Editor,
Apropos the news item, ” Trading circles divided over market reopening” (ST-June 17, 2020), I think the concerns raised by some shopkeepers belonging to the Greater Iewduh Welfare Association and Hynniewtrep Nongiew Association with regard to the reopening of Iewduh are valid. It sounds rational that if Iewduh is opened even partially, there will be a huge rush leaving no scope for health protocols. Even if only one asymptomatic Covid infected person mingles with the thousands of people that are surely going to throng Iewduh, we can imagine what the consequences are going to be.
Under the present circumstances, most people understand the anxiety of our Government which is trying to balance the needs of livelihood and general health safety as well as the frustrations and even desperation of those who make their living from Iewduh. However, I think that we should err on the side of caution rather than regret later on.
Without minimising the commendable efforts of the Government in preventing the spread of Covid-19, I also believe that luck or unknown factors also played a significant part in that the pandemic has not affected our state to the extent that other neighbouring states are experiencing. Having said this, many are rightly apprehensive that the premature reopening of Iewduh could turn out to be that proverbial “One False Step,” which could potentially render to naught all the good work of these past months and plunge our state into an unprecedented health tragedy.
But will the government reconsider its decision? Personally I feel there is no shame in reversing our decisions, if on retrospection they are found to be unhelpful or even harmful to the common good, more so in the present context when we are facing a completely new situation.
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request
Via email
India, China must start afresh
Editor,
Anger is pouring out from the hearts of billions of Indians against the carnage at Galwan in which 20 soldiers were brutally killed by Chinese troops, and the government sensing the pulse of the people has set about canceling some contracts farmed out to Chinese companies, which had won them through a global bidding process. First among the Indian enterprises to scrap the contract is the Indian Railways with its Rs 471 crore tender awarded to a Chinese firm amid reports that the government intends to hit back at Beijing with trade barriers and additional levies on over 300 products. It may be pertinent to note that Chinese companies have flooded the Indian markets with a lot of different products that had swamped Indian Enterprises.
As a matter of fact, the unpleasant border skirmishes between India and China have indeed cast a cloud over trade relations. A section of Chinese industries are deeply worried about the new developments at the Indo-China border. Moreover, many Chinese firms have ploughed huge investments into some of the country’s most iconic tech brands, such as the ride-hailing service Ola, a fintech company Paytm, food delivery app Zomato and e-commerce giant Flipkart. India’s bilateral trade with China was worth nearly $80 billion in 2019. India exports mostly a basket of primary goods to China, including cotton, yarn, organic chemicals, ores, natural pearls, precious stones and fabrics etc. Chinese imports into India electric machinery, electronic equipment, nuclear reactors, boilers, solar energy components etc.
It is to be borne in mind that in 2017-18, China met almost 60 per cent of India’s import requirements for electrical and electronic equipment. In the smart phone industry, four of the five bestselling mobile phone brands are from China. Together, they account for 60 per cent of India’s smart phone market. Analysts believe that both nations have invested heavily in each other. Under these circumstances, it may be good for both the countries not to engage in nefarious activities that may lead to irreparable loss. What should India and China do in this hour of strained relations? Surely, both the countries must resume what they have left undone. What will both countries gain in case they engage in war? Through war, nothing is going to be won by these two countries except destruction. Moreover, these two countries are the most populous countries in the world and if war breaks out, millions of people would be killed on both sides.
Conversely, if the two countries decide to cooperate and ignore the petty issues based on the ‘enough is enough’ policy; greater things are in store for these two mighty nations in future. Being peaceful means being able to achieve economic and social progress, both of which are necessary to promote life and well-being. War means death and destruction of everything we have laboriously constructed over years. So, let us opt for peace so that we do not lose everything through war.
Yours etc.,
TK Nandanan,
Via email