Editor,
Carmel Fedrick Malngiang’s response to my article ‘Territorial Army in Meghalaya: Safeguard or Liability’ is intriguing because he created a straw man and then proceeded to attack it—resorting to name-calling in the process. He accused me of being against the idea of a Territorial Army in the state and, therefore, labelled me a ‘traitor’ to the community. But I am not against the idea of a Territorial Army. What I am against is the idea of arming common people and turning them into militias to protect our borders. In my opinion, there is some confusion between what a Territorial Army actually is and what the groups demanding it are actually asking for.
The Territorial Army is a volunteer force under the Indian Army, consisting of part-time soldiers who serve for a couple of months and return to their regular jobs for the rest of the year. However, what these groups appear to be demanding is a permanent force made up of volunteers armed with weapons and ready for action at all times. After all, influx and drug trafficking are year-round phenomena; they do not follow a timetable. So, I’m not convinced that the Territorial Army is exactly what these groups are asking for. Here are a couple of extracts from my article to support this:
“However, there is a lack of clarity about what exactly is meant by the ‘People’s Army’ and how it is similar to the ‘Territorial Army’.”
“What appears to be the confusion is between the concept of a Territorial Army, which is a branch of the Indian Army, and something like the Salwa Judum, which was a militia mobilised and deployed as part of counter-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh. It appears the groups making the demand mean something like the latter and not the former. If so, then it is a demand fraught with great danger, the most obvious being the militarisation of society.”
Even the Director General of Police (DGP), Idashisha Nongrang, has stated that there is confusion regarding the reported approval of a Territorial Army for Mizoram. She said, “We are examining what exactly is approved for Mizoram. As per reports, the approval for Mizoram has come from the Union Home Minister, but the Territorial Army functions under the Indian Territorial Army Act, which is with the Ministry of Defence.” But it would seem that Carmel has a much clearer idea than the DGP herself—and that’s why he started hyperventilating, calling me a ‘traitor’. By that logic, I wonder if he also believes DGP Idashisha Nongrang is a traitor. Perhaps he can respond to this letter and offer more clarity.
I am all for protecting our borders. But I do not support doing so through an armed militia (which is not the Territorial Army) because it carries many risks, which I’ve discussed at length in my article. What Carmel could have done—instead of going off the rails over a non-issue—is to explain what a Territorial Army actually is, how it works, and why it could be the best solution for the problems of influx and other illegal cross-border activities. Instead, he resorted to immature name-calling.
My proposed solution is not an armed militia (which is not the Territorial Army), but “a regular force, e.g., a special battalion made up of retired soldiers or serving officers from the police, stationed at vulnerable locations at all times. If need be, there should be a recruitment drive, and the people selected should have the same pay and benefits as any regular armed service. This will not only create good local jobs but also ensure that society is not militarized” (extracts from my article).
Hence I request Carmel to please read my article again, and then show readers where exactly I’ve said I’m against the idea of a Territorial Army. Maybe I’ve written something I’m unaware of. If not, will he apologize for calling me a ‘traitor’ just because he misread/misinterpreted what I wrote?
Yours etc.,
Bhogtoram Mawroh,
Via email
Urgent Flyover needed to end flooding
Editor
Though your esteemed daily I would like to draw the attention of both the Governments of Assam and Meghalaya to the perennial problems of flooding faced by commuters from Jorabat to Khanapara and beyond on both sides of the road. This portion of the highway is inundated after heavy rains and the rises up to about 5ft in height and can submerge small vehicles, not to speak of the hazards caused to pedestrians. As a result of such flooding vehicles are stuck in a jam sometimes for 4-5 hours. The flyover constructed on one side caters to the commuters and transporters moving towards upper Assam. But the roads that are submerged are a regular nightmare for the people of Meghalaya as well as those of lower Assam, Mizoram, Tripura etc.
Why can the Government of Assam and Meghalaya urgently take up the issue with NHAI to build a flyover on the flood prone areas which are frequent in nature. The issue should be taken up on a war footing to eradicate this problem that is punishing the tax payers, once and for all.
Yours etc.,
S.L Singhania,
Shillong-1
On brink of garbage burst
Editor,
I chuckled while reading the letter to the editor “Nothing Ever Changes in Meghalaya” by Kyntiewborlang Kharakor (ST August 27,2025) but I also understood the underlying white elephant in the room, or should I say the giant Marten landfill on our doorstep.
Humour has a funny way of softening hard truths, and that earlier letter did just that. Behind the satire and playful tone was a reality we can’t perfume away. Shillong’s garbage crisis is not new, not hidden, and certainly not going anywhere if we continue to treat it as tomorrow’s problem. The stench doesn’t just fog our thinking ability, as the writer quipped, it also fogs governance because administrations keep looking the other way- Out of Sight, Out of Mind! I appreciate the wit with which the issue was raised in the letter. It takes a rare kind of optimism and courage to laugh while writing about waste piling into ladders to heaven, and if citizens can turn frustration into creativity, surely our leaders can turn plans into action.
Ine day while passing by the entrance of MUDA parking, I buckled up my nose to fight the battle with the stench that lay opposite the gate. But lo and behold, the area had been revamped with paint and flowers. As a politician from North India once said, “denting painting.” I was shocked and honestly super appreciative, until I realised the garbage mountain wasn’t gone at all. It had simply been shifted from right to left. That’s not waste management, that’s waste choreography. Talk about sweeping it under the rug, we Indians have this problem, sweep our house sparkly clean and throw it into the neighbour’s lawn. Who cares, right?
Now, as Shillong and Meghalaya rise in popularity, let us be more sustainable, more mature than the states that couldn’t balance growth, which is future focussed. Not everything has to “Live for the Moment” kind of attitude. Goa and Shimla have had their share of tourist influx; locals did earn from it, but poor management eventually turned into their downfall. I speak only as a mango citizen of this city that I love. I cannot speak for the tourists, but I do request the locals, please don’t litter like “Khlem akor” at tourist spots. Carry back your broken beer bottles and trash to dispose them properly at home. Far too often, when I visit these places, there’s always a hill of garbage piling up, a beautiful waterfall, and then? An empty Frooti bottle bobbing up and down. We owe it to ourselves to do better. If we take lessons from Goa and Shimla, we can steer tourism here along a sustainable S-curve instead of letting it collapse into a haphazard bell curve.
As for the wise Indian man’s words, “Life ek safar hai,” let’s not make it a SUFFER for Shillong. Let’s act like responsible citizens; maybe start by not hurling empty beer bottles from shiny black SUVs and we urge the authorities to clean from the roots up and not just sweep it under the rug, so growth doesn’t just look green but stays sustainable and is future focussed.
Your’s etc.,
Shivani Pde
Via email