Editor,
So the proscribed HNLC, have now decided that they want to talk peace without preconditions. I have dealt with these characters ever since the 80’s and frankly speaking talking with a terrorist outfit requires different skills. Militants have no sense of honour, no aim or ideology except to make money at the point of a gun (the entire narrative of them being guardians of the Jaitbynriew – a fairy tale that has blown up in our faces), they are cowards who have no code of conduct except the code of extorting money, murder and hitting defenceless soft targets. In their greed (surrendered bosses of the outfit ) are not above using gullible school children to blow up IEDs that kill innocent people simply to enhance their extortion plans. Now they want to surrender with no preconditions. But what about the surrender of arms which the HNLC is silent about?
The State Government has for so long made it a policy that there will be no talks with these people except if they surrender their arms. So what has changed the mind of the Government that it is in such a tearing hurry to welcome back these outlaws into polite society? Is it the approaching 2023 elections?
I am suspicious by nature and the haste with which the MDA Government is facilitating these proposed talks with the HNLC makes me uneasy. The group has run out of money, the extortion rackets they used to run in Shillong and Jaintia Hills have dried up. No more money for weapons and if some of their surrendered members are to be believed, they earn a living in Bangladesh as miserable labourers in the areca-nut plantations. Their numbers have dwindled and the few insignificant IED bombings they carried out together with the bombastic statements of Sain Kupar Nongtraw ( if there is really such a person) are all bluff and bluster to scare a weak-kneed Home Minister. The Govt should, in view of Rymbui’s boastful claims – “Rymbui talks tough on HNLC blast” (ST Dec 15th 2020), have just told them that those who wish to come overground can come and surrender with their weapons and face the crimes they have committed.
Surprisingly, we are told this is unlikely to happen. The Government instead has hastily identified an interlocutor to facilitate the talks even when reports floating around are that the Home Ministry is reluctant to bow to the wishes of this ragtag band of criminals. It’s important to bear in mind that surrendering without their weapons is like an official license for these chaps to come overground and continue with their extortions and criminal activities; except that now they are under Government protection.
Extortion, intimidation and murders will start again. The most probable and apparent reason for accepting such talks on such unviable grounds is to use the surrendered militants to intimidate, arm twist and ensure electorate victory to some unscrupulous politician and his party. This is no conjecture. We are talking about unprincipled politics here. It has happened before for both Assembly as well as MDC elections. Hence the haste of the Government in the matter is deeply suspicious. The saddest part of the story is if things go wrong, as they are bound to be, the blame will fall on the interlocutor. No wonder there is the proverb that says “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”.
Yours etc.,
Lur Syiemlieh,
Via email
Technological breakthrough
Editor,
About a month ago, I came across a mind-blowing report published in The Hindu, concerning what modern scientists have long been struggling for, and thank God, India has finally achieved that. The two environmental scientists from Hyderabad, interestingly husband and wife, put forth an incredible “solution” to energy generation without obnoxious fuel. It is a breakthrough technology that can throttle back greenhouse gas emissions. It may help drastically cut down the damaging fuel consumption. The fruit of exhaustive research spanning over three decades by Dr Srinivas Bhaskar Chaganti and Dr Bala Chaganti who worked together and pioneered a revolutionary “cyclic wheeler” to address the most nagging concern of modern times. It is learnt that even the BBC has done extensive coverage on the technology on January 9 last.
This could in fact be the fundamental premise to quickly build a drain-less battery. The couple, since their early days, had been experimenting with various technological ideas and methods to generate energy without fuel. Their efforts finally paid off in 2021, as they were successful in producing a powerful battery system as a “hybrid perpetual mechanical battery”, with the potential to provide an immediate solution to the world’s energy crisis. The invention has formally been patented on 22nd Nov. 2021 under the Government of India,
There is every likelihood of opening up the possibility of converting chemical batteries into mechanical setups. Who knows the idea can further be evolved and replicated in the making of a lithium battery and so on! The world will one day wake up to electronic gadgets that never run out of juice, vehicles that can travel the world without fuel! Well, if everything falls into place then very soon, the earth’s healing and human greed will also go hand in hand. More than anything, we badly need the fuel-less power to power this civilization. The heat of climate change should not take away the breath of humanity.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Shillong
Noise pollution
Editor,
Religion is supposed to foster harmony, brotherhood and result in peace. In the vicinity of Reid Provincial Chest Hospital located at Upper Mawprem, Shillong, one can witness religious rituals and prayers being conducted through PA/loudspeaker systems and these activities become more intense as the night approaches. It appears one group is trying to outdo the other. However, one aspect that needs due consideration is the patients and staff of the above-mentioned hospital who are subjected to such high levels of noise pollution whereas, the hospital needs a conducive environment to provide best services to the public. The need for noise reduction in the area can therefore not be ignored by the competent authorities. Hence, effective steps/action may be taken in this regard.
Yours etc.,
Earningstone R Sangma,
Via email