By Patricia Mukhim
The public gathering against bandhs organised by ICARE on Oct 21st was a much needed public platform for airing views of all kinds. In fact that little space used by ICARE – the steps leading to the old State Assembly building – with just an ICARE banner saying – “ENOUGH” said more than the best crafted slogans could. Shillongites, nay the whole of Meghalaya, have had enough of imposition from this or that group who co-opt our collective voices. Mr Ganold Massar, former MLA and a leading legal practitioner said he walked all the way from his residence at Jaiaw to the venue at Khyndailad because he resents imposition. The reason why people have not come out of their homes in the past is because no one called them or provided them a platform where all those who feel likewise could converge.
Personally I was deeply touched by some of the speeches made by members of the public. There were no designated speakers. The President ICARE, Toki Blah only welcomed those who came to the venue and then left the space free for anyone to speak their minds. A lady who evidently suffered from some deep-seated emotional wounds lamented that there was no one to prevent the illicit sale of liquor in Polo market and that young people were literally dying from alcoholism. The lady trembled like a reed in the wind. She could barely hold herself together. The hand on which she held the microphone was shivering; she sweated profusely out of nervousness but had her say and walked away after that. The organisers never asked her, her name or her occupation because we believed that the platform should afford anonymity to those who chose it.
The young boys who did their hip hop dance on the bare street did that to express their souls. They are good at what they do but have never been given a stage, probably because they are not an organised group with name and fame. But even the renowned Shillong Chamber Choir came dressed in their simple attire and performed with a solemnity that touched the hearts of listeners that morning. More than what they sang it was what William Basaiawmoit, the Choir soloist spoke which resonated with the crowd. In a world filled with cynicism, bitterness and hopelessness and where the dark clouds of pessimism hang like the shadow of death, William’s prayer brought hope and a sense of peace. William’s plea that we pray for the State and its leaders was timely. Come to think of it, how many times have we gone down on our knees to pray for those we have elected? All that we have for them are words of abuse. While we may be angry at them for their non-performance, it is patently unchristian to use horrid labels that question even their parentage. More so, since we as humans are so imperfect! Yet every so often we undermine our own faults and failings and see them only in others.
Shillong does need a Hyde Park kind of public space where individuals with a grouse can let off steam. No Government can curb freedom of speech if that is within reasonable limits and does not defame anyone. This is how it should be in a democracy. The propensity to use Section 144 flimsily is not a good practice. Also the non-availability of a public space for protest has turned people aggressive and angry. A field as big as the Laitumkhrah football field near Fire Brigade is what Shillong needs! And please don’t shoo people away to some obscure corner like the Polo Ground or the Student’s Field which in any case does not belong to Government. In forty years we don’t even have a proper protest venue. What does this say about democracy in Meghalaya?
Having said that, demonstrators ought to sign a bond with the district administration that they would be held responsible, in case there is a breakdown of law and order during or after their public protest. What we have seen in Shillong is that protests by certain pressure groups always lead to rowdy behaviour at the end of the meeting when the crowd is on its way back. We have to learn to organise public meetings that end peacefully. But that requires that those who call such meetings behave responsibly and do not incite violence. There is the tendency to get personal and to lose touch of the issues. Even a section of the public enjoys the lampooning and lambasting that politicians and bureaucrats get. But this is because public meetings are so rare in this State. The only time that a group or groups call a public meeting is when things have reached a boiling point. I have not heard of a public meeting were people could be educated on the Inner Line Permit and its implications. But yes there was a public meeting called by the pro-ILP groups to convince a crowd that has been given no information on any other mechanism to tackle influx that ILP is the only solution to our problem of influx.
Most groups are afraid of calling public meetings lest the crowd turn-out is low and they lose their legitimacy. So members of the organisations are asked to mobilise crowds. Naturally most people who have a job to do will not be able to spare the time to come and listen to a meeting. Those who turn up are a few Government employees who can disappear from their stations for a couple of hours without being missed. The crowd therefore is largely made up of unemployed school drop-outs because shop owners, labourers etc will not sacrifice their time for a public meetings. The reason why there was a huge turn-out at the ICARE meeting on October 21st is because it was a bandh day and people were free to come out. If we held a meeting on any other day we might have just curious passers-by who would listen for a while and move on. That would not be a captive audience.
But public meetings need to be held more regularly and Government has to allow this to happen within the city limits, in a prominent place. They have to find the place and not give us the alibi that every inch of space is taken. Government should also get out of the fear psychosis that every public meeting would turn into a riot. The more public meetings we have the lesser will be the barbs and the aggression from the pressure groups and the public. Let us not wait till the boiling point to address issues. If the Government says that issues cannot be sorted out on the streets then it should jolly well afford a public space where those issues can be thrashed out without such meetings resulting in fisticuffs. By and large, people exhibit civilised behaviour. They become uncivil only when their feelings are repressed and their anger is not allowed to be channelized. Those in Government should ask themselves why people are so angry and cynical and willing to believe the worst of them. Such reflections might give some answers. There are bureaucrats who lament that they are only fire-fighting and are unable to proceed with development work. It’s important for those in governance to understand where public grievances originate from and to tackle those with strategic governance tools.