By H H Mohrmen
The two major regional parties’ alliance is now a reality and after the seat sharing and selection of candidates is completed, the next important task that the alliance needs to come up with is a document which will include agreed list of agenda that the alliance would take to the people in the next election. Whatever it is called – common minimum program, agenda or Goals for 2023, it is mandatory for the regional party alliance to agree on a workable document that will serve as a blue print or a road map for the alliance to take on a priority basis if and when they come to power.
To begin with, let us try to understand the phrase ‘regional aspiration’ which is often quoted by the leaders and supporters of different regional parties and perhaps, the only reason that the regional parties are still around is also because of the aspirations that need to be realized or fulfilled. But the question is, what exactly is that regional aspiration. Do the people of Meghalaya still have a dream for the state and its people which is unique to the state alone?
The dream of having our own state is one common aspiration of the people and now that we have achieved our dream of having our own separate hills state, what next? Or have we stopped dreaming as a people? Don’t we have any other dreams for our state which are unique? Or is the goal of having our own hill state the only objective we have and now our new goal is bifurcation of the same state for the creation of a separate Garo and Khasi Jaintia hills state. Are we destined to rotate on this same vicious cycle? Is that all that we can think of? The regional parties exist because there are still goals which are unique to the state and its people that need to be accomplished and also because people also evolve and their dreams and aspiration also change. It can be concluded that regional aspiration is a common dream(s) of the people for their state.
To be able to identify those shared dreams the first think that we need to do is to identify where our strength as a community lies? What is so unique about this state? Maybe the two strengths that are unique to the state are (a) the culture of the people and (b) the land that we call home. Without these two we are no different from others. The other main aspect that is unique is our environment including the climate of the region which helps shape our culture, tradition and our way of life. These and few other features help define who we are and they are also aspects which make us distinct and unique from the others.
Since the idea of a separate Garo and Khasi Jaintia state is still a distant dream, at least for the next five years we need to come up with a plan for the state of Meghalaya as a whole. One of the major factors which defines us is the fact that agriculture is still the main livelihood activity of the majority of people in the state. Therefore the document should provide a direction on the alliance’s agriculture policy which should be region specific. It should also take into consideration the traditional wisdom of farming and our own seasonal calendar which is again unique to the land and its people. A policy should be created on the strength of the Khasi- Pnars’ indigenous knowledge system which is also mountain agriculture specific.
Therefore sustainable agriculture is another option in the offing for the alliance to explore. Sustainable agriculture also means giving due emphasis to Agro-ecology which means strengthening our traditional agriculture which is originally organic in the first place. Relearning the best practices that our ancestors used in agriculture and other activities and preserving our traditional seeds to maintain crop diversity is also part of sustainable agriculture. Value addition to the agriculture products to create more employment in the villages and ensuring market linkage of the products is another thrust area that alliance needs to focus.
Apart from agriculture, livestock rearing is one our strength and even if the activity is being practiced only for sustenance, we can conclude that rearing animals is part of our livelihood activity. In the past a rich family in the village is being identified by the number of cattle they have, which means that people already have some knowledge in the trade. Meat processing is another major thrust area that the government should concentrate and rather than fighting illegal export of cattle to Bangladesh we should think of exporting processes meat to our neighbours in the south.
The environment which ironically also abounds in minerals also raises a question whether ‘to mine or not to mine?’ And the pertinent question that we need to ask is even if we mine our minerals; how do we go about it knowing that it will destroy the environment – the very place we call home. And if we destroy the environment we also destroy the beauty of this land for which we are all proud of. The nature and the environment around us is intrinsic part of our lives. When our poets sing about our land, they praise the beauty of the rolling hills, the crystal clear waters and the clean and fresh air that blows along across. They do not sing about the big houses, the big and expensive cars that we have and branded clothes that we wear, because that is not what defines us.
And when we are away, we always long to come back to hills because we are part of the hills and the hills are part of us and they always stay within us, therefore the question is can we allow mining at the cost of nature and the environment that defines us? Who are the Khasi- Pnars without the nature and environment which they call mother and their home? Mining should be with due care and concern for the environment. The state should therefore come up with a policy which would see that minimum damage is done to the environment.
Our claim to be educational hub of the north east is gone, the sheen has been taken away by Guwahati. We will never be able to beat Guwahati anymore on this. If at all we still want to promote Meghalaya as a hub for Education, we need to introspect and come up with new ideas. We need to encourage institutions which provide new courses or programs, there is no need of starting engineering colleges because we already have plenty of engineers now who are not employed or semi employed. There is also no need of starting institutes which teach nursing and other paramedical courses because we already have nurses, lab technicians and even physiotherapist in plenty and it is the same scenario all over the country. Perhaps medical institutes are viable because this is one profession that is lacking in the country.
The document should also give direction on the alliance policy towards promotion of sustainable tourism which will help create employment for the youths. We need to protect the pristine environment (which is our only USP) and also emphasise on preserving the myriad cultures of the area. Ecotourism should also include cave tourism, adventure tourism and culture tourism. Meghalaya should not only target to be another hill station in the country. It should also try to attract tourists from Bangladesh and better still (as the former DC of Jaintia Hills, FR Kharkongor suggested) if we can sell Meghalaya as the nearest hill station for the diplomats who are working in Bangladesh.
Obviously, the people who live in the state and the land where we live is our strength and as long as we know how to take care of the two we will be fine. In a random manner these are some of the pointers to the proposed document. Hopefully it will help provide the state with a direction where the alliance plans to take Meghalaya in the next five years.