Shillong, Aug 27: As part of the of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to commemorate India’s 75 years of independence, the Income Tax department on Friday felicitated 8 eminent personalities from the state of Meghalaya who have made sterling contributions in the fields of education, rural development, environment, sports, music and social service.
The eminent personalities who were felicitated by the Income Tax Department, North East Region, includes: in music – Lou Majaw, in agriculture – Trinity Saioo, in inclusive education – Bertha Dkhar, in sports – Aiborlang Khongee, in CSR project – Christopher Rani, in environment – Jivat Vaswani, in education – David R Syiemlieh, and in freedom struggle – Tushar Kanti Bhattacharjee.
Speaking during the felicitation program, Bertha Dkhar said she was surprised to receive the letter in braille from the department who had recognized her for the step she took to promote inclusive education in the state. She said people with disabilities always need the opportunity and the support of those around, hence, with much gratitude to the income tax department she accepted the recognition in the name of Bethany Society.
David R Syiemlieh, while thanking the income tax department for the recognition, said as a teacher and academician, the proudest moments is when students read their book(s) and come to them to seek more information about various topics they come across. Syiemlieh said many people know him as a chairmanof UPSC or former VC of Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, but everyone tends to forget that he started his career as an academician as primary school teacher in St. John and St Edmund’s school Shillong.
“The resolute decision on my part is not to enter into any civil services or any other profession as I have always wanted to be a teacher as my school has impacted me tremendously and I thought that I should be a teacher, to which I continue to do so,” he said.
Syiemlieh said he is inspired by the program of Prime Minister that the people should know more about the lesser known heroes of freedom struggle, hence, the stories of many lesser known figures of the country like the one of Tushar Kanti Bhattacharjee should be in text so that people get to know more about the freedom struggle.
Meanwhile, Christopher Rani said that he admires all the eminent personalities who were facilitated by the income tax department as they all inspire the people and the next generation to come. Rani said in his organization the main objective is to bring about better education and better healthcare for children in the state as education and health plays an important role in helping an individual to function better and to become a productive member of the society.
He added that his organization aims to provide better healthcare and education to underprivileged children as children are the future contributors to the state and the country as a whole.
“With the cash award that I have received today, I will be donating to an orphanage or any underprivileged organization and I do wish that each one of you today take one step to try and help, that is, one child and sponsor for their education, so that we have a better state and better nation,” he said.
