By Aristotle Lyngdoh
While reading Bah Toki Blah’s article “The Meghalaya that was, is and probably will be” ((ST March 1, 2017), it made me ponder on those days when I was not even born to this world where I can see and witness the excitement of that movement known as the Hill State movement. But like a notification in a smart phone there occurs in my mind the question as to who should be considered the privileged generation?
Considering this aspect of computerized age, the general perception is that those who are born along this age are the fortunate ones because they are the contemporaries where technological advancement is at its peak and things can be simplified and customized to the extent that even a child can explore and have easy access. This technological advancement on the other hand has helped humanity in many ways and one of these is to help and protect a person from unforeseen danger or harm or from a situation of helplessness. But how unfortunate it was for those seventeen precious souls who lost their lives on Sunday morning! Had there been some technology installed like any other world class road to detect the over speeding vehicle and prevent in advance such reckless driving, I believe such things would have never happened. So the question here is who has prevented technology from advancing even to interior places for people to get benefits?
There is ample truth in one sense with regards to this generation who are born at the backdrop of this technological advancement. On analyzing situation after situation, I felt it reasonable to think that the generation born before the arrival of the television set in our homes probably in the early seventies as the privileged ones (which also includes me). The sole reason for this lies in the fact that these folks are born in the era of great transformation of technology. They have the privilege to understand and taste the difference between analog television and the digital screen of today. They can still keep pace with the fast changing technology. There is a mixture of the past, the present and they can adapt with the ongoing future wherever it may take them. Further, they have also reaped and enjoyed the fruits of that Hill State movement in different capacities. In fact they should become role models for the coming generation in every area of life. They are the torchbearers who will have to pass on the torch to the next generation. But this has turned the other way round because of the aspiration to dominate the political realm by people who have not even equipped themselves for such role. In this way they are not different from the driver of this ill-fated truck that killed seventeen souls.
What was wrong with the driver of this ill-fated truck? First and foremost, he is illiterate but learned driving in the jungle country road. He failed to differentiate between the medium that he is operating. Perhaps he thought that driving in a world class road is easier than that of the jungle. But unfortunately he did not realize the complexity of a fine and smooth road. Finally, despite repeated appeals from the passengers that he was carrying to control the speed, he demonstrated his arrogance by not listening to anyone because his jungle expertise has taught him the lifestyle suitable for raw roads. Likewise, as citizens we should be very cautious in choosing our representatives otherwise we are throwing ourselves at the hands of people with similar quality. They may be good in politicking but do not know what governance is. In the complexity of the modern governance system, they will drive our democratic institutions and setup to craziness and to a situation that is irreparable. So where is the future of our state and the people?
The statehood that has been achieved is like the vehicle where citizens of state should in no way allow reckless governance by reckless people driving our future and hope into futility. But before any mishap might happen, it is high time to pull the driver out. Another shocking statement by the Home Minister that Mukul Sangma should continue as Chief Minister sounds a little bit fishy. In fact it is unnecessary to raise that topic. But the truth is that there is some passenger onboard the truck who is interested in speed and enjoys recklessness.
Having said this I suddenly realized that the most privilege generation is the one that pioneered self-determination or being part of that process. They are the luckiest and fortunate ones because they have championed the cause for the subsequent generation to pursue their future in a much better road. They have seen many changes and transformation in their lives but some of them can still connect and flow along with these changes. They have witnessed nothingness in technology to remote sensing and remote operations; from being under subordinate governance to self governance for the purpose of self- determination; from writing on a slate to touch screen technology and so on, the list may go on. But the sad thing for them is that they failed to see that the achievement of self-determination is not up to their expectations. The very purpose and objective of statehood has been defeated by the emergence of unskilled and semi-skilled political leaders.
I cannot blame the driver alone in this case, but the passengers or the people too must be held responsible because they have the right and power to think about the safety of their own destiny but they were reluctant to effect changes. A crowd of more than eighty people could have done something if they sensed the danger. They could shout and scream aloud or beat the truck body to at least draw the driver’s attention to the danger but nothing happened. Their complacency that things will be ok is also equally a factor of this tragic accident. As an analyzer, at the first instance I should question why did they prefer to board the vehicle which is not meant for carrying people? The fact is that we have to understand the mindset of our own people. It is cost effective for them to board the truck rather than hiring other vehicles. And this perpetuates the fact that we choose our representatives not because of his skills but because of his capability to compensate something.
For instance let us consider the plight of our Autonomous District Councils. Drivers are fighting hard to be on the driver seat so that they can whimsically drive their desire. They do not bother and realize the constitutional perspective that the Sixth Schedule should accomplish. It is high time therefore for the government both at the state and centre to device alternative mechanisms for the interests of the tribal areas and tribal people. I do not wish to target the ADCs alone but the same drama is happening in other institutions as well. The general election is approaching, hence citizens of the state should carefully consider all aspects while electing a representative keeping in mind what direction they want the state to proceed on for the welfare of present and future generation.