Editor,
As rightly expressed in a letter to the editor dated August 13, 2020, we cannot deny the fact that the political class has often influenced the recruitment process in the MPSC. This is an established, unsolicited
reality for the people of the state. We are accustomed to allege that most of the people who get jobs through the MPSC have direct or indirect political connections. However, do we realise; that other officials have an equal or higher hand in the selection process of the MPSC. These people are none other than the MEMBERS of the Public Service Commission themselves.
For instance, the result of Assistant Soil and Water Conservation Officer (AS&WCO) in Soil and Water Conservation Department, declared by the MPSC on January 8, 2020, is a classic example of the
above-mentioned point. The candidate placed in the 1st Rank is a relative of one MPSC member who is a resident of Mission Compound, Jowai. Rank 2nd and Rank 6th candidates on the selected list are the
immediate neighbours (Mission Compound, Jowai) and close family friends of the said Member; they are staying within 50 meters radius from the MPSC Member’s house. Another one who was placed at Rank 7th is the daughter of a seasoned politician from Khimusniang, Jowai. We dare the cynical one to check the results and conduct a probe to determine the veracity of these allegations. These are facts!
Now this is just due to one member engineering one recruitment to influence the results by hook or crook. What happens when all the members of the Commission along with the Chairman try to influence the outcome of a particular result together? No more vacant slot for a hardworking/ meritorious candidate, with no desire to pull any strings. He/she wouldn’t get through the interview and in most cases even the rigged written examination (due to under the table deals).
Time and time again, these unscrupulous activities are happening under our noses. Clear as daylight. Why isn’t a competent authority investigating this; with so many proofs lying around, to take necessary exemplary action? This is the only effective way to revamp MPSC in letter and spirit. Cut out the weeds!
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request
Iconic places are not built
Editor,
A news channel recently reported of the Government’s intent to build an “iconic place” at the site of the old PWD campus. Firstly, an iconic place is not “built”, it evolves into one and Shillong prides itself of having numerous such places. Don Bosco Square is one such spot that evolved from the Italian prototype brought from Italy, into an educational and cultural centre and a popular hangout since the late 1970s.
Those of us who have watched with interest the evolution of the Jimi Hendrix Project initiated by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen, which led to the foundation and evolution of the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, will appreciate the fact that you don’t just ” build” an iconic place. The Experience Music Project which first opened in 2000 has since evolved into the Museum of Pop Culture – MoPOP for short – in 2016. It still retains its musical roots but now shares space with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame and is today recognised as iconic- emblematic, representational and in the words of Paul Allen, “…exuberant and fearless, like the man (Hendrix) who inspired it.”
Yours etc.,
Ann Mylliem
Shillong-14
Mark Twain on Christianity
Editor,
Apropos the four write-ups published in The Shillong Times by Marbianglang Rymbai, Salil Gewali, Easter Sohtun, and Rosa Mary Shadap, I wish to say that they all have touched my heart. I thank all four of them for exposing the sorry state of affairs of the tribal society which is fast alienating from its original roots and values as underlined by all the writers. After my unbiased study of the key religions of the world, I am of the belief that the majority of the followers of those religions, who think they are the best, have either been misled or are becoming more fanatic by the day. They preach among other less informed and innocent adherents the path of dogmatism and superstition, consequently taking them all away from the faculty of free-thinking and creativity. What is worse is that each religion or church proclaims that one religion alone takes us to God and the followers of the rest others are heathens. Very absurd belief system! What I find most ridiculous is the lectures by some preachers in the remote areas which is more of dogmatism than self-inquiry and self-discovery. In many lectures, we hear them accusing other faiths. I fail to understand how God is so “weak” that he approves of the faith that preaches to disrespect and hate other religions and their followers and the ideas are pretty shallow.
This I find very difficult to digest, however, I will try to come to their terms. There are many unscientific facts which the holy book still holds true in spite of new discoveries of modern science. I would like to share a famous quote by a great American writer Mark Twain who once said that, ‘If Christ were here there is one thing he would not be — a Christian.’ This quote deeply resonates with my thinking process and inspires me to self-introspect instead of being a blind-follower and staying fanatical.
Yours etc.,
Sanwame War
Shillong- 2