By Paramjit Bakhshi
Normally one tries to maintain an outlook that is positive and cheerful. However occasionally I am tempted to agree with some of my friends, who tell me that my writing an occasional column is an exercise in futility. In Shillong, nay in Meghalaya nothing changes, or if it does, it does for the worse. Dwight D Eisenhower once said: “Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.” We must be lacking both in wisdom and in courage because the future invariably knocks us down. We suffer either from a collective myopia or we wilfully close our eyes to tomorrow. This seems to be the case in almost all spheres.
Let us start with an issue which is currently hogging the headlines: the NGT and the ban on coal mining. It is true indeed that the economy of the entire state has been adversely affected by the ban. But was the ban an outcome totally unpredicted? Hadn’t the Supreme Court years ago intervened in a similar way to ban the felling of the trees? The problem is that we do not have a sense of balance. We either under exploit our resources (such as in tourism) or overexploit them irresponsibly. Some people have made the facile argument that the sixth schedule is a special dispensation and no law can stop free exploitation of local resources. This is not true. If anything the sixth schedule was designed as an instrument to help the region do an economic catch up with the rest of the country with a minimum of social and environmental upheaval.
Of course our myopia is not confined to just mining. It is evident all around.
Look around consciously. Shillong is now a mere conglomeration of slums. Every new area that is developing is unplanned. There are no sewer drains, no proper water supply, localities are poorly lit – have ugly overhead electricity lines and extremely narrow approach roads. The only beautiful patch of development is the Shillong bypass. Otherwise from Mawiong to Madanriting the town is like the walled city of old Delhi. There is nothing nice and beautiful we can truly or proudly call the New Shillong.
Our much hyped STPS transport system is showing signs of imminent collapse with more buses parked in a yard than in use. We still remain dependent on the mercies of the local cabbies most of whom are uncouth and pack us in like sardines in a can. The pace of vehicular travel in the city has become slower than it was in the seventies. We have not built a single flyover or an underpass. There is little parking space available, no pedestrian crossings at junctions, and our pavements (except the bit in Laitmumkhrah) are nothing to rave about. We still greet visitors to this city with the stench from our garbage dump.
Our education, health and tourism sector still languish and our dependence on the outside world has only increased. Unlike yesteryears where only patients travelled out for treatment we now send our children to study outside and even make sightseeing trips outside the state to rest our eyes from the eyesore our capital is becoming.
So the infrastructure (or the hardware in modern parlance) has crumbled.
Is there anything to cheer about in other areas? Sadly no.
Social unrest which raised its head in the late seventies has not subsided. Every three or four years some agitation begins and ends with loss of life and property but otherwise without achieving anything. Militancy (and extortion) still prevails – only the area of operation changes from one district to another and the nomenclature of the groups.
Job creation is now at the lowest while colleges churn out increasing number of unemployable graduates every year. Self employment has for decades remained limited to plying cabs, opening shops or becoming contractors and government suppliers and as a result these avenues are also exhausted.
The entertainment scene is equally dismal. There is a continuing dearth of playgrounds and sports facilities for children and the youth. There are no new parks. No food courts. No theatre, no dance performances and very few musical shows. We have one pathetic swimming pool which uses untreated water. There is also only one decent cinema hall. All we have are a plethora of shady bars. Is it any wonder then that the youth rebel or take to drinks and drugs?
What absorbs most of our politicians is political shenanigan with its spectacle of musical chairs. They forget that there are other spheres more worthy of their attention. There is economics and commerce. There is town and city planning and rural infrastructure to be built. There are social problems to be dealt with. We have climate change to deal with and our youth need guidance and inspiration and cannot be brought up only on hatred and bigotry. Abraham Lincoln once said, “The only way to predict your future is to create it.”
Can we not begin now? Till now we have taken pride in what God created for us and mistakenly called it our Meghalaya without bothering to preserve or better it. On the contrary we have shamelessly exploited, raped and plundered it. We have behaved like badly brought up youngsters who never tire of demanding things from their parents without doing anything in return. Sixth schedule or not I am sure even God and Mother Nature have given up on us. This has been a real hot summer and the monsoon has largely eluded us. Are we now going to have agitations demanding good weather and rain?
The western culture mistakenly taught us the notion of individual identity and we now seek a special identity. It is well known now that a sense of separateness, the hallmark of identity, is the root of all unhappiness. Little do we realise that we are all connected to each other and to the living planet which we collectively inhabit and our individual well being is not divorced from our collective good. The tribal communities knew this and that is why they functioned well. However on contact with other communities they could not expand on their sense of inclusiveness and vainly tried to uphold a sense of uniqueness. In a globalised world where even national identities are being subsumed it is a mistake to isolate oneself as an individual or as a community. In reality there are no Pnars, Garos dkhars, Bhois or Wars. We are all citizens of this vast universe and can solve our problems only through co operation rather than by conflict.
Am I pessimistic? Of course not. Whether this column works or not I know that all of us desire a good future for our children. Our conscience will one day open our eyes. “The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard. “, said Gaylord Nelson and I feel we cannot be found wanting, on this score at least.
N.B: The title is borrowed from that of a book written by Carl Hurley. It is also a debated unofficial motto of Alaska, USA.
The writer can be contacted at [email protected]