Editor,
I have been following the letters for and against compassionate posting in the government. In our state government jobs are the most sought after as there are not many other avenues available especially for the educated class. Government jobs are also preferred due to built- in security and the perks and privileges associated with these jobs. But frankly speaking I have hardly seen a sincere government employee. Once appointed they take their jobs as a birthright. The vast majority are easy going. A visit to some government offices at 10 am will prove my point. People attend church and other religious functions on time but not to their work in the government which puts food on the table and much more. Further ,corruption is on the rise in the government It is difficult for a common man to get the work done without paying. I have also seen some of the religious types also making money left and right. Yet they never miss an opportunity to deliver sermons on virtues without any shame.
I am reminded of a retired IAS officer who held many important offices in the government and was corrupt to the core but was giving sermons in the church like a holy cow with a wrong belief that no one knows about his character. A good number of politicians are no exception. Well, nothing remains a secret in the state and everyone knows who is what.
I wonder why such hypocrisy and degeneration of values especially by the people in authority. Are these people not highly pampered at the cost of the public exchequer? Are these people exploiting others one way or the other for their selfish gains?
I think nothing will change without a revolution .
Yours etc.,
David Kharkongor
Shillong 14
An honest college dropout
Editor,
What “tomorrow” will unfold for us can’t be predicted. But we should carry on the journey of life. We face many challenges but have to move on with a smile. Sometimes, apart from the determination and effort, one should have courage to break down the high walls of social stigma and jump into the venture. One who cares about what society thinks may not be able to take the first bold step. And consequently, he ends up feeling discouraged and pulled back by detractors around.
On September 2, my attention was drawn to a very humble looking teenaged boy who has broken that stigma and begun to peddle ‘kwai and cigarettes’ at Mawkhar Point, near Palace Hotel. This Class XII drop-out from Shillong College, Romario Lyngdoh has set up a shop which he confidently wears round his neck. This he does to support his mother – a single parent who is not so healthy, and on medicines. I call his venture a very bold step.
Romario’s gentle and humble disposition drove me to ask him a number of personal questions. His father had deserted his mother and four children. This fact deeply touched me. It’s tough for a mother of four children, who herself is not-so-healthy, to raise and send all of them to school with what she receives as a domestic help. Her total earning is just under Rs 4000 per month out of which she has to pay Rs. 1500 as house rent. So, for the past four months, Romario, the eldest among the three has started selling kwai and cigarettes.
Romario answered all my questions very respectfully. I was deeply moved when he gently refused my offer to keep the remaining amount of Rs 40 after I had bought kwai for Rs 10 by giving him a Rs 50 note. He said to me, “Sir this is your money, so please take back, thank you so much”. I felt overwhelmed with a surge of affection and said, ‘Romario, you are a very honest and humble boy and continue to be like that, God will surely bless you. Even if not materially, spiritually you will be very rich’.
In the evening I felt touched by this episode and shared my encounter with Romario on Facebook. There I crisply highlighted his honesty and humility in spite of being weighed down by family responsibilities due to abject poverty. I felt that other youths should take inspiration from this hard-working lad.
To my amazement, an incredible number of people praised and wished Romario well. He became a source of inspiration for countless youths. The story from my FB wall has been picked up and heavily shared – over 9000 likes and shared by 1042 kind-hearted people. One scholar Paul Tracy from Dublin (Ireland) was so bowled over that he writes: ‘This boy is not poor… he is, in fact, one of the richest humans I’ve read about …. He radiates the light of love and humility of the Divine within.’ Similarly, Ms. Balasuk Warjri remarks – “A little helping hand from each one of us who’ve read this post will do some good to this lad and his family. Can anyone share his contact no if possible?” Sadly, Romario has not enough money yet to have a mobile phone.
Please note, this boy and his family’s woe is just the tip of the iceberg. Every vendor, every daily wage earner has his/her own sad tales to tell. I think we shed tears profusely only on social media and by reading fiction novels. I believe, our kindness becomes meaningful when we can practically soothe the agony of the underprivileged with our physical support and love. We shall never be the loser, the karmic force of Mother Nature will certainly pay us back with interest at the appropriate time.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Via email
Nongpoh‘s Treasury Officer vis-a-vis SC order on Privacy
Editor,
The recent public notice circulated by the Treasury Officer, Ri Bhoi District, Nongpoh has directed all pensioners and family pensioners falling under this district’s jurisdiction to come to the office of the said officer for a special Aadhar enrollment drive to be conducted w.e.f. 23rdAugust to 31stAugust, 2017. Literally, however, in the Aadhar enlistment one has to prima facie compromise his/her sacrosanct privacy which may incidentally be leaked out as in the case of Mahendra Dhoni, the Indian cricketer. Notwithstanding the fact that the question of Aadhar would be decided on November next by a smaller bench of the Supreme Court, but given the said Treasury Officer’s circulation on the immediacy of Aadhar, some confusion has crept in public domain pursuant to the latest declaration of a nine judge bench of SC passed on 24 August 24 where the latter has in no uncertain terms declared that: “Privacy is a fundamental right” as enshrined under Article 21 guaranteed by part III of the Constitution. Hence, the said direction of the Treasury Officer, Nongpoh is markedly an infringement upon the parameter of one’s privacy by way of finger-print and finger impressions on mechanical devices.
In a word, shall I not be surprised if some discerning persons file a PIL against such directions of an officer in question as the same is explicitly in contravention of the SC’s verdict on privacy? I shall be indebted if someone enlightens me on this critical issue!
Yours etc.,
Jerome K. Diengdoh,
Via email