By Ininaki N Lyngdoh
The Supreme Court ruling of August 31st, 2018 states that the Scheduled castes and tribes can avail benefit of reservation only in their home state. I would like to bring to the notice of all that as per the ruling mentioned above, a person belonging to a Scheduled caste or tribe in one state cannot be deemed to be a Scheduled caste or tribe in any other state to which he migrates for the purpose of employment or education.
In a State like Meghalaya with a low literacy rate when compared to the rest of India and the neighbouring states like Mizoram and Assam, how is it that we the people of Meghalaya are so engrossed with our own lives that we refuse to open our eyes and see what is actually happening. Ignorance is not bliss in our case. I would like to bring to the notice of all that for the past 30 years since the birth of our State, in our public offices and in educational opportunities reservation is given to tribes and castes belonging to states other than Meghalaya. With regards to The Supreme Court ruling of August 2018, I would like to put forward a question to the original inhabitants of Meghalaya. Are we right in giving reservations to these tribes and castes who are not only exercising their reservation in their own state but also in ours?
A similar report was published by the Shillong Times in November 23rd 2018, whereby the KHADC had passed a Bill regarding the changes that should be made in the Tribal List of Meghalaya in which only the indigenous inhabitants of Meghalaya have legitimate right to reservation. Pressing on with this matter and with the new Council members in place I would like to put forth another point of interest, which is that the people belonging to the Khasi and Jaintia tribes are not recognised as Schedule tribes in other states of North East India. We speak of protecting our future generations from illegal immigration, but little do we realise the problem at hand. We deprive our youth of educational and occupational opportunities while we generously provide for those from states that do not reciprocate the same for us. Are they threatened by us? If so, should we not react to them in the same way? How can we speak of protection when our own people cannot attain their own rights in their home state?
The statements are not without proper research. Rather than naming a few, I would like to request you to judge for yourselves if my facts are baseless, be it from the medical lists of quota students or from the recent list of employments in government offices. My fellow men and women, I am not discriminating against any one. However, I am simply bringing to light what is happening right before our eyes which is a basic right given to us with one hand and taken away by the other. Can a state such as Meghalaya, sustain not only itself but those from other states and tribes from another country altogether? Are we not depriving ourselves and our future generations of something that is rightfully ours? Or do we patiently wait for the day when we become minorities in our state? I am speaking of a dark battle that lies ahead of us, unless we strike the iron while it is still hot.
We demand protection, and we are willing to fight for it. Yet no sooner have we started the fire, than we water the flames and the smoke burns our eyes. We hear of excuses rather than promises, distant visions rather than missions in every political aspect. What of my future as a youth? The Kraken of Atlanta is not far from a state trying to devour itself and its “indigenous inhabitants”. The vivid picture I am painting is a harsh truth, that unless we wake up from slumber, our future is bleak. This is but one of the many hurdles that are laid before us and many more are still to be tackled. However, in my opinion, the fact that we recognise those tribes and castes in our state, while we are not in theirs, is unacceptable.
Yet, all this is nothing new to us and if changes are to be made, it has to be in Parliament. Therefore, I request our vibrant and zealous leaders and the indigenous inhabitants of the beautiful state of Meghalaya not to overlook this matter and let history repeat itself. We fight and fight, yet the results are always futile. We have none but ourselves to blame, be it from the ignorant to the backseat drivers to the opportunists. Are we going to sit within the four walls and wait for others, after all, we are infamous for our NIMBY syndrome (Not In My Backyard) because it is not happening to many of us. The blinder has scarred our vision of the harm that is to come upon us. This I can assure you that if it does not hurt you today, it will hurt you tomorrow.
