Editor,
I join the Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Dr Mukul Sangma and the Meghalaya State Commission for Women (MSCW) in condemning the Delhi Golf Club for the act of discrimination against a Khasi lady – Tailin Lyngdoh just because she was wearing her traditional dress (Jainsem). This discrimination happens to people from Northeast India all the time when they are out to study or work outside their states. In different metropolitan cities like Bangalore, Delhi etc, many Northeasterners are beaten up and even called foreigners and this I have heard from my friends when they were in Chennai. They were told that people coming from the Northeast do not like Indian but more like people from China and Mongolia and that’s the basis of the discrimination.
I wonder what dress we should wear and what physical attributes we should have to be accepted as ‘Indian!’Are people from Northeast not Indian citizens? India is a Republic since January 26, 1950 when the Constitution of India was adopted yet many Indians are unaware that our country is an example of unity in diversity and we fail to respect each other’s cultures (dress, food habit etc). Article 15 of the Indian Constitution speaks clearly that there should be no discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth etc., Why should a boy of 16 years of age be killed in the train in the state of Haryana just because he is a Muslim? Remember we are all Indians irrespective of caste and even if we wear our traditional dress. In the Fundamental Rights, Articles 29 and 30 clearly guarantee that all citizens of India have the right to preserve their own language, script, literature, and culture. Therefore, the big question is who is above the Constitution? Why should people be sent away just because they are in traditional dress? Did not our beloved Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore in his poem, “Where the Mind is Without Fear” pray for our country India that it should not be divided against itself but that it should be united. Hence he says, “Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls……”.
Once again, I strongly condemn the Delhi Golf Club employers for not knowing the Indian Constitution in spite of living in the national capital. As a person from Meghalaya I salute Tailin Lyngdoh for the courage and good example to the people of Meghalaya in preserving the culture by wearing the traditional dress wherever she goes even around the globe to different countries as reported by the news. This sad incident that befell her is also a strong reminder to the Khasis to retain their dress and be proud of it because today many are more comfortable with the western culture and dress.
Aiborlang Nongsiej
Mawkyrwat
Free flow of liquor on highway
Editor,
The report in your paper about a woman’s body being found near Mawblei Petrol Pump, is shocking to say the least. The area near the petrol pump has the Maruti showroom and a bit further up the State Bank of India branch and the Renault showroom as well the Hyundai service centre .This stretch of road on the highway also has numerous illegal liquor joints, frequented by many especially drivers on the way out of Shillong. Many residents have complained to the police and local authorities and raids have been conducted and then it’s back to business as usual. In the evening vehicles are hazarduously parked along the roadside and the area becomes dangerous for pedestrians and girls and women folk on the way back home. Will we then say this was just another alcoholic’s death or will the District Authorities ,the Police and local authorities finally do something to eradicate this menace or will we wait, God forbid, for something worse to happen in the future?
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request
On behalf of concerned residents of the area.
GST hard on the poor!
Editor,
This refers to Shivaji Sarkar’s article, “GST must end barriers” (ST, June 24). The Goods and Services Tax (GST) can indeed streamline our indirect tax collection. But what India needs now is not a GST regime which is just another avatar of indirect tax but a direct tax regime that has helped many countries become developed economies. The poorest of the poor are to cough up substantial and same amount of indirect tax as their creamy counterparts when they are to buy anything from salt to slippers and from food to medicine. While direct taxes depend on the taxpayer’s ability to pay, indirect taxes being blind to the economic status of the taxpayers, hit the poor the hardest. Given huge income disparity among Indians, India should rely more on direct taxes which is just for all.
Our indirect tax regime is also one of the factors for rising inequality among Indians. According to the New World Wealth report, our country is ranked seventh in the list of top wealthiest countries in the world but on a per capita basis, the average Indian is quite poor. This is a clear case of lopsided growth of our national body that can turn out to be malignant if not immediately taken care of. While the richest 10 per cent of our population has 76.3 per cent of nation’s wealth, the poorest half is reeling with a meagre 4.1 per cent.
So, a direct tax regime, with more than 60 per cent of the total tax revenue coming from direct tax, along with GST taking care of indirect tax and earning less than 40 per cent of the total tax turnover, is needed.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata