Editor,
Your widely read daily, the ST in particular, and only two vernacular newspapers have carried a very brief report on the plight of farmers in Meghalaya recently. Though the report was quite brief but, to me, it was a very important report since it has brought into the public domain a very important issue, namely, the plight in which the farmers of Meghalaya are in today and even from before.
For the benefit of the readers and policy makers, I would like to emphasize here, that farmers constitute nearly 75% of the population of the state and majority of them are small and marginal farmers and cultivators. Moreover, these farmers are landless but they still continue to engage in subsistence agriculture, horticulture and other allied activities in somebody else land (soil) by paying huge rent. Apart from huge rent, they have to spent a lot on tilling the soil, on seeds, fertilizers, weeding, pruning, irrigation wherever required, fencing from animals, harvesting, transportation and other related processes till final food crops reach home for consumption or till the cash crops reach the market. On reaching the market the middlemen exploit them in weighing and price. Hence, farmers are at the mercy of the traders and middlemen. The government intervention is sowhere to be seen.They are facing this vicious circle year in and year out and they still languishing in poverty even during the last 46 years of Meghalaya statehood. The government has invested huge funds in this primary sector but most of the funds have gone towards salary of the employees of the concerned line departments under this sector, in corruption and in the name of exhibitions and other extra-curricular activities but nothing much has really benefited to the real farmers. Though, I cannot deny the fact that only few farmers have gained much from the government interventions.
Hence, I strongly suggest that Meghalaya government ought to bring out and put in place a sound Farmers’ Policy from now onwards. It is indeed a shame that till today there is no policy for the farmers, even after 46 years of statehood. I wish also to point out the fact that all governments that came to rule the state for the last 46 years, it was because of enthronement by this majority electorate. Yet they are still being ignored till today. The MLAs and the aspirants remember the farmers only on the eve of the election. I also appeal to the farmers to throw away wholesale, the present set of MLAs during the coming elections who did nothing for them during the last 46 years and elect the new brand ones to teach them a lesson or two. Let the new ones learn this hard lesson.
Yours etc.,
Philip Marwein,
Via email
Act of courage
Editor
As a human being and more importantly as a woman, I am heartened by the courage and humanitarian feeling displayed by Deigratia Pohthmi. At the end of the day, we are defined by the truth of our existence here on earth as creations of God. We are human beings first before being defined by our names, identity, community, and ethnicity. One does not mean to imply that one’s sense of belonging, roots, culture and community is not important but it is equally important to understand that being human and understanding the value of a human life is even more important. What Ms Pohthmi did is in fact commendable and in no way degrading. All that she did was to shield the man whose guilt and crime has not yet been proven but to also discourage and stop a group of men, who failed to show any sense of ethics and moral principles, from taking the law into their own hands. What is even more disgusting and disheartening are the comments on the video on social media that are prejudiced, narrow-minded and above all a gruesome display of a sorry and pathetic mindset and attitude of our men towards a woman. I for one salute Deigratia Pohthmi. Well done Kong!
Yours etc.,
Jenniefer Dkhar,
Via email
Nawaz Sharif Unseated
Editor,
The Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified Nawaz Sharif from holding public office and ruled that graft cases be filed against the beleaguered leader and his children over the Panama Papers scandal. It is the second time in Pakistan’s 70-year history that the Supreme Court has disqualified a sitting prime minister. In India fodder-scam superstar RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav siphoned off the treasuries of Bihar/Jharkhand. While serving terms in jail he virtually pulled the strings of “Siasi” through his wife Rabri Devi , a pawn implanted by him as Chief Minister and even managed to get bail. In the name of Mahagathbandhan Laloo was trying to feather his son’s illegally amassed disproportionate benami assets.
The CBI had registered an FIR in the case of two prime hotels owned by railways that were transferred to a private company during Lalu’s tenure as rail minister and raided at least 12 locations, including Lalu’s residence in Patna, in the first week of this month. ED has filed case against Lalu and his family members. The Income Tax Department has provisionally attached more than half-a-dozen properties in Delhi and Patna allegedly belonging to Lalu’s family members worth over Rs 170 crore. Apart from being a master money launderer Lalu Prasad has deftly completed criminalization of the RJD party by protecting and patronizing hard core criminals like Shahabuddin of Siwan. The recent revelations that Lalu was taking advice from imprisoned Shahabuddin for meddling with state administration from behind the scenes is a serious concern for the security and integrity of the state as well as the country and tantamounts to treason.
Such politicians deserve to be banned for life from contesting elections as representative of people by the Election Commission of India.
Hats off to the Supreme Court of Pakistan for disqualifying two sitting Prime Ministers from holding public office on corruption charges. It is expected that the Judiciary of our country would also disqualify corrupt politicians from holding public office in the near future to make India corruption-free and to save and strengthen democracy.
Yours etc.,
Samares Bandyopadhyay
Advocate, Kolkata High Court
Dear Municipality