Patricia Mukhim
It is said when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Going by this aphorism the going is indeed very tough what with Covid19 taking a toll on all of us ordinary citizens but more so, on those running the Government. At one time it was said that Mukul Sangma’s government was like a one-man army. Dr Mukul was accused of not delegating and taking unilateral decisions. With the team he had then I don’t blame the doctor-politician. Now the young CM, Conrad Sangma faces the same dilemma. He only has his Deputy to stand by his side. Between the two of them they take all decisions related to different aspects of the war against Covid. Health Minister, AL Hek seems to be working in another orbit and doing his bit, but to us onlookers there seems to be a missing link that connects him to the entire Covid fighting machinery.
The MLAs/MDCs are presumably all leaders or that is what we like to believe. They were elected, also presumably because they had leadership qualities. We would have expected them to be moving around and sharing the burden of the Government because as one senior doctor has very correctly opined – the fight against Covid is not that of doctors and the government alone. It is a fight that every citizen, every community has to battle. Hence the slogan, “We are all in this together.” But where are all the ministers of the MDA cabinet? We neither see them nor hear them. Are they all on quarantine? Are they in Meghalaya or stranded abroad somewhere where they usually go for their annual jaunts? Is this not the time for them to stand with their constituents; pay money from the MLA scheme to bring back those stranded in different parts of the country? Why should the Government bear the entire weight of this pandemic? It’s not as if the Government brought this pandemic to Meghalaya.
There are students, professionals, blue-collared workers in different parts of India that are today in a state of depression because they are not being facilitated to return to their respective homes. Covid is an unknown devil and there is no knowing as to who will survive this pandemic and who won’t. We just have to be on guard. Those who are stranded in different cities are facing this same consternation. They don’t know if they might somehow contact the disease and suffer alone. They want to be with their families. That’s a natural human longing. But the Government is taking its time to bring back Meghalayans from the rest of the country. For the moment only those from within the North East are being transported back. And even this takes a hell of a lot of organization and logistical arrangement. The resources of the Government are over-stretched. This is where a Committee comprising ministers of the present Government, MLAs and officials should have been formed to strategize on how to bring back (a) stranded students and workers from the North- eastern states (b) students, workers and others professionals from others states of India can be flown in (on payment) or come in by train up to Guwahati. The task of elected leaders is to lead. This means they must have a solution to every problem and not just look at the CM and his Deputy to sort out every Covid-related problem.
Much has been spoken about Covid warriors. The Indian Air Force has spent money on strewing flowers that missed their targets and landed at the North Eastern Council building instead of Bethany Hospital. Aren’t some of the Covid warriors a forgotten lot? Did they not deserve petals? Aren’t the Municipal Workers daily collecting rubbish, the unsung warriors? Aren’t police personnel also frontline workers? Instead of showering petals from atop a helicopter and burning several lakhs of rupees of fuel would it not have been more worthwhile to get some protective gear for police that are enforcing the lockdown and therefore exposing themselves to the slimy virus more than others? Can’t the IAF have donated protective suits to Municipal workers too? Did we not have enough of beating up of pots and pans and light enough candles, after an order from the supreme leader? And now, after showering petals from the air, what next?
So when you actually list out the Covid warriors then you have (a) doctors (b) nurses (c) para-medical staff (d) police personnel (e) municipal workers (f) Mr Conrad Sangma the CM (g) Mr Prestone Tynsong the Deputy CM (h) Mr MS Rao, Chief Secretary and his well-knit team. The MLAs and ministers will not find a place in this list of warriors. And yet, whenever Covid decides to leave us at some point and life hopefully returns to “normal” (a word that sounds oxymoronic at the moment), the poor municipal workers and police will have to salute all these self-serving leaders who were missing in action.
Our MLAs/MDCs/ministers have taken social distancing to a new level. They have a good excuse too since crowding is not legal anymore. But if the pandemic has taught us anything at all then it is this – when the going gets tough it’s each person to himself/herself. As it is this pandemic induces in us a feeling of enervating fatalism. We all realize how little we are in control of our lives. This pandemic has hit the poor the hardest and inflamed class divisions. This is the time when the MLAs should step forward and not just dole out rations from money that does not come from their pockets but from MLA funds. They should be checking out the poor in their constituencies who don’t have ration cards and help them get those ration cards. It is heard that in some villages the Rangbah Shnong reduced the quota of rice to those with ration cards so that those without cards can also receive rice and other essential from the Fair Price Shops. Are the MLAs/MDCs representing rural constituencies aware of this?
Let’s remember that Covid is not just a disease but a moral challenge as well. We have all been challenged to share the little we have with others. In fact, there are so many examples of groups and individuals who have been feeding the poor or giving out rations during this pandemic and they have done it quietly away from the camera and TV channels. This is not what politicians would do. They want proof of every little thing they do so that they can cash in on every act during election time.
But if we survive the pandemic and reach 2023, we need to remember the lessons it has taught us, which is to maintain social and physical distance from the same breed of politicians who have socially distanced themselves from us when we needed them the most.