Editor,
It was shocking and indeed heart breaking to see the news of 13 tusks being recovered from a smuggler near the international border in Garo Hills. This is an eye opener for the Forest & Wildlife authorities who should wake up from their deep slumber and tighten the policing of the critically endangered forests and its few remaining wild beings. 13 tusks means at least 7 tuskers were shot dead under the lax watch of the Forest & Wildlife department. If such huge beings like elephants are blatantly shot and killed then what to speak of smaller beings. I therefore strongly urge the officials concerned to ensure that accountability for the loss of wildlife is fixed and stern action taken against the erring personnel. It is also suggested that samples of the tusks be sent for carbon dating and other forensic scientific examination to determine the approximate time that has elapsed since the pachyderms were heartlessly mowed down, as this will help throw light on the time this illegal activity has been going on unchecked. To the judiciary I appeal to kindly ensure swift justice so that it acts as a deterrent to others who are prowling the forests of our state in search of unfair game.
Yours etc.,
Gagann Jain,
Via email
Democracy gone to the dogs?
Editor,
If a party’s leaders and its “narrow policies” are more important than the country, one should doubt the integrity of the party itself. Its ulterior motive should be exposed. Yes, wild allegations, vindictiveness, deceit are what have been adopted by the majority of leaders of certain political parties. Please note that many things in the country have long been going against the very principles of democracy. Is it fair that a certain political party should have a high command consisting of only one kind of people? A person with childish immaturity and lacking political acumen has been offered the highest post and is given free rein. I think this is disastrous. Not just that, in the same party, the seasoned political leaders are not allowed to claim their rightful place. Is this not undemocratic? This is what is driving many people away from party since the past few years.
With emphasis, I further say that the aspirations of diversified communities cannot be fulfilled by those who are lost in the wilderness of selfishness and raw vindictiveness. Yes, the past sixty years have brought forth absurdities galore in Indian politics. We have leaders who are murderers; leaders who have amassed untold wealth and so on. Some of our leaders have not even passed high school and can’t even read their oath correctly.
An ordinary person is blacklisted for petty wrongdoing which bars him from even fighting for a job. Miseries and worries await him/her throughout life. Political leaders on the other hand are allowed to run for the topmost posts in the country in spite of several criminal offenses and incompetence. Not just that, they can even contest elections from “jail.” Is this not a grave malpractice and the soft underbelly of Indian politics? Is this a healthy sign for the democracy that we are proud of? What’s worse is that some leaders of political parties are coming out against the very principle of sovereign nationhood. We have many questions but few or no answers.
It is ironic that one who asks for votes in the guise of a Dalit is otherwise a wealthy person. Yesterday they may have been in rags but today they are flushed with riches! Just check out Mayawati, Mamata Banerjee and the like. Did they not enter politics wearing the outfit of penance and pledging to serve humanity? Now they are involved in numerous unholy deeds. Discrimination, brutality, and arrogance are what they have embraced all along. The solemn terms of significance like comrade, proletariat, communism of Communist party is now merely eyewash. Under the cover of this ideology, many have been massacred. Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Mao Zedong must now be shedding copious tears in heaven as their followers are misreading their masterpieces and taking up arms to hurt humanity.
Furthermore, in a democracy you can emphatically speak “lies” and still claim to be the most truthful. Here the lies can also be “processed” successfully. It involves a simple technique. Repeat those lies many times and they become truth. Many false ideas have thus been disseminated. There are many agencies or service providers these days that discreetly help turn a lie into a wholesome truth. Thanks to the people who have almost learned to accept lies without any grudge!
Nothing could be more disgraceful than the fact that citizens are taken for a ride so easily in a democracy. We just become awestruck by falsity if that comes out from the political party we love to fall back upon. But we strongly condemn and belittle any worthwhile plans and policies if they are formulated and implemented by the party we choose to dislike. This way we have wilfully “blunted the sharpness” of our own intellect and reasoning faculty. We only pollute our thought-process. Here one’s question — ‘should we still hold the custodians of constitution free from blemishes and prejudices?’ No, never they are quite culpable. If one dispassionately re-evaluates the cases, one is overwhelmed by the surge of despondency and regret. Our designated custodians have tolerated so much lawlessness and “self-expediency”. Many past missteps or a lackadaisical attitude of the guardians of the Constitution have led us up to this tragedy. Keeping mum when a house is on fire is itself an invitation to trouble. It seems almost the same has happened in Indian politics. The guardians of the constitution have sealed their lips and as a result now we have an uncontrollably tumultuous orgy of political farce.
Democracy has suffered irremediable disfigurement in the cauldron of politics because of leaders without integrity and confused citizens.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,