Festivities on Sunday : Personal liberty versus external impositions
By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The groups who are opposed to or have expressed their views against festivities on Sundays were conspicuous by their absence from the debate on – ‘Festivities on Sunday?’ organised by the Shillong Press Club here on Tuesday.
Besides the church bodies, various NGOs and political parties have expressed their strong resentment over holding of the Shillong Autumn Festival on Sunday.
The debate, which was telecast live on all the local cable channels, had speakers only from the treasury bench who dwelt at length as to why there should not be a ban on holding of festivities on Sundays in a pluralistic and secular country.
MTDF chairman RG Lyngdoh said, “Meghalaya is secular State so no one has the right to impose their religious views on anyone”.
“Shillong Autumn Festival is a secular festival where people from all communities, religions and backgrounds come to attend. Sunday is also the only day when families can be together because it is a holiday,” Lyngdoh said while arguing out his points at the debate.
Lyngdoh said he is a practising member of the Catholic Church but does not believe in wearing religion on his sleeves. The MTDF chairman said there is a thin line between tolerance and intolerance and that fine line should be respected. He expressed his disagreement with the stand of the church bodies that festivities should not be held on a Sunday.
“I personally feel each and every member of the church should be able to make their own judgment on how they spend their Sundays. This is being fair and secular,” he said.
While admitting that the MDTF might have made a mistake in the past, Lyngdoh said this year the MTDF have decided to declare the Sunday event as a ‘family day.’
While recalling that some church bodies had also opposed the drum ensemble organized by MTDF and had even gone around distributing pamphlets to schools asking children to boycott it by calling it a devilish festival, Lyngdoh said such opponents of progress need to be publicly challenged.
“The main objective of holding the drum ensemble was not to make it to the Guinness Book of World Records but to highlight the region in a positive manner. Before this, the region only made the headlines for law and order problems,” the MTDF chairman said, claiming that after the event, there has been a huge increase of tourist inflow to the State.
Meanwhile, a concerned citizen Kyrshan Rynjah said that there is no justification in the opposition of holding of festivities on Sundays.
“I personally feel if there is ban on festivities then the local cable operators should be asked to stop their transmission on Sundays. We see more evil by browsing the different channels or surfing pornographic sites on our computers, than by attending the festivals,” Rynjah said, adding, ” If everything is shut down on Sundays then even examinations should not be conducted on Sundays.”
Kiddies Corner Secondary School principal Bryan Wahlang said that Sunday it is the only day when he can spend quality time with his son since the whole week he is too busy with daily assignments.
“Every Sunday I go to church. After attending the Church service I go out with my son and the school children because they need recreation,” Wahlang said, adding that Shillong Autumn Festival is that one event which children look forward to and have so much fun.
He also does not agree that the church should decide on his behalf what he is to do or not do because he has not authorized them to do so.
“By attending such festivals it does mean I am not a true Christian,” Wahlang said.
Meanwhile MTDF member Deepak Das Laloo said that this festival is not just an event but it is more than that.
“This festival is connected with the promotion of tourism in the State,” Laloo said while also informing that there was 60 percent decrease of the people attending the festival after they were force to pre-pone the event by one day.
Three eminent observers were also the jury members at the debate. They included Mr Phrang Roy, former Assistant President IFAD, Mr Sumar Singh Sawian, journalist and social thinker and Dr Sukalpa Bhattacharjee, faculty English Department, NEHU.