SEVERALl key learnings have emanated from the November 30 meeting on the Inner Line Permit. First, matrilineal Meghalaya is not necessarily a place where women’s voices are heard and much less respected. Out of nine speakers only one was a lady. It was not necessary for the ILP pressure groups to give the microphone only to those who were part of the conglomerate. If there were other women as part of the audience they too could have been asked to speak at least for the sake of a fair gender representation. But that did not happen. In so many decades of their existence the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) the Garo Students’ Union (GSU) and the Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People (FKJGP) have always been led by male members with women playing peripheral roles. And we call this a matrilineal society! Some analyses is called at this juncture as to whether these pressure groups are really inclusive and democratic or whether they too are oligarchies where elections are more of a farce. One of the great virtues of democracy is that it allows the emergence of leadership from both the genders. Evidently democracy is not what the pressure groups practise although they preach it all the time.
If women who form nearly half the population of Meghalaya have been represented by a lone woman’s voice at the rally then is that rally really representative of the majority of women, leave alone the majority of the population? A 20,000 strong crowd does not necessarily mean a clear referendum for the ILP. If the leaders of the past stood resolute to remove impediments such as the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) which had restricted the inflow of foreign tourists to Meghalaya, how come the politicians of today want to set back the clock and ask for an instrument to curb influx that can have several setbacks for the State? That the pro-ILP groups don’t do an objective analysis of the deleterious effects of the ILP should it be implemented, does not mean that we should all agree with this legislation. The ILP will be yet another law that cannot be effectively implemented apart from being a source of corruption just as the infiltration check gates are. However, what is more alarming is the tendency of so called political “leaders” to follow the crowd instead of leading them out of misconceptions. This is definitely a vote catching gimmick and it does not bode well for the State. Quite frankly Meghalaya has no leader of substance. Not especially among politicians because leaders blaze new trails. They don’t resort to populism and follow the beaten track but would walk alone if need be. November 30 is certainly not the writing on the wall.
