Editor,
Let me refer to the Front page news heading of the Shillong Times 25th Feb 2026 captioned, “State BJP seeks public apology from senior RSS functionary.” The demand for an apology by the State BJP unit was apparently prompted by an urgent need at damage control over the anti Christian rantings of one Sunil Deodhar , a RSS ideologue at a visibly RSS function at Pynter village EKHs, camouflaged as a Indigenous Faith Forum Meeting a few days ago. The video of the event had gone viral and was obviously released by Sunil Deodhar himself as it was proudly titled as “Watch my speech in Meghalaya.” The shock and disgust the video generated not only among Christians but from Seng Khasi members themselves became more and more pronounced with the passage of time. It was a sort of “Self Goal” publicity that the Meghalaya BJP least needed and a clear “digging your own grave” by the party’s recognized patron organization. Panic in BJP circles! No wonder the severe reprimand by the party’s state Gen Secretary and the demand for a public apology to boot. The interest of the party cannot be sacrificed by one man’s delusion of grandeur.
So what did this Sunil character say. First he started off on a tirade against the State Government over an imagined and purely mischievous charge for the indifference and disdain it has always shown towards non-Christian groups in the state. Now aside from the statement being a downright untruth and a complete falsehood, it also has serious national security threats for this part of India if citizens of the NE were to lose faith and confidence in their own elected Governments. Was the man so dense not to realize or recall the recent demands from Bangladesh for the NE to come join that country? Yunus had made his move by also pointing out at the step-motherly treatment our NE has received from India. So does Mr Sunil also subscribe to Mohamed Yunus’ call? Was his hatred for Christianity so great that he totally lost sight of the larger geo-political interest that India has in the North Eastern region? I leave it to the Government of India if it still believes that such religious bigots are an asset for promoting its political interest and ‘National Security’ in this part of India.
I am now given to understand that Mr Sunil has hastened to reply to the harsh scolding he got from the BJP. In his explanation he says that he, “HAVE IMMENSE RESPECT FOR LORD JESUS CHRIST.” If that were the case then why call Jesus as “U Dkhar”? Knowing Mr Sunil’s proficiency in Khasi I am not prepared to believe that he does not realize the derogatory relevance the term carries in Khasi culture and speech. So together with bigotry this character also is not averse to hypocrisy. The way I look at it, and the longer I listen to the speech of Mr Sunil , the more convinced I become that the whole exercise at Pynter was a brazen attempt to Divide and Rule our Khasi Pnar community. There is no other explanation for it. Now Divide and Rule for what purpose and towards what end is not clear, but what is obvious is that such persons are a threat to Hynniewtrep unity.
Yours etc.,
Toki Blah,
Via email
RSS’s Twisted Ideology
Editor
At a recent function held at Rangthylliang, Pynursla a speech made by a senior functionary of the RSS, Sunil Deodhar to an audience of the Seng Khasi that Christians and Christianity is a threat to their ancestral beliefs and customary practices smacks of hatred and is aimed at fomenting communal divide in the name of religious conversion and other misconceived allegations. That a senior functionary of the RSS is allowed to say whatever he wants and whenever he wishes to, also reflects on the IQ levels of the organisers and their mentors. Sunil Deodhar should know that there are sections of the law that prohibit the incitement to communal tension that could drive a wedge in the community. Just because Deodhar has learnt a smattering of Khasi language doesn’t give him the authority to insult this state. Moreover, there are many non-Christians whose children study in many Christian-run institutions, hence it would be prudent for Sunil Deodhar to inform himself and then change his perceptions by verifying if there are any so-called conversions happening in such institutions. There is a saying, “Fools speak to gain attention without understanding what they are speaking.”
Yours etc..
Dominic S. Wankhar,
Shillong
After Ayodhya, promoting critical thinking through theatre
Editor,
I wish to thank Bhogtoram Mawroh for his critical and encouraging article “After Ayodhya: A Play that Interrogates Theatre, Land, and Identity” (ST February 19, 2026). But allow me to enlighten some of his observations. The Maitshaphrang is not “advocating the introduction of patrilineal traditions…”even though we are critical of some aspects of the matrilineal system when we staged the play, “Papa shano Phi Don,” which has received more than one lakh views on You Tube. The Play attempts to question a situation where in many cases the children of a family end up as orphans in the orphanage the moment the mother dies even when the father is very much alive. This usually happens when the family or the mother’s clan/kur are not financially strong. I think it’s the only system where children become orphans when the mother expires even though the father is very much alive and kicking.
When we were young we were taught that among the Hynniewtrep people we never have orphanages and old age homes because we have the clans/ki kur. But today we witness so many orphanages and old age homes coming up. These are signs that the system needs not just critical thinking but an immediate introspection.
Yours etc.,
Michael N. Syiem,
Via email
