Editor,
Residents of Cleve Colony should wake up and take note of the crimes that take place in their locality.
I was shocked to see the news item in your paper (ST February 13, 2014) and other vernacular dailies on the assault of an innocent victim from Mawlai at Cleve Colony by the local boys. I had always considered Cleve Colony as a posh and safe area as most of the residents there are highly educated people. Also the headman of Cleve Colony is a retired senior bureaucrat who is highly respected. So is the general secretary of the locality an educated person. Last month Cleve Colony was awarded the 2nd prize at the Meghalaya Day 2014, for being the cleanest locality. This is a great privilege for the residents. But a fortnight ago I saw in the local television channel that three youngsters were arrested at Laitumkhrah for drug peddling. One of the accused is a resident of Cleve Colony. Again, within a week, two local boys of Cleve Colony who returned home drunk from a late night party (February 12, 2014) badly assaulted an innocent person from Mawlai. It appeared to be a case of attempted murder case. Strangely, though such incidents take place in Cleve Colony there is not a word of condemnation from the educated, high profile residents of that locality.
It is time to wake up and unearth the truth. Please do not shield the culprits just because they come from affluent families and are local boys. It is shameful for a high profile area to pretend that all is well and remain a silent spectator to the ugly incidents of crime created by few goondas of the locality. Further, I urge upon the law enforcers not to be biased but to bring the culprits to book.
Yours etc.,
N. S. Nongsteng
Shillong -8
Racism – an introspection
Editor,
The feeling of alienation is not something we cherish. Whenever we leave our homes in search of a better life, many of us feel alienated. Of course, in time we make new friends and gradually we make the new city/country our home. But what should we do when we are treated as outsiders in places which we like to call home? There is then a cruel sense of alienation that is hard to describe. Many non-indigenous people who have lived in the North East for generations can understand this feeling of alienation. When Pynshngain L Lyngdoh touched about the issue of reverse racism (ST February 20, 2014) it touched a chord deep down many hearts. After what happened to Nido Tania in New Delhi, it is only natural for everybody in the North East, including the non-indigenous people, to come together and cry foul. But who cries foul when the same kind of treatment is meted out to the non-indigenous people here? As residents of Shillong, we don’t have to go too far back in our memory to get an example of such kind of murderous incidents.
India’s dynamics makes it compulsory for different ethnicities to live together. There is no way, practically, where we can live separately. Then why do we continue to harp on our cultural identity and the threats over it? Isn’t it time to introspect and see whether we have gone wrong in respecting our cultures and preserving our identities. As the great American war hero Cesar Chavez quoted, “Preservation of one’s own culture doesn’t require contempt or disrespect for other cultures”. Just as so-called ‘mainland Indians’ need to respect people of the North East, the indigenous communities here should return the same favour.
Yours etc.,
Reetasri Bhattacharjee
Shillong – 6
Election extravaganza
Editor,
Soon the world shall witness one of the most influential events on planet earth, namely the 16th Lok Sabha elections in India. The people of the world’s largest (approximately 1.3 billion people) and possibly one of the greatest democracies will exercise their franchise. It is now hoped that the people of India will rise above party, caste, religious, etc. affiliations and vote only for honest, capable, and nationalistic leaders. Hopefully, the rest should automatically fall into place.
While India surely has made great progress in many disciplines, nevertheless, the disease of corruption is sapping the vitality of our nation. Hence, it is overdue the public of India show their maturity in electing the finest of our people. Moreover, even though corruption is a common phenomenon in most areas in the country, India has often been quite fortunate to have honest, intelligent and educated leaders to lead her. Hence, we have succeeded in moving ahead, though sadly we are still in no way close to attaining our full potential.
Yours etc.,
Dr. Upinder Fotadar
New York City,U