Editor,
Apropos the letter, “Learn to respect electoral verdict” (ST July 03, 2019) by N.K Kehar, I’m much obliged to this rejoinder which brings into focus my letter: “How Kerala failed the BJP?” (ST June 24, 2019). However, it is unfortunate that Mr Kehar has failed to grasp the core content of my said write up. I have never ever in my said letter trivialized or cast aspersions on the other North Indian States like U.P, Bihar and Rajasthan for their being less literate than Kerala, since I have not in any way singled out these states as highlighted by Mr. Kehar himself. If this aggrieved writer has tried to comprehend my letter he would have noted that I used the term, ‘Perhaps’ not less than three times where I implied at the high literacy rate of Kerala which is by far much higher than the pan-Indian literacy. The sum total average might have had yielded altogether different electoral results. And by which context I have discreetly used the phrase ‘Perhaps’ inferring that it was not my full-throttle protestation that the literacy of Kerala has been literally instrumental in rejecting the BJP lock, stock and barrel. I have never quoted that the states with low literacy like Rajasthan, UP and even Meghalaya are by far more illiterate than Kerala and hence followed a different voting pattern in the last Lok Sabha polls. Hence the concept of: ‘perhaps’ is the pivotal expression I have applied here.
As to the reference to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre which no patriotic Indian can ever forget and which has become a blot in the history of the Raj in India, following the heinous atrocities committed by the British Rulers, Mr Kehar ought to know that because of this condemnable action of General Reginald Dyer, every English person cannot be painted with the same brush. In fact, in the aftermath of such a massacre, General Dyer was unreservedly denounced by the British House of Commons for the unimaginable misdeed. That April 13, 1919 blood-bath had indeed cast a shadow on the British Empire where the sun it is said can never set. And to add insult to injury, General Dyer was stripped of all entitled powers and ordered to leave India forthwith.
Coincidently, during the Vietnam conflict on that fateful day of March 3 , 1968 the villagers of My Lai in Vietnam too met with similar monstrosities where more than 500 innocent men, women and even children where mowed down by American soldiers. For such irrevocable crimes on humanity committed by some Americans, the entire population of the USA cannot be universally condemned. And, markedly, in terms of latest geo-political scenario, USA and India have maintained good bonhomie; the former is also invariably standing by India in a fight against global terrorism at every forum. In fine, Mr. Kehar, therefore must in the first place dispassionately read the entire essence of a write-up before arriving at a final conclusion and to read well between the lines as he may miss the woods for the trees?
Yours etc.,
Jerome K. Diengdoh,
Via email
MBOSE Physics text books
Editor,
Apropos Sujit De’s letter, “Enslaved by erroneous education”, (ST July 22, 2019), I am very much thankful to Mr De for the letter. It has come at the right time when I was halfway through reading, “Enslaved by un-logical education”. I had the privilege to have read the CBSE texts for Physics by NCERT compiled by 14 professors of renown in our country and I am astonished as to why MBOSE did not use the above texts. In my earlier letter to the editor, I had pointed out grave gross errors in the Physics text books of Classes IX and X. I have also met five physics MBOSE teachers who complained that they find the books difficult to explain to students. They had omitted many pages, which according to me is not wise and what would students write if examination questions are set from the portions omitted? I wonder how Physics teachers who are Post Graduates fail to discover the grave errors in MBOSE texts. About the experiments described, I would say without doubt that the authors had not done the experiments themselves. Archimedes is laughable and so too the Glass Bell Jar experiment with the electric bell.
Why logic is dead is because we ignore the unitary method and preliminary algebraic formula. Selling of oranges and the men painting a wall have the same system of direct proportion. The child fails to realize that more oranges mean more money and more men doing the job means less number of days. Formulae which should not be memorized are committed to memory and this is the reason why as an invigilator in colleges, I found that many students suffer from loose motion only between 9 am to 12 am and run not to the toilets but to corners where their text books are kept.
If MBOSE could also scrutinize the above CBSE books on Physics from IX to XII, with down to earth explanations and correct and clear diagrams in one dimension or in three dimensions, it would be a great service to students of MBOSE. Lastly let me ask one frank question. “Who went through these four texts of Physics and how were they approved”? Finally let us pay homage to Aryabhatta of many centuries ago, without whom the zero would not find place in Mathematics and subsequently Boolean’s Algebra of 0 and 1 and True or False would also not have come, which would have meant no laptop, no 2G, 3G, 4G small phones and parents would not worry about PUBG.
Yours etc.,
Ex H.O.D Electronics Department,
St Edmund’s College,
Shillong.
Need to reinvent the Fire Service Dept
Editor,
I had earlier pointed out the need for the State Government to sanction and create more manpower and hi-end training for the fire service department. The reality of an unfortunate natural calamity even a man-made one, anytime soon cannot be ruled out. This is why the state government should create additional fire service stations at every block or have a cluster hub that could integrate both fire, ambulance, para-medical into an integrated disaster command structure to handle any situation. We need to have such a command and control structure which I strongly feel the state government should pay heed to. It must go for a complete up-gradation, refurbishment and upscaling of our firemen and also have fire-women too in service. The fire service department is one that goes unnoticed.
Yours etc…
Dominic S. Wankhar
Shillong