Editor,
Apropos the letter, “Who rules the State, KSU or Government” (ST June 9 2012) Mr.Steven Jyrwa should know that Meghalaya is ruled by politicians and the Khasi Student’s Union (KSU) has been in the forefront not to create havoc but to check the anti- people policies of various governments that have ruled Meghalaya for the last 34 years since 1978, the year when KSU came into being. The KSU have made it a slogan to oppose not all development but development which goes against the well being of the indigenous people. KSU is a student body and has every right to interfere with the affairs of the state when the state of affairs is not right. In fact people should be made aware that the KSU has been taking up issues which are for the benefit of the people and it is absolutely incorrect to say that it is taking the people of Meghalaya for a ride.
The objection against the railway is not new; it started in the mid seventies and the issue needs to be considered rationally. Keeping in mind the main thrust of the hill people when spear heading the hill state movement, it was to enable them to be masters in their own land and develop according to their genius, keeping intact the tribal identity and its distinctiveness. It is towards this end that the KSU felt that the people of Meghalaya need to maintain the ratio of tribal population in the State and the economic dominance of public from outside the state should not eventually pose a threat to our ethnic identity and therefore opposed the railway project.
Mr. Steven Jyrwa should visit Tripura and Sikkim and study for himself what is the position of the indigenous Borok and other tribes in Tripura and the Lepchas of Sikkim today. Late Jawaharlal Nehru the first Prime Minister of India described the Khasis as a ‘microscopic minority’ and passionately pleaded to protect their identity and that they be allowed to develop according to their own genius by adopting and implementing a policy that protects the identity of the local people. We owe our gratitude to politicians like Late BB Lyngdoh and Martin Narayan Majaw for the present land laws that we have which protects us. People should open their eyes that it is only the KSU that is championing the cause of the people by raising issues where politicians have failed. A railway Station in Byrnihat may indeed be an opening to economic affluence but nevertheless a gateway for influx into the state. The KSU which came into existence in 1978 realized fully well that development should not be merely for the sake of development. Development should be such that it does not endanger the social and ethnic identity of the Khasis. The KSU does not want to be swarmed by hordes of outsiders and thereby become what Tripura and Sikkim is today. It is an open fact that railways will be a bonanza to industrialists and business people now based at Byrnihat who are mostly non- Meghalayans. Only a fool will say that railways will bring down prices. After all, India imports 70% of its oil from outside the country while the Government of India annually collects rupees 1.5 lakh crores as taxes from petroleum products. If prices are to be brought down in Meghalaya which impacts the citizens, I feel that the Congress led Government in the state should emulate the BJP government in Goa and bring down the prices of petroleum products by removing the taxes so that the people can cushion inflation.
Yours etc.,
Bajop Pyngrope,
St Edmund’s College,
Shillong
Travails of an ordinary traveller
Editor, ,
While all of us lead our lives, have we not become so cruel and insensitive to ourselves that we often tell ourselves forget it , ‘let’s not question, not ask, let’s just be thankful that it was not worse.’ I have also been doing this but I want to now raise some issues.
I travel often to Guwahati by Sumo or by the tourist taxis from any of the places that they move from (from time immemorial there is no one place where we get a vehicle). The process of getting a vehicle and sitting in it is so messy and unorganised in Shillong that I wonder whether the Hon’ble Transport Minister or Home Minister or Even the Chief Minister have ever even considered it an issue. They will not because they do not need to…but for the ordinary citizen who does not own a car or even owns one but cannot afford the cost of fuel, the journey begins in unpleasantness and often ends in agony.
The touts who manage these vehicles are so rude and ill mannered that your fresh morning often begins with a fight or argument. The drivers are not registered, do not know basic manners and have no consideration for gender and do not care for any authority. This is because they pay the Police on a monthly basis for the illegal parking they do, the excess passengers they push in, or the overcharging that they resort to. But nobody cares. You lodge a complaint. Nobody bothers unless you know someone in the police force personally, you do not matter. The mindset in a passenger is now one of resignation to the whims and fancies of these drivers. For the tourist who comes to Shillong it’s a nightmare. Taxis charge exorbitant rates for dropping to nearby places. Civil hospital to Laitumkhrah Rs 250. Civil hospital to Polo Rs 350. In no time the tourist realizes that she/he has been cheated and carries along a negative image of Shillong. Evenings in Police Bazar are horrible for taxi seekers. There is total chaos and the taxi drivers taking advantage of the situation not only overcharge but also break every rule in the law book. I was once in a taxi that put three passengers on the front seat and this was despite the fact that one of them was a teenage girl. When I raised a voice of protest, I was ordered to get down or keep quiet.
This is the scene everywhere. No rule of law. None to enforce the law! All have been taken care of , all the powers that be have got their palms greased so Its business as usual. Mr. Transport/Home and Chief Minister wake up to this inconvenience that thousands of passengers face every weekend or holiday. Take Pune as an example and see how organised the local transport and Inter-State Transport has become. We do not need luxurious buses or cars. What we need is an organised system where passengers can travel with dignity and reasonable comfort and where law breakers are punished and penalized adequately.
Yours etc.,
Gopal Purkayastha,
Via email