By Rudi Warjri
A minor explosion took place in Shillong. The proscribed HNLC took credit for it. Credit gives them an imaginary sense of recognition instead of just responsibility. They chose a time just before India’s Independence Day to convey a message with multiple meanings. To the Government of India; that their secessionism still exists. To the Government of Meghalaya; that they are still a force to be taken seriously for negotiating a peace deal. Part of their strategy of saving some face if they surrendered. Earlier, in December last year the HNLC had also taken credit for the bomb blast at the residential quarters of Star Cement in Jaintia Hills.
The Bible says violence begets violence. Other scriptures also preach against violence especially on innocent civilians. My main grouse against terrorist and extremist groups all over the world is the fear psychosis and shock they cause to the public. The more the devastation due to the violence the more is the trauma. Overcoming the trauma itself becomes a formidable task. The HNLC claim that their existence and fight is for the interests of the common people. On the contrary, the common people suffer the most when there is violence. Be it the daily labouring wage earner, the hawkers, the door-to-door scrap dealers, the shoe and umbrella repairers, the chana walla etc.
My career of more than 35 years as a diplomat was a mixed cocktail of education, experiences, exposures, insights and adventures. I was in New York on September 11, 2001 when four coordinated terrorist attacks took place in the United States. One of them was on the World Trade Centre, New York, where I could hear the explosion and saw the jet-black thick smoke ascending into the sky. I was in Sri Lanka when that country was afflicted with ethnic and religious conflicts that produced several terrorist groups among them the dreaded Tamil Tigers. The Indian Peace Keeping Force was sent to broker peace. Instead, circumstances went topsy turvy and it became the target of the conflicting parties which included the Government of Sri Lanka itself. Around 1500 Indian soldiers lost their lives. It grew up to be a period of the height of anti-Indianism in Sri Lanka. Among its by-products was the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.
I was with the United Nations in Cambodia trying to bring peace to a civil war in a country of the Killing Fields ruled by a maniac called Pol Pot. I was detained by the armed to the teeth and merciless Khmer Rouge (Red Khmer) while on a mission to enlist the population in the peace process. How I got out of it, is another story. I served in Peru the country of the Marxist Leninist guerillas Shining Path. And then later also in Colombia which suffered the longest extremist and terrorist violence in the world of more than fifty years.
There is one common factor for the survival of all these guerillas, insurgents and terrorist groups. Finance and source of funding. Osama Bin Laden financed the Al Qaeda which attacked in the US. The Tamil diaspora around the world which financed the Tamil Tigers. The precious stones mines bordering Cambodia – Thailand which financed the Khmer Rouge; the Cocaine industry which financed the guerillas in Peru and Colombia.
It now brings me to the next question. Where does the HNLC gets its funding from now? Gone are the days when Bangladesh was offering a haven. So, it must be extortions from the rich tycoons of Shillong and its environs. Extortions from budding entrepreneurs which forced some my own relations to close shop. Besides, friendly big brother ULFA and other insurgent groups in Northeast are themselves now struggling for existence in hideouts in Myanmar
In my school, politely speaking, the HNLC is a group of strayed and misguided youth whose grievances may have some legitimacy. That however does not give them the license to commit violence. I emphasize that violence of any kind especially on innocent civilians that includes women and children is nothing but an act of cowardice.
So why is the HNLC still making noise or even still exist? I have a theory. There is a lack of clarity from the Government. Officially, it is a proscribed outfit. The nuances in the statements of serving ministers and politicians tell us that they are being treated with kid gloves. It is believed that there is a value in their survival. They can be a bargaining chip with the central government. They are used during elections by candidates directly or indirectly. That they enjoy the sympathies of pressure groups of all hues and colours goes without saying. A blast takes place; some routine condemnation takes place; the next day everything is forgotten.
Thanks to the High Court of Meghalaya for the ban on bandhs and even prohibiting the media from publishing bandh calls made by underground and overground pressure groups. HNLC is not only threatening the Government; it also has the temerity to even threaten the media and to tell them that they should listen to them instead of the High Court.
We are living at a time when trust in established politicians and established institutions is at an all-time low. The current ongoing pandemic has placed majority of the population in a state of dystopia. Compounded by rise in fuel prices and chain reaction to rise in commodities. Other than the salaried class or Government servants, the rest are suffering to some degree or the other. Besides deaths due to Covid or comorbidity, daily reports about corruption add to the skepticism.
Society is caught in a double whammy of a fear trap. Fear trap due to violence; and fear trap due to an uncertain future. Moreover, to the public in general and the hoi polloi academic exegesis and explanations about fall and rise in GDP (gross domestic product) due to the pandemic and its socio – economic impact means nothing. Government handouts is a pittance. Rs 6000 which works out to Rs 500 per month to a farmer is what a daily wage labourer gets.
The danger is that the wider and deeper the grievance and suffering, the more fertile ground it is for social unrest and violence. Both underground and overground. The UN has published the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Report 2021. It contains details of the adverse impact of Covid 19 pandemic on eradication of poverty, hunger, health, quality education etc. It offered several recommendations to overcome the problem. One key action is investing in data and integration of geo-spatial information and household survey. Satellite imagery and household surveys to produce municipality – level data on multi-dimensional poverty are imperative. Machine leaning algorithms coupled with social science can further the understanding of public perception on issues such as gender discrimination, measuring social distancing compliance and leveraging the power of collaboration and partnerships.
Noted political scientist Francis Fukuyama said that factors responsible for successful pandemic responses have been state capacity, social trust and leadership. He also added that the practical realities of handling the pandemic favors professionalism and expertise instead of demagoguery. I hope the rulers in Meghalaya and in fact the whole of India realizes this.
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