Only for the record

Sir — The photograph, “Eye for record” (May 29), was quite sickening. It pointed to a macabre manifestation of poverty in India — poor unknowns from unheard-of places trying to get into the record books by eating swords, pulling trucks with their teeth, riding non-stop for days and so on. But what is truly mystifying is the precise mathematical details given in the caption — the diametre of the nylon thread, 2 mm, and the time it takes Vijayakanth S. to pass it from tear-duct to mouth, 60 seconds. Does it mean that there is a record for a 3 mm rayon thread being passed in, say, 70 seconds?

Yours faithfully,
Seema Panjiar, Jamshedpur

Special case

Sir — The Bharatiya Janata Party has done very badly in the North-east, but the party had it coming. Ever since I joined the BJP in 1998, I had been making efforts to make a difference to its understanding of the region. It was difficult as such matters are never discussed at the state level at any rate. Worse, there was a lot of interference from a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh secretary appointed from outside, in the day-to-day affairs of the party. Naturally, such an arrangement prevented the emergence of a local political line consistent with the policies of the party, which an indigenous leadership could provide.

Besides, the RSS’s core agenda had no any relevance in the North-east. The people here do not venerate the cow, oppose Article 370 (in fact, there is a strong opinion in favour of federal autonomy) and the Ram temple arouses no emotions in the region. In fact, people in the North-east view the proposed ban on cow-slaughter very differently from the orthodox Hindu fold. Repeated statements by Central BJP leaders that cow-slaughter would be banned all over India also goes against the Constitution which leaves the matter to the state legislature. A ban on cow-slaughter makes good politics in most areas, but what message did it send here? As a national party, the BJP should have no difficulty working with the people of the North-east. However, they must be assured that consultation and not imposition, will be the norm for such a relationship.

Yours faithfully,
Bedebrata Barua, Delhi

Sir — In “Unscheduled matter” (May 26), Sanjib Baruah discusses many issues pertinent to the North-east. One, the “special category state” status given to Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram under the Constitution. But these are not the only states benefiting from a special economic package, there are others like Assam, Sikkim, Tripura and Manipur. Two, disproportionate land-holdings. It is true that hereditary land-lords in this region have a lot of land, but they are like the zamindars elsewhere in India. As for the many ethnic-communities in the region, their origins, culture, physical features, beliefs and practices, and languages are distinct from those found elsewhere in the country.

Yours faithfully,
S. Temjen Imchen, Calcutta

Sir — One had expected better coverage of the region in the recently-introduced North-east edition of The Telegraph. But the report, “Girl’s murder sparks tension in Mizoram” (May 16), was inadequate. Through this letter I would like to elaborate on what happened since I was an eye-witness to it. On the morning of May 15, 2004, it came to light that a Mizo girl has been killed by some Bhais (as non-Mizos are called in Mizoram). Surprisingly, the authorities allowed the body of the dead woman to be carried openly through the thickly-crowded market place. Within minutes the crowd turned violent and started searching for Bhais to teach them a lesson. At around noon, a Tata Sumo with an Assam registration was attacked by a mob of 300 people. The mob then marched to the secretariat and found some non-Mizo labourers working on a building under construction. They were beaten up (in front of the police and security personnel) and thrown down from the fifth and sixth floors of the building. Some died on the spot, some on the way to hospital. Other pockets of Aizawl where non-Mizos live were also attacked. By afternoon, when hundreds had been critically injured, the administration woke up and clamped a 12 hour curfew. The situation seems to be under control now, but timely action could have saved many lives and prevented the tension between the people of Mizoram and Assam.

Yours faithfully,
Nilin Bhaduri, Durgapur