By Toki Blah
A friend rang up and we started to chat on nearly every topic under the sun. As is often the case nowadays, the discussion soon veered off towards politics and of political events happening in the country and in Meghalaya in particular. In the midst of all this he suddenly went off on a tangent on what I initially thought were some very funny mundane questions. He asked where I was; what was I doing and where was I going. I thought it strange but out of sheer courtesy to friendship answered all his questions as truthfully as I could. He replied with “What a relief to talk to someone who knows what he is doing and where he is going. Can’t say the same for our state of Meghalaya or for the Jaitbynriew for that matter. No one seems to know where the State is headed for nor does anyone have a clue as to the future of the Jaitbynriew”! He cited examples of where we as a community have started to err and where we have begun to falter. He referred to the latest incident at Jaiaw where a group of uncouth Khasi youths openly rebuked the Rangbah Shnongs of the area and by a stupid thoughtless act of juvenile felony, turned topsy turvy the very philosophy of Khasi culture and its traditional value systems. Khasi identity and its institutions that day at Jaiaw was attacked by our own. I was rooted to the spot with the veracity of his statement. It came as a very unpleasant shock but it does happen to be the truth. We are a society with no sense of vision as to where we are headed nor are we able to even guess the consequences of our actions and the impact it could have in the future.
The conversation with that friend carried on for quite a while, especially on issues of mutual concern. I want to share with the readers some of the pertinent points discussed and beg the reader’s forbearance if any of the issues mentioned below do not meet with your approval. Life however is often a mixture of the good the bad and the ugly and at times the truth can be bitter and difficult to swallow. Sometimes to ensure survival, in our case our very identity, a scan, an X-ray is called for. For the Hynniewtrep people, for the Khasis of this generation the crucial question and the debate should be, are we prepared for such introspection, however disappointing and distasteful the results might be ? Are we prepared to bring back taste, fragrance, hope and meaning to our lives or have we already sunk to such depths of apathy and depression that we are prepared to tolerate the rot that has set in? Should we as a Jaitbynriew, allow the current and ongoing social and political trends take us down the path of oblivion or should we, for the sake of our own survival; for the sake of our future generations; for the endurance of the Hynniewtrep people, say enough is enough and take a collective decisive step to rectify what has gone wrong? For those who believe that what has been stated above is hogwash and nonsense; for those who believe that we are still on course towards the promised land, my humble apologies. They are requested to ignore this column and move on to other exciting topics in the news. If however there is consensus of the need for immediate and urgent social and political reforms, then read on. We need to put our heads together to come up with satisfactory answers to our problems.
First let us dwell on the issue of politics and specially the type that is being currently practiced. The provisions of the Law through the Representation of People Act 1951, Sec 29A, sets down certain conditions for the formation of a political party and its registration thereof. For the record, our politicians have been most correct and particular in the observance of this condition. The Constitution has also by the 52nd Amendment and the Anti Defection Act, effectively cut short the repulsive habit of swapping parties. The law however has been most lax and remiss on the important manner and etiquette on how to get elected and our politicians have taken maximum advantage of this flaw. The basis on who and how we elect as our representatives is crucial for our own welfare and wellbeing. Firstly, who we elect defines and sets forth the qualification, character, personality, moral fibre, temperament and quality of leadership we get. It reflects the collective objectives of the electorate; the type of governance and services we expect from those so elected; the goals we have set forth for ourselves and our children. Secondly, how we elect defines our own knowledge, familiarity and comprehension of representative democracy; the electorate’s and voters understanding of the value and power of his vote to determine his own destiny. Its all about the most important aspect of life – choosing the right leaders to lead. Looking at Meghalaya we realise we have failed and failed miserably.
Fifty years ago, who we elected as our representatives were from the creamy layer of society. Academicians with impeachable qualifications and experience, barristers and lawyers –people who understood the law, presented and convinced the electorate of the value and worth of their respective manifestos. Such personalities, however penniless they might be, formed the majority of leaders elected to lead the state and its people. The debates, questions and answers that took place on the floor of the Legislative Assembly were something to be proud of. Members of the opposition always came prepared to challenge the Government and Ministers of the Government gave back for good measure, secure in their knowledge and grasp of their respective departments. Businessmen the financers, were there to back up their stalwarts and the parties they belonged to. Service to the people and interest of the state however was always the objective of politics and the floor of the House, the arena in which oral battles over governance took place.
Fifty years down the line this canvas of politics disappeared along with the fire in 2001 that destroyed the old Legislative Assembly building at Khyndailad. Today businessmen have taken over. A business cartel is formed where Political Power is used to milk the exchequer. Elections no longer the occasion to elect those most qualified to provide service to the people but has been turned into an auction where the highest bidder collects the votes to win. A ministerial berth in the cabinet a shop to bargain and sell the assets of the state. In the House, the Chief Minister speaks and answers on behalf of nearly all his cabinet colleagues who prefer to conceal their knowledge than display their ignorance. The enhancement of personal business interest has overtaken the duty to provide service to the people. Fifty years of statehood and politics has simply shown that it is there for names sake only. Its whole purpose debunked, distorted and invalidated. Most have already lost faith in its ability to deliver. Politics as it is practiced has left a vacuum in governance.
In Nature a void is never tolerated. It has to be filled up and in Meghalaya it is rapidly being filled up by organisations composed of green horn, self appointed saviours of the people. Such organisations sustain themselves by propagating social fear, real or imagined, to mobilise and rally society. With the failure of an elected administration to provide hope, vision or service, society turns to such organisations for help. The mobilisation of society has always threatened any non performing administration and as such, deals between the Govt and the groups that can mobilise, has become the order of the day. Govt contracts on supply and construction make up the bargaining chips between the two. Of governance and service to the state and its people; of vision and planning; of growth and development, a silence of conspiracy is maintained. Is it any wonder therefore that Meghalaya should always find itself at the bottom of any index report on human development? The electorate will have to find a way out of this mess it has created for itself. We have no one else to blame but ourselves. Our very survival is at stake not from outside, as we are led to believe, but from within. A revival to rediscover ourselves; our strengths; our potentials and the way forward will have to be undertaken. Professional politicians and political parties have betrayed us. The pressure groups that profess to save us from God only knows what, are leading us astray. The time has once again arisen for persons qualified in the law; academicians and scholars; men and women of substance and experience; people with a vision for the state, to step forward and show the way forward. Otherwise we are doomed!