Editor,
I write this in support of the views of Morningstar Sumer (MIL-compulsory etc. ST Nov 11, 2014) and against the emotional outbursts of Deficit teacher E D Nongsiang who stated that “English is alien to our culture and tradition” If it is true that the Board issued the notice on MIL one year ago, then the Human Rights groups etc. are mere outdated, sloppy ‘Jurrasic Park ‘vultures who got the smell of blood too late, in this digital day and age. In a state where student bodies are busy politicking it is only appropriate that scholarly and administrative issues will be taken up by semi-literate bodies. What a fall! It is in itself a major sign of sickness in any society.
I believe the Academic Committee of the Board did the right thing for the students. After all they too have sons and daughters who study in the State. But the overall educational atmosphere in Meghalaya is on the downslide. Right now there are thousands of Khasi boys and girls studying in schools in Assam (Guwahati) and other states. Mind you, in schools, not colleges. Why? They are voting with their feet because they are not happy with what they have in the State. I want to remind the Deficit teachers group, the Khasi Authors group, the Human Rights leader, of a saying written ten centuries before Christ (not Jingsneng Tymmen): ‘It is better to be a poor but wise youth than an old and foolish king who refuses all advice”.
In response to Mr Nongsiang’s outburst about the alienness (extraterrestrial?) of the English language and that it has no connection to Khasi culture (Khasi literature rests on solid foundation of English Christian literature), today, more than 15 pc of India’s population depend wholly on English for almost every part of their life. 90pc of people who use mobile phones right down to coolies and rickshaw-wallahs say ‘hello’ when their cell phones ring. The Dalits, the most oppressed people of India built the statue of their new god, the English language, because it becomes a passport to a better life. No one is being forced; they all choose English.
I remember very well ten years ago, while talking to Dr.Hiren Gohain of Gauhati University, then external examiner of PhD Khasi Deptt, NEHU. He bluntly asked,”What do they want, many PhD scholars without any quality?” What Mr Nongsiang and the likes of him do not understand is that in order to get PhD in Khasi one has to learn more English because the external examiners do not know Khasi – as simple as that!
Zareer Masani,well known author, wrote, “The real cleavage today is not between English and non-English speaking Indians, but between a liberal, cosmopolitan and modern civil society and the religious extremists, Hindu and Muslim (I will add Khasitvas) who want to return to the dark ages(or I say, the age of dih ‘iad- um and shad mastieh)”.
My fellow Khasis need to be reminded that we are today in a stage sung by Matthew Arnold less than 200 years ago, “Wandering between two worlds, one dead,/The other powerless to be born”.
Yours etc.,
Rasputin Bismarck Manners
Kolkatta.
Where do we park, Mr Kharkrang?
Editor,
As someone who has to struggle daily to find parking space in Laitumkhrah after driving through rush hour traffic, I appreciate Deborah Syiem for bringing up this issue. The existing parking lot in Laitumkhrah caters to less than 5% of the vehicle population in the area. The Shillong Municipal Board which leases out this congested parking lot has shown no inclination to expand and upgrade it. It is dirty, smelly and badly congested with narrow exits. Just to enter or exit this parking lot is a harrowing experience and inevitably causes traffic jams on the main road. This tiny area is the only place in Laitumkhrah where Shillong Traffic Police will allow us to park legitimately. If this is an example of how the city’s ‘think-tank’ works, then Shillong is already a doomed city! Traffic mastermind SP M Kharkrang surely cannot expect to rule the roads forever with parking fines without providing parking space to the growing number of vehicles. One needs to avoid ‘quick-fix’ remedies which cause more harm than good in the long run. Collecting fines is all very well, but where do we park legitimately, Mr Kharkrang?
Yours etc.,
Kevin Marbaniang
Shillong -4
‘‘Little Red Devil’’
Editor,
I believe I am not the only one who has had the misfortune to be mistreated and insulted by a driver of the Red Cab (JNNRUM sponsored). People have had different encounters with this carrier along the route that the writer experienced. It was quite an incident when a driver of a Red Cab with registration number ML-01-6939, drove from NEHU campus towards Motphran, (somewhere at around 4:50 P.M, of Friday, the 7th November 2014) and insulted this writer for politely asking for his rightful change of five rupees. The usual charge being Rs 15 per head I paid for 3 persons with a Rs 100 note. The driver returned only Rs 50 to me and when I asked for the remaining Rs 5, I got a barrage of abuse. The amount might be too small for the cab driver, but it is hard earned money, and does have some value for passengers, more particularly for students.
This off-handedness about returning change and belittling small denominations is rampant in every trade activity in Shillong and anyone who drives a hard bargain and wants a rupee or 50 paisa back is made to feel small. I fail to understand as to why people think that “to value something small, only shows that you are equally small”. It is about time someone makes our people understand the responsibility that comes along with the way we earn our livelihoods as also its dignity. This letter was written not only because the driver of the said vehicle committed an offence but more with the hope that the authorities will look into the matter and arrest such kind of misbehaviour. It is indeed time that drivers learn manners and etiquette about how to value their customers, and it should start with Government-run commercial vehicle drivers.
Yours etc.,
Wanshan.B.Khardewsaw
Shillong-02