BY H H Mohrmen
Whenever concerned citizens raise their voices against illegal mining and transportation of coal they are called ‘ba bishni, ba lushia ïa ka ja kpoh kiwei’ which means that they are jealous of other’s fortunes or that they interfere with the livelihoods of other. This is a common complaint by those who are engaged in mining, but the point is that mining of coal and transporting of the same is illegal after the NGT has banned the activities in 2014. So, how can one say that it is one’s livelihood when the activity is illegal in the first place? The drugs cartel or dealers can make the same argument that one cannot interfere in their activity because it is their livelihood.
This is not the first time that people were attacked by mob or the truck drivers for daring to stand against the mining activities. Two journalists with an electronic media were similarly attacked (and the same recorded on live video) which was wildly reported in the press during that time. In November of the year 2014 two media persons were attacked while they were performing their duties and the two were only recording the violation of the National Green Tribunal order by the trucks when it was first implemented. The perpetrator of the crime who instigated the mob to attack the journalists was none other than the President of the Jaiñtia Hills Truck Owners and Drivers’ Association then.
Although the criminal act occurred in the area which is under the jurisdiction of the West Jaiñtia Hills, but the incident is similar to what has happened last Thursday on Agnes Kharshïing. The alleged perpetrators of the crime are also a group of the same people and it happened on the same National Highway 44. The crime also happened in 2014 when the Congress-led government was in power, so one government cannot blame the other because when it comes to the interests of the coal mining barons they are all but different sides of the same coin. The mining lobby is one group that they cannot ignore.
When another RTI activist and pressure group leader Poipynhun Majaw was murdered close to the office of the Deputy Commissioner East Jaiñtia Hills, Khliehriat, the Home minister promised to bring the culprits to book, but what has happened till date? Did the Home Minister even make any enquiries on the progress of the case? Or did he just make the promise for the heck of it and forgot it the very same moment he made that commitment. There is no report of police arresting the main culprit involved in the murder of Poipynhun Majaw, or the case is yet to reach its logical conclusion. And people need to know what happened to the case? This lackadaisical attitude on the part of the police only shows the lack of seriousness in the way the Government handles the law and order situation in the state.
The criminals are emboldened by the ineffective law enforcement machinery which has miserably failed to help curb crime in the area. There were also reports of a woman being murdered in her own rented house. This case too still hangs fire. The Police in the East Jaiñtia Hills need to roll up their sleeves and help deliver justice to the deserving members of society. They cannot remain complacent because it will only encourage criminal elements in the area to raise their ugly heads and take the law in their own hands.
Many will assume that this attack on Agnes Kharshiing too will meet the same fate and will slip from public memory very soon but the truth is that she is a different breed of activist. Agnes is the only face in the state who takes the rights of women in distress seriously. Many rape cases or cases of domestic violence would not have been reported if it is not for her for initiative. I know many cases which she took up and ensured that the perpetrator(s) of the crime are punished and the case brought to its logical conclusion. She is not only an RTI activist but she is also champion for the rights of women in distress.
When a minister of a certain Unitarian Universalist Church in the Massachusetts area of United State of America said to me one day that their church used to have a special service where they remember and pray for those activists who work for justice especially on women’s issues and requested me to suggest a name from Meghalaya for the event, without even having to think twice, I immediately suggested the name of Agnes Kharshïing. Months later when I met Agnes I told her about this ; she just smiled.
On the same day that the media reported about the attack on Agnes Kharshiing there was another report which alleged that the police in partnership with the public was involved in kidnapping and torturing of a leader of another pressure group. The victim alleged that the group of people attacked him and forced him to withdraw an FIR filed against a police personnel posted in the area. If the allegation is true then this indeed is an example of a total breakdown of law and order in the district.
It is obvious now that the truck drivers have a history of taking the law in their own hands so the question is how is the Government going to deal with this? It had happened once when media persons were attacked and this time female activists were attacked in a broad day light. We can’t go on like this. This has to stop and the first and the most important action that the law enforcing agency should do is to take the members of the Truckers’ Association to task. The leaders of the different truck drivers association should be made responsible for the crime committed by the truck drivers; they cannot simply wash their hands off this, because the members of their Organisation have committed a heinous crime. If they are leaders of the Association they should be responsible for any action committed by the members particularly when not one, but a group of 30 to 40 drivers were involved in the crime.
The Government should also take to task those who encourage and instigate crimes on social media. Right now there are plenty of posts on Facebook and WhatsApp which have crossed the limits of arguing with decency and instead encourage people to engage in violent activities. From the thread on the debate on social media it is obvious that there are people who are all out to attack those who are against their interests even if it means breaking the law. It is in the minds of such people that the seeds of hatred is sowed which later manifests itself into violent acts. Social media is where the elements can be identified and the evil nipped in the bud.
The dangerous trend that is growing in the state is the increasing number of cases where people take the law in their own hands. The question is what makes people think that they can take the law in their own hands? Is it because the Government is too soft in the way it handles crime? Or is it because of the lack of civic sense amongst the citizens to respect the law? Or it is because people don’t care about the law anyway? Whatever be the reason this is a very serious issue that the government has to take immediate action to solve this problem. The Police should deal with this kind of issue with iron fists so that criminals are punished as per the law of the land. Nobody should be treated with velvet gloves. More importantly the Police needs to come out clean on the allegations against some of the police personnel.
This incident also raises another pertinent question as to what has happened to ‘ka Ri tipbriew tip Blei,’ when two women were mercilessly attacked by the goons who belong to the same community. The society which prides itself of its values of respecting fellow human beings as much as it respects God, is now seeing its moral values sliding downhill. Who can save the community from sliding down the moral precipice? That is the question that is crying out for an answer.