SHILLONG/NEW DELHI: While the juggernaut for ILP seekers’ stir rolls on in the State with one agitation after another continuing to disturb the even tenor of life, and the Government has chosen to remain unrelenting in its stand against ILP, an awkward stalemate prevails. On one hand, agitators who have gone underground fearing Police action, are doing remote control to steer the course of agitation, the Government, on the other, is playing on the patience of the people. Although neither side is ready to blink first, there are indications that for the both sides an honourable exit may not be a bad idea after all.
This week there were two small but interesting developments towards a possible breakthrough; 1) the KSU’s suo motu climb-down from its demand for ILP with all its existing manifestations to a diluted ILP. 2) Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma showing spontaneous willingness to resume dialogue, only if the agitators call off their stir.
The Chief Minister told The Shillong Times this week in Delhi (See interview on Page 3) in so many words that the Government is ready for unconditional talks only if the stir is called off and acts of violence are stopped. In the brief interview he explains the absurdity of ILP in Meghalaya which he says is no practicable answer to the issue of influx.
The dicey question is: Is this a flash in the pan or a genuine harbinger of a thaw?
Apparently with no initiative for back channel peace-brokering coming from any quarter, the commoner seems to be gasping for breath. The unmitigated concerns of the man in the street about continued hindrance to earn their bread, the fears of the protracted agitation casting a long shadow over the fate of the students who are due to sit for the forthcoming exams, not to speak of the lingering foul air of mistrust blowing across during the long festive season beginning with the Pujas and culminating in Christmas and New Year—all adding up to the exasperation of the citizens.
After two months of absence of normalcy, the question that everyone should be asking today is why should they be caught in an endless logjam? Is there no scope for a reasonable solution to the problems at hand?