By HH Mohrmen
Some are of the opinion that the year 2011 should be called the year of ‘the revolution.’ It started with the Arab Spring or Jasmine revolution then continued with the London riots (if one would call that a revolution) followed by the anti-graft movement led by Anna Hazare in India and ended with the ‘occupy’ movement which started from the ‘Occupy World Street in the USA.’ The revolution forced many dictators to step down from office and some even lost their lives in the process. Perhaps the climax of the year was the assassination of the dreaded terrorist Osama Bin Laden in his hideout in Abbotabad Pakistan. The precision of the operation to eliminate Osama Bin Laden can only be replicated by another Hollywood blockbuster and we hope to see one soon. Perhaps the significance of this year can only be compared with 1989 the year of the so called ‘velvet revolution’, which saw the fall of the Communist regime in many Eastern Europe countries.
The year also marked the advent of the new era of information dissemination, it was reported that the Arab Spring or the Jasmine revolution was started in the social networking site – Facebook domain (and while typing this article I realized my word processor does not even recognize facebook) and how video clips some shot by using mobile phones were the only footage that news channels were able to get from conflict zones like Syria. Citizen journalism or whatever you call it is taking new strides now and it is here to stay. Internet has indeed become a democratic tool, a level playing field and it is now very difficult if not impossible to curb information on this medium. And yet in such a scenario Kapil Sibal our own Minister of Information Technology and Human Resources Development is trying to control the information shared on social networking sites. Well, everybody knows that Kabil is only trying to sing the tune that will please his master.
The state for the first time in its history witnessed the kind of political imbroglio that will put any state in the country to shame. Ironically the instability of the government is not from the external forces (outside of the government), but it was in fact a mere internal wrangling within the Congress party. The lesson for the people of Meghalaya from this embarrassing situation is that voting a party with an absolute majority does not guarantee a stable government in the state. At least the Congress party has no moral authority any more to campaign and request people to vote for the party and a stable government in 2013. People have seen it with their own eyes how a government led by the Congress was in a perpetual leadership crisis till very recently in spite of commanding a majority with the support of the UDP.
The traffic wardens of Shillong who became instant public heroes deserve a pat on the back, but for every heroic act of a policeman there is an ugly face of police harassment in various shapes and forms. While the traffic wardens were basking in the glory of the public support for their heroic act, I encountered another unpleasant experience in the Jowai Police station. I visited the police station to enquire about a police report required for my mother’s passport. I was asked to meet one Sub- Inspector (SI) S. Braily who insisted that I call the 70 year old woman to come to the police station for interview before he issued a police report on her behalf. The S.I. tried to convince me that it is necessary that he interview the senior citizen in the police station, but I personally have been in possession of a passport since 1989, had renewed it several times but had never ever been interviewed in the police station and asked to wait for more than one hour there. Perhaps the officer needs to be educated that I can sue him for summoning a senior citizen who has no criminal records against her name to the police station for a mere police report.
And the news the people called “a situation where a thief is arresting a thief.” Yes, I mean the story of the police officer arresting the officials of the Transport Department for collecting money from the trucks as if this is something new. When the news was reported a friend remarked “But who will catch the policemen doing the same thing?” If the police department is really fair in carrying out its duty and in the interest of justice to all, it only needs to assign a high ranking officer to board on a back-load truck (trucks coming from Guwahati) and travel on a truck at least from Jowai to Shillong and see for himself what happens in Sohryngkham, Mawryngkneng Ummulong police stations and at the Myntdu bridge during the ‘no entry’ periods to Jowai.
Officer Braily was indeed thorough in doing his duty but one hopes the Jowai police station does the same thing with criminals. It is rather an embarrassing situation for the Jowai police when the department does not even have a photograph of an alleged rapist of a minor who already has another case pending against him in the court. What police report are we talking about, when the police do not even have a photograph of a person who had committed a second crime?
Well, why would we let bad apples in the police department spoil the spirit of the holiday mood? Let us all congratulate the courageous traffic wardens and hope that they not only have the penchant of serving traffic tickets to politician because it propels them to instant hero status. One hopes that police in Shillong will also be fair in doing their duty by serving traffic tickets to army or military vehicles which are in the habit of violating traffic rules by parking in the no parking zones in the Khyndailad area (Police Bazaar) of the city.
And lastly, it was a year of sorrow for our neighbours; the people of the state of Assam. The people of the state lost their two heroes, their role models in the demise of Bhupen Hazarika and Mamoni Raisom Goswami which happened in very short intervals. I am not a follower of any of these renowned personalities. The little that I know about them are from information that I read in the newspapers, but I was overwhelmed by the love and affection the people of Assam showered on the stalwarts on their death. I shared this observation with a close friend and remarked that at least the people of Assam, have heroes that they can be proud of; do we have one in Meghalaya? If not, why is there a dearth of heroes in the state? Why is Meghalaya not having a role model for the young people of the state to emulate? Perhaps this should be food for thought for the people of Meghalaya before the year draws to a close and in the coming year. Happy New Year!
(The author is a researcher and social thinker)