An appeal to the Chief Minister

Editor,

It is an urgent appeal from every non tribal citizen residing in the state of Meghalaya that a strong and reassuring response to the recent threat to end our lives by the extremist organisation HNLC needs to be given.  No section of society should be singled out as lesser citizens under the eyes of the very people we have elected to work for our welfare and progress. The Constitution of our country enshrines equality of our rights , to work and live as equals within the law and borders of our country.

The silence of the Chief Minister on this issue till now will only embolden such disruptive elements to go further with their unlawful agenda; needless to say it adds to the climate of perpetual fear in the minds of the people who are being targeted. We have seen an agenda at work since 1979 . Bengali residents of the state were systematically driven out of their homes. It was the Nepali community in 1987. An attempt was made to rouse communal tension in 2018 , when an instance of assault on a tribal boy snowballed into an attempt to evict an entire community.

This is 2019 and yet this sword of fear hangs on the head of the non tribal residents of the state. Nothing has changed , the polarization seems to only get further exploited to suit vested interests with their nefarious agendas.

My appeal to the Chief Minister is to issue a strong statement of strength against this audacious threat of death by an unlawful organisation . An affirmation of your faith in our welfare so we as non tribal citizens can see you stand shoulder to shoulder with us.

We need our human rights safely protected along with each and every citizen of the state.

Yours etc.,
The Zephrian

The HNLC threat

Editor,

This letter is in response to a story published in your paper (ST May 18, 2019) on the open threat to kill non tribals of Meghalaya by the banned outfit – HNLC. It is surprising to see that the State Government, so called ‘pressure groups’, holy church leaders become mute spectators to such a call without any condemnation. On the contrary, a thankful or should I say a hapless state government, has extended an olive branch to the ultra outfit for peace talks once again a day later.

For far too long appeasement politics has taken centre stage leading to radical groups emboldening themselves and issuing open threats that have led to an atmosphere of unrest and tension among different communities. An outfit with not even 20 active members trying to dictate to an elected government and outline its ideology by issuing hateful statements is ridiculous. This can have serious implications in the long run as far as development and growth of the state is concerned. (By development I do not mean having a house and a car but growth of intellectual wisdom). Such calls have the potential to usher in resentment and backlash from other ultras and communities in adjoining states.

Non tribals play a constructive role in the economy of the state especially in trade and commerce and in adding to the intellectual capital of the state and the also adding to the vibrancy of a pluralistic society. Given further opportunity they will continue to do more and beyond. The state enjoys significant powers to pacify voices of unjustified dissent and sedition yet it fails to act when needed. The media must play a constructive role and not allow open threats to dominate its headlines. It’s time we citizens denounce violence and strive towards building a cohesive society which is free from fear and intimidation. Remember the world is watching us.

Yours etc.,
Bhaskar D,

Via email

Has India lost the purpose of education?

Editor,

Apropos Sujit De’s letter “Has India lost the purpose of education”, (ST May 15, 2019) my response is ‘Yes, we have.’ Actually as far as Meghalaya is concerned, we had lost it nearly twenty years ago. I fully share the concern of Rivaldo Kurbah for the genuine students of our State in the face of a huge rush of students from adjoining states. Basking in the glory and past performance of missionary run institutions, we have failed miserably in dealing with the huge increase of student population. These government institutions, very small in number, do not have space for expansion; thus leaving the students who passed out especially Class X students to the mercy of private institutions of which fees are exorbitant. Gone are those days when our missionaries built institutions with the motto of imparting the best education at a very minimal cost. This had really helped the poor (children of farmers and daily wage labourers) to get education from which they could face the future. Government attitude towards teachers especially the government aided ones too is not pleasant at all. As can be gauged from the daily newspapers we hear of arrear salaries that date back to five, six months.

Come result time and in a few days from now we will see how parents and their children rush from one institution to the other to collect as many forms and prospectus (very costly) as possible. The list would be put up  in the next few days. Some smile and some don’t to make a quick rush to another institution to try their luck. After being admitted, another problem is to get better private tuitions. At no other time in the history of education in our state has it become so expensive. I know that soon India would have a person on the moon. If we could have Neil Armstrong’s sentence changed, to “One small step for an Indian, a giant leap for  government schools and colleges,” then every student on this earth (India) would have reasons to be happy.

Yours etc.,

M Khyriem

Shillong 14