Editor
Quite a few barrages were built by our forefathers across the river Myntdu near Jowai for impounding water to provide water for irrigation to well established paddy fields which were also developed by them. Local materials were used and while these barrages stored sufficient water they are also porous enough to let sand and silt through and thus prevent early siltation in the reservoirs. The design is such that the onslaught of seasonal floods can cause minimum damage that can be repaired by the farmers themselves . Amazingly , these barrages have withstood the test of time and have served their purpose for close to a hundred years now. Sadly, these structures which showcase the traditional wisdom and ingenuity of our ancestors have been recently demolished and replaced by cement concrete structures by the Soil and Water Conservation Department . Time will prove as to whether these new structures built by the Department can withstand the force of nature for as long as the old structures did or whether the new reservoirs would have as long a life span as the old ones because of the threat of siltation which is a usual phenomenon in cement concrete barrages. Ironically, the total area under irrigation after the new constructions remain the same as that fed by the water from the reservoirs of the old structures . As such, there does not seem to be any justification in destroying these magnificent establishment created by our forefathers . The officers of the Department therefore have not only squandered the available funds by failing to work out the viability but have also failed to propagate the true essence of conservation as expected from genuine conservationists
Yours etc.,
Skhembor Laloo,
Via email
Christmas’ Indian connection
Editor,
The article with the above caption (ST December 30, 2011) by Barnes Mawrie was an interesting read. The author, – a scholar of repute has tried to make the connection which does not hold water. The author has even quoted Kepler to justify that the conjunction of the three planets Jupiter, Saturn and Mars has a scientific backing, but Mawrie also admitted that the celebration of the 25th of December as Christmas day did not happen till the 4th Century AD or (CE) Common Era. Furthermore there is no scriptural evidence to back the claim that Jesus was born on Christmas day, which means that there is no certainty on the date Jesus was born. Mawrie has also chosen not to enlighten his readers that there are only two accounts of Jesus’s birth in the New Testament, Mathew 1:18-2-2:23 and Luke 1:4-2:40 and there is a historical problem in the two accounts too. If Mathew is right that Jesus was born during the reign of Herod then Luke cannot also be right that Jesus’ birth occurred when Quirinius was the governor of Syria because Quirinius did not become governor of Syria until 6 CE, ten years after the death of Herod. It is also recorded that Herod died in 4 BC or BCE so there is a gap of ten year between Herod’s death and Quirinius’ becoming governor of Syria. This argument is supported by many historical sources which include the Roman historian Tacitus, the Jewish historian Josephus and several other ancient inscriptions.
When Herod instructed the Roman soldiers to kill every male child aged two years and under, we can assume that Jesus was born in the two year period otherwise it would also imply that the soldiers were so dumb that they could not distinguish a baby born last week from a two year old child. The two accounts of Jesus’ birth are not harmonious as they tell completely different stories of how Jesus was born and some of the differences appear to be irreconcilable while some do not pass the historical test. Therefore the connection made is too far-fetched because we not only do not know the real date of the birth of Jesus but the two accounts also describe that Jesus was born at two different times and the difference is surprisingly 10 years apart. So the argument that the tri-planetary conjunction is real and has scientific backing is not even supported by the Bible.
Yours etc.,
G. Passah
Iawmusiang
Jowai
Mega dams and Maoist forums
Editor,
In the 7th century AD, when Buddhism was strengthening its hold over North India, a group from the priest class forwarded a new concept to arrest the growth of Buddhism. Gautama Buddha was declared the ninth incarnation or ‘avatar’ of Lord Vishnu (the Protector God of the Hindu Trinity). That gave a death blow to the expansion of Buddhist faith and ideals in the country of its origin.
Likewise, the stories of Maoists forming forums to resist big dams cooked in the power corridors of Delhi to be fed to the masses through the Tarun Gogois and Nabam Tukis of weak states like Assam and Arunachal Pradesh holds no water. Here we can quote the famous lines of Abraham Lincoln, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”
As for dams in China, it is the duty of the Centre to issue strict orders to the Chinese authorities not to meddle with water resources which happens to be the lifeline of these north-east states. If dams are really coming up in the Chinese side of the Brahmaputra, the numerically elected MPs of the greatest democracy in the world should speak up. It’s nice to know that the Indian government is so very concerned about the ‘development’ of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (an idea of ‘development’ which is again imposed and planned by a set of persons with no concern for mass welfare and sustainance of life in tune with nature).
If Tarun Gogoi and the company he works for (that is, the Indian Union Govt) wants the so called ‘Maoists Forum’ to oppose the big dams in China, that means, the Indian government is helpless and has made the ‘Maoists’ its spokespersons.
Yours etc.,
Pallavi Barua,
Shillong- 4.