Wednesday, November 27, 2024
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Boundary dispute

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Editor,

Apropos of the news “Some politicians, parties politicizing Langpih issue” (ST 15th July 2012), Chief Minister, Dr Mukul Sangma has rightly remarked so. He is equally correct that he is sure after the election the Langpih issue would again be forgotten. The Government of Meghalaya may have made efforts to support Meghalaya’s claim on the disputed areas with Assam with adequate documentary evidence but this alone will not serve the purpose. The need of the hour is for a Boundary Commission. The claim of the development work especially the construction of road that goes to Langpih through Riwiang is visible but the pace has to be speeded up along with a permanent Meghalaya Police Outpost which should be constructed and commissioned at the earliest so that it matches that of the Assam Police.

There is need to take action on the resolution adopted by the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on 16 March 2011 and move the Centre to set up the Boundary Commission on this vexed problem which is pending for the last four decades. The suggestion made by Paul Lyngdoh, Working President of the UDP to revive the Boundary Commission set up during the tenure of Late E K Mawlong former Chief Minister Meghalaya and Prafulla Kr Mahanta former Chief Minister of Assam should be revived as progress had been made on this front.

Further any settlement of the Assam-Meghalaya boundary must be in consonance with the Constitutional boundary as existed after the Constitution of India came into force as there are 12 points of disputes with Assam. Langpih is not the only issue. There are other boundary disputes in the 33 Rambrai-Jyrngam Constituency such as the one in Malangkona area of Nonglang Sirdarship, Rongthali -Thunaguri area of Raingsih Sirdarship and Tutia bazar area near Hahim in Jyrngam Sirdarship. All these areas are within the 33 Rambrai-Jyrngam Constituency.

We should not lose sight that the Assam-Meghalaya boundary cannot by-pass the fact that any constitutional interpretation of the boundary should be in consonance with the operation of the Constitution on 26th January 1950. If at all there is a problem whether a village or area is in Meghalaya or Assam, the Census 1951 will indicate the villages and areas on the Assam-Meghalaya boundary. The Electoral Roll of the District Council election 1952 will indicate the position of the villages and areas in question and the Legislative Assembly Election as well as Parliamentary Election 1952 will supplement the position of the villages or areas under controversy. As a medium and long term measure all sensitive and controversial villages on the 733 Assam-Meghalaya boundary, land records must be introduced without any loss of time.

Yours etc.,

Freddy Lyngdoh,

Via email

 Langpih agitation

 Editor

I was an ardent supporter of the Langpih agitation until I saw that KSU, HNYF, etc were making political mileage out of the situation. A serious matter has been turned into a joke. The police keeps arresting and releasing these people but no real action is taken. It wont be wrong to say they have an understanding with the police on such protests. The pattern is the same every time – arrest and release immediately, to cause further trouble. Somehow they even get their pictures in the papers posing like some kind of heroes! These are our future MLAs and Ministers, going by recent history- all troublemakers to the core and protected by politicians. One can imagine what glory such individuals will bring to our state in the future. I feel sorry for the people of Langpih that their sincere protest has been hijacked in this shameful manner.

Yours etc.,

J Marak

Shillong-1

 Women unsafe

 Editor,

Tragic stories about women have been appearing in the newspaper and TV screens. The so called fairer sex of the society and believed by many to be the weaker sex have always been the first and last victims of evil disguised as a rapist, a molester, a murderer The sad part is women from the northeast are the most vulnerable targets in metro-cities like Delhi and Mumbai, stories of whom are often told in the daily news. But it is even more painful when we are targeted in our own home by our own people.

The fact is that we are not safe in our own homes and streets. The recent incident of a young girl being molested by a group of men in Guwahati is shocking! This shows that our laws are still lax ; offenders are committing crimes without fear of the consequences. Many are still lurking around searching for another victim. The question is ‘when will all this end? It’s ironic that in spite of all the legal remedies and attaining democracy we are still wounded.

Yours etc.,

Dopi Riba

SMU, Shillong

 Can we revive good traditions?

 Editor,

I would like to remind people about the declining Khasi practice of Men-suhsyntiew or ( match maker). In the early days, parents of young marriageable adults used to take the help of these Men-suhsyntiew to find suitable and worthy spouses for their children. These men-suhsyntiew are usually relatives and family friends and they execute the task voluntarily without looking for rewards. With the passage of time this practice seems to have faded out of our culture. With the present grim situation and difficulty for the young themselves to find a bride or groom there is need to retrospect upon this almost extinct practice which has helped chalk out the matrimonial paths of our predecessors. Most parents of this generation worry about the marital status of their children and wonder if they would find a man or woman of worth and whether they would have a happy married life. It is time to reinvent the men-suhsyntiew so that they can help in looking around for brides and grooms who are compatible with each other. In this age of unemployment, this system can be taken as an occupation and with the growth of communication it can be more streamlined and brought at par with other match making websites like shaadi.com or matrimony .com etc. By reviving this once vibrant system the Khasi community would be doing a great service to itself since so many men and women who are educated are unable to find their life partners.

Yours etc.,

Lionel Pyngrope

Ri Bhoi district

 Amendment Bill or Repealing Act ?

 Editor,

I have just received and read a copy of the so-called The Meghalaya Transfer of Land (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010 and I am shocked to see and read what is in it.

The statement of intent or preamble reads “A Bill further to amend the Meghalaya Transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 1971. So far so good. The sentence following this reads “Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of Meghalaya in the sixty first year of the Republic of India as follows : Then follows Section 1 which reads “This Act may be called the Meghalaya Transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 2010. Numbing shock !

It is incredible, to say the least, that the Bill titled “The Meghalaya Transfer of Land (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2010, intended to “further amend the Meghalaya Transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 1971” is given a short title in section 1 reading “This Act may be called “The Meghalaya Transfer of Land (Regulation) Act, 2010.” Horror !!! a bill of 2010 to amend an Act of 1971 is given a title elevating it to a full-fledged Act which literally means that the Act of 1971, which it is intended to amend is actually repealed ! Do our legislators realize the enormity of their gaffe ?

May we ask the legislators to enlighten and shed light on whether they had intended to just amend the Act of 1971 or to repeal it by this newly enacted Act or Amendment Bill of 2010

Comment on the provisions would be pointless. However, I cannot help commenting on the provisions of clause (a) of the so-called new Section 3A which provides recognition of “personal law” of any citizen in Meghalaya. We oppose any recognition of personal law in our society.

Finally, one may ask why any Act or amendment to any Act in the State’s statutes should require the assent of the President of India :does the Constitution require it? The State governor’s assent ought to have been sought and obtained. Further, why was there no debate in the Assembly before enacting any Act ?

Yours etc.,

Morning Star Sumer,

Shillong – 2

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