Terrorism becoming a heavy industry: Bezboruah

SILCHAR, April 25: Terrorism has evolved as an industry in the North-eastern part of the country and in the near future, it would turn out to be a ‘heavy industry’ as the government has miserably failed to fight the militants, stated Dhirendra Nath Bezboruah, former editor of The Sentinel here in a get together with the journalist fraternity.

Bezboruah, who once headed the Editors Guild of India, said, unrestricted militancy has pushed back Asom to such a state that human life has no value and security. For the last couple of decades, no big industry has been established in Asom and hence the number of unemployed youths had grown massively. Government has failed both in containing militancy as well as providing job security to the youth, he added.

Bezboruah, in his brief speech at the get together, organized by the Cachar District Journalists Association, also criticized the present trend of journalism where some times, publishing a news was less profitable than not publishing it as the scribe or his employer was given more money to conceal the actual facts. However, he expressed optimism by maintaining that even in spite of gradual degradation of the journalistic moral, it was the fourth pillar of the democracy that could only save the nation as the two out of the three pillars had failed us already.

"But journalists should first ask themselves what they want. If they wish to mint money only, then please leave this profession", Bezbaruah maintained. He said, in no other country journalists did ever play so vital role in making the nation free from colonial rule. Traditionally in India, journalism had a missionary zeal as its epicenter. Bezbaruah openly said that democracy in our country had failed to reach the actual idealism of what it should have been as the elected representatives behave more as feudal lord than democrats.

"And here comes the role of journalists who could uphold the real picture in front of the common people. But unfortunately a section of journalists had also failed to take up the challenge", he lamented. Bezbaruah said, today city-based journalists were well-paid, but their morality seems to stoop.Cachar Deputy Commissioner Gautam Ganguly introduced Bezbaruah to the journalists of Silchar. Local Brngali daily Samayik Prasanga editor Taimur Raja Choudhury said Bezbaruah, as the editor of The Sentinel ushered in a renaissance in the field of journalism in this part of the country. Cachar District Journalists Association president Paritosh Paul Choudhury also spoke in the occasion. Later, Silchar chapter of Asom Xahitya Xabha accorded a warm reception to Bezbaruah in the evening. THE SENTINEL