By Benjamin Lyngdoh
There is a very common and popular Chinese proverb (although its Chinese origins is still highly contested) which says, ‘give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime’. Well, going by this proverb our state politics and elections over time have been nothing but ‘fishy’ with a stench of a stale and rotten fish. As simple as it is to understand, the proverb plainly means that instead of giving niceties, cosmetic symbolism, tokenism and brittle gifts at the eleventh hour it is far better to pave a platform, provide a means, coach and mentor, empower the people and create an environment for holistic development overtime. This proverb is significant for us, as over the years our politics, elections and governance generally manifests in the limits of ‘giving fish’. Sadly, we have failed to see the light. Our legislative and executive democracy is more of a play in darkness where no one knows where we stand; forget about where we will go. As such, I place the following pointers –
Firstly, what is politics? To start with, people are starting to abhor politics. It is being seen as a phenomenon with promises that generates over a few months and dies even quicker. In general, the masses do not see the point of politics and political deliberations. As such, which party is planning on doing what, which party is disintegrating, which one is integrating and so forth is of no interest. The reason for these is half truths and full lies that politics has sowed throughout across parties and ideology. However, is this what politics really is? A brief view into the Greek philosophy on politics will provide a contrary answer. Accordingly, Aristotle famously said that ‘man is by nature a political animal’. The premise here is basically based upon virtue and well-being. Although this statement is widely debated, yet it forms the hallmark of what politics is (in its true sense) and what it purports to achieve. Well, basically it thrives to formulate a city-state for achieving outcomes of virtue and well-being and on these features we can include economic growth, development, social peace and security, equal opportunities and so forth. So inherently, politics and political activity is not bad/dirty; rather, it is a means to a good end. On the other hand, if at all it has gone bad; it is because of the actions of people and definitely not due to its inherent nature. In our local context, we have lost this very noble essence of politics and hence as an outcome we are lost in the myriad of ‘giving fish’ as the core of our political deliberations and executions.
Secondly, who is a politician? Fact is, if you ask this question in the streets of Shillong we will get pretty funny answers; and at times angry and disillusioned ones. Sometimes the terms can be as ghastly and nasty like ‘ki thlen’ ‘ki nongshohnoh’ ‘ki nongbahksuid’ and so forth. I agree, these are very notorious terms to be associated with a politician, but what to do, as these are the outcomes of years and decades of crassness. Who is to be blamed for this? Is it not the political direction our state has been taking over time? We have vision documents and policies galore but are we really working on them or even planning by keeping them in perspective? Here lies the crux of the matter. In general, we have failed in dissecting who a politician really is and as a consequence we tend to lack political direction. In the real sense of the term, a politician is an ‘entrepreneur’. Let us not be alarmed at this. This is because the term ‘entrepreneur’ is not only trade and commerce specific. Rather it encompasses a thought, cognition, behaviour and practice. Overall, it is an idea. As a practice, an entrepreneur is a person who innovates and takes calculated risks. They introduce new options, products, services and means. They are involved in making the livelihoods of people better through their new processes and interventions. They think long-term and all their plans and intents are at creating a ‘tangible-viable-sustainable’ human and non-human investment and not at simply handing out petty gifts and ineffective niceties. Fact is, until and unless our politicians see and practice themselves as entrepreneurs the conditions of our state will never tangibly improve and we shall continue to view our politician roles in the ‘giving fish’ manner.
Thirdly, sadly the majority of the masses do view our politicians as being useless. There is a glaring disconnect between where they are and where the aspirations and needs of the people stand. There is a growing disillusionment towards getting any tangible and meaningful benefits from politicians. However, in the recently held concert of St Anthony’s Higher Secondary School, Shillong on ‘Joseph and the amazing technicolour dreamcoat’ which was fantastically performed and marvellously dramatised by the boys, Ampareen Lyngdoh while speaking as the Chief Guest on 22nd September said something significant. She said, ‘Contrary to general thinking, not all of us are blind and deaf’. I take it that by ‘all of us’ she meant the sixty in our legislative assembly. As such, even if only ten are not blind and deaf then it is indeed a good start. Hence, can we really expect these ‘ten few good people’ to change the political direction of the state from ‘giving fish’ to creating platforms for ‘enabling our masses to fish!’Point is, Meghalaya is one of the smaller states in the country endowed with a plethora of rich resources and that too while housing a pretty small population. Hence, at times it is difficult to comprehend as to how and why we have failed to synergize all our strengths and opportunities into creating viable, meaningful and progressive livelihoods for the populace.
Fourthly, we will be turning fifty in 2022. On such an occasion, do we really have things to be proud of? Of course, for arguments sake we can point to this development and that progress. However and as responsible citizens, are we really proud of these? Of the many other issues plaguing the state, our boundaries are still not formalised, the real poverty levels of Meghalaya are one of the highest in the country; there is lack of clarity on coal mining and its future, thousands of graduates pass out of our universities every year and have nowhere to go. What about the promotion of sports, arts and music for the youth? Our natural environment is degrading fast. What about the militant outfits like HNLC and GNLA? How do we position ourselves as one of the major economic players in the country and so forth? As such, Dr. Mukul Sangma it is time to realize that bringing in the National Games in 2022 is not going to make up and cover up for all our problems. If anything, it is just another ‘giving fish’ business. In addition, making claims of ‘turning polo market into times square (or like times square)’ has got to be one of the biggest and craziest jokes in the history of our state. There can be nothing fishier than that. Well Sir, instead of doing that there is a far more viable and tangible option. As a state we can invest on a state-of-the-art business/entrepreneurship incubator. Yes do dignify polo market and make it presentable, but that should be it. As such, the crores to be used on Times Square can be put to a far more noble and effective initiative. This is significant as studies worldwide have shown that in the absence of incubators the success rate of businesses is just a meagre 10%, while in their presence, the rate goes up to an impressive 35%. This jump of 25% is definitely an investment worth going for as it will undoubtedly change livelihoods.
Lastly, this is for the masses. If you are disgruntled and disillusioned with our politics and politicians, do not stay back at home next year during polling. Rather move out in numbers and go for the NOTA (none of the above) option. If there was ever any reason to vote, election 2018 is the one. Make your voice heard. Send a strong message once and for all against this business of ‘giving fish’. More so because we the people deserve a lot more than this!
(The Author teaches at NEHU)