By Albert Thyrniang
The post Punjabi Lane (Them Iew Mawlong) incident/violence debate continues to hog the limelight. Naturally one of the questions is, “Who were the protesters or agitators who created havoc in the city for nearly a week?” For whatever reasons, till date no clear answer has emerged, at least officially, as to who the violent agitators were. The few who were arrested are identified but the hundreds of others are unknown.
The Rangbah Shnong (headmen) of the affected localities informed the government and police that the mostly masked protesters who consisted mainly of youngsters do not belong to their locality (dong). They ignored repeated orders by the headmen and elders to leave the locality and engaged in mob or gang fights with the police night after night. Adopting the Kashmir style of protest by pelting stones at security personnel they went berserk destroying public and private properties. The standoff could have lasted longer if not for the women who took upon themselves the responsibility to free their localities from the ‘foreign’ goons.
So then the protesters are from outside Shillong. RG Lyngdoh coined the term ‘mercenary agitators.’ According to the former home minister, who can’t find a suitable constituency to once again get elected to the Legislative Assembly, the protesters were non-Shillong residents who were paid by individuals with vested interests or groups to create mayhem in the cosmopolitan city. He viewed the unprecedented and alien practice of protests as a dangerous development. The government agreed with the former Congressman who took an uncompromising stand against the rich businessmen who funded the HNLC a decade ago and stated that the agitators were paid money and supplied liquor too. The violence and riots were funded. The now famous ‘mercenary agitators’ may even become legendary as future generations could refer to them as such when they remember the Shillong violence of May-June 2018.
Now the worrisome facts! Some of those who were involved in the clashes with police were minors aged between 14 – 17 years. Most are below 20 years of age. ‘The innocent’ have been released. ‘The guilty’ are still in jail or in juvenile homes. They are school children and college students. They could be drop outs. They could be unemployed. They could be disgruntled. They could be anti- establishment. They could be at the periphery. But one thing is sure, the majority of the agitating mobs are our younger generation, no matter what part of the state they hail from.
I personally don’t buy the view that money was the motive behind the rather sustained violence. You don’t risk your life for money. You don’t risk getting bullets, or being arrested or being beaten up by the police because you are paid. This is not to say that protesters were not given money and liquor. But certainly it has to be more than cash. What is that compelling force which prompted the hot blooded youth to risk everything?
It has been pointed out by many that what aroused the youngsters was the call to fight for and defend the ‘Jaitbynriew’. It is the love of the Khasi race that made them risk their lives. There is nothing wrong with love for the ‘Jaitbynriew’ (nationalism). However, what they don’t realise is their nationalism is misplaced. It can be called hyper-nationalism. No doubt the Khasi-Jaintia tribe has every right to exist and flourish. But so do others. The indigenous tribe need space to reside. So do others. More importantly, the means are absolutely wrong. Violence and rioting are not the correct means to fight for and defend the ‘Jaitbynriew’. Revenge is not the right emotion to exhibit one’s love for one’s race.
Perception is being created and opinion is being built that the ‘mercenary agitators’ are from West Khasi Hills. The editor of this paper is facing a lot of flak for stating so. She says her views were based on the report that many of those who were arrested are from the socio-economically ‘backward’ district. She cites poverty and lack of revenue generation opportunities as one of the reasons why the people of the western part of Khasi-Jaintia Hills might have fallen prey to the ‘money for protest’ deal.
There is no issue if the protesters are from West Khasi Hills (though this writer has sources stating that the protesters were also from outskirts of Shillong). There is no issue with ‘mercenary agitators’. However, the question no one is asking is, “Who are the individuals who paid the protesters?” From where are they? Are they from West Khasi Hills? Or East Khasi Hills? Are they from Jaintia Hills or Ri Bhoi District? Are they politicians? If yes are they from the Opposition? Were they out to destabilise and embarrass the MDA government? Are they rich businessmen? What interests do they have in funding the agitation?
The government is on record stating that the agitation was indeed funded. It has promised to go after the funders. It said it has the names from those who were arrested. The police too have the names. Then why has the government not released the names? After accusing the people of a district the government has the moral and constitutional obligation to reveal the names of the persons who funded the agitation. If it does not do so it could be attributed to timidity. Or the reason could be that this government is trying to protect its own interests. Whatever be the case, the scapegoats are identified while the real culprits are going scot free. Not a positive commentary of good governance! Having blamed a certain section of people to have received money in exchange for agitation the media persons too have the obligation to put pressure on the government to reveal the name of the sources of that money. They need to investigate the matter to its depth.
All the more reason for catching the conspirators is because minors were exploited by individuals with vested interests. For their own selfish gains teenagers were made to run riot, to attack the police, to cause destruction, create havoc, to be violent, to instil passion, to arouse emotions, to provoke a false nationalism. Therefore, the government should not spare the real culprits. Anything less will not instil confidence.
The government can easily expose the name of those who funded the agitation. Effortlessly it can zero down on the vehicles that were used for transporting the agitators. With ease it can unearth the whole conspiracy. It can pin point the place or places of the conspiracy. It can even reveal the amount of money a protester got from the sponsors. If it wishes it can uncover the whole chain of events. Will that happen? We may be in for a huge disappointment.
As in other past conflicts, the church’s alleged silence has once again come under scrutiny. As Christians are the majority in the state, it is only logical to deduce that most of those who were involved in the recent violence are Christians. Therefore, the expectation that church leaders should use their influence to appeal for peace is natural. That they once again failed to rise to the occasion has baffled many. However, it is informed that the government did meet the various church leaders on one of the first days of violence. The Church leaders supported the government’s actions and its endeavour to restore normalcy.
There is an overwhelming support in favour of relocating residents of Punjabi Lane/Sweepers’ Colony/Them Iew Mawlong. A high level committee headed by the Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, has been instituted to study the possibility of relocation of the sweeper residents. It will be interesting to see the suggestions that the HLC, which includes Home Minister, James P K Sangma, Urban Affairs Minister Hamlet Dohling, Health and Family Welfare Minister A L Hek, Agriculture Minister Banteidor Lyngdoh and the CEM of KHADC, PN Syiem, will come up with. But anticipation of legal and human rights hurdles will be a huge challenge for the government.
Can people who have been residing in the area for 200 years be ordered to shift to another place? Will they be willing? Where will they be shifted? Will the chosen village/locality welcome them with open arms? Will there be resistance? It is a complex issue that successive governments have failed to resolve. Will the present government succeed?
Everyone wants to see the residents of Them Iew Mawlong relocated. It requires more than political will for it to come true. Prior to it may I expect political will from the government to tell the citizens of this state who funded the mercenary protesters?