Editor,
I thank Rev Lyndan Syiem for the corrections to my letter. His description of Jones’s linguistic contributions is much appreciated.
The purpose of my letter was twofold: If we wish to ascribe to Thomas Jones the appellation of ‘Father’, of what should this ‘Fatherhood’ be? He seems to be commonly described as the ‘Father of the Khasi Alphabet’ but his gravestone in Kolkata carries this further with the inscription, “The founding father of the Khasi alphabets and literature.” One would argue that ‘founding’ and ‘father’ are redundant, but that is just semantics. What was objected to was the Shillong Times front page extending this even further to ‘Father of Khasi Language’.
The second point of the letter was to point out our cultural inclinations. When religious conversion takes place, cultural proselytization also seems to happen. So we not only adopt the new religion, but adopt the lifestyle, social mores, names of children etc. of the country or society from where the new religion was brought from. Whether this threatens our cultural roots and identity is an important point. We also seem to honour these foreigners with holidays. But apart from three martial heroes and freedom fighters, in our own state we have not honoured any litterateur such as Soso Tham, Homiwell Lyngdoh or Hamlet Bareh.
Yours etc.,
Glenn C. Kharkongor,
Via email
A slur on secularism
Editor,
It is a matter of great concern that these days some people have mustered so much courage as to openly lynch Muslims and Dalits all over the country. Recently on June 24, a young Muslim youth, Tabrez Ansari was killed in Jharkhand. Another youth Sharukh was insulted in the train in West Bengal and so many such incidents are occurring all over the country.
They are trying to destroy democracy and secularism in this country. It seems that they want to defame the glorious face of the largest democracy in the world. It is high time to unite against these elements and promote communal harmony. I want to draw the attention especially of the members of the parliament to pay heed to this serious issue and to take steps to prevent such incidents in futire.
Jai hind
Yours etc.,
Jamil Ahmed,
Mumbai
Cow vigilantism
Editor,
Cow-vigilantism reared its ugly head again in Kerala where cow slaughter is not banned. Six men in a car waylaid a van transporting cattle in a North Kerala district early on Monday, dragged out the driver and his assistant and assaulted them in a suspected case of cow vigilantism. A cow-farm owner had bought the cattle from Ismail, a seller in neighbouring Karnataka and the cattle were being brought to Kerala.
Cow-slaughter is banned in Karnataka and middlemen who buy cattle from the state usually transport them either to Kerala or Goa where beef is freely eaten and cow slaughter is not an issue. This has led to friction in Karnataka where Sangh Parivar groups object to the sale of cattle for slaughter. On earlier occasions too, there were reports of cow-vigilantism in Kasaragod, the northern district of Kerala and the latest one was in April last year when a group waylaid a van transporting cattle from Mangalore.
Though I am personally averse to killing cows or goats for eating, I do not oppose the practice of consumption of beef by others so as to strike a harmony between the two groups. Let us promote the idea of ‘live and let live.’ It must be borne in mind that the entire population of the world except certain sections of people in India have included meat in their daily diets and it would be foolish to oppose others who wish to eat beef. Once we try to be more understanding then we will be more tolerant.
Yours etc.,
TK Nandanan,
Kochi – 15
Crying foul to save nature
Editor,
World Environment Day is celebrated every year in Meghalaya along with the whole world. Nonetheless, the celebration of June 5 every year has proved to be futile as the message is yet to influence the general mass. Why so many hundreds of truck loads of stones are supplied to a neighbouring country everyday from Meghalaya, thereby creating unnecessary chaos at the border crossing. Is it not the destruction of the natural environment of the state in particular and the country as a whole? So many heavy machineries are set in to destroy the hills of the state. It is also tearing down the serenity and calmness that attracts tourists in the state both domestic and foreign to savour its picturesque beauty. Accumulation of debris by the sides of the charming winding roads as seen today adds nothing but only repulsiveness. It may be reminded that tourism is a great industry today. If we turn and look towards Bhutan we can very well understand the importance and magnitude of tourism that has christened the mountain country as the Switzerland of Asia. Ironically, the nation which is asking for the stones is quite discreetly preserving its own resources of the non-metallic mineral. One wonders when our people will realise this travesty. Ultimately who will be losing out? Obviously it is our next generation. What will we answer them when they raise the question of why such destruction? It is high time we understand and stop the menace or simply remain satisfied with the expression of sincere apology for the devastation when nothing will be left with us to offer and contribute towards environment preservation.
Yours etc.,
Bibhash Dhar,
Via email
India’s wealth stacked abroad
Editor,
The Standing Committee of Finance tabled a report in the Lok Sabha on Monday, which should indeed baffle everyone. The report brings to the fore a shocking information that some Indians have stashed almost an unaccounted wealth of Rs. 9L crore outside the country over various periods between 1980 and 2010. The studies conducted by the three institutes have found that the sectors where unaccounted income is found to be the highest included real estate, mining, pharmaceuticals, pan masala, gutka, tobacco, bullion, commodity, film and education. However, there are no reliable estimates of black money generation or accumulation; neither is there an accurate well-accepted methodology for making such estimation.
The report also made some negative observations about the Union Government’s efforts to fight the menace of unaccounted income. It may be recalled that the panel headed by Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily had submitted its report to the Lok Sabha speaker on March 28, 2019 well before the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha. The Committee would expect the Ministry of Finance to continue their efforts with greater vigour to unearth and bring to book unaccounted income/wealth both within and outside the country including follow-up action on the seven reports of the special investigation team constituted on black money as well as the three study reports on estimation of unaccounted money. Thus, the Committee expects more fruitful outcomes on this count, both in terms of much wider tax base as well as actual yield. Undoubtedly, the report is expected to spark a BJP- Congress fight in the Lok Sabha very soon since the report has criticized the Government’s efforts for bringing back black money as being inconsistent. If the Government sincerely takes practical steps to unearth the unaccounted money, it will be a right step to hit a real jackpot.
Yours etc.,
TK Nandanan,
Kochi – 15