By Elwin H Kharshiing
“There’s a fire starting in my heart,
Reaching a fevered pitch and it’s bringing me out the dark …………”
The opening lines from multi Grammy Award winner Adele’s single “Rolling In The Deep” could not be more relevant than they are today in the lives of hundreds and thousands of ordinary, nameless and faceless men and women, young and old alike, who are the worst of sufferers of the turmoil plaguing our state today. In this show of strength between two ‘giants’, it is the grass that is damaged the most! The million dollar question remains- “How long?” How long will we be silent spectators? How long will we live our lives in fear? How long will we allow our fundamental rights to be trampled on, abused and forcefully taken away from us? How long? How long? How long?
It is in moments like these and at times like these that hundreds and thousands like myself feel caught between the devil and the deep sea. On one hand we have a government that cannot provide us with jobs and on the other hand we have the social organizations that do not allow us to be enterprising enough to earn our livelihood with respect and dignity. On one hand we have a government that cannot provide us with opportunities; on the other hand we have organizations that put up obstacles that we do not need. For how long can we afford weeks where we have to go wage- less for four days? Don’t we have mouths to feed, bodies to clothe, school and college fees to pay and so on so forth? Let us not forget that not everyone is privileged enough to be a government employee who is assured of a good pay at the end of the month to meet every expense irrespective of how many days he/ she has attended office and yes, lest we forget, not everyone is privileged enough to enjoy paid holidays!
Now, coming to the role of the NGOs who are spearheading the fight for the implementation of ILP, there is no denying the fact that they have every right to air their concerns but they cannot do so by holding us to ransom. They cannot infringe upon our rights; rights which we have not handed over to them. It is simply unacceptable that they put a curb on our freedom of movement at the drop of a hat. What is even more ridiculous is the fact that after every ‘bandh’ called, they thank the people for extending support. Well, the very fact that we, the people, (and people are the foundation of democracy) stay indoors during the ‘bandh’ hours is not a show of support but because we are intimidated and threatened. Did I say threatened? But when did the leaders of the groups ever threaten us? Well, we, the people, are smart enough to read between the lines. What do the leaders of the groups mean when they say that wedding parties are exempted from the purview of the ‘bandh’ but they have to affix balloons on their cars so that they can be recognized! Recognized for what? Recognized so that stones are not pelted, petrol bombs are not hurled and murders are not committed? Let no one be fooled. We stay indoors because in the absence of foolproof security, we cannot risk unnecessary damage and loss to life and property.
Now is the time to stand up and speak against all this injustice. Now is the time to make our voices heard. Now is the time for every individual to stand up and fight for his/ her right because unless we have the courage to do it ourselves, we cannot expect anyone else to do so for us. I say this because even the Church, in spite of its influence in this land of ours, has failed to speak up and make its voice heard. In fact, the Church of which I, myself, am an integral part of has been very selfish. The Church, through different bodies, cares to make successful requests to the agitating groups to lessen the duration of ‘bandhs’ because of its varied programs and meetings without raising its voice against the immense hardships that its very members have to face every time a ‘bandh’ is called. It is time for the Church to stand up, speak and make its presence felt.
Finally, I cannot but ask the same question which Kong Patricia Mukhim asked in her recent editorial- “Who is running the government in Meghalaya?” Well, the government is there no doubt but where is the government? The government is oblivious because it is not doing much and its best is not good enough! Mr. Chief Minister, it is not enough for you to say that the situation will be dealt with an iron hand because we cannot see you doing it and we do not need the government, through its high ranking officials, to tell us that it is ready to tackle any eventuality. What we want the government to do is to prevent any eventuality because as the saying goes ‘Prevention is better than cure’. But then, what can we expect from a government that is too weak to make its own employees attend office on any given day which is a ‘bandh’ or a day of office picketing. Can we blame the employees for staying home? No, never because as mentioned earlier, in the absence of foolproof security and other arrangements, why should anyone take unnecessary risks! Talking of security; who is entitled to security in this land of ours? Is security meant only for the 60 elected representatives? Is it meant only for a handful of three dotted union and state service officers? Or should only the wives and children of some privileged officials be provided with gun toting S.O.T. personnel to drop and pick them up from their work places and schools? It is here that I cannot but mention Mr. T.H.Rngad (Bah Thrang) and Mr. R.G. Lyngdoh(Bah Bob) who were Home Ministers during troublesome times in our state and yet were never seen around town with ‘gunmen’ around them. Make no mistake, I am not endorsing any politician or any political party but I am only saluting their courage of conviction. Their principle was that, if, as Home Ministers, they could not provide security to the common man, they had no moral right to do so for themselves. Yet the HNLC has the audacity to issue fresh threats to Bah Bob just a few days back! Well, the less we talk about the HNLC, the better because under the guise of championing the cause of the people, it is but playing opportunistic politics by taking undue advantage of the volatile situation in the state.
My earnest prayer is that 20 years from now, my son’s perception of leaders will be different from my perception today and the only way it can happen is through change; positive change which has to start right now.