Editor,
Finally Meghalaya Government has taken the right step to stop bandh culture by setting up special courts for these cases and demanding compensation from bandh sponsors. I hope this order is implemented in letter and spirit to get rid of bandhs which is weapon of NGOs but worst enemy of common people.
Yours etc.,
Gregory Marbaniang
Shillong -14
Tenancy Act should include rent regulation
Editor,
The Tenancy legislation proposed by the government comes at the right time. But it needs to be comprehensive. It should address various aspects of the influx issue through regulation of landlords and tenants, and also a system for rationalizing rents in Shillong. Due to lack of a Rent Control authority in Meghalaya and housing shortage, tenants are at the mercy of landlords. Rents in the city defy imagination. It is more expensive to rent a house in Shillong today than in most Tier I cities. Unscrupulous people are taking advantage of the situation to victimize tenants with unjustifiably high rents. This needs to be addressed urgently for the betterment of society and poor people in particular. The Tenancy Act is the right instrument at the right time to bring in these necessary changes. Hope government does the needful.
Yours etc.,
Regards,
Jason B. Kharkamni
Shillong-3
ILP and the indigenous community
Editor,
In this whole ILP debate I think it is important to make a distinction between the power of conscience and popular ideologies …
It sounds very populist to agree without questioning this notion that the identity of the indigenous community must be saved. Capitalistic global society has had a de-racinating impact on all of humanity — not just on the indigenous community. It tends to make us lose roots by luring us away from the organic traditional culture to the realm of instrumental universals, like technology. Nevertheless … salvaging an identity and a culture can sometimes come at the cost of totalitarian ideologies. No identity is worth saving if it comes at the cost of snatching food and basic needs away from the hungry and the dispossessed, regardless of whether they are natives or aliens.
The greater question therefore is one of priority. Which is the more important priority … mitigating the hunger of the alien/illegal Bangladeshi worker or any other worker … or preserving an identity?
No identity can be as important as our common humanity. All identities tend to be blinders to true self-knowledge. Conscience leads to self-knowledge … ideologies lead to communalism and reverse communalism.
Yours etc.,
Deepa Majumdar,
Via email
A repeat story
Editor,
It has been a while that I have been hearing about the ILP issue and all the events that have been taking place because of it. The so called NGOs and the pro ILP activists think that by engaging themselves in street violence, bandhs and arson will be able to achieve what they want. The truth is that they are simply disrupting the daily life of the common man living in and around Shillong. They are not doing any good to with these sort of activities which is basically protecting the interests of a few selected people and themselves. These NGOs in the name of ILP are disrupting the peaceful situation of the state. The festive season is just round the corner but if these activities continue the non tribal community will not be able to enjoy these few days of joy. They will always have a sense of fear in their minds. As a result they will leave the city for better and peaceful living at some point of time. Also since the tourists visit this place during the festive season, the tourism industry will also suffer.
Since 1979, it has always been the same old situation. The peace in the state gets disrupted due to some reason but it is the non tribal community that has always come under the axe. These people get harassed, beaten up and their daily livelihood gets hindered. The government and the law enforcement agencies also do not provide any protection to this community and ultimately these people end up leaving the state in order to have some peace in their lives. As a result, the non tribal population of the state has reduced over the years. Also the ILP is not the only solution to control the influx of outsiders in the state. The NGOs have simply taken up the issue to harass the non tribal population of the state and force them to leave. It is always important to protect the interests of the indigenous people of the state but this does not mean that the non tribal communities will have to suffer for this purpose. Also, why are the people who are settling in Shillong after coming from other parts to make a living, referred to as illegal immigrants. It is the right of any Indian to settle in any part of the country regardless of his background. So why are these communities (especially non tribals) being harassed in Meghalaya(which is an Indian state) for no reason? I, being a non tribal, personally feel that if this situation continues I will feel ashamed to call myself a Shillongite and will not return to the place where I was born. I will call upon others of my community to do the same thing.
Yours etc.,
S. Dey,
Via email