Editor,
Apropos to the rejoinder by Mr M Kharkrang IPS, SP, East Khasi Hills ((ST March 23, 2016), it is unfortunate for a person of his stature to retort without grasping the meaning of the letter. It clearly shows that he is hasty and lacks sensitivity and it actually puts him in a poor light. First of all let me clarify that I never identified myself as the daughter of a retired police officer (a fact that was not verified). So why personalize the issue? Secondly, no favour was sought from any quarter but only the facts were stated. Thirdly, I was there at the spot with my daughter (who is incidentally not Kosini Hynniewta the undersigned) when the calls were received. Was Kharkrang at the spot that he could certify the tone and tenor of the caller? To defend the police force so vehemently is to be biased. Fourthly, my daughter was not against being summoned but the terse manner in which the summon was made and the handling of the case that turned into a harassment and was therefore unprofessional. Lastly, to claim that the lady police officer is on duty 24×7 is unthinkable, otherwise my daughter should have met her at the police station when she reported there.
Yours etc.,
Kosini Hynniewta,
Shillong-5
Shillong on my Mind
Editor,
Shillong has always been and will always be on my mind! The best years were spent growing up in Shillong. But I never learned much about the culture, apart from the dress and food i.e.; of my home town. It was always cosmopolitan and the leanings were always more towards the westernized culture be it music, lifestyle or otherwise. So it is great to know that the Monolith Festival is happening. The images and visuals from the advertisements are mind blowing and I wish I could be there to take in the sights and sounds. But I got to know about it rather late so I could not reschedule work but I will definitely try to be there for the next festival
From the visuals on the Monolith Festival the celebration of the Khasi way of life that has a profound spiritual relationship with nature and the respect and gratitude that the people have for the land and for the natural resources is brought to light in the most poignant way. From what I understand the Monolith Festival 2016 will showcase the rich tapestry of culture not just to entertain but to educate and to get a glimpse of the roots that define the identity of being a Khasi by highlighting the embodiment of the Khasi culture with nature which is manifested in the music and the instruments, the arts, the sacred groves, the living bridges, the traditional healers, the food, the traditional games, in the folk lore and belief systems etc. It’s great to know that the Iew bah will be part of the festival too. I remember taking people from Nagaland to Bara Bazar and getting thoroughly lost there. It was fun! The Khasis as a community through their collective perspective on the political, social, economic and cultural norms have thrived for generations and the Monolith Festival 2016 will give testimony to this in a visual narrative and sensory experience that is vibrant, dynamic, embracing the essence of what it is to be, to know the roots, and to be able to coax the good earth to give its abundance, its healing power, its music, its gifts…. The theme and the visuals say it all….. Feel Culture!
Shillong revisited will be surely enriching and profound; especially when it is timed with the Monolith festival.
Yours etc.,
- Longkumer,
Dimapur
Climate of religious intolerance in India
Editor,
It is undoubtedly disgraceful and outrageous that the Modi Govt. has recently denied visas to the American members of US Commission on International Religion Freedom (USCIRF) to come to India to see for themselves the reported religious persecution that have been unleashed by some Hindu fanatics on the religious minorities. Markedly, if the USCIRF is unhesitatingly accorded permission to visit some of the countries that have earned infamy in terms of religious practices like Pakistan, Saudi Arabic, Myanmar, China and even by regions with dubious human rights record on religious freedom, I can’t see why the same is being unashamedly negated in this country, the abode of Lord Buddha and Gandhi, the apostle of peace and tolerance?
This studied refusal of the said visas on the part of the BJP led Government in Delhi will, in the final analysis lead to the path of majoritarian totalitarianism as veritably exemplified, of late, in Rajasthan, a BJP ruled state, where a group of Kashmiri students of Mewar University were arrested for allegedly cooking beef and the subsequent tortures and hanging of two cattle traders in Jharkhand on March 18 last, reportedly perpetrated by the Hindu vigilante sections who have become so viciously emboldened with the installation of the BJP to power in New Delhi since May, 2014. Hence such revolting incidents which are seemingly going out of control as of now in India, synchronizing with the said denial of visas to USCIRF have given widespread credence world-wide of India’s religious intolerance and thus vindicates the Shakespearean dictum: ‘Something, is rotten in the state of Denmark’(read India)
Yours etc.,
Jerome Diengdoh
Shillong-2