Editor,
Of late some writers have mentioned Khynriam, Pnar, Bhoi, War, Maram, Lyngngam and Diko as the sub tribes of Hynniewtrep race. While some writers mentioned that Diko is a lost/extinct subtribe, let me correct this misinformation/ misrepresentation. The Khasis earlier treated the Lyngngam as non Khasi- Jaintia tribe. Renowned first historian among the Khasis Hamlet Bareh considered them as a Garo tribe which “have embraced Khasi customs”. ( Hamlet Bareh : History and Culture of Khasi people, p 10). Lyngngam is the name given to them by the Khasi, though they call themselves Lyngam( a Jaintia word meaning “lonely”). The Garo name for the Lyngngam is Megam who in turn term the Garos as Diko.
Inclusion of Diko as a subtribe of Hynniewtrep is a misnomer. Bah Karlan Lanrin in his article published in Mawphor (2015) stated that, ” Ia ka ktien kynnoh U Lynngam U Dyko bad kiwei kiwei dei ban pynkylla noh”.
The Jaintia version, U Khynriam, Pnar, Bhoi, War, Mynri, Yinthong and Hadem are the subtribes of U Niaw Wasa or Hynniewtrep.
Yours etc.,
Dr. Omarlin Kyndiah,
Via email
Shillong a true Rocking city
Editor,
Shillong is acclaimed as the “rock capital” of India. Our people’s love for music, especially rock music, is no secret at all. We have seen international rock bands gracing this city in the past few years. These groups ranged from Mr. Big, Sepultura, MLTR, Scorpions, Smokie, Whitesnake to the recent Ne Yo, Pink Panda, Ronan Keating and Indian rock groups like Sanam etc. But metaphorically, our city is truly a rock city for the reason that when we travel around the city, the passengers inside the vehicles do experience a physical rocking due to the bad condition of the roads.
A good humoured person one day commented, “I do not need to go for massaging because travelling on our city’s roads is already a complete massage.” We may laugh at this, but the truth is that it is a matter of shame for our city. These days, we can witness and experience the horrible condition of the roads, be it the New Colony road, or the Polo road, the Mawpat road or the Law-u-Sib road and worse still the Goraline or MES road. I have not gone to other parts of the city but I guess they must be in similar conditions. Travelling through these roads, one witnesses potholes galore; some of them so deep that they can damage vehicles. Often, I have seen accidents take place because every vehicle is trying to dodge these potholes.
Do we have to wait for another G20 meeting or perhaps we need to invite the Prime Minister to make a round of our city, so that good roads may appear. It is a matter of great shame that our governments past and present, have never been able to provide the four basic amenities for the citizens, namely, good roads, cheap and regular electricity supply, running water at home and good health care. Let us hope that the public money is not squandered uselessly on petty things but instead be put to use in order to improve public amenities.
Yours etc.,
Barnes Mawrie sdb
Via email
Will we see a Black Swan event in 2024?
Editor,
The editorial “Kursi Kumar” (ST January 29, 2023) made interesting reading. The Black Swan event in 2014 brought BJP to power and Narendra Modi propelled it to secure 303 seats in 2019. One may feel that the good times never end but given the nature of the Black Swan (a high-impact event that is difficult to predict under normal circumstances) one should try to identify threats but never forget to prepare for the unexpected because the next Black Swan event will probably take us by surprise! Now that Nitish Kumar has dumped the Mahagathdbandhan government in Bihar, the opposition alliance is left with the DMK in Tamil Nadu, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) in Maharashtra, CPM in Kerala, RJD in Bihar and SP in Uttar Pradesh. The Times of India appropriately termed Nitish Kumar’s action as, “Sultan of swing strikes again.” After the Bihar and Bengal debacle, the Congress and its allies in the opposition bloc are left with fewer options when it comes to counting a vote bank that is solely theirs. The scenario changes rapidly as India approaches the all-important general elections in April-May 2024.
Yours etc.,
VK Lyngdoh,
Via email
Outdated Criteria
Editor,
Recently, the MPSC called an advertisement for the post of Junior Grade Meghalaya Finance Services Officer with the eligibility criteria – Graduate in Commerce, Arts and Science with Commerce, Economics or Mathematics as one of the subjects. The nature of duties for the post is to work as Finance & Accounts Officers in various heads of departments of the state, as Treasury Officers in the various Treasury offices of the state Government and further up in the career ladder they also serve as Financial Advisers to the various departments of the State Government. At present age, when there are plenty of professional courses being offered and pursued at the degree level by the youths of the state, it is not justified to accept applications only from B.Com, B.Sc or BA graduates as there are other professional courses which have Mathematics or Economics or Financial Accounting in their curriculum.
Further one also finds that the system for accepting the applications is faulty since a BSc graduate not having Mathematics or Economics or Commerce is provisionally allowed to apply even if the applicant does not have the mentioned subjects as prescribed. The Finance department which is the controlling authority of the Meghalaya Finance Services should look into this matter so that other candidates completing their degrees with other disciplines while also studying one of the subjects prescribed, are also given a chance to apply for the post and serve the State as Finance Services officers.
Yours etc;
Name withheld on request
Via email