Editor,
It’s been a few months now since the teachers along with the students of Pine Mount School have come out in the open about the mismanagement and the deteriorating condition of Pine Mount School highlighting the deplorable condition of the toilets, boarding, to name a few. The State Government did constitute a Committee to look into the matter but the Committee has not yet come up with its report. Hopefully, the report of the Committee will eventually see the light of day.
However, I was immensely overjoyed to read in your news daily, that the Chief Minister, the Education Minister, as well as the Chief Secretary paid a visit to the school and witnessed the dilapidated condition of the school which requires immediate attention and execution of the repair and reconstruction work on a war footing. This visit appeared like a silver lining, a ray of hope for the students, teachers and the school. Let this visit be made more meaningful. Right the wrongs and rid the school of all that is putting it and its glory in jeopardy. Pine Mount School must shine in all spheres!
Yours etc.,
Jenniefer Dkhar,
Via email
Need for urgent electoral reforms
Editor.
We are all aware that during the election campaign period a lot of group clashes take place among the supporters of rival political candidates. The state of West Bengal has already earned notoriety for such aggressive fighting among the canvassers, which usually leaves behind a trail of casualties and destruction of private and public properties. Thankfully, such incidents have not been reported in Meghalaya. But there is no guarantee that such an eventuality will not occur here in future or as the matter of fact in this forthcoming state assembly election. We all know that such group clashes do take place when the processions/rallies taken by one party happen to meet the canvassing group of the opposite party. This primitive way of canvassing by way of shouting slogans and loudly appealing to people to vote for so and so, by the crowds in a frenzy may not be necessary in modern times. Voters are knowledgeable these days; they know whom to vote for and we should let them have peace of mind to exercise their judgement. Taking out rallies in the already congested streets unnecessarily causes traffic jam besides causing law and order problems and also loss of lives and properties.
The Election Commissioner (EC), by taking note of above facts, may consider banning rallies, processions, shouting slogans etc., during election campaigns EC may, however, allow political parties or candidates to hold election meetings, make speeches, debates etc. in a designated place or site away from busy streets.
Yours etc.
Krishna Chettri
Shillong-2
Valuing solidarity in sisterhood
Editor,
Most of us search for recognition of our value in our both personal and professional space. Being a female, I would not deny enjoying the feminist powers and privileges in the workspace. While most of us are aware about sexist notions of womanhood wherein we seek attention to the male dominance over female autonomy, independence, rights and equality; but can we really call ourselves a powerful, self-actualised woman?
I try to unmask the presence of jealousy and competition which are naturally present in several female bonds wherein we feel threatened by the reality that other ‘she’ might be more gifted, attractive or more valued by the virtue of youth. We cannot solely attribute the patriarchal culture for our own low-self esteem which develops mutual annihilation among our ladies.
Our stench of envy clearly becomes visible to the society when we can’t affirm or accept other female’s successes and start stating excuses for excluding, policing and criticising certain women through evading them from our class by classifying their achievements to sheer luck, looks or extra privileges. The truth can be any, as one might be born out of riches, beauty and luxuries, however it should not come out at the cost of the projection that some of us are being victimised. If we can’t support other women owing to our own fears and hatred for other females, then we should also not indulge in bad-mouthing, deprecatory accusations and vicious attacks. All these acts clearly give evidence of our lack of self-acceptance and failure to embrace negative accounts of ourselves and our reality.
We can never gain attention from anyone including men when we try to diminish the value of our own female peers. I remain a great fan of Bell Hooks who rightly expressed in Communion, “Part of the process of becoming a feminist wasn’t about what we shared in common – things like periods, obsessive concerns with our looks, or bitching about men – it was about women learning how to care for one another and be in solidarity, not just when we have complaints or when we feel victimized.”
Yours etc.,
Shivangi Wadhwa,
(Development sector professional working with Meghalaya government on “Community Based Forest management” JICA Project).
Via email