Rezaul H Laskar releasing the brochure ‘Soaring High to Serve’ in presence of IAS aspirants from Assam at an event in New Delhi on Monday

A special programme for the benefit of IAS aspirants from the Northeast undergoing coaching courses in Delhi was organised at GS Mentor’s Pusa Road campus in New Delhi on March 6.

The programme was divided into two parts, the first session being a lecture on “India and her immediate neighbours” delivered by Rezaul Hasan Laskar, foreign affairs editor at Hindustan Times, New Delhi, while the second session, a curtain raiser to International Women’s Day, consisted of a panel discussion on “The Indian Constitution and Women” participated by the IAS aspirants themselves.

Rezaul Laskar, born and educated in Shillong, had started his journalistic career as a desk reporter at The Shillong Times during 1990-91. In 1999, Laskar had received the covetous Chevening scholarship for print journalism that included a six week trip to London. One of his most challenging assignments was the posting as the Bureau Chief of Press Trust of India (PTI) at Islamabad, Pakistan where he served from 2006 to 2014.

In his deliberation, Laskar spoke about India’s relations with her immediate neighbours – Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka. He focussed on the threat of the IS activists infiltrating into the region that could destabilise the development efforts initiatives of many countries, including India. The participants had a lively interactive programme with him at the end of the session.

Laskar formally released the latest issue of ‘Soaring up to Serve’, a quarterly newsletter brought out by Ajmal Foundation, Assam for the benefit of youngsters preparing for IAS and other similar competitive examinations.

Participating in the panel discussion on “The Indian Constitution & the Woman”, the panellists analysed the major constitutional and legal rights and remedies available to the Indian woman. The present situation in Nagaland vis-à-vis the women’s right to participate in the civic elections of the State was an issue that generated a lot of heat in the discussion. At the end, there was consensus that legal and constitutional enactments are not enough, it’s the mindset of the people that requires a change and this alone can bring both dignity and security to the woman.

Seven youngsters from Assam – Alamgir Sarkar, Ankita Nandi, Krishan Jyoti Deka, Namrata Barooa, Raihana Sultana, Rizwan Ahmed, Rupak Mazumdar, and one from Manipur, Abdur Rahaman took part in the panel discussion.

The programme was organised by Ajmal Foundation in collaboration with GS Mentors, a pioneer IAS coaching institute of Delhi.

It may be mentioned here that eleven IAS aspirants from the Northeast have been sponsored for coaching in Delhi under an all expenses paid year-long project by the Ajmal Foundation.

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