Editor,
The Shillong Times of May 24 carried a report captioned, “UDP attributed defeat to fear factor.” According to me, the paper should not have given prominence to this report and consigned it to an insignificant space on page 10. Also the caption should have been in small letters as this is an absolutely irresponsible and highly controversial statement by the President of the UDP. He had unnecessarily made the Christian community of this region vulnerable. Election rules, though not followed universally in our country, clearly state that no religion should be ever used to win votes during elections. The recent defeat of the UDP candidate, Jemino Mawthoh might have been a great disappointment for the Party, but for them to ride on the excuse of religion and point out the religion of the electorate is shameful. Meghalaya’s past leaders who had served our state with dedication had never dragged religion or religious denominations into an election campaign and thereby demonstrated to the coming generation how to maintain decorum and abide by the secular ideals of the Constitution. If this is the attitude, not of a common man but a leader, then Meghalaya is treading a dangerous path that may result in unpleasant consequences for our state and for our brothers and sisters residing in different states of India.
Yours etc.,
- Khyriem,
Nongkrem-15.
Priorities before Modi
Editor,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at a rally in Ahmedabad on Sunday and said that the next five years would be very important in the history of the country as was the period between1942 to 1947. He said, “This period will be the time to regain the rightful position of India in the world. In the past our country had that place. I am sure India will regain its importance in the world order.”
It is indeed heartwarming to learn that our Prime Minister has something up his sleeves to implement for the glorification of India. There is the stigma attached to our country about impecunious people living in garrets. Our country’s basic problems are that people have no good habitable houses, potable water and jobs. So, Modi’s first priority must be to rehabilitate homeless people by providing them good houses, provide at least one member of a poor family with a government job, and equally important to provide people with clean drinking water. Further, the government has to deploy more officials from the health departments to create awareness on public hygiene. On a casual visit to villages, one can see how people live in unhygienic and squalid conditions. Once they become educated and are aware of the value of cleanliness they will start living hygienically, and all kinds of epidemics can be contained.
Also as people’s standard of living goes up they can rub shoulders with the rest of the world.
Yours etc.,
TK Nandanan,
Via email
Concession for senior citizens
Editor,
The Hon’ble Ministry of Railways had recently augmented one Anubhuti Class Air Conditioned Chair Car Coach in some of the popular Shatabdi Express trains across India including Chennai-Mysuru Shatabdi Express, Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express, Pune-Secunderabad Express, New Delhi-Amristar Shatabdi Express etc. The Anubhuti Coaches offer aircraft-like features including 2×2 seating with wide leg-room, window screens with collapsible blinds, LCD infotainment TV screens, attendant call buttons, reading lights, arm rest affordable food trays and seats with comfortable foot rest.
The ticket fare offered for Anubhuti Class travel though online reservation system is charged on full fare basis with a choice to opt-out of catering services. However the fare component does not offer travel concessions to senior citizens and ‘Divyang’ passenger categories who are otherwise forced to pay full fare for the journey. Such a move causes great inconvenience and prevents the elderly from travelling comfortably since they cannot avail concessions in Anubhuti Class. Interestingly, the concessions benefiting both senior citizens and ‘Divyang’ passengers is otherwise offered on First Class Executive AC Chair Car also attached to these trains.
Hence the concerned Ministry of Railways and the Railway Board are requested to urgently consider offering ticket fare subsides through the facility of senior citizen concessions and ‘Divyang’ passenger concessions in Anubhuti Class Air Conditioned Chair Car Coach attached to all the Shatabdi Express trains. The move will greatly benefit many passengers intending to avail concessions through senior citizens and Divyang categories and to travel by Anubhuti Coach comfortably.
Yours etc.,
Mr Varun SD
Bangalore
Minorities under Indian Constitution
Editor,
After analyzing the minds of Nehru-Gandhi Congress combine and their attitude towards Mohamed Ali Jinnah the British rulers applied the “divide & rule” policy and made the Partition of India in 1947 forver generate hatred between these two principal communities. Present-day political leaders of Congress party and their allies posing and preaching as advocates of secularism during the 17th Lok Sabha election campaign are in reality pseudo-secularists. They are only appeasing the Muslim minority community and are creating a Hindu-Muslim divide in the society, thereby polarizing people on religious lines to garner votes. What about other minority communities as enshrined in the Constitution of India under Article 15 & Article 25 (1) and (2) with Explanations I & II? Why are these leaders not taking up the cause of the most neglected minorities such as Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs? What has the UPA (including Congress done for them in seven decades of rule)? Of course, Congress party had rendered great injustice to the Sikh minority community by decimation of Sikhs in 1984 by a retaliatory and revengeful action after unfortunate assassination of Indira Gandhi.
People of India from time immemorial are peace-loving and want communal harmony. They have maintained unprecedented communal harmony and peace in the society despite the present globally restive scenario. It is only a group of political leaders who use secularism to mislead two particular communities to remain at daggers drawn so that they can retain power in their hands through their direct or hybrid family descendants for all time to come.
After the poll debacle some of the Chief Ministers and leaders of pseudo-secular groups have already taken vows to stand by and support the Muslim Community and not all minority communities. Raising such slogans by politicians/leaders, who are deliberately trying to make the society bi-polar (Hindu & Muslim sans other communities) for their vested interests and end-gains is extremely dangerous. It goes against the tenets of the Constitution and will vitiate the atmosphere thereby to communal unrest.
People of Kolkata or West- Bengal, Punjab or for that matter anywhere or of any other state of India would not like to revisit the organized and sponsored Calcutta Killings of August 1946 by the ruling dispensation.
Yours etc.,
Samares Bandyopadhyay
Kolkata- 91