Editor,
The last days have seen a myriad articles, comments and editorials regarding the recent Delhi rape victim. All very important; but it never ceases to amaze me how one crime is considered different and not as serious and another. Let us face it, it is often what we in a particular society or social group perceive as important and how it affects us and what is around us, not what the actual crime is. We are all human and tend to categorise what is a horrendous crime and what is not. With this rape many people have changed their profile picture on Facebook ‘in support’, have made comments on Facebook ‘in support’. Pastors have spoken about it; many say they have prayed about it, human rights groups have come forward. But how is this crime any worse than all the female infanticides that occur daily; the honour killings of women, the rape of women in villages that occur daily; the slavery that children and women are put to daily. Then of course in Meghalaya recently there was a murder… But I guess murder is not as serious as rape, or is it? Or is it that the murder was that of a labourer from another part of India. Very few comment were made about this murder. The few that I saw were in the vain : ‘it is nothing new’ or ‘happens all the time’, certainly no protests, no banners, no people asking for prayers for the departed soul, no call for quick justice, no pastors standing up and saying this was wrong. There likely would have been more comments if a dog had been beaten to death in Laitumkhrah. But then I guess it would not be politically correct – might not be worth the time and effort for a prayer for the person who by Christian norms is equal to all, by societies, much lower. We are living in a society that has set our standards of what is right or wrong and it is time we stopped the hypocritical prayer sessions and start acting like real caring people who have not decided in our own hearts what is wrong or right. Prayer and thoughts nowadays are invoked through the media of Facebook or other social networks, that all people can say something or comment, but what impact does this really have? Or we can say we did our duty and commented and told everybody that we said a prayer, so the rest of the world knows it, and maybe even God – since some people seem to think it appropriate to put postings with words as if God has sent them on Facebook.
Yours etc,.
James Perry,
Shillong-8
Christians and introspection
Editor,
“Musing at the close of 2012” by Patricia Mukhim (ST December 28, 2012) is an excellent stuff at the close of 2012. She has brilliantly said that “Church politics is far worse than real-politik.” Truly the Pharisees are alive and kicking in the absence of majority genuine Christians (who love and fear God and keep his commandments) in the world today so much so that mimicking has become the order of the day with too little solemnity. Most Christians of today can be compared to Pharisees and Jewish leaders who interviewed him and to whom he answered as found in Mathew 15:8 and 9 “These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man made ideas as commands from God”(New Living Translation).
Actually Jesus was reminding these Pharisees what Isaiah prophesied about them and what is written in Isaiah 29:13 in the Holy Bible and which reads – “And so the Lord says, these people say they are mine. They honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” The heart of most if not all, Christians today are no longer upon the eternal treasures but they spend their energy to gather gold and silver and to amass possessions here on this earth. Unless we love and fear God and keep his commandments nothing can be changed and humans will continue to be like they were in the days of Noah. Make no mistake that even in Eden, Adam and Eve, after the fall, never repented but made excuses. The former blamed God for giving him Eve while the latter blamed the ancient serpent called Satan and hence death came to this world.
Churches, Universities and the NGO like the ones Patricia Mukhim indicated in her musings have to re-educate themselves through soul searching. James has rightly written to the twelve tribes – Jewish believers scattered abroad “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless” James 2:17 (NLT).
Yours etc.,
VK Lyngdoh,
Via email
Let’s mend our own cracks first
Editor,
Through your esteemed newspaper, I would like to share some thoughts that are troubling me for some time now. The Delhi gang-rape case was horrible and the demand for the death penalty of the perpetrators is totally justified. Our state has also stood with the country and echoed the same voice as the rest of the country. However, madam, we have such heinous crimes reported now almost daily in your newspaper in our own state. Are they any less inhuman? Why do we not have the courage to come forward and demand the same kind of penalty in such cases? Where is the civil society then? Are the victims not deserving of justice? Is it not double standards? We have problems in our own backyard and we try to show up solidarity with the rest of the country just to get media attention? Where are the so called NGO’s, the voice of the people? I have not seen any statement from them.
I wish we as normal citizens would try to mend our own houses first before trying to show that we are with the rest of the world.
Yours etc.,
Albert Lyngdoh,
Via email
India shamed
Editor
The much publicized logo, “I am proud to be an Indian”, made me think twice at this juncture. I was born in the state of Meghalaya, brought up in the West Khasi Hills, imbibing the strong culture, of the Khasi tribe and especially the maternal respect that we hold dearly. Now, I am doing my studies in Italy for four years. Intermingling with the European people be they student companions, professors or neighbors, I get the impression, that we from the east would normally brand them as immoral and licentious. But at this point of time, where the whole world is watching India’s shame I dare to say that they would brand us Neanderthal. The daily Italian newspaper (Corriere della sera), ran the story about the Delhi gang-rape fir the entire week in the first page. The television news also echo the same news across the world. The terrorist attack that happened few years ago may not have left as big a scar in the history of India, as these atrocities towards women. How many more times will this scar be inflicted again and again down the centuries? This is a wake up call to all of us Indians, to reinvigorate our sense of sanity and rationality left behind by our forefathers. There should be zero tolerance for crimes against women.
Yours etc.,
John D Sohshang
Istituto Salesiano A.T Maroni
Italy
