Editor,
Let me start by shedding some light on our history.Most people are perhaps all too familiar with the theory that the Khasi people migrated into India from somewhere around Cambodia since the assumption is that our language has the same roots as the Khmer language which is spoken in Cambodia.But very few people I guess know about another theory which is supported by a vast section of academicians. The Khasi people are the only tribe in the whole of North Eastern India that belong to the Proto-Austroloid race and there is some consensus among historians and linguists alike that the Khasi language basically belongs to the same group of languages spoken by some of the tribals in Central and Eastern part of India.The close similarity between the Khasi language and the language spoken by the Munda tribe that resides in Jharkhand is a case in point.The German scholar Schmidt is a passionate supporter of this theory.
The Supreme Court in a landmark judgement passed a few years ago came to the conclusion that the tribals residing in mainland India are the original inhabitants of India and that every effort must be taken for their economic upliftment since this group of people are the most deprived and oppressed lot in the whole of the country.If we piece together the puzzle we can safely say that out of all the original inhabitants of this great country of ours we are the most advanced in terms of human development.When the more powerful Dravidian and Aryan race arrived in India we took the migration route to finally settle in this part of the country and there has been no looking back ever since.We were one of the first people in the region to have access to good quality higher education. The fact that the only tribal member of the Constituent Assembly from the North East is a Khasi speaks volumes of this fact. But the main problem with the rest of us today is that we chose to remain stagnant while others leapfrogged ahead of us.We still love to play the part of the neglected adopted child.A captivating serial,”This is Us” is currently running on American television in which the adopted son is shown to be doing as well if not better in life than the biological son and the serial brilliantly captures the conflict and camaraderie that exists between the two. In one of the episodes,the foster father was put to a test of doing push ups with the adopted son on his back by the son’s karate trainer as part of a practice of inducting a trainee into the training program and at the same time testing a father’s love and loyalty towards his son.And in a heart wrenching effort the foster father showed that he is more than willing to carry that burden by pouring his heart and soul into the exercise thereby reassuring the foster mother who was watching, that her husband is really serious of raising the boy as one of his own. Time for the Khasis to reclaim their past and re-think their future.
Yours etc.,
Gary Marbaniang,
Via email
Debate not disrupt
Editor,
Preventing the Parliament from functioning is a profound governance issue. Every wasted minute of parliamentary debate burns a big hole in the exchequer. Maintaining discipline, decorum and dignity of the Parliament is of paramount importance for the Indian democracy. Political establishment must engage in a dialogue and resolve their differences. There is a spread of political power between the opposition and the Government in Indian Parliament. Both have an important role to play. Both have responsibility to discuss and resolve the core issues. Political consensus represents the best practice in Indian democracy. Debate and dissent are cornerstones of a vibrant democracy and a strong opposition is meant to represent the necessary check and balance on government functioning. Disruption shows the weakness of our democracy, and also exposes a negative intent to stall the house and our country’s growth. We are at a such point of time when we need a plethora of new legislations to propel us into the next phase of economic development. GST is one such key legislation, which needs to be enacted. The implementation of this crucial tax reform can add 1% to India’s GDP growth. Apart from this, there are a number of other legislations that are urgently needed to kick-start our economy. India is now at a stage where it needs dialogue between the ruling party and its opponents to progress. Political parties should present a credible agenda for engagement in Parliament; it may turn out to be much better for running the Governance and Politics. There is no substitute for a healthy debate in a democracy. It’s time for the people to reclaim their right and authority by demanding from all political parties that they realize their responsibility to the people and do justice to the mandate given to them. To quote President Pranab Mukherjee, “Parliament should function through three D’s – Debate, Dissent and Decision and not Disruption.”
Yours etc.,
Akash Kumar,
Jagraon, Punjab