nature’s rules are we trying to bend? Because it’s not how it works - these cities and towns, It’s the trees, the water, the air that’s treasure, not the bundles you’ve stacked in godowns. This planet is our home and not a never-ending resource, We’ve guidelines to follow, we just shouldn’t force. Let’s be Global Citizens and take care of Earth, A planet that has been home to you since birth.
Antriksh Somany
22 Buzz
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19, 2019
Two from Assam win big at the Asian Youth Chess Championship 2019
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wo boys from Assam, Shahil Dey and Mayank Chakraborty have won gold and silver respectively at the Asian Youth Chess Championship 2019 held in Waskaduwa, Sri Lanka.
Shahil, who is a chess prodigy, has emerged champion and clinched the gold medal in the Under-12 category. He scored 6.5 points out of possible 7 points in 7 rounds and played under rapid
time control. Shahil is a trainee of the Assam Chess Club and also participated in the classical event of the tournament. He was seeded 3rd in the starting rank list. On the other hand, Mayank won the silver medal in the
under-10 category, standard format (classical). He is a student in class 5 of South Point School, Guwahati. Shahil and Mayank were part of the 20-member Indian
contingent that took part in the Asian Youth Chess Championship (Rapid, Blitz & Classical events) in Sri Lanka. The tournament saw contestants from over 20 countries participate in various categories.
The championship was held from April 1 to April 10 and was organised by the Chess Federation of Sri Lanka, on behalf of Asian Chess Federation and FIDE (aka World Chess Federation). n
Assam wins two gold medals in junior national Karate championship
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ssam won six medals, including two golds, in the KAI Cadet, Junior and U-21 National Karate Championship held at DTRP Indoor Stadium, RG Baruah Sports Complex in Guwahati from April 5 to April 7. This is the first time that Assam won gold medal in the Junior National Karate Championship. The medal winners include (Gold) Ishita Kashyap (cadet female Kata), Jitamrit Kashyap (cadet male Kumite – 70kg), (Bronze) Ayushman Pachani (cadet male Kata), Enjebee Chakma (2 bronze in junior female Kata and junior female Kumite-53 kg), Nishad Ali (U-21 male Kumite -75 kg). Gold medalists Ishita Kashyap and Jitamrit Kashyap have also been selected to represent India to participate in the 18th Cadet, Junior and U-21 Asian Karate Championship to be held in Malaysia from April 26 to April 28. n
GU conducts ‘TheatreIn-Education (TIE)’ workshop
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three-day TheatreIn-Education (TIE) workshop on “Acting for Creativity” was held at Gauhati University (GU), from April 4 to April 6, 2019. The event was organised by the Directorate of Students’ Welfare, GU in collaboration with National School of Drama (NSD), Tripura Centre and Post Graduate Students Union, GU. Ankit Lohar and Rakesh Bora, faculty members, NSD, Tripura Centre (New Delhi) interacted with 30 students from the university during the workshop. Dr Ranjan Kakati, Director, Students’ Welfare, GU inaugurated the workshop and spoke on the importance of theatre and drama in education and the role it can play in the educational curriculum. Dr Kakati expressed hope that
the three-day workshop was of immense importance where the selected students learnt the nuances of theatre and drama from the faculties of the highly reputed National School of Drama.
Dinesh Ch Kalita, Deputy Director, Students’ Welfare and Nayan Jyoti Gogoi, General Secretary, PGSU, GU were also present during the occasion. PGSU members expressed their thankfulness and gratitude to Dr Mridul Hazarika, vice chancellor, GU and Nani Gopal Mahanta, registrar-in-charge, for their support in organising the workshop. n
Four educational institutes from Guwahati listed under NIRF Rankings 2019
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our educational institutes from Guwahati have been listed across various categories in the fourth edition of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2019 conducted by the Ministry
College is the only college from Assam to feature in the college category and ranks in the 155-200 rank band and Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (GIPS) ranks 72nd in the pharmacy category.
