Letter to the Editor |People of Assam deserve accountability from cabinet member

Dear Editor,

I write with deep concern over the unfolding controversy involving Assam’s Cabinet Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah, his family’s dairy venture, and a significant ₹50 lakh subsidy meant for dairy farmers. An RTI revelation highlights that 90 state-owned Gir cows reportedly went missing from Rangiya Railway Station, only to seemingly reappear at a private dairy firm run by the minister’s wife in the same region.

This dairy enterprise, JMB Aqua Agro Pvt. Ltd., registered in Shillong and spanning more than 104 bighas with Gir cattle, poultry, horticulture, and fishery operations, experienced spectacular growth: revenue rose by 13.9%, profit by nearly 500%, and assets by over 1,900% in 2022–23. Notably, the minister’s wife was appointed managing director in March 2020, and their daughter was added as a director in 2023.

While family-run enterprises are not inherently wrong, the opacity here is troubling. Were public subsidies—intended as lifelines for small farmers—diverted to a privately controlled operation aligned with political influence? And how did 90 Gir cows vanish from public inventory, only to surface under the minister’s firm? These gaps demand investigation.

Furthermore, the timing is striking. Minister Baruah has publicly positioned himself as a protector of cattle and rural livelihoods. Yet, the alleged misdirection of funds and livestock undermines that commitment. As RTI activist Dilip Nath has demanded, it is vital to trace the procurement of cows under the Garukhuti project, track the subsidy’s approval to the minister’s wife, and examine declarations of business interest.

In a healthy democracy, public trust hinges on transparency—especially when government schemes are involved. Hence, I urge:

• 1. A judicial or independent probe into the missing state Gir cows, their procurement, and eventual placement.
• 2. Full disclosure of the subsidy approval process, including eligibility assessments and any conflict-of-interest disclosures.
• 3. A review of public asset declarations by the minister and his family to ensure no discrepancies.

The people of Assam deserve accountability, not "cash for curd" schemes serving political families. Let this inquiry affirm that governance is neither opaque nor partisan, but truly public-centered.

Bineet Bishal Borthakur
Guwahati

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Viewpoint |The twelve day war was an important reset moment

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The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that equal rights for all people are the foundation for peace in the world.

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by Terry Hansen
      Guest Commentary

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White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller claims that, as a result of the U.S. bombing of Iran, "We have the beginnings of a new era of stability and peace and security in the Middle East."

Similarly, Vice President J.D. Vance stated, " And I think the president really hit the reset button and said, look, let's actually produce long term peace for the region....I actually think when we look back, we will say the twelve day war was an important reset moment."

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You can kill 100 Gazans in one night … And nobody in the world cares.

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Yet no mention is made of the relentless suffering of Palestinians, who were also excluded from the Abraham Accords, the agreements negotiated during President Trump's first term that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states.

Meanwhile, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently asserted, “We are disassembling Gaza, and leaving it as piles of rubble...And the world isn’t stopping us.” Zvi Sukkot, a member of the Israeli Parliament, went so far as to boast, “Everyone got used to the idea that you can kill 100 Gazans in one night … And nobody in the world cares.”

As Jewish American scholar Judith Butler has observed:

"The Palestinians have been labeled as ungrievable. That is to say, they are not a group of people whose lives are being considered as worthy of value, of persisting, of flourishing in this world. If they are lost, it is not considered to be a true loss."

In his 2006 book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," President Jimmy Carter contends that Israel's construction of illegal settlements in the occupied territories is the primary obstacle to peace in the Middle East. It has long been understood that settlement expansion, which has recently intensified, is a method of "changing the reality on the ground," thereby undermining hope for a two-state solution.

It's important to note that the Arab League has repeatedly offered to normalize relations with Israel, in exchange for ending the occupation and allowing the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders—about 22% of historic Palestine. This offer is embodied in the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

In fact, in September 2024, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, representing 57 Arab countries, declared:

"I can tell you here, very unequivocally, all of us, right now, are willing to guarantee the security of Israel in the context of Israel ending the occupation and allowing the emergence of a Palestinian state."

Yet, as Smotrich has provocatively stated, "My life’s mission is to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that equal rights for all people are the foundation for peace in the world. True stability in the Middle East cannot be achieved through military victories or diplomatic agreements that ignore the rights and aspirations of Palestinians.

Terry Hansen is an opinion writer who frequently comments on Gaza, focusing on humanitarian issues, U.S. policy and Israel’s actions in the region. He is a retired educator from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.