Editor,
The ILP demand in our state is getting stronger and louder. Conrad Sangma who hesitantly disagreed with the idea of ILP in the past is now in favour of ILP. This is what you call a ‘ knee jerk’ reaction or a damage control exercise to douse the flames of agitating public after a titanic blunder committed by his sister in Lok Sabha. What is amusing is that even our ex-Chief Minister Mukul Sangma who is notoriously famous for his anti-ILP stand is suddenly an ILP fan. This is what you call political opportunism. Mukul Sangma knows very well that in this current scenario where entire North East is burning it is better to swim with the tide rather than against it otherwise one will be branded a traitor just like Agatha Sangma. Secondly if ILP is implemented then Mukul Sangma should also get the credit and not only Conrad Sangma. A cunning politician indeed! Politics is not a game for solving problems but a game to ensure the political longevity of politicians. But the biggest question is, Can ILP be the answer to CAA? Citizenship Amendment Act is an act that deals with foreigners or illegal immigrants while ILP is a permit that deals with Indian citizens only. Assuming ILP is implemented in Meghalaya. Now every genuine Indian citizen who wants.to visit Meghalaya will have to obtain this permit. A legal Indian will come to Meghalaya in a legal way and there will be records of his entry and exit since he will come through the ILP check gates. But an illegal Bangladeshi will come in an illegal way and not through ILP check gates and there will be no records of his entry. Meghalaya shares a border of 440 kms with Bangladesh and hence it is easy to sneak to Meghalaya and become Indian by buying legal papers like Aadhar with mere 5000 rupees. Once a Bangladeshi is in Meghalaya it will be extremely difficult to track him since he will disappear and dissolve in places like Pynthorumkhrah, Laban, Lad Rymbai, Nongpoh, Byrnihat and not to mention the plains of Garo Hills. It is only God ( through the Honourable Supreme Court) that can save the North East. Let us pray to God so that the Supreme Court will strike down this discriminatory
Yours etc
Manuel C Lymba
Shillong 08.
Police high-handedness
Editor,
How can the police enter a University without permission in a democratic country? According to Jamia Milia Islamia Chief Proctor Waseem Ahmed Khan, the police entered their campus by force without permission from the University and began beating up students. The photos of injured students speak about police brutality inside the campus and allegedly even inside the library of the University. Who had issued the order asking the police to forcibly enter the University and resort to violence? This shameful act must be condemned by those who believe in democratic values.
The demand of Najma Akhtar, Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Milia University, for a high-level inquiry to look into the police’s entry must be taken up immediately by the government. Students are our children. They are our future. Like a parent whose primary job is to raise his or her children and to give them protection and education, a government also needs to accept it as its main responsibility. A government must not fail children and the students of the country which it governs. The students should get the highest priority. It is found that countries that have high human development score always treat their students with dignity and care. We need to sincerely follow it.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata
Opportunity lost!
Editor,
It is very sad that the Modi-Abe summit scheduled to be held in Guwahati from Sunday last has been postponed in view of the on-going protests in Assam over the Citizenship (Amendment ) Act putting paid to Prime Minister’s ‘s ambitious plan to showcase his ‘Act East’ policy to Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe. The decision comes on the heels of Bangladesh’s foreign minister and home minister cancelling their scheduled trips to India in the coming days.
The cancellation drew immediate international attention going by the traction the news got on the websites of global media houses, causing considerable embarrassment to the Modi government. More so because the protests in Assam should have been anticipated by the government since the state had erupted similarly in January when an earlier edition of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was brought to the 16th Lok Sabha. It may be recalled that earlier this week the Japanese advance team got caught up in Guwahati and faced an internet blockade besides difficulty in accessing their hotels, and they aired their concerns about having the summit in Assam under the circumstances.
The north-eastern states have emerged as a preferred destination for Japanese investments. In June, a statement after a meeting between a a Japanese delegation led by its ambassador and development of north-eastern region minister Jitendra Singh said the Japan government intends to invest about-13,000 crore in the region.
The Act East Forum, which is chaired by the Japanese envoy and India’s foreign secretary, aims to expand bilateral cooperation in the northeast and to strengthen ties between Japan and the region. The forum is a platform for collaboration under India’s Act East Policy and Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy. It focuses on connectivity, developmental infrastructure, industrial linkages and people-to people contacts through tourism, culture and sports. Japan is assisting with water supply and sewage projects in Assam, road projects in Meghalaya, forest management projects in Tripura, Nagaland and Sikkim, and an irrigation project in Mizoram. With the cancellation of the summit, north-eastern regions stand to lose immensely though rescheduling of a summit between India and japan is expected to be considered later after the situation in this region0.
Meanwhile, West Bengal bore the brunt of wide spread destruction to public property on Saturday. Protesters set fire to a number of trains, railway stations, and buses and damaged a lot of other public properties. However, chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who has resolutely opposed the Citizenship Act, appealed for peace. The most unfortunate thing is that many countries including US, UK France and Canada have issued travel advisories for their citizens asking them to ‘exercise caution.’ So, the country is going to lose a lot of foreigners this time due to the unrest prevailing in the north-eastern regions. Authorities and the protesters must find an immediate solution to this raging issue as the people in these regions must not be allowed to suffer anymore.
Yours etc.,
TK Nandanan,
Via email