Editor,
I am quite disappointed to see how bad ideas trend well whilst good ones are seldom mentioned. In your report on the “Love Jihad” you had mentioned how some NGO had approached the Tribal Affairs Minister with the objective of informing the minister about the perils it poses in border areas. One, Comely Gassah, had taken it upon himself to be a Messiah for the Hynniewtrep people. I think that if one were to go to any border area the intermixing between various races is more than evident. It has always been this way. Circumstances might favour one community over another and perhaps that might affect tolerance which is why a lot more effort needs to be put into these areas by government. This is the foible of these so-called champions of our society. They use the sorry state of development and political apathy by the State in the borderlands to create all sorts of tensions in areas that are hotbeds of inter-tribal discourse and relationships. There are always frictions in border areas; they are as old as the hills but most of the times “outsiders” jump on that wagon in order to gain political mileage. And why Love Jihad? If you are going to be racist at least be fair. We must not only point and single out Muslims, Mr Gassah. What about Hindus who lure “our girls” with Kama Sutra and Manu Smriti? Do you think you should also raise this issue with the Hindu Nationalist BJP? Please do I would love to read it in Shillong Times! Go on and tell them about the Love Yudh
Yours etc.,
Ka Babet Sten,
Via email
Speed breaker culture
Editor,
Nowhere in the world you see speed breakers pop up on the roads as miraculously as in Shillong city. A friend of mine once humorously remarked “In Shillong every family seems to own one speed breaker.” In the last one week I have counted about ten new speed breakers in two localities that I visited. It seems that every time the PWD comes to repair the roads new speed breakers are being added. Sometimes it is ridiculous to see a gap of less than 20 ft between two speed breakers. Some localities are notoriously full of speed breakers so that the whole stretch of road appears like a rumble strip. The question I want to put forward is: Is there no guideline for the PWD to determine where and how many speed breakers should be put up on any road? If there is such a guideline then why this random policy? Or are the local persons (even individual families) calling the shots in this matter? If so, then our government department is being controlled by the mob, not by experts. What I see beyond this speed breaker culture is the absence of an organized approach or a professional approach in the way our departments are functioning. What I fear most is that this speed breaker culture may gradually end up in a “development-breaker culture”. God save us from such fate!
Yours etc.,
B. Mawrie sdb,
Via email
A rejoinder
Editor,
The news item under the caption, “The case against Jonathone,” wherein the report states that some boys were selling “C” forms in the Dobu weighbridge, is highly misleading. Firstly, “C” forms are meant solely for the purpose of importing goods into the district/state as the case may be and cannot be used for the purpose of selling goods outside the state or to accompany the sale of goods being carried in coal-laden trucks. “The word weighbridge” means to weigh the goods being exported outside the state and generally coal is weighed for determining the exact weight carried in order to curb overloading. The mixed goods i.e gallamal purchased from outside and imported into the district are never weighed in weighbridges and only the importers of good from outside require ” C” forms. Therefore, the news item is not only misleading but also sinister in nature and it maligns the image of the Taxation department. We are not concerned with either Jonathone or Deborah but we are concerned with the ‘C” form sale stigma and want it erased..
Yours etc.,
S. Sangma
Tura
No discipline in this school!
Editor,
“He who opens a school door, closes a prison,” is a famous quote which defines a school and its system. But not all schools believe in the above adage. Many schools have become business centres more than centres of learning. There are numerous cases of students’ dropping out after they have failed in a certain class. To check the drop-out rate some schools allow their students to pass by any means. A reputed school in the Jail Road area is adopting such a practice. As a result children who fare well have lost the competitive edge. Parents send their children to school to receive education. However few male teachers of this particular school are seen everywhere except inside the school. Does this educational institution not have rules and regulations? How can the teachers roam around so freely during school hours? Doesn’t the administration question them? Doesn’t the school have any fixed timing of entry for teachers?
If schools are run this way then the students will have a bleak future. I’m sure if someone were to audit the school then many illegal acts might also come to light about this school. Teachers should preach honesty, not dishonesty. And the school as a whole should open its doors to wisdom and learning. So teachers wake up!
Yours etc.,
A concerned guardian