Editor,
The recent exposure of a massive Rs 2,300-crore road project scam in Meghalaya has sent shockwaves through the State and beyond. Of course, it has also sent ripples of “disbelief” across the State so far as public developmental works are concerned. The main culprits? Senior government engineers from the state and officials from private companies based in Telangana and Haryana, who, it seems, mistook a road project for a get-rich-quick scheme! Yes, a crucial road linking Shillong with Tura via Nongstoin, approved way back in 2010 as part of the Special Road Development Programme-North East, was thus hijacked by “greed” and mismanagement. This is unpardonable! Why this went unnoticed for so long raises serious questions about the Government’s oversight. This road, which should have been a smooth ride to progress, has instead been mired in scandal, with taxpayers’ money flowing down the drain like rain on a bad Meghalaya monsoon day!
The filing of an FIR by the PWD (NH) Chief Engineer marks the beginning of what must be a rigorous and uncompromising investigation. It is essential that the Government approaches this investigation, with the help of the CBI, with utmost seriousness. No one should be allowed to dodge the “potholes” of justice. Every contractor, every engineer, and every official, no matter how high up, must face the consequences if found guilty. After all, we can’t afford another such scandal where public money is siphoned off with ease, leaving the public in the lurch.
Yours etc., ,
Salil Gewali,
Shillong
Why India cannot be held responsible
Editor,
This is with regards to the article “Indians should be more circumspect” (ST Oct 18, 2024). I have been waiting to respond to the author but due to some unforeseen circumstances, it was delayed. In the article, the writer seems to have switched sides. The writer wrote, “This article makes it sound as if Mr Trudeau has a personal vendetta against India — a narrow subjective view that runs the risk of distorting the truth” in response to a previous article. Well, just to put it out there the West has been trying to come after India since the beginning. Even if India was responsible for the assassination, we were simply following the footsteps of the West. So, trying to hold India accountable for the killing of Nijjar would be hypocritical. And yes, we’ve elected the government to act for us and what happened was necessary for national security. Meanwhile, Mr Trudeau is a mere puppet of the Deep State, which has forced him beyond his geopolitical ability by targeting India.
Moreover, the Government of India does not need to provide any sort of assistance in the false allegations that have so far just been a waste of time. The accounts of the RCMP are baseless, and Trudeau expects the Indian Government to cooperate. But Canada has been harbouring anti-India sentiments for a while, and taking on New Delhi would be challenging for Ottawa. Attacks and vandalising of the High Command are just a few instances. Although the killing of a terrorist on Canadian soil seems to have brought misery to the author, who is a Western spox often agreeing with the foreign masters. Any strategic move by the Indian government about the country’s security would be criticised by such. The entire narrative is playing out exactly like expected by the deep state, responsible for all clandestine operations in the East.
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request
Via email
Negative narratives versus validation
Editor,
The long letter by the unknown author titled, “Caste reservation effectiveness” (ST, October 22, 2024), in response to my letter dated October 19, deserves to have a discussion on every point of it.
Before reflecting on the points raised in the letter, let me clarify one thing – which is that my support for the caste based reservation has nothing to do with my personal interest. Throughout my life, I remained in the general category. The reservation policy did not give me anything. Rather, it delayed my first promotion and I lost one promotion in my service life because of it. I am saying this only to point out that my belief in the caste reservation is based on absolute objective logic and not for my personal gain.
But I would have gladly accepted the benefits of reservation had I been in the reserved category. It is because I think it is an honour, duty, and responsibility for a person in the backward caste group to get a chance to represent their community in the government either elected or selected part of it. Our democracy would have turned into an aristocracy if the backward castes did not accept the reservation policy.
It would have been a disaster for democracy if the backward castes found nothing wrong in the practice of five per cent ruling over ninety-five percent and let this system continue. My belief in democracy and in the reservation policy led me to give moral support to my SC colleague, who got a promotion over me.
There is no either – or choice between the reservation policy and the education system that promotes egalitarian ideals. Since there is no quarrel between the two, therefore it is wrong to say that the reservation policy should be scrapped to promote liberal education. To stick to this argument takes us to the trap of false dilemma or false dichotomy fallacy. This fallacy has a few other names – black-and-white fallacy, either-or fallacy, and bifurcation fallacy.
As a matter of fact, the reservation policy is a helper and not at all a bar to liberal education that wants to eradicate untouchability and caste hatred. The reservation policy itself can educate people that the society can have faith in the ability of so called lower castes. The reservation policy helped instill self-belief in my SC colleague. It also taught my other colleagues that a person from the reserved category could discharge his duties in a responsible administrative post in the most efficient manner.
The reservation policy gives this validation. This is absolutely necessary to counter the narrative doing the rounds for centuries that backward castes possess less merit. Such a negative narrative can destroy the self-belief of a person instantly. It is not difficult to imagine what will be the effects of negative narratives that have been created and told generation after generation, century after century. It has destroyed the confidence and self-belief of Dalits. It is too much to ask them now to overcome the inferiority complex overnight and ignore the reality of caste based nepotism before competing with others.
We should recall the incident that happened in the life of Thomas Alva Edison. It is all about negative narrative versus validation. One day Thomas told his mother, “My teacher gave this paper to me and told me to only give it to my mother.”
His mother read it out loud to her child, “Your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn’t have enough good teachers for him. Please teach him yourself.”
After his mother died, and he became one of the greatest inventors, he found a paper on which it was written, “Your son is addled (mentally ill). We won’t let him come to school any more.” Edison cried and then he wrote in his diary, “Thomas Alva Edison was an addled child that by a hero mother became the genius of the century.”
Thomas Alva Edison cried and said that he was an addled child because he knew that the negative narrative of the teacher could have made him so if his mother did not turn it into a validation.Non-Aryan people showed more talent than Aryans in architecture, engineering, town planning, and administration. But what is the effect of caste hierarchy and the practice of untouchability which is still followed by one out of four Indians? They have had a devastating impact on the backward castes. This, plus caste based nepotism, will rule the roost if caste reservation is not in place.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,,
Kolkata