Editor,
Last week while we were returning home from a marriage in Langkyrdem a bump in the road nearly caused our vehicle to overturn.We were about to reach Laitlyngkot when this incident happened.It left all of us in the vehicle shaken,and when we got off our vehicle to inspect the main culprit, it was a portion of the road which had disappeared primarily because of water seepage eating away a portion of the road. Another reason was because of the culture of the driver who came opposite to us at that very moment. The truck driver who came from the opposite direction with a high beam caused prevented us from seeing what lay on the road ahead. It just so happened that it coincided with our vehicle reaching that eroded part of the road. Thank God nothing happened. Forget statistics, it is common knowledge that Indian roads are one of the biggest killers in the world and potholes and illiterate and irresponsible drivers are the main culprits behind this alarming situation. Illiterate in the sense that they deliberately choose to remain ignorant so that they can have their own way on the road.In most countries it is a punishable offence if one drives with a high beam at night in city traffic.The most frustrating thing of driving at night is drivers not returning the compliment when you give them a low beam. Either they are just damn stupid or have no driving etiquette! And potholes! Some of them just got bigger every year.In most cases money was sanctioned to build a road which last a minimum of say five years. But due to some unforeseen circumstances the road may last for only one year. So when the initial pothole appears it will be very small. After the initial pothole has been covered, the monsoon will ensure a bigger hole appears the next time around and this cycle will go on until it is beyond repair. Then the whole stretch of broken road has to be overlaid and the same old method of minimizing cost and maximising profit will be followed.This cycle has been going on in Meghalaya from time immemorial. It’s as old as the business cycle in a laissez faire economy. Boom and bust, boom and bust!
Yours etc.,
Gary Marbaniang,
Via email
Mindset change imperative!
Editor,
Apropos Deepa Majumdar’s article, “Of rape, rapists and rape survivors” (ST, January 14, 2017), we cannot stop rape, ragging, teasing, lynching and bullying so long as violence is allowed to be sold as a form of entertainment and victims of violence are allowed to be branded as maily, weak, yellow etc. In the Global Peace Index 2016, India ranks as low as 141 among 163 countries. Violence is as regressive as it gets. Even a machine cannot work if its parts are not in harmony with one another. Unfortunately, violence has been made a marketable commodity especially by our reel world where even eve – teasing is being promoted as courtship! Given the prevalent scenario of rampant violence against gender, caste and race which is an indicator of our macho sadistic mindset, such glorification of savagery needs to be censored. It is also time to reflect on how to deliver quick and effective justice to nip the menace.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata
Why is BJP defensive?
Editor,
Apropos Gagann Jain’s letter (ST Jan 13, 2017) I have the following observations to make. The miserable defeat of the BJP in the just concluded by-elections to both KHADC and JHADC squarely deserved not only vehement criticism but also a realistic analysis from people like me and others as to why this party has failed to win a single seat. This has already sent wrong signals to the electorate of Meghalaya and has cast very poor reflection on the political capability, wisdom and sagacity of the BJP state leadership in the run up to upcoming Meghalaya Assembly elections. It is a fact that many members in the inner circles of the state BJP have advised the state leadership not to field candidates in the by-elections for the above reasons but the leadership chose to ignore it. Instead of sitting back to introspect and analyse why the party fared poorly and then adopt suitable corrective measures to do better in the next major general elections and accept humbly the defeat, party leaders like Gagann Jain chose to cover up the failure of the party and the state leadership and accused Aristotle Lyngdoh and me of “penning down opinions of the party dissidents”. Such assumption comes from misguided minds and prejudiced notions that people like me and Aristotle are incapable of thinking independently and know nothing about the state BJP and its leadership. In fact it is just the contrary.
With respect to the use of the words, “Christian state” as referred to in the first paragraph of Gagann Jain’s letter, nowhere have I used it in my letters to the editor column regarding the BJP. Meghalaya is not officially or unofficially called a Christian state though at present majority of its population are Christians. The second, third and fourth paragraphs of his letter was just a cover up, a blatant eye-wash and also a big humbug. They neither hold water nor have credibility as far as I am concerned and for the public at large.
With regards to the fifth paragraph Gagann Jain has only endorsed whatever I have pointed out in my letter about the track record of the party. Winning just three Assembly seats in 1998 and one in GHADC in 2015 and polling few thousands in the elections does not tantamount to acceptability in the popular sense. If it can win at least 6 L.A seats or polls at least 3 – 3.5 lakhs votes and above in the L.A elections then the party can claim that it is accepted in the state. What I pointed out in my letter was that the Congress was accepted only when it managed to become the single largest party in the state only after 25-30 years; not by winning few seats. In fact, this time around, the BJP can easily win two seats in Jaintia Hills, five in East Khasi Hills and three in Garo Hills in the upcoming Assembly elections if the state leadership can play its politics well. But under the present dispensation, I have serious doubts. It is abundantly clear that if the present leadership of the state BJP is changed or revamped then the above number of seats can be easily be won.
Apropos the 6th paragraph of his letter I still hold that the party should not be the repository of infiltrators from the Congress or other parties lest they destroy the party from within. Yes, some genuine and winnable members from other parties can be admitted even though they may be defectors from other camps.
Lastly, whatever I have written in my letters as published in ST so far was intended to help boost the image of the BJP in Meghalaya so that it will be able to offer itself as the best alternative to the present political mess in the state which is the main reason for the all round decline in the progress and well being of Meghalaya. To be the best alternative the BJP has to show results, pull up its socks and get its acts together; enrol the best members and form cadres in all villages and get rid of its hidden agenda. Do not infuse the party with unwanted elements because this will not work in Meghalaya.
As for the rest, Aristotle Lyngdoh has given a fitting reply to Gagann Jains letter.
Yours etc.,
Philip Marweiñ,
Shillong-2.