Editor,
Even after two weeks, the fate of 15 people trapped in an illegal mine in Meghalaya is unknown. The rescue efforts by different agencies of the government are also found hugely inadequate. Some time back in Thailand, members of a football team were rescued with international joint efforts, and the Indian Company, namely, M/S Kirloskar Brothers, its pumps and equipments along with some engineers had a big hand in the entire operation.
Alas, the same cannot be said of the rescue operations in the mine in Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya. Each human life is precious, and the machinery of Meghalaya Government was unable to mobilize the resources and to make a valiant attempt for rescue operations. There was a lot of noise with one arm of the government blaming the other for the mishap. It’s a lesson on how we value human lives.
In the case of Thailand, the whole world was praying for the safety of the trapped people, but in the case of Meghalaya miners, even the media, national or otherwise, put the case in the back pages.
It’s a tragedy in Meghalaya, but is a very big tragedy for India.
Yours etc.,
A Bhuyan
Nagaon , Assam
Does competence depend on academic qualification?
Editor,
Apropos the article “The Judiciary, the citizen, the media and the law,” by Patricia Mukhim (ST, Dec 21, 2018), it’s complete stupidity to want to measure the competence or intelligence of someone only with the yardstick of “academic” qualification which itself is imperfect, Education as it exists today has considerable scope for improvement. I don’t think Homer and Dante had ever acquired high degrees before authoring their masterpieces — Odyssey and Divine Comedy. William Shakespeare had an opportunity to attend only grammar school but his works sometimes need the competence of triple doctorates. Still, his metaphorical language and philosophical nuances go over the head of many qualified scholars. The great scientists of modern times such as Heisenberg and Albert Einstein marvelled at the intellectual competence of unschooled Rabindranath Tagore who detested the tradition of going to a formal educational institution.
In this world nobody is perfect. But every individual is knowingly or unknowingly striving for perfection. Every fraction of a second and every small act is intended for that long journey of perfection. If our action is “good”, with respect to the time, and with respect to the situation and to whom it may concern then we are some inches closer to that perfection. No matter how intelligent we are or how academically competent we are, if our action hurts the “innocent” then we are again a few inches away from that perfection. This is inevitable natural law. No judge of any Supreme Court can quash it.
Hence in the real sense, to demand the academic qualification and competence from every Tom, Dick, and Harry is only an exhibitionism of one’s snobbishness and arrogance. The Upanishads say – ‘all knowledge and skill of any kind usually comes from within as each being is inherently competent and innately intelligent. However, all competency and intelligence are “blocked” by ego, attachment to materialism, desire, anger and greed. So our unsteady mental eyes fail to see things in the right perspective. In spite of high academic qualifications, when we are on an ego trip we acquire wrong notions only “deceive” ourselves. I think now, that more than any other thing we need to practice to rid of “ego” first. We have hurt and harmed many every day by judging with our “limited five senses and weak minds.” Have our blatant misjudgements not brought about great disasters? And that because we look at an object/subject from the prism of our limited knowledge which itself is fuzzy and hazy.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Shillong -2
All agog at 2019 elections
Editor,
The rising temperature of the 2019 Lok Sabha (national parliamentary) election in India is being felt both within the country and abroad even as the whole world is waiting to see the final outcome with great interest. While both the ruling coalition and the opposition parties are making heaps of promises none seems to care for improving the poor healthcare infrastructure of the nation. People representing higher economic groups in India can afford to get advanced and quality medical treatments in upstart hospitals and nursing homes in India or abroad. However, the poor citizens of the nation who represent the bulk of India’s 1.2+ billion staggering population are heavily dependent on the existing government healthcare. For a country of India’s size it will never be easy to provide adequate healthcare for every section of the society as yet. India needs to enhance her revenue generation through proper tax collection, debt recovery from wilful defaulters and corrupt industrialists, renters, feudal lords and politicians and bring more people under the tax brackets to increase the revenue base of the country. India needs to work towards building her financial assets to support a nationwide upgrade of health infrastructure. The task is challenging no doubt but, not impossible! What is needed is a strong political will and a comprehensive economic and health policy to support India’s poor health infrastructure.
Yours etc.,
Saikat Kumar Basu
Lethbridge AB Canada