By H H Mohrmen
The State of Meghalaya has not been in such a mess as it has been in the last week, when the conglomerate of pressure groups and the HSPDP announced their respective agitation programs. Concerned citizen crossed their fingers hoping that no untoward incident would mar their daily lives. and that the strike would not escalate into a law and order problem. The two agitation programs called by the pressure groups and the HSPDP is already a handful for the Government. Add to that the sudden appearance of a Bangladeshi politician in the heart of the city and you have a recipe for disaster.
The sit-in demonstration of the pressure groups which started peacefully nearly led to chaos when the pressure groups decided to take a procession for which no prior permission was sought from the district administration. Now as law abiding citizens the pressure groups should know that they cannot take the law in their own hands. They need to get due permission from the district administration to organize any kind of protest. The procession and the subsequent decision made by the government to initiate a process to withdraw all cases against the leaders of the NGOs only prove that pressure groups are above the law. This is what the NGOs which claim to be democratic organizations want people to see. They want people see how powerful they are; that they can bend rules and even laws at their whims and fancies. Sadly, instead of making the pressure groups pay for all the damages done during the ILP agitation programs and for causing law and order situation, the government has initiated the process of withdrawing all cases registered against them under the MPDO. This is the reward the spineless MUA II government is giving to those who damage public property and cause unaccounted loss to the state exchequer and the poor and the needy people who have lost many working days to the agitations!
Calling undemocratic protests and forcing people to unwillingly stay indoors is illegal but this is the specialty of these NGOs. The question is how long do we have to tolerate this? Burning and damaging public property is also illegal. The pressure group leaders cannot simply ignore what was happening during their protests and move on with life as if nothing has happened. Pressure groups should be held responsible for whatever happened during their strikes. They should not be allowed to go scot-free for the crimes committed during their protests. They cannot wash their hands and say that they cannot control all that happened during the strike and if that is the case they might as well not call any protest when they cannot control what happens during that particular period.
The MUA II government is itself in a state of disarray. Part of Meghalaya is in a perpetual state of conflict with no sign of hope that the problem will subside in the foreseeable future. News reported from Garo hills gives us a gloomy picture of the state of affairs in the region. The situation seems to be going from bad to worse. Now the government is not even interested in governing the other remaining part of the Meghalaya and is handing over the baton to the pressure groups. Thank goodness that the pressure groups decided not to hold any agitation. This delivered us from another bout of agitation programs which only benefit those working in the salaried sector, be they government employees or bankers.
On the first day of the office picketing called by the HSPDP, only some banks in Shillong closed shop. The Government and the management of these banks should take the branch manager to task for giving themselves an extra holiday at the cost of their customers. The strike called by the HSPDP was a failure. Obviously people are fed up with these agitation programs and will not support any strikes. This is also the reason why many a time pressure groups or political parties resort to calling bandhs than any other type of protest because they know people will not support their programs. The lukewarm response to the office picketing called by the HSPDP has also portrayed Ardent Basaiawmoit in a bad light. The master strategist has failed to enlist public support for the cause of the Rangbah Shnong and had only put his popularity on test. Now it is obvious. Given a choice people will go on with their lives and eke a living to feed themselves than support any protest. Agitation programs will succeed only when they are forced upon the people. That is not a democratic protest.
And now the curious story of the Bangladeshi politician.. How come he appeared in Shillong all of a sudden? How can this happen? How did he cross the border? More importantly who helped him cross the border? Everybody knows how porous the Indo-Bangladesh border is. I had once written a story (not in the Shillong Times) of how easy it is to cross the border because I’ve been there and done that. After the story was published the head of the BSF from Shillong called to ascertain if I had really crossed the border. I admitted that I did so both ways on the same day by paying my way through to both the BSF and the BDR. I also told him that I was willing to show him the passage way from where I crossed albeit with the help of people who are experts in helping people cross the border. The BSF boss then mellowed down and admitted that the difficult terrain makes it difficult to man the border. It is also true that the same Khasi Pnar people live on both sides of the border. There are more than 20,000 Khasi Pnar people in Bangladesh. Most of them live in the border. The culture of the Khasi-Pnar is also unique. We always try to be part of and share with each other in times of joy and sorrow and also follow the same religions. They need an open border to visit each other during sickness, bereavements, feasts like wedding and etc and even church services. One cannot possibly expect these poor farmers to apply for passport and visa every time they decide to visit their families across the border. Based on the cultural dynamics of the society, the border forces on both sides of the border (the BSF and the BDR) take this aspect into consideration and on a humanitarian ground allow some leeway in the border. But it is also true that many a times unscrupulous elements take advantage of the good intentions and exploit the opportunity for their vested interests. They mystery of Salahuddin’s escape to Shillong is one such case.
But even if it is easy to cross the border, it is also true that one cannot cross it without local support. So who helped Salahuddin Ahmed cross the border? Are the people who helped him cross the border also involved in kidnapping him from his residence in Bangladesh? It was reported that some exporters visited him in the hospital. Who are they? Can we rule out that they not in some way involved in helping him cross the border?
The MUA Government under the leadership of the Congress has failed in every front. If the Congress cannot find an alternative to Dr Mukul Sangma, the Central Government should intervene and impose President’s Rule in Meghalaya. Dr Sangma it appears is no longer interested in governance. It seems as if he is enjoys being away from the media glare, but in the process he is losing touch with the people of the State. If the Chief Minister is not interested in reaching out to the public, it implies that he is not interested in being a public leader anymore and hence has no right to continue as the Chief Minister. If this confrontation between the media houses and the Chief Minister is not resolved, Dr Sangma has nobody but himself to blame for all the mess that has befallen this Government. If the Congress wants to free itself from this quagmire, then it has to look for an alternative to Dr Mukul Sangma if he does not mend his ways.