Editor,
The article “The signs of the times – a need for identity verification” by Toki Blah (ST Aug 19, 2025) makes some valid points. The incidents that have necessitated his suggested steps are truly disturbing and require public discourse.
Unfortunately, the rhetoric is too strident, almost to the point of jingoism. Such overreach has obscured the importance of the article. But its not just the tone, some of the suggestions border on discrimination and stereotyping. It makes us guilty of entering a zone of danger, not very different from what the article warns against.
The phrases, “marriage with our local women”, and “marry our women” is disrespectful to women. It takes away their agency, it demeans their ability to make a choice of husband, and it implies that we know better as to who a woman should marry. It also suggests that their socio-economic condition propels them to marry anyone who can uplift their circumstances. If our women suffer from difficult situations, it is the duty of our society to do more than criticize. Maybe the men of our community are to blame. After all, abandonment of women by husbands and partners in Meghalaya is highest in the country. This is a bigger problem than the threat of ‘outsider’ men. Anyway, the short answer is that a woman is entitled to marry whoever she wishes to, and any advice especially by men, is an affront to their personhood.
The term “scrawny Bangladeshi” is a stereotyping that is ethnically and ethically objectionable. It caricatures a race in a way that is reminiscent of colonialism. The author goes on to pointlessly speculate about “Islamic Bangladesh”, “a radicalized fundamentalist Bangladesh” and much more. These statements negate his claim of not inciting “fear-mongering” and “Islamophobia.” Bangladesh has not abandoned democracy, so these are futile arguments. He brings in “Pakistan and Wahabi Islam,” again treading on speculative ground. Looking at politico-religious developments around the world, almost every religion is moving towards dangerous conservatism.
Armed Village Defence Parties (VDPs) is a risky idea that defies the very Constitution of India. Law and order are the duty of the police and protection of borders the work of the army and BSF. This is nothing but a call to vigilantism. Arming ordinary citizens will inevitably result in misuse, and the taking of law and order into their own hands. Some countries have a provision for “citizen’s arrest”, but not by citizens with guns. Locals can be organized for collecting intelligence and reporting suspicious movements, but that is all.
I fail to see how these attitudes and suggestions can solve the problems at hand. It is likely to exacerbate an already tenuous situation.
Yours etc.,
Pyrkhatlang Sohtun,
Via email
When public intellectuals hit below the skirt
Editor,
I used to read Toki Blah’s articles with a certain degree of seriousness but his latest one “The signs of the times – a need for identity verification” dated August 19, 2025 appears to have degenerated to the level of the pressure group rhetoric of making suggestions which are at best unimplementable in a nation state sharing a post-colonial boundary with a country that is now struggling to get back on the democratic rails. His final nail to the illegal influx predicament comes as shock to me, a woman, because he blames the local Khasi-Jaintia women as facilitators for illegal migration from Bangladesh by marrying those men. Does Blah have any data from which he can cite as to how many women in the border areas or in the entire state of Meghalaya have married those “scrawny” (perhaps he intended to say half-starved)Bangladeshi migrants? Sitting in Shillong and belting out such impetuous write-ups that are intended to add to the existing fear psychosis is not expected of a person whose columns appear regularly in The Shillong Times – a newspaper I respect for its independent views. But such write-ups make me wonder at the ST’s choice of articles.
I am painfully aware that patriarchy is alive and kicking in Khasi society and that every problem in this society is laid at the doorstep of women but for such mind-numbing statements to come from a public intellectual (Isn’t that what writers and thinkers are called?)makes me cringe. Thanks but no thanks Shillong Times for such write-ups!
Yours etc.,
Delilah Langstieh,
Shillong-2
Tripura a poor allegory for Meghalaya
Editor,
In present day Northeast India, the demographic transformation of Tripura is often cited as a cautionary tale of indigenous marginalization due to large-scale migration. The dominant narrative suggests that Tripura’s tribal majority was overwhelmed by illegal non-tribal settlers, leading to cultural and political erosion. However, this view overlooks the historical background of partition of India and the internal dynamics of the then princely state of Tripura. A closer examination reveals that the movement of Bengali Hindus into present-day Tripura state was not external or illegal, but a consequence of territorial loss and humanitarian displacement resulting from hasty and ill-planned partition of our country on religious lines.
Before Partition, the princely state of Tripura comprised two distinct regions: Hill Tippera region (11000 Sq. Km approx.) comprising most parts of present-day Tripura state and Chakla Roshanabad region-(1500 Sq. Km approx.) which included parts of present-day Comilla, Brahmanbaria and Noakhali in Bangladesh, the areas ceded to (East) Pakistan. The majority of Bengali Hindus resided in Chakla Roshanabad region and not in Hill Tippera. The Tribal communities were concentrated in the Hill Tippera area that was unaffected during partition and remained within India. Thus, displacement of Hindu Bengali from Chakla Roshanabad region cannot be termed as illegal as it was a territorial reallocation within the same princely domain. The displaced Bengali Hindus were not outsiders but subjects of the Tripura monarchy, forced to relocate due to one of the bloodiest geo-political upheavals in world history. The demographic shift in Tripura, therefore, was shaped by humanitarian consequences of partition, displacement and territorial loss, not by unchecked immigration as is being incorrectly projected. So, invoking Tripura as a warning demanding more protection appears unjustified and not based on actual historical facts.
Yours etc.,
N K Kehar,
Shillong-3
Traffic Police Personnel Violating No-Parking Rule at Pine Mount Junction
Editor,
I wish to highlight an incident at Pine Mount School junction where a traffic police personnel, claiming to be from Sadar Police Station’s Traffic Branch, parked her car in a No Parking Zone. This caused a massive traffic jam in both directions, creating great inconvenience to Laban residents.
Even after being reminded that it was a No-parking area, she refused to move her vehicle and displayed an arrogant attitude, citing her position in the Traffic Branch. It is shocking that those entrusted with upholding the law should openly flout it.
Are law keepers allowed to break the very rules they enforce? Such behaviour not only inconveniences the public but also erodes faith in the police. I urge the concerned authorities to take immediate and strict action.
Law must be equal for all — citizens and law enforcers alike.
Yours etc.,
Joey Micheal,
Via email