Editor,
Apropos the letter to the editor, “Nepotism in the allotment of medical seats” (ST Aug 7, 2017), I agree with Mr T Fightingstar L Mawlong that there’s no point of a merit list if the allotment of seats is vitiated by manipulative tactics. I was shocked to see that none of the top scorers in Khasi Jaintia category – 402, 390, 383,377, 371 and 370 – were allotted seats in the most preferred top colleges in Delhi – Lady Hardinge Medical College, Maulana Azad Medical College and VMMC & Safdarjung Hospital – despite the fact that all of these top scorers expressed their desire to get into one of these top colleges. It is to be noted that the seats in these top medical colleges in New Delhi in this academic year went to the much lower scorers of 360, 341, 323 and 318. Under the Garo category it is much worse with the Lady Hardinge seat going to a score as low as 151.
I am 100 % certain of nepotism in the allotment of seats to these top colleges. Now just a thought: if a student begins his career in a corrupt manner, what kind of a public servant would he/she become in the future!
To set things right, I strongly suggest that the government adopt a real counselling procedure in allotment of seats in the future, in the same way that the central government does.
Yours etc.,
Amaze Glory Nongtdu
4th year Computer science student,
NIT Kurushetra.
Goralane Road – An appeal
Editor,
Through your esteemed daily, I would like to highlight the pathetic condition of Gora lane road connecting Laitumkhrah and the MES. The condition of the road has worsened so much that, it has become unworthy for vehicles to ply on it, This a punishment for daily commuters who have no choice but to face the impact of indifferent attitude of Government Departments. I am indeed more perturbed to see the plight of the residents staying adjacent to the road. The road has not seen any maintenance and the rainy season has made it worse. Commuting through this road is like participating in adventure sports right in the heart of the city. Despite the area being under the jurisdiction of the local MLA who is a minister in the Government it is surprising to see that there is no effort being initiated by her or the authorities under her to rectify the road. I would therefore appeal to the concerned authorities to kindly take immediate steps to repair this important road for safety of life and property of people otherwise we may witness a major mishap resulting in loss of innocent lives for not acting on time.
Yours etc.,
- Nandi
Shillong – 6
Alphons for Meghalaya polls
Editor,
The political scene in Meghalaya is going to get intense with the appointment of a former bureaucrat representing the BJP but with a Christian tint in a Christian majority state. Surely the 2018 poll is going to be a hot affair, with the Congress party losing out steam rapidly than expected and diluting its national party image whereas BJP is gaining advantage in the state and wining the confidence and trust of the citizens. Then we have the regional parties which are still trying to find common grounds on how to serve their people.
We might ponder what will be the political agenda this time and who we should elect. In fact multiple issues could be raised, ranging from poor governance, development deficit, traffic congestion, healthcare, state of education, teachers struggle, and more recently the hardship of our medical students and so on. But I’m sorry to say that none of these will be recalled when the poll arrives. Often our choice drifts towards the one who bears the same religious trademark, shares the same bench in our churches, no matter how stupid the person is. The saying that “Religion gives people hope when the world is torn apart by religion,” is a perfect situation in our case. As the polling date comes closer the community work starts picking up pace. There is sudden sensitivity towards the poor and schemes emerge miraculously after remaining dormant for the last four years. One simple truth is that in politics, a person who has done his job in his five year tenure need not worry about campaigning in a one month period. The love, compassion and his/her integrity with the job while serving those who have bestowed faith in him/her will be enough to secure the seat.
As we all know, politics by itself is neither bad nor good. It all depends on individuals we elect. As Gandhi has pointed out, politics without principles is one among the seven sins, and it becomes worse when the principle is faulty in itself. To say the least, for the sorry state of any government failure especially in a democratic setup the blame should be on its people. The power of our vote has been misdirected due to narrow mindedness. Our choice in electing representatives is often driven by a religious cult. Self-interest overrides the overall goodness of the society. Bad politics often takes advantage of this weakness in which religion itself serves as the prime political weapon in the whole process.
I believe it’s high time to wake up. If we want change then we can be the change at the individual level by removing the veil of egocentricity and move beyond our religious boundaries and elect the right person for the right job so as to benefit the society and not the church per se. The party name or symbol won’t matter as long as the person who represents us has the right ingredients to perform. For example, the emergence of our regional party four decades back, claiming to be the sole torch bearer and protector of tribal identity has reached nowhere. Even today they are struggling to establish their foundation. In fact they are still busy fighting among themselves to gain political power which serves none other than themselves. One must understand that in politics just because the person shares the shame blood, faith or culture is no guarantee that he/she will fulfil the community hopes and aspirations.
The same goes with our autonomous councils, established by those who didn’t even share any tribal blood but still understood its importance in preserving the tribal culture and identity. Ironically our own people who run it are busy in the cock fight for power forgetting the soul and spirit of such an institution.
So the appointment of KJ Alphons by BJP is no rocket science. In a state where Christian consciousness is inexorably strong, they are bound to appoint such a person. But what we are witnessing here is that religion has again become the compelling factor to resolve our state of despair and future developmental aspects, as if all problems pointed above can be resolved by divine, religious intervention.
Yours etc.,
Sonie Kharduit,
Via email