Editor,
A celebrated American scholar William Arthur Ward once said: “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” I wish to express my sincere thanks to Ms. Luna Sangma, Rupesh Nath and Michael Syiem for their feedback in response to my letter, “Struggling mother with a child” (ST, 6 Feb). Their empathy towards the poor is inspiring. Yes, this gesture is most needed now when the real sense of humanity is receding. Ms Luna Sangma from Tura has aptly pointed out that “our survival depends on those poor villagers,” who produce our food items. Of course, in every respect, we are “inter-dependent.” If we go deeper, we are all interrelated and interconnected in various ways. It is “compassion and gratitude” which lubricates our mutual bonds of relationships and help us to be more human. If we offend someone, the consequences will invariably fall on us. It is always rewarding to wear a smiling face and express compassion and love. Truly, compassion is the basis of humanity, the best “religion” without dogmas.
I totally agree with what Michael Syiem has echoed through his letter, “Dark side of Khasi matriliny”. He has been a relentless voice to address marital concerns in Khasi society through his NGO – Maitshaphrang. This organization underlines that marriage registration is one of the remedies to heal the society which is wounded by rampant divorce without accountability. If we sincerely analyze the causes of the suffering of single mothers with children, or even of distressed husbands, we shall certainly arrive at conclusions which invariably point towards various factors for which we are perhaps partly to blame. Driven by the natural instinct but held back by man-made situations and personal whims, the marital relationship could be much worse if we do not take corrective steps. Of course, in pursuit of short-lived gratification, we have easily trampled upon various social values. We need to find out whether we have been putting enough efforts to uphold the values that help sustain the smooth relationship between married couples. Mutual respect and love are important and usually grow over the time. For our short term pleasure we should not invite a hundred social ills. Women struggling with grief is just the tip of the ice-berg.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Shillong
Blasphemous use of religious symbols
Editor,
India is a secular country and we respect all religions, because our country is so diverse and have their own cultures and traditions. The basic point i want to make here is the recent advertisement that was circulated all over social media regarding one Lime Company from Silchar which had named it’s product as “Shillong Lime” and branded as “Jesus Brand” and what’s ugly is that they used “The Cross” as their symbol on the package content.
Insults to one’s deeply held religious beliefs are offensive and they hit at the sacred order. Not taking the Lord’s name in vain is one of the top Ten Commandments. So there is good reason for people to tread carefully on another’s religious sensibilities. This is rather hurtful for us the entire Christian Community, as we revere the Cross and Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. I urge the manager of this company to understand and have a heart to respect other religions also and have the Holy Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and the Cross removed from the package. Let us respect one another’s religion, traditions and work towards peaceful co-existence with one another.
Yours etc.,
Chanmiki Ezra Laloo
Via Email
Trump’s India visit
Editor,
It is shocking and shameful to learn that the BJP ruled civic body in Ahmedabad is building a 5-metre long wall near the airport to block the view of a slum colony from the sight of the US President Donald Trump who is scheduled to visit to Ahmedabad on February 24. Ironically, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is spending lakhs of rupees to construct the wall to hide the slum colony where people live in poverty and in squalid conditions.
The wall is being built on an AMC-owned plot in Sardarnagar, which has several slum structures, and is situated along a road that leads to the Indira Bridge on the outskirts of the city from the Ahmedabad International Airport. The wall around 500-metre-long and four feet high is enough to hide the real India where people are living in penury. So, the government has undertaken this sad and dubious stand to paint the city to make it beautiful and to mask the reality. On earlier occasions too, such tactics of hiding poor people were used when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the city in 2014. Hence the Modi Government is trying to put up a façade to conceal the real India.
A country is predominantly known by its people and the way they living. Unfortunately, for decades people of this country have not been able to come out of penurious condition and the world knows about it. That is our reality and what is the Government going to gain by the by masking the real condition of India? Further, a deliberate attempt of the government to hide such unpleasant reality is an affront to these slum dwellers. Are they not considered part and parcel of India? Are they really pariahs to this government?Can they be held responsible for being penurious? Who is responsible for their pitiable condition? If the amount spent on building this controversialwall had been used for the betterment of these slum dwellers, many would have improved their standard of living. Or if the money was used for sanitation purposes people would have been healthier.
It should be borne in mind that slum dwellers and gypsies also constitute this mighty nation and they should not be kept out of the mainstream of the country. Why did Gandhi choose to lead a simple life? Because he knew that the majority of the people at his time were poor and they even did not have adequate clothes to wear. That was his love for his country and its people. Further, he used to speak to the world leaders about the poor conditions of his people and he never hid this fact in his talks with world leaders.
What if Trump sees the conditions of the slum dwellers? Nothing will happen. Bt what if Trump extends a helping hand to these hapless people out of his largesse to rehabilitate them? The so called ugly part of Ahmedabad would be redeemed for ever. But the Government’s dog in the manger policy only makes matters worse. When will a political party or a great leader like Mahatma Gandhi emerge to love these people and redeem them from their squalid conditions?
Yours etc.,
TK Nandanan,
Via email