Editor,
The editorial “Sort out the overlaps” (ST October 28, 2025) is a sharp and timely editorial that resonates with many of the governance entanglements. It exposes Meghalaya’s governance architecture as a fragmented mosaic where District Councils, Municipal Boards, Dorbar Shnong and Syiemship jostle for control. But beneath the surface, it is not just about administrative overlaps – it’s about fiscal flows because money is what money does, symbolic capital and institutional legitimacy. Infrastructure is a proxy for power where road-building emerges as a metaphor for deeper contestations. The editorial rightly points out that infrastructure is no longer just about connectivity. It is about who controls the purse strings.
District Councils, originally meant to safeguard rivers and forests, preserve culture and traditions now chase road contracts signalling a drift from custodial roles to extractive ones. The editorial provocatively suggests that District Councils should have been sunsetted post-statehood which is a missed constitutional moment perhaps due to symbolic inertia, political fallout or lack of a participatory dashboard to simulate long-term consequences. There is a subtle tension between indigenous institutions (Dorbar Shnong, Syiemships) and state-aligned entities. The editorial hints at a clash of epistemologies between ritual density and bureaucratic rationality, between place-based trust and formal mandates. The editorial aptly concluded “Why are the Councils then more interested in road making?”
A senior APHLC leader once told this writer that just after statehood there was a proposal to do away with the District Councils but some of the Hill States leaders, particularly, late Captain W.A. Sangma the first Chief Minister of Meghalaya, then, thought it fit to retain them only as a training ground for politicians who aspire to move to the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
Yours etc;
VK Lyngdoh
Shillong
Clarification
Editor,
This is with reference to the report entitled, “Northeast among hotspots of zoonotic diseases, say studies,” published in The Shillong Times of October 26, 2025. While IIPH Shillong indeed hosts the Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Disease Research and Training Centre (ZVBDC) and is undertaking field-based studies on zoonotic diseases such as scrub typhus, leptospirosis, cryptosporidiosis, HINI Swine Flu, Japanese Encephalitis, Brucellosis across various sites in Meghalaya, including Ichamati, (recently published https://www.nature.com/articles/d44151-025-00190-3), the data presented in the report does not originate from the ZVBDC studies. The activities of the ZVBDC are funded by the DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance and not by ICMR, as was stated in the article.
The information cited in the article comes from a research paper published in The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia (DOI: 10.1016/j.lansea.2025.100601), authored by researchers from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Epidemiology, Chennai, and the South Asia Field Epidemiology and Technology Network, Inc.
We request that this clarification be published to ensure accurate representation of our research and funding sources.
Yours etc.,
Melari Nongrum
Via email
Society must stop to reflect where it has gone wrong
Editor,
Crime could not have been more synonymous with the present time and period. This is not to suggest that crimes did not exist in the past. History records countless instances of theft, murder, violence, exploitation, etc. Yet, what we read, hear, and witness today seems to represent a continuing and intensifying pattern of criminal activity that transcends age and generations. Although the law exists to punish offenders and to provide justice to victims, the persistence and growth of crime raise crucial questions: why are crimes becoming increasingly rampant? What makes perpetrators act without fear or conscience?
At a glance, it is tempting to put the blame on ineffective legal systems as the laws are not stringent enough to act as deterrents. However, when we look closely, it may not be wrong to assume that we the people lack ethics, morality, empathy and conscience. No matter how severe the law may be, it cannot substitute for the loss of conscience and empathy. The steady rise in crimes suggest that society’s moral compass is gradually weakening, and human sensitivity is diminishing. Consequently, crimes today reflect not only a failure of law but also a failure of values and compassion among humankinds. This is dangerous and are wrongs that must be set right.
This sad reality is evident even in our immediate surroundings. In Shillong, as in other parts of the country, incidents of crime are becoming distressingly frequent. What has recently shocked the state, however, are the crimes involving children as young as four, seven, and thirteen who have fallen prey to acts that are inhuman and demonic. The tragic fact is that these innocent lives were snatched from this world even before they could truly experience life. Investigations are ongoing, but reports suggesting the involvement of a thirteen-year-old boy in the death of a four-year-old child is very disturbing as the victim was a child and the possible perpetrator is also a minor.
At thirteen, a child is still in the process of emotional and cognitive development. He or she is not mature enough to fully distinguish between right and wrong or to comprehend the gravity of violent actions. If such a young individual can be drawn into acts of brutality, the failure cannot rest on the child alone. It points to a broader breakdown in societal care, communication, and moral guidance.
This situation recalls a disturbing yet insightful Netflix series titled Adolescence. The series portrays the story of a thirteen-year-old boy who murders a girl, providing a platform for viewers to perceive uncomfortable truths about young people and the modern society we are living in today. The series highlights the crucial need for parents, educators, and the community to become more receptive and vigilant towards the emotional and psychological well-being of children. Uncontrolled use of social media can have a deep and dangerous impact on young people as it often influences their behaviour and attitudes towards violence. Constant exposure to violent videos, aggressive comments, and hate-filled content can distort a child’s perception of reality, dull his or her empathy and this becomes more dangerous when aggression and violence seem normal.
The digital world often isolates children from real human relationships, making them vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and erratic behaviour. It is these emotional disturbances that create chaos and cause harm in the way they think and even the way they act. When young users repeatedly browse through such contents without guidance, they may even justify violent actions. It is alarmingly true that the virtual world, though empowering, can also be dangerous. Hence, as adults, we must be vigilant and observant of such emotional disturbances in order to not allow our children to fall prey to or to even cause harmful or even criminal actions.
Therefore, addressing crime in contemporary times requires more than stringent laws. Parents and teachers must look beyond academic performance and focus on the children’s ability to recognise, understand, and manage emotions. Schools should integrate counselling, moral instruction, and open discussions on ethics, morality and empathy as part of the curriculum. As a community we must nurture an environment where children feel seen, heard, and supported rather than being judged or alienated.
Ultimately, crime does not arise in isolation. It grows where neglect, injustice and apathy prevail. To build a safer society, we must strengthen not only our legal institutions but also our moral foundations. The true deterrent to crime lies not merely in punishment but in the cultivation of conscience. Only when empathy and human values are restored can we hope to curb the tide of violence that threatens our society. Until then, the crimes we witness today will remain a mirror reflecting not just the failure of law, but the deeper moral decay of humankind itself.
Yours etc.,
Jenniefer Dkhar,
Via email
