Editor,
The rising cases of suicide in today’s world makes you wonder, what is going on. In our own state of Meghalaya we read or hear daily about people who, unfortunately, felt they had no way out. I feel that even though it may be a sensitive issue to talk about or discuss with our families, our colleagues, our friends, it has to be done. We cannot avoid this issue any longer. The percentage of people suffering from depression in our State is staggering but unknown to many. Every other person you meet on a day to day basis may be suffering from depression and the worst part is that you wouldn’t even know it. As human beings, we have a duty towards each other; to ask the other person how they are coping with life’s pressures. You never know whom you might be saving just by doing that. We have become a society so blinded by our own needs, our own problems, that we have lost the ability to be humane. The need of the hour is to bring this topic to the fore, as a society, as a community, be it in schools, colleges, workplaces and above all at home. We start small and begin within our own families, our parents, our children, our siblings, our significant others. The problem with our society, is the immediate prejudicial judgment meted out at anyone we assume is “different” from us. By giving more attention towards Mental Health Care, the number of people who would benefit from this would be substantial. Mental health is something we should not be ashamed of discussing in public forums, as we have been doing for other health issues like heart disease, obesity, cancer etc. Funding towards Mental health care should become a priority in our State. This would ensure that every person is given the opportunity to approach the right person for guidance and help. Therapists, Mental Health care professionals, would provide the right counseling which would lead to someone’s wellbeing, self awareness and a path towards recovery. When more mental care facilities are made available, more people would have access towards such health services. I hope that one day, our society would evolve to the point where we no longer see mental health problems as “social taboos”.
Yours etc.,
- Pariat
Shillong
Fisheries Dept stagnating
Editor,
It is an irony of sorts that the much hyped aquaculture mission to promote, develop and increase the production of fish has failed miserably for many reasons and also various factors. We can recollect that your paper had reported the utter failure and wastage of money in such a project which could not achieve its objectives. For those in the know of things the entire mission has been just a money spinner for those in the business rather than the actual beneficiaries. The previous MUA government should in turn acknowledge the failure of the IBDLP project in not able to uplift the economic and social standards of people in the rural areas rather than pushing for answers from the MDA led-coalition. Ironically even some Opposition members acknowledge that the IBDLP failed in its mission. Time for some introspection by the Opposition!
Yours etc…
Dominic S. Wankhar
Shillong-3
Children of lesser Gods
Editor,
In the article, “The bullet or the ballot” (ST, April 5, 2018), Ananya S Guha rightly said, “The Dalit explosion is an expression of pent up anger.” It is a matter of shame that a crime is committed against a Dalit every 15 minutes and 6 Dalit Nirbhayas are raped every day in our country. There has been a 66 per cent growth in crime against Dalits in the last ten years period from 2007 to 2017. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, rapes of Dalit women have doubled in that period. This is a threat to the ideals of equality and fraternity and to our national unity as well. Even a machine cannot work if there is a conflict among its parts, let alone a state or a society. In his famous poem, Apamanita (Insulted) Tagore said, “Whom you push down will pull you down.”
There has indeed been a long list of atrocities against Dalits like beating them up for twirling or even just sporting moustaches, disallowing them to ride horses or to drink water from public taps or to get a haircut from a village saloon or to enter temples or to use village wells or to sit in a row in a village feast etc. The story is the same as that of “Sadgati” which is not just a Munshi Prem Chand’s short story or a Satyajit Ray film. It is indeed the continuing saga of agonizing caste hatred in our country.
This made Ambedkar embrace Buddhism. This also made Rohith Vemula write in his suicide note, “My birth is my fatal accident.” This made Una happen. And this makes the dropout rate in Dalit children generally high in our country. The UN report says that there is a widespread discrimination against Dalits throughout the entire educational system in India.
We cannot turn a blind eye to unabated hatred, abuse, torture and exploitation that Dalits have still been facing every day in our country. Political will and stringent acts must be in place to prevent atrocities against Dalits apart from ensuring their proportional representation in government administration.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata