Editor,
I’m not old, but old enough to say this – When I was younger, I definitely remember Shillong feeling like a very safe city to walk in. It did not matter which locality, lane, by-lane or what time of day it was, the city had a cosy familiarity that made walking around feel safe.
But cut to today, as someone who is a regular walker, I find myself looking over my shoulder every two minutes. The streets that once felt familiar now seem unsettling. The reasons are hard to ignore. Half the streetlights in the city don’t work, leaving dim lanes ever darker. The number of drug addicts I see on the streets are alarming. And then the police presence—or rather, the lack of it. The only place I see officers everyday is outside a certain house—not to protect us, but to keep honking at bay. Elsewhere, not so much.
And if I as an adult feel this, I wonder what young students returning from tuition or school feel, or people walking home after work. Should fear be a part of their routine?
Shillong is changing, but not for the better. We need working streetlights, visible policing, and serious action against the rising drug problem. Safety shouldn’t be a privilege—it should be a given.
Yours etc.,
Emic Nongkynrih,
Via email
Cong should learn from its roots
Editor,
A meeting of the All India Congress Committee to mark the occasion of the centenary of Mahatma Gandhi’s presidentship of the party and the 75th year of the Constitution is scheduled to be held in Gujarat. This is an opportunity for the Congress to infuse the spirit of the new environment prevailing in the country. The Congress fell short on its performance in the Lok Sabha elections and other state elections. The party workers need to be trained to maintain discipline which was missing in the Patna meeting when Rahul Gandhi was also present. Though elections to the Gujarat Assembly will be held after two years it is good to prepare for the Assembly elections ahead of time.
There is a need to prepare the younger generation at the forefront to lead the party. Sachin Pilot, who verily represents this section, has talked of a “generational shift” within the party, with young leaders stepping in but only time will tell what will be the fate of such sane advice.
It is not that the grand old party is ignorant of the fruits of generational shift and democratic practices, but it has been deeply entrenched in its own practices that it takes a revolution of sorts if it were to make a shift in its thought process.The Party is so identified with the ordinary Indian that despite a series of failures, the Congress party flag still flutters in several places, and Gujarat is the best example. It is not because the national leadership has done something extraordinary there; the party survives basically because a section of the ordinary Indians finds it the most comfortable political formation to be associated with.
The Congress has been out of power for 50 years in Bengal and in Tamilnadu for the last 60 years. In Gujarat the BJP is in power for the last 30 years while in Haryana too the BJP is in power for the third time due to the miscalculations of the Congress. The same is the position in Delhi.
The BJP has its Hindutva agenda for everyone to see and its electoral successes are thanks to its unapologetic and unwavering commitment to it. The Congress, on the other hand, has not yet firmed up its approach to the communal angle that the nation’s polity has taken. It sometimes plays hot and cold with the secular core of its larger political identity. The party must have understood that its followers would be comfortable when it remains a secular one, instead of peddling soft Hindutva; the results of the Karnataka Assembly and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections must have thrown up some lessons. The party may do well to frame its position firmly and articulate it cohesively instead of “strengthening” it at the grassroots level. Gujarat has produced several practical Congress politicians, Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel included. The Ahmedabad meet may help the party pick some lessons from those illustrious leaders.
Rahul should learn lessons from his family history. They had done a lot for the country Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi sacrificed their lives for the country and the present Congress leadership must learn lessons from them. It is well known that Rajiv Gandhi won 408 Lok Sabha seats but afterwards Congress party never won so many seats so that the party could form the government on its own strength.So the party has to go into its own roots and not follow the policies of other parties. Now the Mumbai Corporation elections can be held any time hence the party should show its performance.
A clear message should reach the grassroots level workers about the policies of the Congress party
Yours etc.,
Yash Pal Ralhan,
Via email
Multi-faceted significance of rice
Editor,
The write up published in The Shillong Times,Tura (April 7, 2025) under the caption: Rice connection with Rituals and Tradition by HH Mohrmen made reading so interesting that I felt worthy of mentioning it in this esteemed newspaper. I was not aware of the important role that rice plays culturally and ritually among the Khasi-Pnar people too.Besides being a staple food of Indians, rice is a compulsory food item believed to be auspicious for most of us in our daily lives. As a Nepali I would like to mention the multiple uses of rice in Nepalese cultural, rituals and religious matters since the time immemorial. Many in Meghalaya too must have been noticing the application of rice as ‘tika’ ( rice besmeared with vermillion) on the foreheads of Nepalese in some festivals and auspicious occasions. Of course, Marwaris and Beharis too, use rice in celebrating rituals. How nice it is to observe that a staple food like rice is linked with the religious and cultural beliefs of so many people in India.
Yours etc,.
Deepak Chhetry,
Tura