Editor,
Not a single day passes without an irresponsible speech given by the political leaders in India. Apropos of the Delhi violence, Meghalaya Governor tweeted (later deleted) that we must draw a lesson from the Tiananmen Square incident of 1989 in China to handle the engineered disturbances of North East Delhi. The incident, also known as June Fourth massacre saw the killing of innocent protesters by the armed troops. This is not the first time that the Governor has shown his political inclinations and bluntly spoken against the agitating protesters. Doesn’t the office of the Governor call for political neutrality? Since when has the Governor started to openly discuss his political opinions?
Being a Delhiite who’s living in the constant fear of getting killed we expects the leaders to use their speech to spread harmony and not instigate or promote further violence. The need today is to protect the tenets of the Indian Constitutionalism and to spread those values. Drawing false equivalences and quoting examples from China clearly shows the lack of faith in Indian democracy and Constitution. This reminds me of the right wing propagated criticism of a Mughal ruler named Aurangzeb who demolished the Hindu temples and believed in one true religion. Everyone till date condemns his actions. But when it comes to the demolition of the mosque in the violence, we refrain from using harsh words. However one should not forget that back then there was no Constitution. The only way to calm the violent protesters is by believing in dissent and the very idea of diversity. Listening to their grievances and establishing a healthy dialogue with the stakeholders can bring results. Police administration alone can’t handle the protests, nor can the political leaders. It’s the community of learned and responsible stakeholders who can bring about lasting good.
Yours etc.,
Vidhi Sharma
Delhi
Destroying our environment
Editor,
Shillong our city is proudly known as “Scotland of the East.” It is blessed with beautiful nature, nice and soothing climate and the list goes on. Recently I had a friend who came all the way from Paris, to witness the beauty and charm of our state. She had seen videos posted on YouTube and would describe our place as, “Heaven on Earth”. Her dream came true when she was able to visit, “The Abode of Clouds”. We went to Sohra and she stood there in awe as nature thrilled her immensely. And mind you she’s adventurous. After passing many beautiful scenic spots, when we reached a certain leg of our journey she wept! I was curious and asked her the reason for her sadness. She showed me the garbage, plastic bags, waste products, food left- overs etc. I was very embarrassed. She asked the driver to stop the car and to my amazement she went and picked up the garbage while I stood there in shock and horror. It seemed that mother earth ached and groaned at that moment and I could feel its pain through my friend.
Later, I also helped her clean the place and carried the garbage and disposed it off in a garbage bin. The focal point is this. If we keep throwing garbage anywhere we want and self-destruct the beauty of this place I don’t know whether our later generations will see Sohra with all of its beauty and splendour?
Will its white, foamy waterfalls and green carpeted lofty mountains survive? Who do we blame for the mess but ourselves? Where is our civic sense in this regard!? It’s time to wake up and take care of our surroundings and make it a beautiful and clean place to live in. It all starts with us, with the right attitude to help and clean our environment. Because if we don’t, then the legendary fame, “Shillong- Scotland of the East” would soon fade away from memory.
Yours etc.,
Chanmiki Ezra Laloo
Via Email
Destructive campus politics
Editor,
It is most unfortunate that the Kerala government on Thursday decided to file an appeal against the High Court ban on strikes, gherao, protests in campuses including colleges and schools. The student community in Kerala had already paid a heavy price for calling strikes in both school and college campuses in the past. Many students lost their lives due to political enmity and the sad fact is that campus politics only divided students on the basis of political ideologies which prevent camaraderie among pupils.
Kerala’s education minister KT Jaleel’s statement that if agitations are not allowed in campuses, it will weaken democracy is totally naïve and far from the truth. The minister said the government will seek the opinion of legal experts to make the required changes in the draft bill taking into account the court order banning campus politics. It may be recalled that the court directive came after hearing about 20 petitions that were filed by a cross section of college managements in Kerala over a period of three years.
The court in its verdict said, “Learning is the fundamental right of students. Campuses are places for creating dialogues and discussions. They should not become venues of protests.” The bench headed by Chief Justice Navaniti Prasad said, “Education and politics should not go together. Strikes and satyagrahas should not be allowed. Those who organize strikes should be expelled.”
A casual study of the recent history of campus politics will reveal that it has brought more destruction to the student community than benefits and it only divided pupils ideologically. This is a destructive trend. Further, each political party’s principles or ideologies seem to culminate in protests or strikes. When students engage in protesting or striking, it often leads to violence. In the heat of youthfulness and in the height of idealism, the poor pupils resolutely stick to their guns with a daring spirit of ‘come what may.’ It is a proven fact that youth are adamant about the stand they take. Such a situation arises between students representing two political parties or between students and police. Jamia Millia Islamia College in New Delhi is an example for the recent protest.
Our learning spaces are centers of wisdom and knowledge. These centers teach students to a matured way of life. Schools or colleges are not just places to train them practically. A college student can have ample opportunity outside his college to get to know politics practically. Such student, if he is interested, can continue his political activities with an aim to learn more political business outside college hours. If campus politics is allowed in colleges, then it will spell doom for the student community as well as the learning centers.
Yours etc.,
TK Nandanan,
Via email