By Banshan Ferdy Lyngdoh
Here we go again. Again the rhetoric for the repatriation of the usurping dkhar, who potentially portends the existence of the Khasi native, has made it to screaming headlines. But for how many months or days will this mindless gusto last? Like all previous propagandist agitations of the pressure groups, who masquerade as ‘NGOs’, this too will lose steam. If that happens, it will inexplicably resurrect itself to wreck our normal lives in the near future. That’s a given. The pressure groups’ ardent fans may churn their teeth at this remark, but past events bear testimony.
I vaguely recall the turbulent times when Bull N. Lyngdoh launched a whirlwind campaign in line with the Assam Agitation in the late 1970s and 80s. But I do recollect how Paul Lyngdoh and his cronies roared on the streets of Shillong, calling office picketing and bandhs during the KSU’s KsanRngiew Movement in 2000-2001. Among many politically unviable demands, including the implementation of ILP, the hottest potato was the revocation and amendment of Meghalaya’s Job Reservation Policy. Paul Lyngdoh and his friends in the Jaiñtia Students’ Union (JSU) felt the policy hugely favoured the Garos, hence, required amendment. School and college students assembled at Don Bosco Square to demand for a new Reservation Policy. It was a jamboree of mayhem and madness to the extent that the private residence of EK Mawlong, the incumbent Chief Minister, was stoned as he couldn’t immediately meet the unfeasible demand. Since then governments have come and gone, and after 20 years, the reservation policy remains as it is. There’s hardly any individual or pressure group that squeaks about the issue now, thus illustrating the illogicality and inconclusiveness of agitations instigated by pressure groups in the Khasi-Jaiñtia Hills.
After witnessing similar mayhem for so many years, one feels such activism is nothing but proxy manoeuvres of some over-ambitious few to propel themselves into the limelight and eventually into politics. Like Bull Lyngdoh in the 90s, the new millennium hailed Paul as the new saviour of the apparently rudderless jaitbynriew. However, despite being in the political dispensation, the two Lyngdohs’ achievements pertaining to the issues they fervently bayed for on the streets are there for everyone to see. It is indeed easier to ridicule than to act.
The same is the case with the present brouhaha over the demand for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit–a 147-year-old primeval regulation that will definitely impede progress. This insistence has once again been resurrected, albeit by a new group of saviours.And now that they have realised that the final say lies with the central government, the focus has shifted to New Delhi. Pelting stones at the PM’s residence is ludicrous, so burning his effigy is the only recourse. But to what end? It looks improbable that the ILP will be implemented considering Christmas 2020 is almost here. Amit Shah told Conrad Sangma to meet post-Christmas 2019 to discuss the issue.
Politicians have usually succumbed under duress and given in to the demands of these pressure groups. So it wasn’t surprising that the resolution was unanimously passed in the State Assembly in December 2019. Political parties have to play to the gallery to survive turbulent storms, notwithstanding the irrationality. That the resolution was passed under compulsion is apparent considering the Congress party’s recent demand for the implementation of the Meghalaya Residents’ Safety and Security Act (MRSSA) 2016. Now the Honourable Governor is singing a similar tune. The au courant also opine that the regulation is unfeasible in a transit state like ours.
As things stand, the common folk are in dolour particularly during this year of the pandemic. There are many other causes worth championing. Wouldn’t it be better if these groups agitate for better roads, MeECL issues, timely payment of salaries to teachers and staff of PSUs, corruption charges, and many other problems that presently afflict us? But that day may never come because xenophobia is their fuel. The ‘outsiders’ have to be incessantly made to feel insecure because once the fear subsides, endowments will also diminish. That is the reality.
Coming to the current plight of our beloved state, circumstances are indeed pitiable. Roads which are the backbone of development have never been in more pathetic condition. Why is it that the PWD can’t build roads that last at least ten years or more? Friends from Garo Hills communicated that the Rongram-Dadenggre road that was built sometime in 2016 didn’t even last six months. The same is the condition with most state-made roads. The drive along the Shillong-Nongstoiñ-Tura road is indeed delightful, but the same can’t be said of the road that leads to Nongstoiñ town.
It is understood that a small state has its constraints.And since 1972 our leaders have had to visit New Delhi with a begging bowl to meet the financial shortfall. When one has little, resources should be used judiciously. But the little that we have is also manipulated and splintered to feed the insatiable appetite of the powerful. Notwithstanding the incumbent Chief Minister’s repeated denial, corruption is rampant. And this vicious cycle will only get worse with the entry of more and more businessmen into state politics.
In 2022, Meghalaya will celebrate 50 years of statehood. I request all to google Meghalaya’s standing in the Human Development Index. Among the 8 North-Eastern States, we are ranked second from the bottom. Is there any reason to celebrate?
Now that we have Satyapal Malik as the Honourable Governor, one has half a mind to earnestly request him to pull off another Kashmir operation here. In it lies hope that all forms of political deception that presently surround us will be annihilated. May Meghalaya be made the country’s Tenth Union Territory.
The writer is Assistant Professor Central Agricultural University Email: [email protected]