The call for a shut-down of shops in Laitumkhrah on April 9 by a group of elders to protest the KSU vandalism of April 4 has been met by a counter-offensive from the Dotbar Shnong Laitumkhrah. That the call made by the elders has been supported by the local MLA, Ms Ampareen Lyngdoh would mean that those elders have consulted her. These citizens wish to protest against yet another assault on their liberties and their businesses by perpetrators who will predictably go unpunished. The absence of a strong and justice system coupled with the non-arrest of the leaders of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) who should have been held responsible for creating a serious breach of law and order in the city, only emboldens other miscreants to commit similar acts. In Meghalaya, Governments have been known to capitulate to pressure groups instead of taking them head on.
What is paradoxical about the Laitumkhrah shut-down is that the Dorbar Shnong has not been taken into confidence. It appears to have been a spontaneous act of the shop owners of the area to protests their own abhorrence of such criminal acts. If a shop owner decides to close his/her shop as a mark of protest against the April 4th incident, especially if the shop-owner has suffered loss, one does not see how and why the Dorbar Shnong should step in and prevent people from exercising their democratic right to protest by closing their shops. Obviously people do not have enough faith on the Dorbar Shnong and wonder why the Dorbar has allowed Laitumkhrah to turn into a battle field on April 4. While the main road of Laitumkhrah is a public one the area is under the jurisdiction of the Laitumkhrah Dorbar. Members of the Dorbar were aware that the KSU processionists were congregating at Madan Iewrynghep which is well within the jurisdiction of the Laitumkhrah Dorbar. They should have remained alert to any sign of trouble and should have been present to pre-empt any untoward incident. Now that the free for all has happened in the absence of the police from the spot and also of any Dorbar members, people have a right to believe that they need to fraternise in order to fight back such future infringement on their rights. They have every right to do so. If the Govt seems hesitant to take on the KSU, the Dorbar Shnong too have never shown much interest in upholding law and order. So why should people trust them? And why should they prevent people from exercising their democratic right to protest?