By Rudi Warjri
Double; double toil and trouble is Shakespeare’s characterisation about the overweening ambition of Macbeth to become King of England. In Meghalaya and in particular Shillong it applies to the sufferings due to the corona virus pandemic; the fear due to the IED blasts and the obfuscation over the encounter killing of an ex-militant. All these have converged to produce a psychological virus of distrust and scepticism in the ruling dispensation. The biggest casualty here being the restoration of normalcy .
Health care even in normal times was a big challenge for the Government . The pandemic filled its plate of woes even more. The encounter killing enraged the public at large because the victim was ailing and done in the presence of the helpless family. The slain ex militant turned martyr overnight. The plate is overfilled .
Now public confidence and trust in the Government is at its nadir. Adding to the double trouble was the resorting to a curfew on top of a curfew and the internet ban. The question that arises foremost. When will the Government have the confidence and courage to lift the restrictions and restore normal life
India’s leading journalist , Shekhar Gupta, in his latest cut the clutter has featured Shillong but for the wrong reasons. Among the videos which went viral about the violence and arson was the brandishing of rifles by a group of youngsters in a black Scorpio reportedly snatched from the police. The youngsters dramatized it like the Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. And all this has come on the heels of the recent Assam-Mizoram border clashes which resulted in the death of six policemen from Assam. To the rest of India it is like the resurgence of insurgencies in the Northeast .
The turmoil in Shillong woke up the political rulers from their slumber. The sequel was a series of statements about a judicial inquiry, peace committees, appealing to the rifle-brandishing youngsters to return the rifles and go unpunished etc. In the drama was also the letter from the Minister in charge of Home (Police) addressed to the Chief Minister which says he should be relieved of the Home portfolio with immediate effect. Ludicrously, his sense of guilt was not large enough to resign as a Minister. And the Chief Minister as the lead dramatist chose to remain equivocal about relieving the Home portfolio from the erring Minister. The scenario resembles a comedy of errors in a Shakespearean play .
Compounding the intrigue is the notification from the Superintendent of Police (DSB) East Khasi Hills which reads, “It was learnt that there are some officers and constables who set their display profile and some posted on their WhatsApp status the black flag or comments against the Meghalaya Police showing sympathy to late Cherishterfield Thangkhiew is uncalled for….” This circulated on social media .
The three topmost rulers of Meghalaya were away in Delhi when the killing took place. The Chief Minister, his sibling Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister were ‘Partying’ at the opening of the Delhi office of their party . Partying because it was a celebration! Partying because it was all about the Party and nothing to do with governance. No pun intended. I am curious to know what was served as beverages , drinks , snacks and cuisine normally done during any celebration. A bite of laddoos or who knows even toasting with champagne and caviar. I am even more curious to know who paid for the travel expenses, accommodation etc. Any claim as part of traveling allowance (TA) granted to Government officials needs investigation .
Partying in Delhi while Shillong was in turmoil forces me to be quotidian. “Nero was fiddling while Rome was burning.” Nero was also notorious for being a persecutor of Christians. And since Meghalaya is predominantly a Christian state, it is the fellow Christians who suffered the most while the partying was going on in Delhi .
For a political party from Northeast to achieve recognition as a national party is an attainment. Not an achievement though because it depends on how it benefits the people of Meghalaya. The other question is the attainment of national recognition, at what cost? The website of the party mentions nothing about financial resources. So it is natural to assume that the only source of funding for the party would be Meghalaya. Meghalaya because the party is heading the coalition in Meghalaya and most of the lucrative departments are with the Ministers from the party, even if it means squeezing blood from stone for the sake of expanding the party empire . It has also become like ‘ old wives tales’ about illegal coal mining being the principal source of the party funding.
The hype about the only party from Northeast with national recognition is really going overboard. Mamata Banerjee started her politics from scratch. She formed her TMC party after enormous experience and exposure before going national. Similar is the case of the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. In fact, Stalin of the DMK with all its history has been confined to Tamil Nadu. Similar is the Akali Dal from Punjab. Instead the young rulers of Meghalaya are desperate about being more of a Delhi politician than first taking care of Meghalaya . The unstoppable obsequious tweets to the Modi-Shah duo in particular says a lot about where the priority lies.
Professionally, it reminds me of the Peter’s Principle. I am sure the Chief Minister who is supposed to be a product of a Management School knows more than me about the Peter’s Principle which is that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their “maximum level of incompetence.” In the present context we are most concerned with the level of competence in the governance of Meghalaya.
The impact of the pandemic itself was more than enough to keep the Government on its toes. Yet there is so much apathy! There’s no data yet on the catalogue of sufferings. Loss of income by farmers due to poor sale of produce; starving families of daily labourers who couldn’t go to work ; barbers who couldn’t open their saloons; hawkers not able to sell their wares; loss in sale by shopkeepers and vendors; loss by cinema owners and entertainment groups; general unemployment caused to the youth etc. Caterers who supplied food to the Corona centres have not been paid and some are forced to close down. Think about the unquantifiable loss to children because schools are closed. Apathy also because of rumours about profligacy in the purchase of extravagant immovable and movable assets .
We have a leadership which munches more than it can chew. The psychological virus of distrust and scepticism is most palpable in Shillong which falls under the Hynniewtrep entity. Besides, its own ministers belong to parties which are fragmented. Practicing the politics of survival and expediency at all cost becomes unavoidable. It affects the solidarity to stand together on any debatable issue. Ultimately, it is the Hynniewtrep people who have to pay the price, be it in development or in getting undivided focus from the leadership in resolving a crisis with conviction. I don’t want to sound parochial but truth must be told .