of Human Resource Development (MHRD). Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, Gauhati University, Dispur College and Girijananda Chowdhury Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (GIPS) have all made the list. IIT Guwahati has been ranked at the 9th position in the overall category and at the 7th position in the engineering category. Gauhati University has ranked 65th in the overall category and 42nd in the university category. Dispur
The rankings have been done in the following categories - Overall, University, Engineering, College, Management, Pharmacy, Law, Architecture and Medical. President Ramnath Kovind declared the NIRF India Rankings 2019 on April 8 at Plenary Hall, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. NIRF was launched in 2015 to rank higher educational institutions in the country based on objective criteria to promote competitive excellence in the higher educational institutions. n
Entertainment
G PLUS | Apr 13 - Apr 19 2019
Documentary on Satradhikar Harekrishna Mahanta to premiere on April 21 Kalyan Kumar Kalita
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nce a land soaked in blood and tears, sucked in superstition of witchery, absent from the provision of formal education, violence of insurgency and fear for the unfamiliar, the Udalguri region of Assam became the chosen battleground for Harekrishna Mahanta when he came here from Barpeta at the age of fifteen. The silent, secluded and stubborn battle he fought in befriending and transforming the people and the place, inspired by the philanthropic ideals of the 16th century saintreformer Sankaradeva, remains as an eloquent criticism of the divisive views and politics of our time.
Armed with a heart capable of disarming humility and unconditional love for the people, a heart molded in the teachings and ideals of Sankaradeva, he began by setting up a satra, wherefrom his philanthropic principles and works radiated and the region, slowly but steadily, began to echo the songs he sang as a prayer. He set up a school beside the satra he
established, introduced untapped economic resources to the people and he did all these in the face of violence and mistrust. This
94-year-old satradhikar who, in the twilight of his life, still insists on walking unaided, alone carrying the care and concern of the place and people destiny chose for him. Showcasing the noble cause of him, a documentary has made titled Alone in the Combat Zone.
The film has been directed by Kaaneen-fame creative director Monjul Baruah, whereas produced by Gopal Jalan and cultural-activist Moonjyoti Saikia under the banner of “Jalan Films” and “Nistha Media” respectively. Notably, the short film Liakat produced by Gopal Jalan last year, shined at various film festivals and also bagged the “Best Short Film” and “Best Director” awards in 7th Assam State Film Awards 2018. The documentary Alone in the Combat Zone’s script and subtitle is penned by Arambam Debasish Singha, sound designed by Amrit Pritam Dutta, editor and DI is Ghanashyam Kalita, cameraman is Prithviraj Dutta, location sound by Rukmajit Baruah and Nayanjyoti Bhuyan, light by Bolen Boro, Pranjit Haloi and Pulak Nath. The assistant director is Ronald Husain and production designer is Himen Borah. According to the producer, Gopal Jalan, the documentary film, depicting the noble cause of Udalguri’s Borengajuli Satra’s satradhikar Harekrishna Mahanta, will be premiered on April 21 in his presence along with other people. He also added that the movie has already been sent to various film festivals.
Papon releases special album as tribute to his late father
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inger Angarag Papon Mahanta has released a special album, Tumar Khujor Dhuli in memory of his late father, Khagen Mahanta on April 6. The album features a total of 8 old songs sung by Papon and his mother, Archana Mahanta. The songs were recorded in 1994. The album features a few
recordings of songs sung by Papon himself as well as his mother and singer, Archana Mahanta that his father, renowned folk singer and composer, Khagen Mahanta, had produced. Papon has recovered the songs and digitized them for everyone to listen. By releasing the album, Papon will be paying a tribute to the effort his father had put and “dream he had dreamt.”
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Assam man to feature in ‘Rising Star’ Season 3
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admanav Bordoloi from Assam will feature LIVE on Colors TV’s new singing reality show, ‘Rising Star’ Season 3. The show will be hosted by singer and television host, Aditya Narayan and the judges for the show include Shankar Mahadevan, Neeti Mohan and Diljit Dosanjh. The live auditions of the show started from March 16. The show airs on Saturdays and Sundays at 9 pm. Bordoloi is an Indian singer, performer, songwriter, music composer and anchor. He has sung many songs in Assamese, Hindi, Nepali, Bengali, Marathi and English. He was also nominated for the Global Indian Music Academy (GIMA) Award 2016 for “Best Music Debut Non-Film” segment for his first ever Hindi composition, Teri Jo Baatein Hain.
He is the first Assamese singer from the northeast region to be part of Sony TV’s Indian Idol Season 3 (in 2007) and a top finalist. He was also among the top 8 on Zee TV’s singing reality show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 2013.
Bollywood singer Ash King performs at RIST
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he annual technical festival of Regional Institute of Science & Technology (RIST) came to an end on April 6 with a live performance by Bollywood singing sensation, Ash King at the RIST campus. Around 3,500 to 4,000 students from RIST and University of Science & Technology Meghalaya (USTM) thronged to witness the musical performance. It is for the first time ever that Ash King has performed in the state. Ash King enthralled the crowds as he sang
one of his most popular songs, Ye Mausam Ki Barish and other Bollywood hits.
G PLUS | APR 13 - APR 19, 2019
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