Editor,
Through your esteemed daily I convey my sincere gratitude to Meghalaya Police particularly Shillong Traffic Police for their immense effort in managing the traffic all over the Shillong town during the 12th SAF games. I also extend my sincere thanks to the NCC cadre for their restless presence. The Meghalaya police has made Shillong proud. Although this time it was a partial event but it has proved that Shillong is capable of organizing this type of mega event in full. Finally I congratulate all the concerned for the grand success of the 12th SAF games held at Shillong.
Yours etc.,
Krishnendu Deb,
Via email
Half-baked opinion!
Editor,
Apropos Banrilang R Wahlang’s critique of Dr Donkupar Roy’s statement through your esteemed daily, I only wish to thank him for his opinion which even the apex court seems to disagree with. However, this exposes his vested interests in trying to put Dr Roy in poor light by not reading the entire contents but simply interpreting the headlines. His lack of understanding of the intricacies of law and constitutional matters is clear and his opinion on the future of our President, is but best suited for him who undoubtedly does not belong to those who anticipate change.
Yours etc.,
Rayonald Kharkamni
Chief Youth Organiser,
UDP-State Youth Wing
Importance of Mother Tongue
Editor,
It was first announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999 that 21 February would be observed as International Mother Language Day every year to promote the preservation and protection of all languages. The date, 21 February, was chosen to honour the language martyrs who were killed in the streets of Dhaka on this day in 1952 when they were demonstrating for the inclusion of Bangla as one of the national languages of East Pakistan. However, it is really interesting to find a motherly connection with those two dates with the life of The Mother (Born Mirra Alfassa in Paris in 1878) as 21 February is her birthday and 17 November is the day on which she left her body (in Pondicherry in 1973). Is it mere coincidence? Now, let us recall another such sweet handshake between Sri Aurobindo’s birthday and India’s Independence Day. Is it just another game of chance? In his message on the day of India’s Independence, Sri Aurobindo said, “August 15th is my own birthday and it is naturally gratifying to me that it should have assumed this vast significance. I take this coincidence, not as a fortuitous accident, but as a sanction and seal of the Divine Force that guides my steps on the work I began life, the beginning of its full fruition”. Sanction and seal of the Divine Force must have been behind all the languages of the world. We need to protect them for our own survival. It is unfortunate that thousands of languages are under the threat of extinction. Most of them are spoken by either aboriginal or tribal people. Their extinction would lead to the loss of a storehouse of information on tropical medicines and herbs available only in these languages. We are going to become almost an alien in our Mother Earth if we lose valuable information and knowledge about her treasure. So, it would not be an iota of exaggeration if we compare language imperialism with matricide. On the day of 21 February, 2016, I must salute all the language martyrs of the world. Now, it is time for me to call my own Mother wherever she is in this infinite universe to say, “Mother, I bow to Thee!” Then I will repeat the same to The Mother on her birthday and to all the Mothers of the world. Again, my tongue wants to say to my Bangla Mother and to all the Language Mothers of the world, “Mother, I bow to Thee!”
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata