ILP or IPL?
The words are tongue twisters especially for those who know very little about ILP but know more about IPL and its sordid saga. The present ILP conundrum in the state has taken a new turn. Most people who have to deal with this abbreviation pronounce it IPL instead of ILP. Now IPL stands for Indian Premier League which was conceived by the presently disgraced baron Lalit Modi. This cricketing event which has taken cricket to a new low is often mistaken for what the ILP protagonists are actually intending to entrench in Meghalaya – Eastern Bengal Frontier Regulation, 1873 conceived by the British regime during their rule in this part of the country. This is an act to filter movement of people and is not a cricketing game. But right from the vegetable and fish vendors at Iewduh to bus conductors, tourist taxi drivers and even some educated people feel easier to call it the IPL. Someone suggested that since the ILP has become the conundrum between two warring parties perhaps we should have a newly reconstructed jargon that with the extension of the initials IPL. Perhaps then both sides might agree to something because it would become an entirely new instrument. So-called uneducated people might not understand legal jargons but they also know the consequences of implementing the ILP only too well. A tourist vehicle driver was heard telling his passengers that henceforth it would not be conducive to venture into Shillong because of the IPL. Perhaps the solution to this vexed issue lies in its construction since the government is allergic to the word ILP and the other parties breathe, sleep and eat ILP. If only there was an umpire to this tug of war!
And now bouncers for a macho Govt!
Bouncers are normally engaged to keep unwanted rowdies out of clubs, pubs and discotheques. They are rarely hired by the government. But Saturday’s closing function to the 18 degrees arts and music extravaganza is also a new twist in Meghalaya’s rather chequered history. Bouncers are like robots. They are all brawns. You train them to do something; they follow instructions to the ‘T’. They must have been brainwashed to keep all nosey parkers out including the nosiest of them all – media persons. The other instruction is to not allow anyone without a card. Media persons must have thought the Press Card is good enough to gain entry into the exclusive, elitist and hallowed precincts of Soso Tham auditorium where all the beautiful people were gathered. Wrong number! The bouncers refused to even look at that little plastic press card worth nothing in their eyes. Evidently the organisers of the function felt that not enough cops are available to provide security for such esoteric events. The police are too busy guarding public and private property from the ever growing breed of miscreants that inhabit this city. Can’t say we blame the Government for engaging bouncers. After all night life has come to a standstill and without the late night hangers-on at pubs where is the need for bouncers?
What are we ready to die for?
The youth conference organised by Asian Confluence & Divya Jyoti Foundation brought together 150 young people from different parts of India and its neighbouring countries. Professor R Balasubramanian, leadership trainer and social innovator who also teaches at Cornell University, USA was one of the animators. He asked the group to answer the question, “What are you ready to die for?” A youth from Bhutan answered, “For peace.” The others were silent. The professor said, “If you don’t know what to die for you will also not know what to live for.” A profound thought indeed! How many actually engage in such profundities? If we did we might live life differently, someone in the audience said. Later after another session on history as a teacher for better understanding our neighbourhood, a young lady professional from Bangladesh Norela Tynsong informed the gathering that there are about 50,000 Khasi families in Bangladesh. She seemed happy and when asked how the minorities were treated she said they faced no discrimination. She comes from Jafflong in Sylhet Bangaldesh and said the entire Khasi fraternity watched the Shillong Chamber Choir performing at Sylhet. She wondered though how the ILP would affect her frequent visits here.