Raiot

04/02/2025

Comrade Bhogtoram Mawroh 's tribute to Tarun Bhartiya

Tarun Bhartiya lived life on his terms, fought for just causes, created timeless art, and built enduring friendships.

29/01/2025

"Armed with his camera and some microphones, he spent weeks and months amplifying the voices of resistance. He met his icon in Domiasiat: Kong Spelity Lyngdoh, who died in 2020, leaving him mourning her passing for several months. She epitomised the genius and generosity of the human spirit that he saw in abundance in the region. That is why he remained in Shillong, voyaging out to places for work that validated his decision to return."

The North East, and Shillong in particular, has lost its foremost archivist and chronicler of sad, happy, ordinary and extraordinary events and people.

28/01/2025

"Tarun was not just brilliant; he made it a point not to flash it and went the and extra mile not to stand out. Alas, in this, he seems to have failed, given the volume and intimate nature of the tributes that have been pouring in on social media since the news broke."

Renowned poet, documentary filmmaker, and social activist Tarun Bhartiya (left) passed away on 25 January. He was 54. His friend remembers him as generous, empathetic, detached, and anarchic.

27/01/2025

Hello followers, if you want to watch and appreciate some of Tarun Bhartiya 's films, they are available on his YouTube channel:

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

27/01/2025

In case any of you want to watch the Tribute and Send-off Ceremony for our comrade Tarun Bhartiya that happened today in Shillong, here is the link:

26/01/2025

Statement by Thma U Rangli-Juki on the devastating death of this webzine's pioneer and founder, Tarun Bhartiya.

We at Thma U Rangli-Juki (TUR) are deeply saddened by the untimely death of our beloved member, Tarun Bhartiya. Tarun died on 25.01.2025 in Shillong. Tarun's entire life was devoted to activism, and to fight for the rights of the oppressed and the disempowered. He lived with the conviction that the world can and should be better for every one equally. He made it his duty to relentlessly protest against the powerful, not just through his activism but his films, his photography, and his poetry.

Tarun's love for Meghalaya and its people was matched by his courage to interrogate, speak out and act no matter the consequences. He was always determined to voice out and work against the government's failure towards its people, against corrupt and divisive politicians, against the apathy and exploitative positions of tribal elites, against the racism against non-tribals in the state, against the patriarchy at the heart of matrilineal society, among many other things.

Tarun always had the political discernment that politics should be inclusive and heterogeneous, respecting and accommodating every person's positionalities and journeys. He vehemently argued against a totalizing form of political vision.

We at TUR feel deeply honoured to have worked with him. He taught each of us so much, especially that we should hold on to hope in the darkest of times. Losing a comrade like Tarun is unfathomable and disorientating for us as a group but as Tarun would have expected of us, we shall continue the work we started together since 2013.

Tarun is survived by his wife Comrade Angela Rangad, and their three children, Abia, Maïan and Kyntang.

TUR invites all to the Tribute and Send Off which will start at 12 Noon on the 27th of January 2025 at the Residence at Lumpangad, Shillong. This will be followed by cremation at Jhalupara.

Thank you.

29/02/2024

As the roadshow for the revived Monolith Festival gets underway, this old essay by Gertrude Lamare is worth reupping.

"The culture market in Meghalaya is a nascent phenomenon, at least in the scale that it exists today. Of course tourism has always had it within the gamut of its agenda but in the past few years, alongside large-scale development projects, large-scale commercial projects of culture have also evolved."

Just saw the PR film for much talked about Monolith Festival 2016 held at Mawphlang. I have a few troubling thoughts

06/02/2024

Abir Dasgupta explains why at times, the goals of the environmental struggle may come into conflict with the anti fascist struggle.

Text of a talk by Abir Dasgupta

26/01/2024

Ka jingïakren ïasuk hapdeng ka Sorkar India bad ki seng kieng atiar ka thañ shatei lam mihngi ka Ri India, k*m ka NSCN (IM), ULFA bad khamtam bad ka Hynñiewtrep Liberation Council (HNLC), ka donkam ia ka jingïatai paidbah kaba sani. Ka paw ba
kine ki seng ki la kubur ban ïakren hapoh ki kyndon jong ka Riti Synshar ka Ri India. Kumta ha ka jingrakhe ia ka Republic Day to ngin ia thir nia halor ka jingïadei ka Ri Hynñiewtrep bad ka Ri India.

Kyrsoibor Pyrtuh

25/01/2024

MARANATHA WAHLANG ON THE MYTH OF ONE KHASI LANGUAGE

"We speak Mnar in Jirang, a language so different, mutually unintelligible from Khasi. My training in linguistics tells me this is a different variety of the Khasian languages. There are several of them. While we share so many of the ways in which we talk about the world, about our experiences of it, languages are also different. To call a language a language and to mark variances as dialects, is a political process and very often do not do justice to the variants. If we look at Norwegian and Swedish, they share many more similarities than Standard Khasi and Mnar, and yet they are languages, because they are spoken in different countries. So for historical reasons and political reasons, Standard Khasi has become “the Language”, and all the others, dialects."

We speak Mnar in Jirang, a language so different, mutually unintelligible from Khasi. My training in linguistics tells me this is a different variety of the Khasian languages. There are several of them. While we share so many of the ways in which we talk about the world, about our experiences of it,...

24/01/2024

The Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma, recently released the state anthem in Tura, which generated a fair bit of controversy. One of the criticisms about the anthem was made by the Jaintia Students’ Union, wherein they demanded corrections be made to the anthem by removing the English words and replacing them with Jaintia. However, is this justified demand?

The Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Conrad Sangma, recently released the state anthem in Tura, which generated a fair bit of controversy. One of the criticisms about the anthem was made by the Jaintia Students’ Union, wherein they demanded corrections be made to the anthem by removing the English wor...