Editor,
On two occasions last year until the evening of January 30, this year, we have witnessed and heard of a series of bombings, one at Khliehriat Police Quarters, followed by that hurled at Lummawrie, Laitumkhrah market and the recent blast at Police Bazar, Shillong which have created ruckus, fear and inconvenience to the general public. I feel that these acts are nothing more than mechanisms which feed the ethno-centric belief of ‘Ieid Ri’ (Nationalism) by a small group of narrow- minded people (of a certain organisation) only confined to their spaces. They believe that by these intimidation tactics they will keep the other communities under their control.
I understand that the notion of ‘Ieid Ri’ is essential on an everyday context-to conserve my land and my people so that they are not ostracised or reduced to a feeling of powerlessness in their own land. The indigenous people while being masters of their land must also work diligently and in harmony with others. But what is being seen today, is a radical approach of ‘Ieid Ri’, by putting the lives of many innocents both indigenous and non-indigenous at stake. The question therefore is – will these actions bear any fruit? In the course of pursuing a fight for a genuine cause can we use violent means? And with the advancement of learning and the exposure of our young people to the outside world such cowardly acts will not be spared from condemnation. In fact many disagree with such ends and means.
Also, the very fact that a certain organisation always stakes claim to whatever bombing/IED blast has occurred so far, no longer surprises the public. Neither does it bother us too much. It has instead become a standard joke and everyone can attribute an IED blast to that Organisation. These bold claims, whether or not they are true no longer cause alarm nor caution people to be on their toes. What they do instead is to aggravate the social rift and take it to higher levels. It is essential to note, that instigation, in any form with the attempt to disrupt social harmony is no solution to any issue. On the contrary it leads to a cycle of vengeance in an effort to level up. But this only hardens stances and we will forever remain crying foul in our own land at the end.
The ‘peace for peace’ quid pro quo must be upheld at all times.
Yours etc.,
Mewan Pariat;
Shillong-2.
Correcting the record on Covid
Editor,
This is a response to NK Kehar’s letter, ‘Misleading facts on COVID 19’, (ST Jan 26, 2022). Kehar claims that my letter of January 22, was “little more than an amalgamation of various disproved unscientific claims,” yet the claims I made are supported by epidemiologists and medical professionals. For that reason alone they are hardly ‘unscientific’. Chief among these are some of the top scientists in the world, including Dr Martin Kulldorff from Harvard University, Dr Sunetra Gupta from Oxford University and Dr Jay Bhattacharya from Stanford University. Hence to discount what I wrote and calling it unscientific is just hyperbole and exaggeration. A claim does not become unscientific merely because Kehar disagrees with it. Especially when it is put forward by real scientists from the world’s best universities.
The fact is that the Infection Fatality Rate of COVID as reported by the UK Government, indicates that 99.9% percent of people across all age groups survive. In short, it is a mild virus with similar lethality as influenza. Did anyone ever advocate lockdowns, mandatory masks or border closures for the flu? No, because to do so would be absurd. It is true that COVID is more transmissible than the flu. However, this increased transmissibility is precisely why lockdowns are totally ineffective. The World Health Organization (another body full of scientists) has acknowledged that one cannot stop a flu-like virus through coercive measures because it is impossible to slow down.
Conveniently, Kehar dismisses the example of Sweden. But Sweden has outperformed the UK in COVID deaths per capita, despite the UK having had one of the harshest lockdowns in the world. So how does Kehar explain this?
The real issue is that lockdowns targeting the entire population have costs. The United Nations in April 2020 warned that hundreds of thousands of additional child deaths would result from the radical interruptions to commerce caused by lockdowns. The UN report warns that 42 million to 66 million children could fall into extreme poverty because of the economic disruptions. Hundreds of Indian migrant workers died because of India’s lockdowns in 2020, when they were forced to walk back home to their villages because their livelihoods were shut down. That is just the tip of the iceberg. Poverty causes death; far more deaths than COVID itself, which has killed 5.7 million worldwide if we believe the official statistics.
The manic, obsessive, fixation on a single virus also means that less hospital resources are available for the treatment of other concerns. In the UK, the Daily Mail reports that almost 2.5 million people missed out on cancer screening. Many experts fear that a number of these people will die because of delays caused by the prioritisation of COVID patients.
Rather than ignoring such concerns, it is time to listen to the scientists who have signed the Great Barrington Declaration and stop this march towards collective suicide. I challenge anyone to name a single peer-reviewed paper published prior to 2019 that advocates mass-scale lockdowns. You won’t be able to, since lockdowns are a policy made out of thin air by politicians.
Yours etc.,
Sukrit Sabhlok
New South Wales, Australia
Leprosy cases on the rise
Editor,
It is distressing to know that India accounts for over half of the world’s leprosy patients. Data by National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) shows that the country accounts for almost 60% of the world’s new leprosy patients. Bihar, Maharashtra, UP, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, MP, West Bengal and Jharkhand contributed 76% of the new leprosy cases. It is a matter of serious concern that despite India being declared “leprosy-free” in 2005, the rise in the number of leprosy cases in the country has been alarming.
In fact, the rise in transmission of leprosy compounds the health crisis faced by the country in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. At a time when the third wave of the pandemic is surging through the country, the rise in leprosy cases worsens the chaotic situation in the health sector.
Although leprosy is considered to be one of the most stigmatized diseases, most of the cases can be cured if detected on time. In fact, after the 2005 declaration of elimination, there has been a worrying level of complacency about the transmission of leprosy. Most of the leprosy programmes were cancelled and resources were redirected. The announcement in 2005 later proved to be a hindrance in the path of leprosy eradication progress. It is worrisome to know that very few healthcare professionals in the country can perform surgery on leprosy patients. In such a scenario, there is an urgent need to strengthen our fight against leprosy. People must be sensitised about the seriousness of this disease. Awareness programmes must be conducted at different levels. Ignorance and superstitions aggravate the situation. Timely detection can cure the disease and proper treatment will prevent deformities. The government must take measures to ensure that those who are infected get timely diagnosis and treatment.
Yours etc.,
Venu GS,
Kollam