By Kyrshan Singh
So Meghalaya is in a mess. Right? So who is to blame? Well, to answer that question we first have to ask…Who is in power? Who has control over matters?
We live in a Democratic Republic, so in the first instance, let’s look at our political leaders for an answer. Does the Central Government exert control over us from far away Delhi? Yes, to a certain extent, by setting legislation and by allocating Plan Funds for development. However, there is considerable delegation of responsibility and flexibility for State Governments and it is they who should probably have the biggest impact on our lives.
So who are my local leaders? Is it my local MLA, or my local MDC or my Rangbah Shnong or my Rangbah Dong? Who represents me? Why are there so many people ruling over me? What about the Syiem’s? Do they still have any power? We elect MDC’s and MLA’s. Apparently the Rangbah Shnong are also representatives of our communities, but women do not form part of the durbar. Therefore, I disregard this process as undemocratic. Many may disagree with me as they would ascribe it as a traditional institution. Well, slavery was traditional in America but they did away with it soon after they realised it was wrong. Traditions evolve over time, and it is a sign of how progressive a society is, if they can keep updating their traditions. In fact, the Rangbah Dong concept isn’t traditional at all. This institution did not exist while I was growing up. It is a concept that came about much later when the Shnong became more populated and unwieldy. There you see, we are capable of changes in our traditions based on necessity.
In any case, this Shnong/Dong system is part of the District Council System, so let’s take a closer look at MDC’s and MLAs. The District Council was constituted under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to protect the rights of the tribal people of the North-East over their lands, forests and to preserve their culture and traditions including systems of governance and administration. This was relevant when Garo Hills District, United Khasi & Jaintia Hills District, Lushai Hills District and Naga Hills District were part of the State of Greater Assam at Independence. Today, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram are separate states and therefore have their own governments. However, Meghalaya retained the District Councils. This duality of governance causes an overlap of responsibility and power which is inherently inefficient. This grey area gives both the MLAs and the MDCs an excuse to clamour for power while allocating the responsibility (and blame!) to the other type of representative. As a side note, Nagaland and Mizoram have done away with the District Councils after they attained Statehood.
So the constant battle for supremacy between these two forms of government creates a vacuum of power that is greatly exploited by another type of power hungry animal, the Agitation Groups. These groups vary in levels of violence from the GNLA at one end of the spectrum, through to the ‘no-one knows if I am 1000 strong or just one man sitting on a computer’ HNLC to the “Social NGO” at the other end of the spectrum. Do these groups hold the power? Well it seems that these groups can be too easily bought over by businesses. My son’s friend, who is finding it particularly difficult to get a job, suggested that they start an agitation group together and then get paid off to keep quiet. He thought it was a brilliant get-rich-quick scheme. It is no secret that Cement Companies pay off NGO’s nor is it a secret that NGO’s check on construction sites to make sure that all the documentation of the contractors, regarding migrant labour, is in order. This is actually quite a commendable act and would be lauded if it wasn’t for the NGO’s then asking the contractor to pay up, if his/her papers were found wanting, rather than report the oversight to the appropriate authorities.
It is also enlightening to note how ‘agitated’ the HNLC were due to the NGT ban on rat hole mining. They said that this would cause massive grievances to not only the coal mine workers but the coal mine owners and would severely impact the economy of the State. Well, the NGT ban has had an effect on the economy in the short term, but what was the long term cost of rat hole mining and improper coal storage (read: dumping on the road side)? Land made useless, poisoning of the waterways, environmental degradation, death of mine workers due to improper safety mechanisms, wealth accumulated by a few at the expense of the general population and enhanced corruption in politics to name a few. Given all this, I thought the HNLC would be raising their standard in praise of the NGT. Protecting nature and heritage and fighting for the little guy against the corrupt leaders, isn’t that their staple? Apparently not!
And while on the topic of mining, there is no such thing as traditional mining. It’s a myth. Mining for coal is not traditional to the Khasis, Jaintias or Garos. We started mining coal around 50-60 years ago, and a practice has to be in place a lot longer than that to be termed as traditional. It wasn’t like our forefathers sang songs or told stories about their days at the coal mines. The type of mining we follow today is just out of date and archaic and the term ‘traditional’ was introduced by the coal mine lobby to protect their methods and their profits.
So if the NGO groups don’t hold all the power, then what about their wealthy backers, the Businessmen? There is nothing wrong with being a businessman. In fact most people in Meghalaya are businessmen or businesswomen, from farmers, to small traders, to contractors and finally to coal mine owners. In fact, the Government should encourage more people to start their own businesses as a solution to the unemployment problem in the State. However, the problems arise when you use your wealth to circumvent rules thereby cementing your status unfairly. That situation breeds bad governance and prevents competition, reducing the wealth of society as a whole. Unfortunately that is exactly what is happening today, especially with the number of businessmen entering active politics and with the number of politicians with active side businesses. It is these elite businessmen/women that hold the power, but have no responsibilities to the greater public. This is where the problem lies.
But, since we live in a democracy, shouldn’t the true power rest with the people? Aren’t leaders just our represen-tatives…almost like agents? So what has happened? Why do we feel so powerless!!? The problem is we have sold our power to the highest bidder. We have exchanged our freedom, rights and expression of power for cash. Politicians spend money to buy votes in their constituencies. It’s a simple and well known rule, if you spend more money than your rival, you will win the election. We the public accept this money and cast our vote, and therein lies’ the answer, the solution to our riddle. Money is power and power is money. No matter how righteous or moralistic or religious we pretend to be, the majority of us have sold out for money. We are now a society defined by an addiction to easy money and handouts. It might be hard to swallow, but accepting the truth is the only way to solve the problem. And the problems are there; bad roads; poor infrastructure, load shedding, no jobs, broke governments, rape, killings, terrorism, xenophobia.
We have no one else to blame but ourselves. We have elected this Government, we have elected this District Council, we are part of Agitation Groups, and we are the people who look up to these elite Businessmen/women. We are the problem, not anyone else. The blame lies solely on us and unless we introspect and change, Meghalaya will not change for the better, but then again who wants that, all we want is to get rich quick.