By H H Mohrmen
Khasi Pnar society no longer holds integrity in high esteem. Neither do we have words of appreciation or show respect for an honest and upright person. Gone to the abyss is the saying ‘ka hok kaba tam’ because integrity is no longer a required attribute that a person, especially a leader, should possess. Integrity or ‘ka jinglong hok’ is no longer an ideal that parents wish for their children in the present society. And it seems like wealth, power and status are gradually replacing ‘ka hok’ as the highest ideal of the jaidbynriew.
When Roshan Wajri resigned as the Home minister of the Government of Meghalaya owning moral responsibility for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, the talk was about whether the Chief Minister, Dr Mukul Sangma accepted the resignation letter or not. Instead of admiring the lady for her courage and magnanimity to forego the benefits, power and influence that comes with the post of a cabinet minister, she had chosen to go with her conscience and resign from the post of cabinet minister in charge of the Home department. Too many people had died and as a person who is at the helm of power, she owned moral responsibility for what has happened and resigned. She followed her conscience and did what she thought was right even if she has to forego all power, status and benefits that come with the coveted post. Is this not a subject worth discussing? Is this not a lesson that we want to teach our kids? Or do we still want our children to emulate such actz of courage and conviction?
In a world where legislators, councilors and politician of all shades and ranks are fighting for a piece of power pie be it in the cabinet, the executive committee and even in the party and for government appointments that come with pay and perks, Roshan Warjri’s resignation should serve as a model to all those power hungry politicians in Meghalaya. The question we should be asking is, when was the last time that we had a minister resigning and owning responsibility for the failure of the Department she is in charge of? Are do we have too many leaders who would cling to powers come what may.
In Meghalaya tainted legislators and councilors against whom prima facie evidence of wrong-doings against them and some who have even been charge-sheeted, still continue to hold public office without any qualms. They continue in their offices maintaining that they are innocent until proven guilty and with the kind of justice system that we have, will they ever be proven guilty? Isn’t it true that cases involving people wielding political clout and money power are more often than not delayed? Isn’t it true that these cases are becoming like the proverbial football, which is being kicked all around the field but never inside the goal post! Or was not even taken near the penalty box! In such a situation do we see any light at the end of the tunnel? In the LP school teachers’ appointment case, the service of all the teachers appointed were terminated a long time ago, but what happened to those who are involved in the case? Where is justice? Or is justice meant for the weaker and poorer sections of the society only?
Coming back to the subject of leaders and their integrity, in the last assembly a member who was elected on a BJP ticket, switched sides without any qualms whatsoever and joined the Congress, without even resigning from being an MLA, in total disregard of the anti defection law. Taking advantage of the loopholes in the law and abusing the power of majority in the house to circumvent the law for self interest is against one’s moral obligation to uphold the law in letter and spirit. That the MLA was saved because Congress was at the helm of power in the last assembly is another question, but what about the gentleman himself? I am curious to know if he still thinks what he did was right? Deep inside is he at peace with his himself? Does his conscience sometimes prick him? This question is raised in the context of Roshan Warjri resigning from being a cabinet minister owning moral responsibility for deteriorating law and order situation in the state. The three aforementioned cases only portray the situation we are in Meghalaya. A situation where we have only one minister who chose to resign on moral grounds in spite of not committing any wrong-doing herself, while the other three stick to their berths like a baby koala bear hugging its mother. These leaders stick to their guns despite being charge-sheeted after prima facie evidence of wrongdoing has been found against them or after conveniently disregarding the anti defection law for personal interests. What kind of signals are we giving our young people if we continue holding public office in spite of being in the dock ourselves?
Rather, the pertinent question is also why people tend to accept without questioning tainted people to continue in office despite all odds against them? What is it with the people of Meghalaya? Or are we saying that politicians are immune from any laws and ‘the king/MLA/MDC can do no wrong?’ Then we read in the newspapers that people even had the audacity to suggest the names of the two lady MLAs to replace Roshan Warjri? Can it be more absurd that that? When I read the news I could not help but think about the poor Investigating Officers in charge of cases against the honourable lady members of the house. What if one of them is made minister in charge of Home Department? Will the proverbial saying ‘law will take its own course’ still apply? Or can the police conduct an investigation against their own boss?
We are debating about the decline of moral standards amongst the young people especially after the Ward’s Lake episode, but do we dare ask our leaders if it is morally right to continue holding office even if we ourselves are in the dock? Do we have any right to point our fingers at the wrong- doing of others when we ourselves are on the wrong side of the fence in the first place?
When our leaders do not take the moral high ground and do what is right, we are only sending a wrong signal to the world especially our young people. No wonder we have the tendency of people with wealth even with less or no education joining politics and becoming MLAs/MDCs because it not only gives them power, status and influence but more importantly it provides them immunity from the law. In Meghalaya it seems as if politics is one domain where integrity is the last trait that is expected of a leader especially politicians.
People may arrive at different conclusions when the debate about Roshan Wajri’s resignation is discussed. Some may say that she had failed in her duty as the Home minister hence it is only right that she resigns. But other politicians have failed too. So will they resign and own moral responsibility for the failure of their Departments? Or will they stick like leeches to their reluctant hosts till their belly is filled? Some may even say that Warjri is only trying to avoid the challenges of the office, but it is clear that Roshan Warjri is only listening to the dictates of her conscience and did what she thought was right and stuck to it. Ultimately what matters most is if whether or not we are at peace with ourselves. And if we are, no force in the world can take away that peace of mind from us. And if we listen to the inner voice and do what is right, even if the whole world is against us, we are at least at peace with ourselves. The seven and the last of what Gandhiji calls the seven deadly sins is ‘Politics without Principles.’ The question is, where do we stand as politicians if we have no principles? Is there any hope for our state if our politicians have no principles? Thank goodness we still have people like Roshan Warjri in politics and we can only say ‘may her tribe increase.’