PT Sawkmie hobnobbing with the MDA Govt
Editor,
I was bemused with the report, “Sawkmie holds Opposition Leader wrong for censure of MDA govt” (Shillong Times, Nov.12,2023) Why has the former MLA of Mawlai constituency, P.T. Sawkmie taken offence at Ronnie V Lyngdoh’s standpoint with respect to the substandard quality of road projects in Meghalaya, under the present MDA 2 government? Things appear quite fishy here. The former MLA’s commendation of the current state leadership vis-à-vis the deplorable road conditions we are experiencing in the State speaks volumes about his vested interests. Blaming the Congress party for the lack of development in the State in the last 40 years sounds ridiculous as Sawkmie was once a Congress MLA from Mawlai. If this is the case, shouldn’t he be held accountable for the lack of development of his former constituency and that of the State as well? As a matter of fact he was elected thrice to the Meghalaya Assembly from Mawlai but woefully that constituency still lacks development. So why blame the Congress alone ?
As a matter of fact PT Sawkmie should have called a spade a spade considering the dreadful road conditions implemented by a particular road Construction Company. He should stop eulogising the MDA 2. Is the former MLA hobnobbing with the present ruling dispensation as MP elections are just round the corner ?
Yours etc.,
Stanley LK Diengdoh,
Via email
India drifting away from its long-standing foreign policy
Editor,
India has never occupied territories of its neighbours since Independence. So how can we be in the same terrorism-victim boat with Israel? How can we consider Israel’s stand against Hamas equivalent to our country’s stand against Pakistan-backed terrorism? The United Nations secretary-general Antón Guterres rightly said that Hamas attack did not take place in a vacuum. The truth is that 15 million Palestinians have been suffering the brutality of Israel’s oppression for decades.
There were acts of terrorism against British civilians like Kennedy ladies during the British Raj in India. Khudiram Bose and his friend Prafulla Chaki threw a bomb at a carriage thinking that the district magistrate of Muzaffarpur, Douglas Kingsford was in the carriage. However, Kingsford was seated in a different carriage and the bomb killed two British women. Can such attacks on British civilians ever justify the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre by the British? Had the British still been ruling India, would the world have lent moral support to the colonial regime against the freedom fighters? The killing fields of Gaza has put the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre to shame. It has taken the lives of almost 10,000 people including 4,000 Palestinian children.
India’s decision to abstain from a United Nations General Assembly vote on a resolution calling for a humanitarian pause in Israel’s bombing on the besieged Gaza Strip was a horrific departure from its long-standing foreign policy. India had always championed the cause of the oppressed be it in Vietnam or East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). India always spoke against Israel’s occupation in Palestine and supported a two-state solution of the 1993 Oslo Accords. India’s argument that the United Nations resolution lacked a clear condemnation of the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, does not hold water as the resolution condemned attacks on both Israeli and Palestinian civilians.
This was a foreign policy blunder. By abstaining from voting, India earned a dubious distinction of being the only country in South Asia that did not support the resolution. This isolated us not only from our immediate neighbours but also from the BRICS group of emerging economies. Other members of the BRICS, Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa (BRCS) voted for the resolution.
The first sign of strain was noticed in Qatar. It had kept the government of India in the dark about a court verdict that gave death penalty to eight retired navy personnel. Some experts on international relations said that the differences in the positions adopted by India and Qatar on the crisis between Israel and Palestine in Gaza, might have made Qatar give India the cold shoulder. This is an unfortunate development as many Indians have settled in Qatar. Moreover, Qatar is the main supplier of LNG to India.
In September this year, opposition candidate Mohamed Muizzu fought and won Maldives presidential election for taking a pro-China shift leaving its traditional partner India. Indian foreign policy makers should ask themselves why our traditional ally Maldives left us.
More than that, our China policy needs serious re-examination. India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said that India could not pick a fight with China because the latter had a bigger economy while commenting on Chinese intrusion into the Line of Actual Control. This is a bad excuse. Many countries with smaller economies in comparison with that of their neighbours’, have successfully been keeping their territorial sovereignty intact. India should use its diplomatic resources and economic means to stop Chinese intrusion. It is a pity that India’s trade deficit with China crossed for the first time a USD 100 billion mark despite Chinese attacks on our borders. The trade deficit for India stood at USD 101.02 billion in 2022 crossing the 2021 figure of USD 69.38 billion. This should immediately be checked instead of just banning some Chinese apps here and there and letting China have a whopping trade surplus with our country.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata
Voicing public concerns a democratic right
Editor,
A person identifying himself as S Singhania expressed concern about the huge crowd that assembled in Shillong on November 12 for the annual Eucharistic procession organized by the Catholic church. I was a passer-by during the time when the procession wended its way through Laitumkhrah and I could see that people did not walk; they actually shuffled their feet because there was no place even to walk. S Singhania has voiced an opinion and in a democratic country anyone is free to voice their concerns – in this case about the public road being completely demobilized and everything having come to a standstill for over three hours. As the writer pointed out there was massive littering and it is obvious that the Shillong Municipality would have to clear the mess.
What I don’t understand is the reaction by SL (Shankerlal) Singhania and his family) to this letter and the filing of an FIR against someone merely for voicing an opinion. Is the surname ‘Singhania’ the exclusive claim of one family here in Shillong? Are there no other families in this country with the surname Singhania? How do we know that the writer is not a visitor to the State? Why should SL Singhania have to declare all that has been done by his family for the people and State of Meghalaya? If he has earned his megabucks from Meghalaya then it is his corporate social responsibility to also put his money on welfare measures. There was no need for this holier than thou declaration. Meghalaya Police already have so much on their hands. Why should they go around trying to track down who has written a letter to the editor to a newspaper. Or is this some kind of paranoia that the non-tribals live with in Meghalaya and SL Singhania wants no repercussions to fall on him and his family on account of the letter? This whole drama reeks of selfish motives.
Yours etc.,
A R Pillai
Via email