By H H Mohrmen
The two most popular leaders of the state have at least two things in common; they spark a controversy because their style of leadership is being questioned by their colleagues and they both sell dreams. Yes both of them are dream merchants. There is nothing wrong in having big dreams. In fact in life skills classes we encourage young people to have dreams and set goals in their lives. But dreams will remain dreams if they are not realistic. The Shillong Times was right when it reminded us that there were plenty of promises in the past too, promises of flyovers, ropeways, monorails and what have you; yet those promises remains in the realm of dreams only. Currently one of the most popular leaders in the state is none other than Ardent Basaiawmoit.
Stories which appeared in the press about Basaiawmoit are stuff that urban myths are made of. One fears that the whole thing will just remain an urban myth. He is being projected as ‘the saviour’ of the jaidbynriew if I may use the word. But save the jaidbynriew from what? It looks like he will not even be able to save his own chair and we already know Ardent’s response will be, ‘who cares about the chair.’ But show me a politician who is not interested in power.
To certain sections of the people in Shillong and the constituency he represents the way his Executive Committee deals with the mess in Iewduh market was seen as the sign of resurgence of the jaidbynriew, but does the jaidbynriew live in Iewduh only? Previous ECs too must have conducted similar checks of trading licenses but the only difference is that there is a huge media hype now which was absent in the past. Saving the jaidbynriew is much more than trying to rid off non locals from the market and cleaning the Iewduh.
A caption in a certain vernacular paper read: ‘If Ardent is no longer the CEM then who will lead the jaidbynriew,’ asked the traders in Iewduh.’ To that question is a counter question – lead from where and where to? If we think that we can save the jadbynriew by targeting non indigenous community then we are not only missing the ship for a boat but we are mixing up issues big time here, since the problem of the jaidbynriew is much more than influx. The problem is the sheer lack of basic necessities for the people of the state particularly those who live in the villages.
More than 70 % of the jaidbynriew lives in the villages. They have no proper health care system and education is not up to the mark. That is why they all rush to towns and cities for health care and education. In such cases poor people are left behind with little or no health care and to study in typical single-room LP schools which house five or six classes with not even a partition. And mind you LP school education is the subject of the District Councils as per the Sixth Schedule. There is no proper water supply and not many families have toilets in the villages so people have no option but to defecate in the open. There is no improvement in agricultural activities. Farmers grow the same crops following the same system that has been practiced for ages. There is not much option to improve their livelihoods either. And for a large population of educated youth there is no hope for an opportunity to earn their livelihoods in a foreseeable future. These are the major problem of the jaidbynriew and if one visits any village in the state one will find that these are ground realities in every village.
Ardent is aware that he is riding on people’s emotion and using the jaidbynriew card will take him to his next goal and that is to lead the State or to at least make HSPDP a major regional party representing the jadibynriew’s cause. But the question that begs the answer is – Will that ever happen? At the end of the day, he knows that to getting rid of non-locals who are doing business in Iewduh is a daunting task and cleaning and improving Iewduh will be an uphill job because all shops are owned by private parties. He also knows that as long as he can he needs to play with the emotions of the people. While doing so Ardent is also trying to portray the UDP his erstwhile party as the villain in the entire drama. Is this about jaidbynriew or is it just plain politics?
The jaidbynriew lives in the villages and if we want progress and development we need to improve the living standards of people in the villages; that is where we should begin. Bring good education to the door steps of the villagers, give them proper school buildings and not a single room building which is only a little better than a cow shed, fight for their rights to proper healthcare, livelihood opportunities and road connectivity. Pressure the government to provide skills education to young people to enable them to earn their livelihood. This is a dream worth pursuing. If we can achieve these goals then we can liberate the jaidbynriew from the shackles of fear and apprehension and enable them to walk in freedom with their heads held high.
Dr Mukul Sangma’s promise of building a Times Square in Meghalaya is no different from trying to put a square peg in a round hole. In the first place there will only be one Times Square and it belongs to the city of New York, Meghalaya can have its own square by another name, but the question is whether the State can afford it? A friend, Dr Vicki Robert Gassler said at the meeting of the women’s group in Jowai that she is always fascinated by huge Cathedrals especially those huge magnificent cathedrals in Europe with decorated spike towers almost reaching the sky, church buildings with beautiful carvings and those with gorgeous stained glass that adorn their windows. Her husband Dr. Scott added that he wished his church has one such building, but Vicki promptly replied ‘Not until every empty stomach is fed and every naked body is clothed.’
We can have Times Square, Trafalgar Square or all the squares and roundabouts in the world but first the government needs to ask itself some hard questions. Has the State been able to feed the hungry, clothe the naked or provide shelter to those without shelter? In short has the state been able to provide the people at least their basic needs? Don’t you think we need to first get the government’s priorities right, Dr Sangma? While I was a kid, I was told a story of a boy who stole bread from a baker’s shop. When the baker took the kid to the judge, the honourable judge after due deliberation, while pronouncing his judgment, not only did not punish the kid but also condemned the entire village and fined all the members of the village council for allowing a kid to go hungry. The judge asked, ‘What kind of village is this where its own child had to steal to feed himself?’
I work with such kids in Jowai; they sell betel-nuts, cigarettes and newspapers in the streets when their rightful place is in a classroom. They had to leave school because they came from a single parent family and had no one to support them. Ask them about Times Square and they will give you a square look for their only concern is to get two square meals a day. Recently a single mother came to meet me after I had helped one of her five kids. She told me that she had to let them work because their father had left them for another woman. Her ex-husband is a government servant and she wants to go to the court to make him pay maintenance for the five children but she could not afford to do so. There are many such tragic stories in the society; let us include them in our dreams. Let us not confine our dreams to Shillong only. Let us envision a future that encompasses all.
Let us dream of a prosperous Meghalaya where all are fed, clothed and at least has a roof over their heads. Let us dream of Meghalaya where every kid has the opportunity to go to school and let us dream of a state where health care facility is available for everyone. Let us dream for a better and more prosperous Meghalaya, a state where everyone lives freely and with dignity and then dream of something else. I know at least my young friends share this dream and I hope you do too.