By Babet Sten
An oft used slogan that the current Union Government and its friends keep shouting these days is the slogan “Congress-free India”. I usually end up laughing so much that I fall off my chair. Let me tell you why. For one, this is like wishing for day without night. Congress strengthens the BJP and vice versa. The Congress’ many failures and its endless corruptions have given people very little choice but to vote for the seemingly lesser evil i.e. BJP. It is the same with the Meghalaya state Congress as well. Everyone (BJP and regional ‘chamchas’) can now make a concerted and repeated attack against Mukul Inc., quick to make use of public outrage and Facebook exasperation for gains in 2018. It is a terrible method of politics and the cheapest one available to the wily and unethical politicians. Now if the Congress did not exist would BJP have much to tout about? The answer is no. They can only say that they are good, if Congress is positioned in the public eye as bad. In states that have given people third way alternatives we have seen that people have turned towards those fronts readily, namely Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar, Delhi, Kerala, Tripura and I am sure the list will grow longer with each passing day. People should not wait for Congress or BJP to save them. Both these national parties are the play things of the wealthy and powerful and they win and lose if they win or lose favour with big businesses and the corporate world.
It is interesting to note how money determines how loud the winners are and therefore how noticeable they become for the public. Donations to the big parties from big business are the key driving force behind many wins and it is so sweet when the investments fail like they did in Delhi and Bihar. On that note, though he is a Congressman I think we must today appreciate the silence of Manmohan Singh. He was a PM who did not want to see his face everywhere nor to speak unnecessarily. People ridiculed him as a puppet of Sonia Gandhi but he is first and foremost intelligent, thoughtful and, most importantly, humble. Manmohan represents the old gentleman uncle who believes in certain secular and progressive values. Contrast him to the current incumbent and one sees the death of the quiet Indian and the emergence of the aggressive loud one. This is sadly a stereotype which is so common in the city I live in today – Delhi. I sometimes meet quiet humble people here (particularly in my field) and they surprise me because they have been driven into such a minority. The aggressive nationalists and cantankerous fundamentalists have hijacked our voices. They have also robbed women of their agency. They scoffed at Manmohan Singh because they perceive that he was being controlled by a woman. That is the real reason. They have no problems that their own Pradhan is a pawn of men like Adani and Ambani.
In our Khasi culture, humility is a very important trait. It is considered to be a great virtue and one worth having. This is generally true even today. But the most tragic part is that instead of changing the bad traditions, worthy beliefs like this are being gradually replaced. We seem to respect officious and arrogant men much more than a few decades ago. We readily elect such persons to important posts and the ones who pass an exam (whether civil, judicial etc) suddenly start thinking that they have got the divine right to look down on everyone else. If this is what it means to be an officer or minister; if this is what it means to be “modern” it is better to go back to the forest and live in peace and decency. Earlier such pride was offensive to a community and people would actually punish (even with death!) such an offense or slight that they felt was directed towards them. We constantly read the papers about villagers being ostracised (shah kyntait shnong) for minor mistakes; why is it that we dare not do the same to people who lie and steal public money? Today we make it a point not to be seen to be irked in case it offends the offender! Is our indignation only towards the poor and meek?
The point I am raising is that politics today is being run by vested interest groups not our interests. Only that can explain why 100% FDI is a good thing now when it was supposedly a bad thing three years ago! These people who are going around chanting names and being overly zealous about Right wing politics are very passionate and it is nice to see optimism but sadly it is misguided optimism. Now our political opposition are thinking up ways to undo Mukul. The petty inner politics of the Congress itself are helping them in their plans. I think as people who stand to lose much if the government topples we must make a declaration to topple whichever government emerges out of that mayhem! Any government formed in such a manner is undemocratic. You might love or hate Mukul Sangma but he is a legally recognised elected member of the state assembly. Pulling out all these cheap tricks to remove him is unconstitutional. We must also take a stand. Let us declare to boycott and ostracise such people who indulge in unfair and illegal means! Their arrogance can only be pricked if we stop feeding it.
2018 is not too far away and many new entrants and traitorous old timers are licking their lips at the thought. Already it seems certain the regional parties are going to join up like in Assam. Conrad Sangma’s recent win gave us a glimpse of possible tie-ups in the future. But that aside, let us remember our declaration and remind these jokers that they serve the people not themselves.