Editor,
Every Indian citizen is faced with a common problem which requires a quick remedy. In the India of today, discrimination has taken a new form and that is the so-called ‘VIP’ and ‘VVIP’ culture which is like a modern class system, prevalent throughout the country. I call this a form of discrimination because these so called “VIPs” and “VVIPs” demand ‘special’ treatment at the cost of the general public. For instance when a VIP visits a historical place, the site is usually closed to the public even before the ‘VIP’ arrives. If this is not discrimination then what is! Also when a VIP passes through a road, all traffic is stopped for a long period causing great inconvenience to the public. The red beacon trend among the VIPs is another nuisance. Many times VIPs misuse it for their personal needs. They have been pampered like small children with toys( the famous red beacon) which they misuse almost every day. When this pampered lot passes through a road it does not necessarily mean that the road is theirs, it’s a public property paid for by the tax payers and every Indian citizen owns it and so the police have no right to stop traffic just for the VIPs to pass. If they think that such action is needed because they need to go to work, they should know that the general public works too and suffers a great deal while waiting for the ‘important’ people to pass. All such acts make a VIP a ‘very irritating person’ instead of a ‘very important person’ but sadly they don’t understand that. VIPs should not be given extra ‘special’ statuses as they were once common people, chosen by common people and they may be out power when the common people deem it fit, after five years vote them out.
These VIPs are elected to take up issues that affect the people but today their agenda is only about what benefits them. The famous lines defining democracy as being a government ‘of the people, by the people and by the people’ sound shallow. Yet after every five years we still fall for the music of the ‘pied pipers’ and choose them for their new promises amd having elected them we begin to see the futility of doing so. Sadly this is a mirage we always fall for.
Yours etc.,
Banmankhraw Lyngdoh,
Upper Shillong
A clear misunderstanding
Editor,
Apropos the article written by A. Pyrtuh (ST March 5, 2015) the author by referring to Khasi-Pnar males as ‘hypocrites’ has actually included himself in the group. So what is the point of calling a few others hypocrites when he himself is one? Secondly, the author has seriously misunderstood tradition. His concept of tradition seems to emphasize only the dress code. By the way, dress code is only the cosmetic or the superficial aspect of culture. In culture/tradition there are “core elements” and there are “superficial elements” or in other words the “essence” and the “accidents”. What is of primary importance are the core elements and not the superficial aspects. Our worldview, our philosophy, our theological perception, our ethical code, our clan/family system, political system, folklore, language, are core elements of our culture/tradition and not our dresses. A person may appear in his full traditional attire but if he does not know how to speak Khasi, for instance, then how can we call him a Khasi. A German or an African may put on a Khasi traditional attire but does he become a Khasi? What will save a community from extinction is not by scrupulously preserving the traditional attire, but by preserving the core elements of culture. The danger we face today is actually the fact that many of our youth (particularly girls as the author mentions) may actually put on traditional dress (like jainsem) but in reality they have become ignorant about basic elements of our culture. It is better that they wear any dress but be well acquainted with Khasi culture/tradition than put on the cultural dress but being ignorant about culture/tradition. That is what I would call real hypocrisy.
Yours etc.,
Khrawpyrkhat Mawrie,
Via email
Police highhandedness
Editor,
The traffic police of Tura Town have the habit of deflating the tyres of vehicles parked in areas they deem improper. As per the rules, in case of traffic offences related to parking, a clamp is fitted to the tyre and a challan imposing a fine is issued to the offender. But why do the police deflate the tyres of vehicles parked in places where the ‘NO PARKING’ sign is absent? Adding to the misery, the same policemen deflate all four tyres of the vehicle. If such behavior is not termed as ‘harassment by the police’ then I cannot think of any other appropriate term. Above all I fail to understand how deflating the tyres of vehicles helps the police to regulate the flow of traffic. Would the public of Shillong forgive the traffic police if they puncture the tyres of vehicles wrongly parked? I urge the higher-ups in the Police Department and also the District Administration to look into the matter so that such inconvenience is not meted out to the people of Tura Town. I would also urge upon all the victimized citizens of Tura Town to come forward and express their displeasure and also condemn such acts so that car owners are not harassed in future.
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request,
Tura