Editor,
I cannot disagree more with PD Nongrum’s letter “Religion, Tradition and Custom” (ST, Oct 15, 2016). The writing on the wall is clear as Mr. Nongrum puts it, “To say that Christianity has in no way affected the Khasi way of life, traditions, customs and beliefs would only be self denial.” Frankly, the besmirching of Khasi society or in greater parlance the tribal society of Meghalaya, which is no frog’s pond, could have been prevented had they been left alone to practice their own customs, traditions, faith, practices and all that on which their indigenous livelihood sustained. The doomsday started when, as I have said in my Oct 4 letter, the British Raj set its foot in these hills to preach, although their contribution towards education is not contested. This nefarious design of the Christian Missionaries of the British Raj is an inescapable fact as Mr. Nongrum sees it clearly how the Missionary opportunists robbed Khasi religion, tradition and practices by spreading falsehood and lies to lay the foundation of their own religion. Something which is built on the foundation of fallacy is bound to have repercussion and this is what we are seeing today in Meghalaya.
I have never tried to attack Christianity as Cassandra Syiemlieh in her letter “Loss of indigenous culture?” (ST, Oct 10, 2016) has presumed; rather mine was a pointer to the ulterior religious motives of the British Raj and their missionaries, which readers like Mr Nongrum have deciphered correctly. Had these missionaries been led, say, by an Islamic Raj, Buddhist Raj and what have you, if not the British Raj, my take on them would not have been discounted even by an inch to that of my current one. Even if we are to see the universal religion of Christianity, which according to Syiemlieh, “originated from the navel of the globe; neither East nor West…”, it is a fact today that Europe and Americas have the maximum number of people going away from it in search of their fathomable abode. It is perhaps not that hard to see the biting reality here.
Yours etc.
PK Dwivedi
Shillong – 1
Cover up job by NEHU Law Dept
Editor,
The letter by Kynjaimon Amse (ST Oct 15, 2016) captioned, “False allegations against NEHU law dept” is shocking because the writer is clearly trying to cover up the faulty methods adopted by the organizers of the Moot Court, Law Department, NEHU which has been conducted most unprofessionally.
Unfortunately, the writer cleverly drags the Hon’ble Chair of the Chief Justice, Judicial Officials and other eminent and learned Advocates in the picture, thereby trying to camouflage the wrongdoings of the organizers. In fact, the letters dated 8 & 13 October 2016 have in no way expressed the inefficiency and dissatisfaction of the participants on the performance of the judges. We respect the judges and their decisions, and they are the most capable to be the judges for such competitions. The two letters had emphasized the faulty method adopted by the organizers during the elimination round. I wonder how the writer can claim without having full knowledge of the facts that the letters are ‘baseless’ and ‘defamatory’ in nature when all they have done is point to the truth which is known to all participants. And to proclaim that the published letters are ‘false allegations’ is repugnant, ridiculous and contradicts the facts.
The fact is that as a participant of the competition, I had sought information prior to the scheduled date of the competition to clarify doubts about some procedures pertaining to the competition other than those prescribed in the official rules and regulations. This privilege is granted by the organizers themselves under clause ‘H’ of the Official Rules And Regulations for the NEHU National Moot Court Competition, 2016, posted on their website, which I believe Mr. Amse should have read before commenting on the points pertaining to the enquiries. With regards to the draw of lots, the organizers had already done so and I am grateful for that but that also was not due to our fault. The organizers did not declare the timing for drawing of lots. They have done it to suit to their own interests and we did not object to that. Before this I visited NEHU on October 4, 2016 around 2.00 pm to enquire about the exact timing for drawing of lots. They told me that I should come at 9.30 am on October 5, 2016 the day of competition. I complied with the instruction and my team and I reached the place at 9.20 am i.e. 10 minutes before the scheduled time communicated to us the day before by one of the organizers. However, to our surprise, when we reached the campus we were informed that the lots had been drawn in the morning. Someone from the organizers had drawn the lots for us. There too we raised no objections. Therefore, it is baseless and ridiculous to blame us for not being present during the draw of lots when the organizers are themselves unable to fix the proper timing for it. So just stop the justification!
Kynjaimon Amse should not pass the blame to others and mislead the public with half baked facts and also not try to cover up (as best expressed in Khasi words i.e. “tap eit miaw”) the organizational failures. And for the writer to conclude that our last minute enquiries amount to lack of sincerity and preparedness is shameful, objectionable and irrational. If the writer wishes to be convinced by the facts about whether we are really ‘prepared or whether we are insincere, he can arrange a public debate between us in the presence of the media. I am sure this will suffice to prove to the world who is ignorant and who is competent; who is speaking the truth and who is lying.
Yours etc.,
Peter Aiborlang Dohkrut
Shillong – 17