The beauty of linguistic diversity

Editor, The irony of the Hindi-English debate after what happened on March 20, 2023 the first day of the budget session in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly is that if one goes just 20 kms from Shillong to Smit village which falls under…

Time to reconstruct Umiam Bridge

Editor, Taking a leaf from the Assembly snippets in the edition of The Shillong Times dated March 22, 2023, the one thing that caught my attention was regarding the plan of the government to conduct an audit of Umiam bridge. One would like…

Motivating the reading habit

Editor, I am glad to read the letter of Dr. Omarlin Kyndiah captioned – “Reading habit on the decline”, in your esteemed daily dated January 26, 2023. Reading of extra-curricular books by students is an important habit that should be…

The “real” reforms no one is talking about

By G N Bajpai The nation is going through a tough debate on the merits of a new pension scheme versus the old scheme that offered defined benefits to retirees. There is much pull for reservation and quotas for newer groups based on…

Jail for Rahul

Curiously, a Surat court has thought it fit to jail top Congress figure Rahul Gandhi over a statement he made at the height of the 2019 general election campaign in Kolar, Karnataka. The magistrate court has however avoided creating a…

Need to prioritise educational needs

Editor, I couldn't help but respond to Biplab Kr Dey's report: Can the education sector in Garo Hills be revived? (ST March 22, 2023). It is with anguish and pain that I read the deeply distressing, on ground, factual report of the dismal…

Aversion to Hindi as a language

Editor, It is really disheartening to read about the negative reactions of respectable uptight people to the use of Hindi by our Honourable Governor in his Address to the first Assembly Session of the year. Let us remind ourselves that we…

Local right wing vs. National right wing

The entire fracas that took place in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly over the Governor’s decision to give his remarks in Hindi is indicative of the fact that regionalism, in this case exemplified by Khasi sub-nationalism, is not going…

Hindi goes far beyond the Governor’s address

By Albert Thyrniang Last Monday during the inaugural address of the governor, Phagu Chauhan agitated Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit and leader of the Voice of the People’ Party (VPP) led his MLAs to walk out of the Assembly in protest against…

Bob’s Banter A Bride for Rahul

By Robert Clements With attacks on poor Rahul worsening by the day, in my very vivid imagination I see the Congress think tank putting on their thinking caps and pondering the best solution to the nightmare brought about by their leader…