By Aristotle Lyngdoh
In a country like India and particularly Meghalaya where democracy has not fully matured, the art of statecraft is indeed a complex issue and lends itself to uncertainties. Simply by winning elections and securing a mandate does not mean that the entire tenure will be a bed of roses. While governance is caught between the aggressive public and the reluctant-cum-static administrative mechanism, the art and wisdom of governance lies in the quality of leadership where integrity, maturity and sincerity are integral. These are the defining skills and strength that will ensure effectiveness to deliver good governance. Democracy on the other hand is the opportunity for the common citizens to raise their voices against governance when it fails to deliver the intended justice. A mature government together with strong and constructive opposition ensures prompt action where needed and establishes a system of checks and balances. There is a saying, ‘Grey hair is a symbol of wisdom.’ This implies that knowledge and information can converge into wise decisions only after certain period of maturity. Hence the tradition of a grey wig worn by English judges reflects experience and wise judgment believed to be associated with age.
In Meghalaya, the political scenario during the last few decades has seen many dramatic twists and turns and frequent change of governments despite having a top heavy cabinet. But even in such a situation, the Government is still ruled by elected representatives. The Council of Ministers comprises few Cabinet Ministers along with the Ministers with Independent Charge and Ministers of State. While the former were mostly senior people with reputation and long experiences in public life, the latter have been newly elected into the legislature and freshly inducted into the government. By common sense it is understood that the Cabinet as the highest and crucial body in the government holds the key and responsibility for every matter concerning appropriate action for peace, progress and social justice in the state and country. Therefore, it is of vital importance that the composition to this highest appellate authority should comprise seasoned mindsets in order to command the respect and functionality of those in the line of duty. But the electorates themselves have failed to understand this and over the years the essence of electing those with politically mature minds who can be in the cabinet which takes crucial decisions on governance issues has gradually diminished. Those holding cabinet berths at present are young and inexperienced and their proficiency to affect changes to the administrative mechanism is a matter of debate. In my understanding, the current state cabinet is not as strong as it should be and the discussions in its sittings are perhaps dominated by few frontline leaders. The recent flare-up in the city and how our cabinet ministers handled the matter is one occasion that has exposed their immaturity. For instance, ministers holding cabinet rank and coming out openly to address the protesting mob is at best a hare-brained decision. This shows they have been directed to do this job. When the ministers who have been empowered to issue directives on matters of governance have instead become agents and messengers of goodwill then what else can we say! These things have never happened in the past and perhaps for the bureaucracy this is an ideal situation to exercise control over the government indirectly. It is here that the servants can become masters of governance.
The recent law and order breakdown in the city has somehow tested the efficiency and sensibility of the present Government to handle law and order. Thank God the situation has improved much but all that can be said is that the government has neither failed to handle the issue nor has it succeeded. Maximum appreciation should be given to the courageous group of men and women from the adjoining localities of Mawkhar areas who dared to confront protestors and calm their anger down. It is this act of boldness by these responsible residents of Mawkhar Dorbar Shnong and its adjoining localities that has restrained protestors and reduced tension to a great extent. On one hand the District administration and the government are lucky because such violence was not from an organized group/s as in the previous years. Here the protest was leaderless and faceless and had no specific goals and objectives. It is more like disgruntled fans of a particular team during a football or cricket match.
The tension is now waning but it is not easy for the government to move forward. There is ‘the devil and deep blue sea’ like situation. On one side there is the angry public who want relocation of the Harijan colony. On the other side there is a litigation pending in the court of law as well as an appeal to stay any relocation move and a desire to rebuild the colony by the Sikh community. As of now any wrong move taken by the government in this regard may trigger a different type of conflict. Therefore, what is best for the government and administration is to monitor the developments in the colony very closely, including verifying the antecedents of the residents regularly. Allow the residents of the colony to work for better atmosphere conducive for community building and other welfare activities. The colony, as it is, has been sorely neglected with no one to oversee its welfare. If this trend continues, it will one day become a transaction hub of many illegal activities which are beyond the control of the state. In this regard our Dorbar Shnong are better equipped since strangers cannot freely organize any activities without the consent of the local authority.
The colony is like a sheep without a shepherd and for this the Dorbar of U Syiem Mylliem is responsible and accountable to the public. Since it is this traditional authority that has issued land documents, by common sense it should have also ensured certain rules and regulations for the beneficiaries of this colony to follow and abide. This is the greatest blunder that has been committed where the entire community has to bear the brunt. Therefore, I strongly feel that the solution for this lies at the Office of U Syiem Mylliem together with the logistic support of the state government.
In the past we often heard of the concept of strong and constructive opposition. When the Opposition party in the legislature is weak just as in the previous Congress-led alliance, then Government tends to be arbitrary in nature. The proactive and constructive role of the Opposition is fading away day by day. No one is interested to be in the Opposition and even if they are pushed to that bench, they would make an effort to find space in the treasury bench. A strong Opposition will make the government shaky and cautious in their action and not allow it to bend to bureaucratic suggestions. But our elected representatives have failed to understand that a strong Opposition is also a confidence and security for the citizens. It is essential therefore to revive the pillars of democracy and to inculcate the spirit of a caring democracy rather than aspiring power to achieve personal objectives.