Editor,
On September 23rd,2024 there was an interesting panel discussion on ‘Why Khasi language remained unrecognized?” on the Shillong times YouTube channel, ably anchored by Dr Moushumi Chakraborty and the selected panelists were the enviable experts of the concerned subject matter. The focal point of this discourse was the inordinate delay on granting of recognition of the Khasi language by the official Language Commission under the 8th schedule of the Indian Constitution. It is, without an iota of doubt, very disheartening and emotional that notwithstanding multi-pronged approaches adopted by the Khasi Authors’ Society (KAS)and NGOs to launch various overarching movements for accreditation of language, the same has hitherto gone off on the tangent. Notably, the KAS, in a class of its own, along with its associated members and some NGOs, had launched a demonstration in Delhi to demonstrate its righteous demands for inclusion of Khasi language, this agitation has reportedly caught nation-wide attention. In a word, this estimable plus unwavering spirit of the KAS can’t go unappreciated.
But on the flip side, l, for one, would like to invite KAS to objectively make a soul-searching effort to nip in the bud the existing fault-lines that pervade the holistic welfare of Khasi literature preceding its approbation under the 8th Schedule. Incidentally in this panel discussion, one of the public commentators has aptly observed “Nepotism in teaching job is one of the reasons Khasi language reaches nowhere ”
Additionally, the bestowing of Meghalaya literary awards annually are also fraught with controversy given that notable books are being sidetracked, but compositions of lesser literary values are being awarded. Mentionably, the selection committee for conferring this presentation are reportedly the selected members from the KAS and academic circles of the Khasi department of NEHU!
And to top it all, the manner of selection of books in the academic course for students pursuing Khasi literature has self-evidently raised eyebrows in the public domain. Oddly,there are instances galore where several qualitative literary works in Khasi which have earned commendable accolades from the literary intelligentsia in the field of Khasi language, are being cold-shouldered for inclusion in the school, collage and university syllabus, thereby unarguably depriving students from widening their literary knowledge and instead ending up being frogs in in a well! And conversely more than one book produced by those in the influential orbit are incorporated for study at the academic levels. If such favoritism trends breed in our society, then how can we see any beckoning light at the end of the longish and dark tunnel?
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request,
Via email
On custodial deaths
Editor,
Any custodial death always raises a question about whether it has deliberately been orchestrated to stop the accused from exposing some powerful culprits. Therefore, the custodial death of one of the convicts of a gang-rape case in Assam’s Dhing area is not above suspicion. One of three people accused of raping a 14-year-old girl in Dhing, central Assam, a handcuffed Tafajjul Islam, reportedly drowned while trying to escape from police custody on August 24. His father has filed a petition in the high court seeking a judicial probe into the custodial death of his son. He also claimed that the arrest of his son was a case of mistaken identity based on the wrong photograph of one of the accused that went viral on social media.
The petitioner’s counsel, argued that the gang rape accused, and the deceased were namesakes. He also said the petitioner was not provided with the post-mortem report.
In May this year, the Supreme Court expressed concern over custodial deaths and extrajudicial killings in Assam. The court was hearing a petition that cited 80 cases of “fake encounters” since May 2021, which resulted in 28 deaths and 48 injuries.
Now, another custodial death happened under another “double engine” government on September 23. According to the official report, Akshay Shinde, the accused of sexually assaulting two girls at a school in Badlapur, Maharashtra, snatched the revolver of one of the policemen, and he died in retaliatory firing by police.
The Bombay High Court expressed serious concerns over the custodial death of the accused. The court asked, “Why was he shot in the head and not in the legs or arms first?” Justice Prithviraj Chavan observed, “He wasn’t a heavily built or strong man. This raises serious doubts. This cannot be termed as an encounter.”
I wonder how the people would have reacted had an accused in a case like the RG Kar Hospital case, died in custody in Kolkata. They would certainly have smelt a rat had the same thing happened in Bengal. Indeed, a question on custodial death must loudly be raised. But why is there a deafening silence on those two custodial deaths now?
There is an intense protest against the rape-murder at the RG Kar Hospital, Kolkata. No doubt, this must be appreciated. But one percent of its intensity has not been found in the demand for justice for the rape-murder victims of Rudrapur in Uttarakhand, Muzaffarpur in Bihar, and Kolhapur in Maharashtra, though all these incidents happened in August this year.
On September 19, another such incident happened in another “double engine” government. A school principal in Gujarat’s Dahod was arrested on the charge of sexually assaulting and killing a six-year-old girl student of his school while giving her a lift on the way to school in his car.
The principal of the government-run Torni primary school had allegedly kept the body of the Class I girl in the car throughout the day and later dumped it in the school compound in Singvad taluka. The incident happened on September 19 but came into national news on September 22.
Even a government-run school failed to ensure the safety of its students. Where should parents go for their children’s education? On whom should parents have trust when even the principal of the school turned out to be a threat to students’ safety? Is not the safety of a girl student at a school as important as that of a female trainee doctor at a hospital?
Now, where is the demand for President’s Rule or the resignation of the Chief Minister? Is it only reserved for a “single engine” government like West Bengal? This is nothing but a political tunnel vision that obstructs the views of gender atrocities happening in some states, including those ruled by the BJP.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata