Editor,
On October 6 last, India U-17 rubbed shoulders with their contemporaries on the world stage. It is the first time that India is hosting FIFA event. Guwahati is one of the six venues where 24 teams from six confederations participated. The finals will be played on Oct 28 at Kolkata while Sarusajai is allotted nine matches including a semi final. India returns to FIFA competition after 57 years. It played four consecutive Olympics between 1948 and 1960. India named a 21- member squad with eight players from Manipur and one each from Mizoram and Sikkim. This selection gives us a reason to smile. NE players have shown that their physique is not a hindrance; they are very skilful footballers. It is an unprecedented achievement where success has not always followed the passion despite them coming from a humble background.
This year has been incredible for NE football. Aizawl FC scripted history to win the I-League besides Shillong-Lajong FC reached the 5th place. 49 NE players have been selected for the cash-rich ISL. The love for football is present in abundance. Chandan Boro is a playing Captain for a junior club in Germany. With no big sponsors, the federation has to create infrastructure for this region. NE is not just about tribal rock n roll and wild scenic beauty. Football is emerging as a big opportunity. A number of talented players will be in action for this mega event. Striker Aniket Jadhav and Manipuri Captain Amarjit Singh Kiyam carry the hopes and dreams of 1.3 billion people. The rise of FIFA U-17 will mark a milestone for NE football.
Yours etc.
Kamal Baruah
Guwahati
Congress supporter or independent columnist?
Editor,
I have been following the articles by HH Mohrmen regularly. While some of them which deal with the environment and culture are enlightening it is when he steps into the domain of politics that he can hardly camouflage his pro-Congress preference. In at least two articles he has given a certificate of good conduct to the MUA-2 government headed by Dr Mukul Sangma. In his latest article he has reviled all those who left the Congress to join the NPP or other political parties. Mohrmen has given a thumbs up to Jopthiaw Lyngdoh a former bureaucrat who will be contesting from the Congress Party against one of the Dhar brothers who Mohrmen evidently has no love lost for. I have strong reservations about bureaucrats joining political parties soon after their retirement or even before they have hung up their boots properly. The reason is because these babus use their official positions to create a constituency for themselves the way HM Shangpliang is doing. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has to come up with strictures where officers of the government must go through a cooling off period before they jump into politics.
As far as columnists are concerned, we expect them to have independent views and to remain non-partisan because they too influence the readers. If columnists use the power of their words to speak for or against a political party then they should make full disclosure and not hide behind the respectability of being independent writers. Mohrmen’s support for the Congress Party is all but visible. He seems to know the minds of the electorate and which way they will vote.
If I recall correctly, Mohrmen was leading the campaign against coal mining, by citing the example of acid mine drainage which poisons the rivers of Jaintia Hills. He has at times spoken against cement companies for causing pollution and being located along the virgin forests of Jaintia Hills. Mohrmen was very jubilant when the NGT put a stop to coal mining, But coal is still extracted and exported clandestinely. Morhmen has however not pursued with similar passion the limestone mining activities which also have similar destructive impacts on the environment in East Jaintia Hills. Why?
As a regular reader of The Shillong Times I am educated by the issues raised in the paper especially by their regular columnists. I read Fabian Lyngdoh’s articles with keen interest because from there I glean a lot about Khasi culture and tradition. Toki Blah’s articles are eminently readable because of the easy flow of language. I wish Janet Moore Hujon would write in more regularly. She has the perspective of an insider-outsider which also marks the contours of the changing times. That Batti Bazar of Laban has changed to Batting Bazar was news to me too. For many of us who live outside Meghalaya the columns by local writers keep us in touch with not just the politics but also the social and cultural transformation of the people of Meghalaya.
I am also greatly delighted by the articles questioning the utility of the NEHU students’ union and a plucky rejoinder from a member of the NEHUSU. These are signs of a dynamic society which has also created a healthy climate for dialogue and dissent. This is how we should be engaging on issues; with reason, not fisticuffs.
Yours etc.,
AS Syngkli,
Via email