By Toki Blah
In retrospect one can’t feel anything else but sorry for the British. Ever since they joined the European Union in 1972, (that too pretty much on their own terms and conditions. The Euro was rejected with cold distain, the pound was retained and the Schengen was never accepted.) they have been cursing themselves. The feeling is that they had bartered away their freedom. How, has never been fully nor satisfactorily explained to the rest of the world. But to be honest, the main bug in the pants, has been the loss of imperial identity. The empire where the sun never sets had faded away. It had become Kaput!
The Brits of the 21st century are a nation with a strong sense of colonial history and nothing much else to write home about. People no longer listened to St George. Good Old Obama messed up royally in Iraq- Syria and English diplomacy with all its rich century old experience could only squeak in protest. The ISIS then bloomed and its immigration thorns were felt as far away as the cold shores of a North Sea island. Time to cut the rope!
Come to think of it 1972 also saw the birth of a new North Eastern state called ‘the abode of the clouds’. People endowed with an artistic and poetic frame of mind even went to the extent of describing it as ‘a patch of beauty and grace and a shinning outpost of India’. Nothing like that, of course ever happened but like Britain, Meghalaya too despite attaining full statehood managed to retain its outdated Autonomous District Councils. They became the fly in the ointment. The loyalty of the citizen was divided between the developmental benefits of full statehood and demands for preservation of indigenous culture. No prizes in guessing which way the chips fell. The state stagnated not sure where it was heading but sadly pining and longing for a long gone imagined past. John Keat’s ‘La Belle Dame Sans Merci’ sums it up neatly- “Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms/ Alone and palely loitering?” That’s Meghalaya for you after 44 years of statehood.
From all accounts the most pressing factor that greatly influenced the ‘leave’ brigade in the UK was the immigration issue. Unchecked inflow of immigrants from Eastern Europe and the Levant into EU countries and EU membership compulsion on Britain to share the burden of immigration, proved too much. Britain was already plagued with migration from its earlier colonies in the commonwealth. Terrorism on British soil was increasingly being traced to people of non Anglo Saxon origin. The Brits had no answer to the problem. That legendary stiff British upper lip collapsed. In their panic the only way out was to cut loose their ties with the outside world. Suicidal, but what the hell? Globalisation can wait. Survival of the indigenous people comes first! Nick Booker, a ‘remain’ supporter in his “Letter from Briton to Britain: Say Namaste to India” Telegraph (June 26, 2016) had made a cheeky satirical suggestion that the best future for Britain is to now declare itself as a Union Territory of India. This however in no way provides a solution to a deep-rooted apprehension of Britain ultimately being overwhelmed by outsiders. The answer to the dilemma perhaps is to be found in Meghalaya. We both share mutual apprehensions over uncontrolled influx. Meghalaya however has been able to come up with non suicidal solutions to the problem. It’s simple. First remain in the Union of India. Don’t let go otherwise you become a castaway in the ocean of globalisation. Next let the ADCs come up with a VAB (Village Administration Bill). Halleluiah, God be Praised, governance will still remain in indigenous hands.
Lastly let’s not forget the ILP. The best safeguard against influx, or so we are told. We can of course sell the ILP concept to Whitehall. Bereft of an influx answer of their own the Brits will simply grab it. It’ll be retributive justice at its best! Mention has been made above about the English nostalgia for their glorious past. Let’s accept that much of documented history for the past 500 years has been all about British wars, conquests, monarchs, adventurers, conquering generals, illustrious statesmen and legendary Prime Ministers. Like it or not its documented history and John Bull for one, would not like anyone, least of all Europe, to forget this greatness and bury in the debris of the EU. London for centuries shaped history. It was the centre of the Earth. Now suddenly the focus has shifted to Brussels. European concerns; European woes and European hopes are what count nowadays. I mean if you were in English shoes, and not Made by India ones, the shoe would pinch. Europeans are Jonny- comelatelys and they are now calling the shots. Please don’t laugh at the English if they have this psychological problem about historical justice. Why couldn’t the EU Secretariat have been located in London? After all its the financial capital of the universe. Its historically justified! Why not indeed! Now not to be outdone or over shadowed by a foreign empire of the past, we the inhabitants of Meghalaya too do have our own historical greatness to boast about. We simply don’t have documented proof (some idiot out on a swim, accidently swallowed the ancient script he was tasked with safeguarding and with it the ancient history of our people) but we do have imagination don’t we? Who needs a script and written documentation when a creative imaginative mind would serve just as well. Simply imagine a glorious past; call this unknown era “Ka Sotti Juk” (The golden age); believe its real and presto, you have a past to be proud of. Like the Brits we too have a mythical history we like to boast about; it’s a place we like to withdraw into; lets cut ourselves off from the rest of the world. Creep back into the Sotti Juk and isolate ourselves from reality. Fortunately for us we have no English Channel to make our dreams come true. So sometimes we need to thank God for his small mercies .
The British are now waking up to the real post BREXIT world and it appears they don’t like what they see happening around them. Aside from the adverse economic impact the result of the referendum is having, the political fallout for the UK seems to be something no one has cared to foresee. Part of the UK, Scotland to be precise, wants to be with the EU and is prepared to walk out of the UK. Wales might not be far behind. Northern Ireland might just rediscover its desire to be anything but British. The only fig leaf of an excuse left with the English might well be the Meghalayan adage of “small is beautiful”. Reading the local papers one is delighted to see that Meghalaya is still loyal and faithful to this silly childish sentiment. The state is already an unviable economic entity yet here we find a horde of political leaders espousing the idea and need for further bifurcation of the state. Shouts for a separate Garoland are becoming shriller by the day. Not to be outdone raucous patriots from this side are also raising their voices for a Khasiland of their own. Perhaps the Jaintias, the Bhois and the Wars will not be far behind with their own demands. It’s once again the divide and rule theory. Benefits to the common man are unclear and vague; the political profit for wanna-be leaders who can incite and rouse public emotions is enormous. One does see an uncanny emotional similarity between rabble rousers of the Scotland of the East and those of the West. Whoever said the twain shall never meet?