Editor,
This is with reference to the report, “SSA teachers protest outside CMO’s office” (ST 12 Nov, 2020). SSA teachers have not received their salaries for several months and are aggrieved. Teachers have to depend on the nearby “Shylocks,” for their upkeep. And the Shylocks all demand their pound of flesh! But who will save our poor teachers from this pitiable situation? No solution is in sight In fact, we are literally unable to “understand and feel” the real woes of the teachers, especially those who have no other sources of income/bank-balance. They lead a very hard life. This present pandemic has further added to their miseries. What if they can’t borrow money from the lenders when they don’t receive the salaries for several months? They will be dying of starvation. Thus, those who live in poverty are always oppressed, sometimes even unfairly discriminated by the people from the upper strata. This is what I have noticed.
However, the flagship program under RTE, SSA has come as a “boon” for the state with meagre employment opportunities. It now boasts of having employed over “twelve thousand teachers”, undoubtedly a big number. This should be a big relief for the state. But this SSA has its share of demerits too. Many qualified job seekers have taken up the SSA teaching post on “contractual basis” and the worry of job termination after the contract exprires always worries them endlessly. Most of them again end not being able to apply for other lucrative jobs outside because they are age-barred. Perhaps this frustration also contributes to making the teaching fraternity express anger on the streets. With various inadequacies, and need to be accountable for every penny to the CENTRE and loads of blame from within the state, the SSA management here in Meghalaya often “staggers” by the burden of its own weight.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Shillong
Whither ECI?
Editor,
The recent Bihar election in which the usual charisma of Prime Minister Modi was overshadowed by the young dynamic 34 year old Teshwaji Lalu Yadav was viewed by many in right earnest. Had the Congress accepted its weakness and sacrificed more of the 70 seats, the young man would have won. Leaving this for the time being, let us dwell upon the gravest threat ever in the fairness of the election campaign. Never before in any form of civilisation was vaccine a freebie. “Vote and you will get free vaccine was the BJP slogan,” which is nothing short of an inducement. Its almost like saying to the voters, “Vote BJP and get the vaccine or die.” And surprisingly the Election Commission found nothing wrong in it!
This ECI and its conduct in the last Lok Sabha Election could be well recalled. The Supreme Court kept on shouting, “You are toothless, you woke up now; now you know your powers, now you can watch the Modi biopic etc etc.” When three citizens who are bonafide voters of India complained of deviant behaviour , the Election Commissioner, far from taking necessary steps to study, began to suspect the voters. The ECI should know that nobody has time to complain unless they find is necessary to do so and the ECI seemed to misconstrue the matter as being one that challenges votes which never happens with ballot papers. How could one stamp on say a ‘bicycle’ and a ‘lantern lights up?’ Instead of correcting the many errors of the EVM like paper jamming, failure to switch on for which a technician is on standby. Even while voters returned home empty handed, the ECI kept on praising the system. Look at the US. As vast as the country is they still rely on ballot papers. It is thus high time that we admit our handicaps and humbly go back to the Old is Gold – ballot paper.
Coming to the freebie of free vaccine, the remaining Assembly elections of West Bengal and Assam will be in great jeopardy. We had succumbed to vaulting ambitions that overleap human decency and behaviour. None can save us now. That the COVID vaccine which is yet to finalised could determine election results in Bihar is astounding. Let the world judge!
Yours etc.,
Manbha Diengdoh,
Via email
Humans and the Universe
Editor,
Humans like all other living beings are part of the universe. The planets and all heavenly bodies continue to function in the same order since the beginning. The planets for instance have rotated and revolved around the sun since the very start. Even the animals continue the lives as it was. It’s we humans who are moving in different directions to the extent that we are responsible for the destruction of Mother Earth. Unplanned construction in the name of development is alarming. Greed is the only agenda, whether it’s an individual or a corporate business house. Cities like Mumbai continue to deteriorate making them unliveable
The pandemic is clearly man made and we will continue to suffer unless we change our ways.The way man has gone about wanting to apply his newly discovered knowledge in this world, is almost exactly like his current eagerness to introduce the new Covid-19 vaccine without due diligence – to ensure that the cure is not worse than the disease… which can have disastrous consequences. In fact his assumption of superiority over the universe and all things natural has led humankind to the brink of extinction. So also has his penchant to apply all knowledge for aggression and conquest. Mother nature has evolved over eons and continues to do so, filtering and retaining the best survivors of harsh environments while eliminating both the weak and monstrous threats to sustenance. So it will always remain sine qua non that man works for nature and not the other way round. That is nature’s commandment.
Yours etc.,
Albert Andrew Nongrum &
Sanjay Rao,
Via email