By Michael Makri
Like me many of us in Meghalaya are expecting to see the 2018 elections as an opportunity for change and development and also opportunity to rectify the errors of the past. The 2018 electoral exercise should be seen as the transformational right of every voter to introduce a new set of our people’s priorities and a new vision for our state, a new path of development for the coming five years. I am saying this because for so many years we have been cheated; we have been lied to, robbed of our dignity due to the effects that the many elections in the past have caused. Election promises, Parties’ vision and mission change drastically after the election is won. In the 2018 elections therefore, we in Meghalaya are at the crossroads for change; change for the better or change for worse if we just cast our vote casually.
Officially, yes, there will be changes that we can expect to happen. There will be a new government, new leaders and faces that will occupy the seat of power and possibly a new set of ministers who will fill various posts. In all possibility there will be realignments of priorities and plans depending on who wins the majority and who will stand as opposition in government. At the constituency level however there will be some old faces who had dominated for several years with the same tactics—or possibly new faces but carrying the same agenda. These are not the change that we the citizenry want. We want change in our societal life – better standards of living, better roads and communication. We want a dignified life because we elected leaders to help us reach this objective. We want a government that is by the people and for the people. It does not make sense that the government should impose rules on us to wear helmets for safety where the roads that it provides are riddled with potholes. These are the cause for accidents and deaths and not because one didn’t wear a helmet. It does not make any sense when the government asks us to pay taxes even if we sell vegetables grown in our small farms when we don’t know where the tax money disappears once it reaches the treasury. It does not any sense when the government asks teachers to be qualified to teach even in nursery classes when the government does not set standards for itself in education and administration. We want change, but not just a change of faces. We want a revolution.
But like it had happened in the past 11 elections, I’m inclined to believe that significant changes can happen in the political sense, but not in a fundamental and substantial way. The system is intact—the institutional functionality of bureaucratic processes, patronage politics, influence of traditional politicians and political dynasties, and ingrained corruption. These are realities that we cannot wipe out in simple election at least in Meghalaya, for as long as the old breed persists. Meghalaya’s political system is so embedded that what is needed is no less than an overhaul. To change (or if not at least to modify) this system, we need to have an electoral revolution where a campaign is not about electing a ruling government but about a movement that will radically change the status quo. We need a campaign that will not influence people to simply vote for a person, but for people to mobilize and be genuinely involved in the political process. We need a campaign that will put to the fore the people’s interests for a mass-orientation and at the same time trustworthy and action oriented government. Can 2018’s election see faces of new campaigners? Can we have a political revolution this 2018?
Deep down in the belief of every voter, a campaign is revolutionary if and when it can introduce radical ideas and make change happen. This sort of revolution will gather massive support from all walks of life. But will we have leaders as such? However, the enormousness of this task should not stop voters from supporting progressive-minded candidates who will truly represent them in the government. Let us campaign therefore in this coming election for political groups that will advocate and fight for the dispossessed and marginalized sectors. After all, we have our future to lose if we let our fears take over our rage and might. Let us use all platforms available to campaign. Let us go for debates either at constituency level or state level bringing all leaders and candidates in a common platform to see who is competent and who is not. Citizenry! Will you sell your vote for the mere sake of a franchise that you are eligible to vote or will you want a revolution to take place?
Whether we like it or not, after our vote is cast, the results will be declared and some will win while some will lose. But after the elections, for revolutionary citizenry – our passion in defending our own fallible candidates should translate to broader fervour in fighting for our right to seek accountability. For revolutionists vigilance must be more intensified in demanding accomplishments from all candidates. As a revolution citizenry we have to elevate our role, not as mere spectators, but as active political actors in the project of our state and society. Revolution citizenries should not sit back, relax and allow ministers to minister the minimal. In this way, we will realize the political revolution, not as an elusive construct, but as a practical solution to our rotten system, which was running for too long in our society. In our small step toward becoming a progressive state, in our own significant ways, we can rise up and fight against special interests, rigged elections, and big money from some political parties.
It is high time that we in Meghalaya get a government that represents the people’s interests and not the interests of the few wealthy and powerful goons who are taking our society for a ride just to meet their own selfish motives. With our collective movement, we can ignite the people’s consciousness into something larger than ourselves. And that is what we call a political revolution with a human face. This is the need of the hour for drastic things to happen in our state. Citizenry! Shall we have a political revolution please!