The present political stalemate between the KHADC and the State Government has nothing to do with the people but it has everything to do with personalities in the two political institutions. PM Syiem the CEM, KHADC has used the bandwagon of the Village Administration Bill to champion his own cause. He wants to project himself as yet another saviour of the Jaidbynriew – a much abused word that is used to whip up political ferment. And because the Khasi – Jaintia people have never believed in debating real issues but are happy to be recipients of received wisdom, they are being misled again and again.
Let’s look at the purpose of the VAB. It’s sole objective is to provide good governance at the locality level. Hence there should no no scope for posturing here. People should themselves decide which of the two Bills – the VAB or the one put together by the Govt constituted Committee, which is best suited to the needs of modern governance.
We are looking here at a service which will address in particular our need to cope with civic problems such as garbage management, sanitation, proper water supply amongst others and in general our need to maintain harmony and resolve conflicts in case such conflicts arise. Hence a basic level of adjudication. And considering that we are today a heterogenous society there is also the need to come up with an inclusive governance model instead of an exclusive ethnocentric Bill. This seems to be the contentious issue. It springs partly from the fact that democracy is still tenuous in these hills and secondly that there is a paranoia that a progressive, inclusive Bill would take away the uniqueness of tribal cultures. Now how culture ties in with governance is difficult to comprehend but this is what the custodians of a rigid tradition want us to believe. It remains to be seen how the Government handles yet another ticklish issue which has now turned into a game of political one upmanship
