Editor,
I am glad to see that a new body known as the Meghalaya Indigenous Tribal Constitutional Rights Movement (MITCRM) has been recently formed to take up the issue with the Central Government regarding the proposed amendment to the Sixth Schedule. I fully support this group and their noble intention. I am told by some of my friends in Jharkhand that the BJP government there has made some reforms to the Fifth Schedule which was created to safeguard the tribal communities of mainland India. This reform has empowered the government to alienate land of the tribal people and plots of land have been sold out to the corporates. Jharkhand is rich in minerals like coal, iron, bauxite etc, and the government is bent on exploiting them at the cost of the tribal communities. Some tribal villages have already been sold out to corporates and tribal communities are being displaced from their ancestral land. I am very apprehensive that what is being done in Jharkhand may be replicated here in Meghalaya and in other North-eastern states. With the rich reserve of minerals in Meghalaya like coal, limestone and uranium and rivers with great potentials for generating electricity, there is reason enough to be suspicious of such a move to amend the Sixth Schedule. It is feared that this amendment will also open the possibility for non tribals to acquire land in the State. If that is done, then there would be a massive alienation of land among our people for the simple reason that non-tribals will have a greater purchasing power. How many of our tribal land owners would not fall victim to such a temptation? I dread to think of the day when 90% of our land would fall into the hands of non tribals. That would mean the pauperization of our people and a total destruction of our communities. Up to now, our land is being protected by the Sixth Schedule which forbids non-tribals from acquiring land. The MITCRM must fight tooth and nail to put a stop to such an insidious attempt to destroy the minorities. I hope that our tribal MPs, Regional Parties, tribal lawyers, Church authorities and other eminent leaders in our society will join hand with MITCRM to create more pressure on the Home Ministry not to go ahead with this plan. This is an issue of life and death for our tribal communities and therefore we must stand up together to fight for our own survival.
Yours etc.,
Barnes Mawrie sdb
Via email
Of brutal rapes across the country!
Editor,
Recent incidents of brutal and demonic rape and murder from one corner of our country to another ~ from Goa’s Canacona, to Odisha to Haryana’s Rohtak ~ underscore the need to impose maximum punishment on every killer rapist. The mother of the Rohtak victim echoed our helplessness and pointed out the danger of such rapists coming out of jail after a few years when she said, “…every woman fears this day for their daughters since these goons are alive.” Now, our judiciary needs to think if it is time to shun the rarest of the rare yardstick for three major reasons.
First, every killer rapist must be hanged to stop the menace. Second, such incidents are always savage but not the rarest. And third, such yardstick can rob objectivity of a judgement for which Lady Justice wears a blindfold.,
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata
HSRP a big farce!
Editor,
Apropos to the news item on ST, “Contractor to reduce HSRP rate” (ST April 27, 2017) I wish to point out here that right from the time the High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) was introduced for vehicles in Meghalaya, there was a hue and cry by vehicle owners and the joint action committee which included among others HSPO, HNYF, CSWO, MC TOA and one of those who vehemently opposed HSRP was even booked and sent to jail at Tura by those who were in power and who benefitted heavily from its introduction. Those who opposed the HSRP at that time did so for the right reasons, though many of them kept quite later for reasons best known to all. Only one person was left to suffer alone in jail.
The whole idea of introducing HSRP is to prevent vehicles from being stolen, and, if stolen, they can be tracked down and can be found at short notice. Since introduction of the HSRP in Meghalaya, so many types of vehicles were stolen from parking lots, road sides and even from the garages yet, none of them were tracked down and retrieved till date. The few that were found later were either left abandoned by the car lifters or through the hard work of the police and not with the help of the HSRP. This has clearly proven the futility and the hoax of admitting a particular firm to start the business of HSRP in Meghalaya. This has also revealed the uselessness and illogical use of HSRP. Why should car owners use this for nothing and why should they pay for HSRP for zero benefits? And remember, the price for HSRP in Meghalaya is exorbitant! In my opinion, this is a crime and this is cheating the public for ulterior motives of the introducers and those in the government who are in collusion with Shimnit Utsch, the Company that was given the contract for providing HSRP here. Its time now for retendering and getting a better Company that offers a more reasonable pricing. The earlier Shimnit Utsch is stopped in its tracks and is shunned by vehicles owners, the better it is.
Yours etc.,
Philip Marwein,
Via email