Editor,
Through the columns of your esteemed newspaper, I wish to draw urgent public attention to the unfair practice of imposing separate hostel timings for men and women in our educational institutions. Across India, and notably within our own region, almost all women’s hostels enforce rigid night curfews that administratively confine adult students indoors beyond a certain hour. After 6:00 PM, while male students enjoy the ordinary freedom to move about the campus, female students find themselves effectively caged by the college administration, restricted from walking through buildings or occupying campuses that belong to them just as much.
These discriminatory curfews essentially dictate who is treated as a free citizen and who is viewed as a liability. In a patriarchal framework, women are routinely treated as the latter. Furthermore, these lock-up policies introduce severe safety hazards. What happens in the event of a fire? What happens during a sudden medical emergency? More so what happen during earthquake? These are critical questions that institutional authorities consistently refuse to answer.
If the world outside is deemed unsafe for women after dark, and men are presumed to be the primary threat, why are the potential victims being locked up? As the Kerala High Court aptly noted, “Hostels are not prisons. Discriminative restrictions cannot be imposed on women, and if men create trouble, then lock up the men.”
Instead of imposing regressive restrictions on women, institutions in Meghalaya must pivot toward robust campus security measures. We need better lighting, reliable campus transportation, active security patrols, responsive grievance redressal systems, and strict punishments for harassment.
Every hostel curfew teaches a damaging political lesson: it tells women that equality ends at the campus gate. I sincerely hope this issue receives the urgent attention it deserves, prompting educational institutions to dismantle these outdated policies and truly uphold gender equality.
Yours etc.,
Murchana Kashyap
Shillong
Name of the Khasi faith
Editor,
With reference to the news headline, “Khasi faith followers agree on ‘Niam Khasi, Niam Tre’ as a common religion for Census,” which appeared in this news daily on June 3, 2026, I wish to state upfront that I totally disagree with the name ‘Niam Khasi,’ and Niam Khasi Niam Tre as a common religion that had been decided by the leaders of the Seng Khasi (Kmie).
The name of the Khasi faith / Khasi religion is ‘Khasi’ and it is the name that the Khasi faith followers must write and must ask all the adherent to write in all official government and non-governmental documents (offline/online) that require them to disclose the name of their religion.
My siblings, my mother and I normally write the name of our religion as ‘Khasi’ and I believe many Khasi faith followers do the same. However, I was shocked that the leaders of the Seng Khasi (Kmie) and the Seiñ Raij had decided on the wrong name for the Khasi faith / Khasi religion. I think the leaders know the meaning of “niam” in English. In English, it means faith and religion. The names of the religions in this world differ from one another. For example, we have Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Sarna, Songsarek etc. When a Hindu writes the name of his/her religion in any document he/she writes Hinduism, not ‘Hinduism religion.’ Therefore, the name of the Khasi religion must be ‘Khasi’ without the prefix ‘niam’
To conclude, Khasi is the name of the indigenous faith(religion) practiced by the Khasis, and Niamtre is the indigenous faith(religion) practiced by the Jaintias so why add the word ‘niam’ meaning religion to the faith?
Yours etc.,
Wallambiang Rani,
Via email
When Justice is Denied
Editor,
Delay in delivering judgement in criminal cases causes a several hardships. In some cases the verdict comes after a very long time and by that time the accused are either dead or too weak to be in prison. The case of an 84-year old Bihar man accused in a crime he committed 34 years ago raises several questions. Others accused in the same crime have died and he is the only survivor. His present condition evokes pity in onlookers. He cannot walk without help. How will such a criminal become a threat to society? What is the logic of putting him behind bars? Certainty of punishment is more important than its severity. Punishment handed out after a long delay loses its relevance. Fast and fair trial and delivering of verdict are of utmost importance in the judicial system. Handing out punishment without delay will act as a deterrent in criminal cases. Humanitarian considerations are important even in punishment. Very old and physically weak people must not be put in prison for a long time. Long delay in trial and meting out punishment will undermine trust in the judicial system. Substantial reforms must be implemented in the judicial system. Even in punishment people must not be treated unfairly. Justice delayed is indeed justice denied.
Yours etc.,
Venu G S,
Kollam
