Editor,
The terrible state of affair since May 31 has been a lesson worth learning for Meghalaya. With the effort of the Meghalaya Police and responsible handling of the situation by the Government the mayhem seems to have calmed down but the fake news and rumours spreading across social media has led to the suffering of thousands of internet users dwelling in the state. Besides denying us the Right to Information, the agitation has dicrupted examinations and classes of many youths especially the students from NEHU who are in great need of study material. The incident has diverted from politics to communal violence leading to unnecessary sense of insecurity. Another striking phenomena is the fear of tourists who want to visit the mesmerising Scotland of the East but had to cancel their trip on learning about the situation. Through all these we witnessed how the communication channel is immensely strong and influential and this particular incident has been captured by news channels nationwide but the reportage comprised both truth and half truth. It is imperative to restore things to their rightful place. The Government ought to pressurize the Telecommunication Department to amend policies that could filter such hideous crimes committed by trouble makers out fo WhatsApp or Facebook
Yours etc., .
Bracy Nongrum,
Via email
Whither ethics
Editor,
Ethics has several definitions but essentially it means a set of principles that a man ought to follow. Are ethics applicable today? Do we still need to remind ourselves and others what to do and what not to do? I am in dilemma about the present situation. Be it the workplace, schools and overall social life, if we look at today’s era, there is a huge gap in understanding what ethics is. An employee would say, “This is not my part of the job,” because he does not want to do anything extra. I have noticed that at the workplace, co-workers do not follow the moral structures and values that they ought to. We learn and talk a lot about ethics but who cares about practising it? Look at the present situation in our state and country as a whole. There is insurgency, harassment, sexual offences, stereotypes, injustices and the overall insecurity of women. These are destroying the workplace environment. The word ethics includes many social elements that we as humans need to pay careful attention to. There are norms, principles, policies, rules and laws. But these are all violated. In turn we suffer from fear, anxiety, no self reliance, depression and other behavioral problems which are harmful to our social life. There is a saying, “ Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter, except with your permission”.
All religions preach ethics and morals but people don’t really imbibe them. I request the government to direct all schools, colleges and other institutions to take “ETHICS” as a major subject and not just make it an add-on subject.
Yours etc.,
Alert Archie Rymbai
Shillong -14
Child labour myths
Editor,
June 12 being the World Day Against Child Labour was for me a trip down memory lane to the eatery of Bimalda (name changed). Once Bimalda was asked why he had employed so many children. Pat came his reply in the form of a question, “Then who’ll give these poor children bread? Will you?” I thought Bimalda was right and I told my friend, “You know, we can’t solve the problem of child labour until we can eradicate poverty.”
After that with clear conscience, we had our lunch promptly served by a pair of small hands of a child waiter. I asked him his name and he softly said, “Bilu” without shifting his focus from the tray full of steaming hot dishes that he had been carrying with utmost care to unload them from one table to another. After giving Bilu some tips and cleaning by a toothpick every possible residue of guilt that might leave a bad taste in the mouth, we happily headed for a movie.
Then one day, I read in a newspaper that Nobel laureate, Kailash Satyarthi had said, ~ “Poverty does not breed child labour but it is the child labour that perpetuates poverty.” He again reiterated that child labour perpetuated poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and population growth. “How can it be possible?” I asked myself as I had the the theory ~ child labour must be a corollary of poverty ~ deeply embedded in me. Nevertheless, I could not dismiss Kailash Satyarthi’s view as an utopian sermon as I had a profound respect for the man who had been struggling all his life to stop children being exploited as labour instead of attending school.
So, I started thinking about what would have been the outcome had Bimalda failed to employ child workers for his eatery. Then I realized that he would not have any other option in that case but to employ adult workers! Also, he would have to pay more for those adult workers. Indeed, his engaging Bilu and others was nothing but to extract more profit! Moreover, if Bilu happened to become “unemployed”, his parents might not let him stay idle at home; rather they would in all probability send him to a school to fend for his midday meal! I jumped from my seat and said to myself, “I made a complete fool of myself having believed in Bimalda’s logic and spreading it all along!”
Kailash Satyarthi has broken a long standing myth that poverty causes child labour. The truth is ~ among other things, child labour causes poverty and unemployment. As a matter of fact, every child’s entry into the job market actually closes the job opportunity of an adult. This is the reason why Kailash Satyarthi forbids us from employing a child as it will accelerate the vicious cycle of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy. I must be thankful to Kailash Satyarthi for helping me unlearn such a dangerous myth.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Via email