By Phrangsngi Pyrtuh
If recent event of a literal moral policing where around 40 odd mostly young college and school going teens who were reprimanded by the police does not send shivers down your spine then we have a problem. This number is small by any measure. Branding it illegal to drink in public is problematic since there is no law which mentions that drinking in public is illegal. The only law that prevails in Meghalaya is the legal drinking age which is fixed at 25. The law itself requires a thorough public deliberation to reflect the reality in this state. However this is for another time. The general reaction as one reads the newspaper report on the shameful event is the concern that some of us raised that is whether some of those are known to us or to anyone close to us. Others reacted differently and blamed it on the fast disappearing values.
Nevertheless it was judgment day for most of these kids and the ones pronouncing the verdict are not the police but us. The misplaced aim of cleaning our public space from delinquents, alcoholics, drug users etc have gone awry as far as the real issue is concerned. Something is amiss which is vital for understanding our changing society. Needless to say this campaign to cleanse our streets, parks et al is only but a temporary solution with the blame completely shoved on the younger generation. The underlying argument that this generation is creating havoc with our most sacred and cherished values is disturbing indeed. It provides us the underhand to pass remarks if not outright condemnation while refusing to take responsibility for the problem at hand.
And it is not like we are unaware of it. It high time we admit that alcoholism and binging has come to stay and is unrelenting. I refused to accept that the incident aforementioned is an eye-opener. There have been quite a few but we simply brushed them under the carpet. Last year a random study conducted by renowned psychiatrist Dr. AL Deshpande concluded that 70 out of 100 Meghalayans have alcoholic problem. The study also mention how women if not more, are as much susceptible to men. I remember how this report created a flutter inviting condemnation from all quarters. Another study released by the family welfare ministry couple of months back highlighted a disturbing trend of rising incidence of substance abuse and alcoholism among teenagers from the state which is one of the highest in the country. These are signs that should no longer be taken lightly. If this is a systematic problem, and I feel it is, then our moral compass would do us no good to eradicate the problem.
These and many others are symptoms of a changing society or rather a society that seeks to break free from the stranglehold of the past. The change has brought about a clash in values subscribed by the older generation which is diametrically different from the younger ones. The old order is bound to make way for the new. Our failing institution, loss of communitarian values, ecological imbalance, religious bigotism, the precarious status of our women, increasing landlessness are a whole new problem that would have to be addressed by the younger folks with their ingenious ideas and fresh perspectives. The society requires a transition where the old order initiate changes for the new to propagate in conformity with global values.
Unfortunately there is increasing intolerance to the changes desired or expected by the younger generation from the latter. The fact that we deny that there is a need to restructure our mindset and outlook complicates the situation particularly those who are caught in between. By ‘we’ I refer to our leaders (religious and political), civil groups, policy and decision makers. I am also referring to the increasing redundancy of our traditional institutions to shoulder the responsibility as the foremost mechanism to address the grievances of the society.
One bemusing aspect of this frenzy is the hypocrisy that pervades the system. Intolerance and prudishness is a new factor that has found a stubborn place in our way of life. A few years ago during the Autumn festival (?) the organizers had to bear the brunt from NGOs and the church for staging the show on Sunday. The recently concluded Wine festival and the first Beer festival contradicts the premeditated action of the police department. There is a mix of support and abomination on the very same subject. These are signs of a rot and the conflict that exists in all realms of administration, norms and beliefs. The concern is the increasing void which is prominent and the reluctance to fill it with more humanistic and global values. My opinion on moral policing is nothing but shifting responsibility and I am not only referring to the police.
The more moral stance we take the more we alienate this younger and restless generation. Yet this is exactly what we have been pursuing. Moral standards are only as good as they remain relevant. We can no longer operate in silos. Time to listen to the younger generation aka millennials as they speak out!