Editor,
In her incisive article, “Sounds of eerie silence…” (ST, Jan 26, 2018), Patricia Mukhim has highlighted a bitter fact that according to the Socio – Economic – Caste Census 2011, 76 per cent of rural Meghalaya is landless. Land reform is the key factor that makes China such a strong country in spite of its huge population and size. But land reform fails to have its due priority in India in general and in Meghalaya in particular. As Prof. Dantwalla says, “By and large land reforms in India enacted so far and those contemplated in the near future, are in the right direction; and yet due to lack of implementation the actual results are far from satisfactory.”
It stands to reason that land reforms can make India a really strong and happy country. First, it will enhance the productivity of land by improving the economic conditions of farmers and tenants. Second, it will ensure distributive justice and eliminate exploitation. Third, it helps create a system of peasant proprietorship with the motto of land to the tiller. And fourth, it can distribute income of the few to the many which will enhance the purchasing power of the masses and thus boost the market and generate employment.
In this way, it can act as a panacea for solving the problems of unemployment, inequality, poverty, hunger and malnutrition to a great extent. Indeed, land reform is essential if the lot of small farmers and tribals has to be improved. It holds the key for inclusive growth, Dalit emancipation and human development. This is a constitutional directive. Article 39(b) of the Constitution of India states, “The ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good.” Moreover, Article 39(c) states, “ that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment.”
The government must implement them. It will certainly improve India’s abysmal 131st position in Human Development Index to a great extent.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata
Meghalaya Votes App needs updating
Editor,
The election department has been coming up with various initiatives as well as methods for information dissemination and for which I would like to congratulate them. Voters can now easily get information about their Sl.No, Part No. and Polling Station easily obtained by downloading the Electoral Rolls from the ceomeghalaya.nic.in or by browsing through the NVSP portal. Recently through your esteemed paper we came to know of a mobile app – Meghalaya Votes made available by the department in the Play Store. But the thing that I have noticed while using this app is that the data as against what I see from the rolls or browsing through the NVSP portal is different from what I obtained when I enter my EPIC no in the mobile app to find details like Polling Station, Sl.No or Part No. Also, it does not show the Upcoming Election Dates. Hence I request the Department to kindly update the data in the mobile app and also if possible to put a label which shows the date when the data was recently updated and then only I feel the Meghalaya Votes app will really come handy to the voters.
Yours etc.,
Abhisekh Joshi
Shillong-4
Bengal on the decline
Editor
In spite of having a majority government with strong presence, the Government of West Bengal is failing repeatedly to maintain law and order across the state. Violent intra and inter party political and communal riots, repeated incidences of rape and molestation of helpless women victims irrespective of any age, rise of various syndicates, middle men and local goons with strong political support, incidences of cross border smuggling, repeated incidences of circulation of fake currencies, insurgency, illegal immigration, drug, wildlife and human trafficking and above all political violence will detract from the future economic development of the state. The complete failure of the administration and police force is sending signals across India and overseas that West Bengal is a politically dysfunctional and highly disturbed state that has little chances of attracting any credible long term investments for economic prosperity, peace and stability of the State. The sorry state of educational institutions, high rates of unemployment in both rural and urban areas, direct or indirect political involvement behind every single disruption and disturbance in the State is a matter of serious concerns for the people of West Bengal. Unless the government takes serious steps in curbing these irregularities the State is heading steadily towards political and administrative chaos that is going to hurt its long term future negatively.
Yours etc.,
Saikat Basu,
Lethbridge AB Canada T1J 4B3