Editor,
What an ageing, soon to be retired politician said about the indigenous Khasi population living in Bangladesh at the recent rally at Madan Student, Jaiaw is totally absurd and unacceptable. He said that we will all be happy if the Khasis living in Bangladesh return to India. That argument is devoid of logic and common sense. First and foremost if they are happy living in present day Bangladesh, then the question of them coming back to India does not arise. Secondly, India today is the most powerful country in South Asia; it is way up there at the top when it comes to the most powerful countries in Asia and is certainly on its way to becoming a global superpower. So India does wield enormous influence in the region as a whole. It can definitely use its soft power prowess to put pressure on countries like Bangladesh to treat its minorities, especially the indigenous tribal population with dignity and respect.
When my forefathers decided to return to their village from present day Bangladesh after partition(Bangladesh was formed in 1971),they were not put under any sort of pressure from either the Indian government or the Pakistan government at that time. It was all about timing and it was a calculated decision since the vast economic opportunities and the livelihoods that the orange plantation provided for them were no longer there. By the time the partition happened, the orange trees were dying so there was no point for them to continue staying in those plantation areas since they have their own homes in Mawsynram. They were also provided economic compensation for the land that they ceded to East Pakistan. So my forefathers’ decision to return to India was taken after they had weighed all the options available for them. So the question that we need to ask ourselves today is, whether the indigenous Khasi population living in Bangladesh at present have those options that my forefathers had?
I can say with a fair amount of certainty that the thousands of Khasi living in Bangladesh today have very little to look forward to if they return to India. Present day Bangladesh has been their home for hundreds if not thousands of years. So the Government of India must use its soft power to ensure that the Khasi population living in Bangladesh today are treated as equal citizens and that their rights are not in any way trampled upon by the authorities in that country.
Yours etc.,
Gary Marbaniang
Via email
Education imperilled
Editor,
The leakage of questions papers meant to test teachers for recruitment as Lower and Upper Primary School teachers shows that we can no longer trust the Education Department and its various directorates of training and research. It also means that the recruitment test will have to be held once again even if many of those who appeared for the test never got the leaked question papers. This is very unfair for those prospective teachers who had prepared themselves to appear for the exams. This time the Government should show that it means business and ensure that the person or persons responsible for the leak are punished. The Education Minister of the MDA Government should take this matter seriously because if the leak had not become public then many undeserving candidates would have been appointed teachers while others who slogged and studied would have lost out. Meghalaya cannot allow itself to turn into a lawless state where criminals go unpunished.
Yours etc.,
TG Momin,
Via email
Will BJP drop the CAB?
Editor,
Apropos the news item, “BJP leader hints at CAB being put on backburner,” (ST Feb 3, 2019), the BJP ST Morcha leader H Bill Lotha seems to suggest that the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016 will be shelved as it has not been listed in the current budget session. However, there are other reports which say that the matter will be listed for discussion in the Rajya Sabha on February 7-8. If the matter is not discussed within the tenure of this Government then it is good news for the North East, particularly for Assam where the protests against the Bill were the loudest and the BJP knew that it was losing its popularity in this region. The CAB has created so much disenchantment that slogans in Mizoram read, “Bye bye India, Welcome China.” These are dangerous portends and the CAB could further alienate the North Eastern states completely from the rest of India.
Yours etc.,
John D Wahlang,
Shillong- 6