Since Friday 13 August, Covid19 has receded from the front pages of newspapers. What has made headline news is the deterioration of law and order in the capital city of Meghalaya after an ailing and retired militant was shot down apparently for putting up a fight when police entered his home after midnight. After that all hell broke loose in Mawlai the area where the retired militant resides. He became a martyr and the police lost face. The only explanation that police had was that the retired militant was aiding and abetting in the IED blasts at Khliehriat and Laitumkhrah. In that case getting information is more important than having a person killed. This case requires an independent enquiry so that the public get to know the reason behind the killing of the retired militant which is a human rights violation since the rule of law cannot be circumvented under any circumstance. The fall-out of the shooting incident is that all Covid norms were violated as crowds gathered at the residence of the deceased militant and attended his funeral by the thousands – something that is disallowed by the district administration to ordinary citizens.
Crisis of governance is visible in the deterioration of moral standards in the political and administrative system. It happens when there is all-pervasive nepotism, corruption, misappropriation of state funds, absence of transparency and accountability in public administration, lack of respect for the rule of law and the complete lack of ethical behaviour in public life. When the political system has lost public confidence and when the institutions that constitute the core of democratic governance structure are imperilled, we have crisis of governance.
The series of events that occurred on August 15 which included the ignominious snatching of weapons from inside a police outpost is a heinous crime under the Arms Act. But now it looks like the Government is willing to overlook that and is instead extending general amnesty to the arms snatchers. Bad governance is marked by knee-jerk decisions which put the public at a great disadvantage. The sudden imposition of curfew on August 15 in the Shillong agglomeration areas merely because trouble was brewing in one locality of the city reeks of paranoia in the administration. That the curfew lasted for 56 hours leaving people stranded and unable to get their essentials is an infringement on their rights. But what’s worse is the internet ban which started on Aug 15 and lasted for 3 whole days disrupting studies, banking and business transactions. Why punish the entire city for transgression of law and order in one part of the city? And when the Chief Minister is making light of the whole incident now then wasn’t it an unnecessary punishment for the public? Who will answer these questions?
