Editor, It is sickening to read on a daily basis, the newspapers whether the English or Khasi editions reporting scary stories about Garo Hills. After being in Shillong for almost 25 years, I got an opportunity to work in Garo Hills for the past five years. My stint in Garo Hills is indeed an eye-opener. My impressions of Garo Hills are completely different from what is projected by the media. Let me narrate a few of them here for public awareness: The road from Guwahati to Tura is one of the best roads that anyone could ever travel on with predictable timing and wonderful scenic beauty all along. While I do not wish to make any comparisons, I invite people from Shillong to make a trip to Tura by road, and judge for themselves. The natural forestry, the fresh air we breathe here, the non-polluted environment makes it a paradise on earth for anyone. Every year, maximum requests for admissions in our B.Ed college is from Khasi-Jaintia Hills. Ask any of the students who passed out of our college about the safety and security they experienced in Garo Hills. If they ever had a negative experience, they wouldn’t flock to Garo Hills. Even the Tura Campus of NEHU has sizable number of students from Shillong.
Some of the best schools of the State giving quality education to children are in Garo Hills. If any of you have any doubts, make a trip to Garo Hills and enter the portals of Tura Public School, Sherwood School, Aeroville School and you will see the high quality academic climate prevalent in these schools. To tell you frankly, there is an enviable spirit of tolerance, openness and freedom in Garo Hills. I wonder whether the stake holders have ever asked the question, ‘Why is Garo Hills backward?’ ‘Why are the youth taking into militancy? Why is there rampant extortion and kidnapping? Why the murders even of police personnel? The answers are on your finger tips – lack of development, lack of political will, lack of opportunities, lack of employment, lack of sufficient number of schools in the interior, lack of medical facilities etc. Quality education is the key to development and progress in Garo Hills. Provide the same opportunities and quality educational institutions, including some crucial Government Departments in Garo Hills, and you will see the difference. It’s a challenge! It’s too much to suffer, too long… long years of neglect and deprivation. You can’t expect good flowers, if you don’t take care of your garden. A garden needs constant care, attention, encouragement, watering, fertilizing and grounding and all the vital ingredients necessary for a healthy growth. Neglect, slipshod efforts, short cut methods will always show up in the quality of the garden. It is rightly said, “As you sow, so shall you reap.” Within the last five years of my stay in Tura, I have seen a ray of hope and brighter days for Garo Hills. With the efforts that we are making, and the cooperation that we are receiving from the students, I can say with certitude that we are in for better days. Ten years from now, Garo Hills should have enough doctors, engineers and other professionals with global standards. I dream of a day, when all militancy will end and Garo Hills will be recognized by the rest of Meghalaya and Northeast as a paradise to live in! Yours etc., Dr (Fr) P.D. Johny, SDB, Principal, Don Bosco College,Tura _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
