Editor,
TUR (Thma U Rangli-Juki) has done it this time. In its attempt to draw attention to religious divisive policies of the Union Government it has brought to the streets the same old weapons of fundamentalism that surely border on blasphemy. Surely, going on a protest march against the ban on cow slaughter with a lunch packet richly flavoured with spicy beef curry is the most irony-loaded strategy that one can effect. However, it leaves all religious sensitive people (and our State is full of them) with a sense of distaste and even grossness.
Granted, Amit Shah had come to Meghalaya in the capacity of the BJP National President. By all means every group that fights for the interests of the people of Meghalaya (both affluent and deprived) has all the right to welcome him in any democratic, decent way they like. But Shah is also an individual having his own religion and whose dietary habits are conditioned by his religious belief. Making a point by gulping a juicy piece of well stewed beef in the middle of the road in a State with a sizeable Hindu population does not, at least to me, seem very far from vandalising a church.
Yours etc,.
Banlam K Lyngdoh
Mawmluh, Sohra
Truly a Banana State !
Editor,
I salute the brave officer Yangchen D. Bhutia, IPS who stood up against the HYC ruffians in Sohra. Her clarification in, “Truth behind the Sohra incident,” does not come as a surprise however. It shows that pressure groups like HYC are the real culprits who pose a serious threat to honest officers serving in Meghalaya. Pressure groups will not allow Govt. officials to do their job without threats and intimidation. We keep reading of one pressure group or another threatening every Tom, Dick and Harry in the newspapers every single day. And through it all, the State Govt remains a mute spectator unable to stand up for its own officers, due to unwanted interference by no-good politicians in every sphere of governance. Is it any surprise that Meghalaya is still stuck in the 18th century (yes, bring back the ILP to complete the picture) and is on the fast track to extinction? It is all thanks to our pressure groups that Meghalaya today has no more relevance than the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the country’s scheme of things. We have managed to paint ourselves into a corner, fenced ourselves into a zoo, from which there is no escape. We have become an insignificant State of vision-less, crab-like people who can at best look forward to their yearly dole-out from the Central Govt. and nothing better. The Andamans are considerably better off if one takes into account their flourishing tourism industry, something Meghalaya can never emulate! We are a voice-less, bandh-loving people who aspire for fat bank accounts through theft and laziness. Our role models are thieving politicians and violent pressure groups. If this is not a society headed for extinction, then what is?
Whichever way we look at it, be it infrastructure, bureaucracy, people’s mindset, education or basic governance, everything has gone downhill very quickly since the 1980s. We keep harping on tourism, yet beat up tourists at the first opportunity. Roads are built to last from one monsoon to another and no further. Govt contracts are executed by minister-contractors who award these contracts to themselves and their relatives. Almost every govt official, minister and MLA is busy siphoning off public funds to their own bank accounts. Coal mining oligarchs, politicians, militants and policemen are all conspiring to rob the state of its natural resources by destroying the environment. The Law serves the interests of oligarchs alone. Our leaders are only interested in accumulating personal wealth, whether it be a DD Lapang, a Vincent Pala, a Julius Dorphang or a Mukul Sangma. These people, together with pressure groups, have reduced Meghalaya to a Banana State of lawless citizens.
Yours etc.,
Eric Lamare
Jayanagar
Bangalore.