By Patricia Mukhim
A climate of tension and confusion prevails in Meghalaya. No one is sure of the outcome of the current impasse. The sane and sensible have given their views. Social network sites are replete with expressions of concern. But there is also a lot of abuse and hatred. It is difficult to perceive why the issue of influx and/or internal migration should evoke such hatred. One can understand concerns based on fear and insecurity. But hatred and violence are unacceptable. In the situation prevailing today one can take a ringside view of the ILP tangle and try and rise like flotsam above the furious tsunami. Alternatively one can put oneself in the place of those who agonise over this issue. A Face-booker expressed his anger at the demographic change in Shillong city. He pointed to the overwhelming number of non-tribals thronging Khyndailad or criss-crossing it on any given day as an indicator that there is indeed a huge floating population from outside the State. These may not be registered as residents of Meghalaya in the census rolls. But they do use up the meagre resources of the State, argued one. With grossly inadequate civic and sanitation facilities in place the outcomes are a very dirty and unkempt city with mounds of garbage everywhere.
Many feel that those who are not stakeholders of the city don’t care for it. They feel that in Shillong the uncaring seem to have overtaken the local residents. And this is perhaps what is irking the local population. It is a very natural human reaction. Khyndailad has a large number of roadside hawkers whose only interest is what they can get from here. We can argue that they have the right to earn their livelihood but is that the only purpose of being a citizen? What about their responsibilities? Police Bazar and now Iewduh (Bara Bazar) where the shops previously owned by tribals are leased out/rented to non-tribals might be two of the dirtiest places in Shillong. The amount of garbage generated from both markets actually use up huge resources of the Shillong Municipality. The Iewduh might be out of the purview of the Municipality but the garbage it generates also finds its way to Marten. One wonders why the State Government continues to allow the anachronistic institution of the Syiem of Mylliem to supersede the civic laws? How much is the revenue collected by the Syiem of Mylliem annually? What has he done to improve the look of Iewduh? Shop owners have complained to this writer that as soon as darkness falls, rowdies rule the roost since there is no lighting inside the market. And the State Government has allowed this lawlessness to prevail by abdicating its duties and allowing the Syiem a licentious hold over Iewduh! If there is one totally lawless space in the State then Iewduh is that place.
I will of course be accused of stereotyping communities and blaming some for the dirt and filth that encircles us today. Some will point to areas that are primarily inhabited by tribals and say that those too are as dirty as every other locality in Shillong. And they may be correct in saying that! I was shocked to enter Mawsynram and witness the amount of garbage that is just left around to rot. Nongstoin is the same! Civic awareness seems to have not touched these places. They have grown into townships without the infrastructure to tackle the attendant realities that afflict all unplanned townships, such as a functioning civic management system. Overdependence on the Dorbar Shnong which does not, and cannot manage a modern township is at the root of dirt and filth we see around us.
But then let’s take a non-prejudicial view of Shillong today and name some of the dirtiest localities. Let’s ask ourselves why that is so? The fact of the matter is that while everyone claims with pride that Shillong is their home, very few actually care for the quality of life in this city. The Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF) used to organise the “cleanest locality” campaign. As the judge for this unique experiment I had to visit several localities to judge the cleanest one. Inevitably the winner has been a locality which is characterised by tribal-only presence such as Jaiaw or others where not many non-tribals reside, or where the non-tribal residents are largely educated, have civic sense and where the Dorbar displays a strong sense of responsibility such as Nongthymmai-Nongshiliang.
The non-tribal has a natural flair for commerce which the tribal does not. The tribal also lacks dignity of labour and does not, as a rule, make a viable labourer because the investment on him, per capita far outweighs the output. The tribal has pride so you cannot shout him down; you can do that to a non-tribal labourer. He will take all your rubbish especially if he is an illegal immigrant. He simply has to survive. Yet there are those in the construction business (roads and Govt buildings) that need cheap labour to make up for the corruption in the business and the money paid under the table to ministers, engineers, and what have you, to get the contract in the first place.
Pressure groups recognise these problems and know that solutions evade us all. Does anyone have a blueprint to control daily illegal immigration from Bangladesh or Nepal? Even the prime minister of this country has admitted failure on this count. He suggested work permits instead. Truth is that the best sealed borders of the United States cannot prevent illegal immigration. There is as yet no instrument devised to do so. We may ask – what about their documents? Should that not be proof of identity? Most illegal immigrants to Meghalaya have already been naturalised in Assam’s Goalpara or Nowgong districts. But the fact of the matter also is that no illegal immigrant would be here if there was no work for him. So who employs him? Who gives him the license to start hawking at Police Bazar, Bara Bazar or Polo market? Don’t we have the District Councils to regulate trade? They are supposed to put a cap on the number of non-tribal traders in Meghalaya. That’s not an unfair policy. That’s the reason why the Sixth Schedule was enacted. But the Council’s books of accounts reveal that the numbers have only increased and so too the Council’s income! If we plug this route and regulate the import of labour into Meghalaya we would have been able to contain much of the floating population that is the cause for social and political disharmony.
Let’s be clear about one thing though. We have no justifiable right to stop professionals, academics and certain categories of Indian citizens to come and work here (not trade here). They add value to our society and economy and enrich our political and anthropological discourses. Some are here to guard our frontiers although one must admit they are far too many for comfort. We really don’t need so many armed forces personnel here, more so because they are not part of the social milieu and live by their own set of rules. Besides, their economic transactions don’t benefit us in any way.
Having said the above it is necessary for the agitating groups to recognise that Durga Puja is approaching and that peace and social harmony is the sin qua non of this festival. Let us not be seen as disrupting the religious festival of our friends and neighbours. The non-tribals ‘residents’ of Meghalaya are concerned about this state of suspense. We need to be magnanimous and reciprocate with grace to remove the anxieties they are afflicted with. Let politics not provoke us to fish in troubled waters. Let not this be a power game where both sides look at who will blink first. Sometimes those who back off and end the posturing first are the real victors. In any case both sides need a face-saving exit out of this impasse.