Editor,
The Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) came to power in Meghalaya in March, 2018 and in the last ten months it has not shown its craftsmanship of governance. It is aimless and directionless. In fact it has not displayed statesmanship because it has none. Ten months is sufficient time to judge a government. The government has no direction because it has not spelt out its priorities. Hence the MDA government has landed itself up with piece-meal governance and knee jerk reactions. The reason for this is a leadership vacuum. When a ship is rudderless it goes haywire and directionless and will either clash with other ships, hit an iceberg and sink or it reaches nowhere.
Conrad Sangma has many advisers but we really don’t know what they are advising him. What he has displayed so far is that he does not have the caliber to lead and to govern. This Government is weak and floundering. What is required urgently is for the CM to confer with his team of ministers; tighten up the screws to bring in more discipline and work culture and also to handle the Finance bit which seems to be falling apart. Except for Prestone Tynsong, the performance of the rest of the ministers is woefully wanting in all respects. Even the former ministers are lagging behind. The government cannot carry on like this otherwise it spells doom for the State. There is urgent need for a re-look, review and reshuffle by allocating the right portfolio to the right man.
The Home Portfolio should be relieved from the present incumbent because he has proved to be a failure at it. Other portfolios that need to be reshuffled are Health, Agriculture, and Horticulture etc. The present Health Minister has been handling the health portfolio for too long; he was holding it even during previous Ministries. Now, what has this government achieved? Except for bringing out the Education Policy which was the offshoot of a long preparation, right from the MPA government, this MDA government has brought nothing to the table. It has failed miserably in mining and environmental issues and it has also failed to resolve the Sweepers’ Colony issue. Luckily militancy is on the wane and there was no serious law and order problem facing the government, except the one which took place on May 31, 2018, which was calmed down, though the issue is still unresolved.
Conrad Sangma, the CM, has to decide what he should do, whether to remain as CM for the rest of the term or bequeath his throne to someone else. If he decides to remain the CM then he better pull up his socks; put the debris of faults in the dumper and get rid of the superfluous lot or else they will pull him down. He has to decide to take the bull by the horns. Meghalaya needs his quick and wise decision at this juncture because the stakes are very high.
Yours etc.,
Philip Marwein,
Via email
Why the Lineage Bill?
Editor
I am proud to be a Meghalayan, practicing the matrilineal system and proudly declaring to the other communities, the positive points of the system. However, I agree with the views of our fellow citizen, BL Lyngdoh (ST Dec 15, 2018), regarding amendments to Khasi Social Custom of Lineage Bill. Due to personal reasons, there are some Garos, Jaintias and Khasis, who have been practicing the patrilineal system, even though both the parents belong to same tribe. Some of the reasons being: (1) out of respect for or emotional attachment with their father (2) some families have only sons and don’t have daughters, and those families bring the daughter-in-law to their house and give all inheritance to their son. Children born to these families practice patrilineal system (3) in cases when the mother abandons her children and goes off with another man, the children change their surname to their father’s. In few such cases when they are truly purely tribals, why do we, as a community/GHADC/ KHADC want to question their Garo/Khasi tribal status? We cannot be narrow minded, stiff necked, inflexible all the time. A few members of the District Council trying to aggressively pass a lineage bill, without consulting the community/various learned/ experienced individuals who have knowledge or insight about the advantages/disadvantages of various customs/lineage would be a grave error.
It is a well known, well practiced custom, that a non tribal woman adopts her husband’s surname. Though this is a well known fact, our community still tries to create a problem for such families when a non tribal woman marries a Garo/Khasi man. I can understand the concerns of our community regarding some non-tribals trying to take advantage by adopting tribal surnames. There were some cases, wherein the individuals adopt tribal surnames just to receive the benefits, when their whole customs/ religious practices don’t conform to the local tribal practices. In the case of Garos, there were reports of Muslims who have adopted Garo surnames and got their EPIC card made. In such cases, village head plays a great role, and they should be held accountable for issuing favorable/fake no objection or residency certificates. If found guilty those issuing fake certificates, should be penalized according to law. Among Garos, there are no Garo Muslims or Hindus; it’s just Christians and local religion or Songsareks. If anyone is found falsely adopting a tribal name, then as a concerned individuals and community, we need to report it to the concerned authorities and not give them any chance to take advantage, and later create problems. This is the best way to resolve such social (mal) practices
Yours etc.,
TK Sangma,
Tura
