Editor,
Meghalaya has regressed to a state of anarchy where the elected government has little say over the lives of its citizens. It is NGOs and NGOs alone, who decide who lives and who dies. The Government is merely a disinterested bystander waiting for the charade to play out (at its own pace) so that it can get back to doing what it does best – no work and all play. If that sounds like an exaggeration, let me assure you that nothing is closer to the truth as its stands today.
Democracy is dead in Meghalaya. It was on life-support all these years anyway, till we collectively pulled the plug on it. The NGO is now Lord and Master over all he surveys. No God or Supreme Being can hold a candle to him. He fears nothing and nobody. He is the Ultimate Mercenary who can choose his battles and command his wages. Politicians grovel before him; intellectuals defer to his infinite wisdom; businessmen are his bankers, policemen simply explode into flames in his flaming presence, while men of religion inwardly bless him for not snatching away their right to pray (yet). The NGO demands that his fiefdom must be guarded by tall electrified fences to keep out obnoxious earthlings. His territory must be uncontaminated by racial mixtures or the evils of development like jobs, smooth roads, running water and electricity. Those who serve the NGO Deity would not have to work a day in their lives; all jobs would be abolished in short order. Money would just keep flowing in from The Great Money Tree in the Sky like magic. One would only have to give a little shake (down) to The Great Money Tree a.k.a Central Govt of india, once every 5 years before elections. In short, Ka Jaitbynriew would never have to worry about the abominations of the developed world such as jobs, money, food, education and infrastructure. It is hardly surprising why the good people of Meghalaya have chosen NGO Nirvana over Good Governance today. All power to us!
Yours etc.,
Glory Lyngdoh
Shillong-3
Some answers please!
Editor,
Is it possible to know at least the salient points of the Report / Recommendations submitted by the the Lanong Committee . When the Committee was constituted was there a provision that it was mandatory for the Government to accept the recommendations in toto ?
Yours etc.,
Rudi Warjri,
Via email
UDP should learn from others’ mistakes, not repeat them!
Editor,
I am happy that UDP is going to Guwahati to attend the regional parties conclave hosted by Asom Gana Parishad. There are many lessons for UDP to learn from the failures of AGP. This once powerful regional party comprising of ex-student leaders was thrown out of power because of autocratic and ham-handed style of functioning, rampant corruption and nexus with ULFA. Assam saw two major army operations against ULFA during its turbulent tenure and the Assamese have not forgiven them for that. Their position in Assam politics is totally untenable in the present day. Sadly, UDP appears to be going the same way as AGP as its policies are a mirror image of the latter.
Yours etc,.
K. Nongbri
Nongpoh
CCTV lies and half-truths
Editor
DGP PJP Hanaman’s explanation for the delay in installation of CCTV is a flimsy excuse intended to mislead the public. He says – “The government is examining the latest system rather than wasting money on an outdated system”. What “latest system” have our tech savvy policemen been examining for almost two years? What is good enough for a metro city like Kolkata or Delhi should be more than sufficient for Shillong, I dare say. There hasn’t been any ground-breaking innovation in CCTV hardware technology that requires this kind of research and deep contemplation by a state police dept. I will safely hazard a guess that CCTV will still be “under examination” by our experts long after DGP Hanaman himself has retired! Does the DGP care to contradict my statement with some clever half-truths?
Yours etc.,
Chris Shullai,
Shillong-3
Respect the Puja please!
Editor,
The ILP issue seems unending. We have reached almost an impasse where both opposing parties, the NGOs and the Government are at loggerheads. The CM’s remarks about the NGOs is rather uncalled for and it is going to worsen matters in the coming days. I foresee a lot of bandhs, office picketing and road blocks. As a Christian I am more anxious because this month of October is a time of Puja for our Hindu brethren. I would appeal to the good sense of the NGOs not to disrupt the religious programmes because they are sacred. I would expect them to put off the public protests for this month of October and perhaps resume them later on if the issue is still unresolved. I am afraid that if the Puja is disrupted it will only add fuel to fire. It will undoubtedly give an undesirable religious tone to the ILP issue which we would least want it to happen. Besides as Christians we are expected to respect other religions and uphold the right to worship as we would expect others to do the same towards us in other parts of the country where we are a minority group. Let us hope and pray that some good sense prevails over our leaders.
Yours etc.,
B. Mawrie