By Kyrsoibor Pyrtuh
Though many decades have elapsed, I will never forget Rev B.D Pugh’s New Year’s Message in the 1980s. I remember vividly the tale about God Janus of ancient Rome which he told the congregation. His narration was so fluent and captivating that it remains in my memory till date. As an adolescent I was in awe when he narrated that Janus was a two-faced God, one facing backward and other forward and that Janus had eyes on both his heads.
Janus was one among the plethora of gods and goddesses in ancient Rome but he was the most revered god. As told by commentators he had eyes on both his heads which faced backwards to the past and forward to the future. With one head he could look back at the past and with the other he could visualise the future. In Janus’ concept the future has no foundation without the past and the past is meaningless without the future.
Janus was venerated among the pantheon of ancient Rome as he was associated with the transition between the past and the present and between war and peace. He was the doorway or the passageways and as per tradition he held a staff in his right hand to guide the travellers along the right path. Moreover, the poet Martial described Janus as the “progenitor and father of years”.
Hate is essentially destructive and it reminds us that Love and Justice are vital for human survival. Love and Justice make us to commit to rebuild human society wherever there is strife. Re-imagining the future of human society requires honest efforts. Through his back eyes, Janus could look back at the destruction caused by hate, whereas his front eyes are pointing towards peace, hope, fraternity and equality.
The year 2022 is also significant for us as the State is embarking on the 50th year of Statehood, but where have we reached? And where do we go from here? Nonetheless, I pay my utmost respects to the forebearers of the statehood movement. It is the fruit of their sweat and sacrifice that we are feasting today. In fact, we are destroying what the forebearers had built. From the environment to economy, to social and gender justice everything is in a shambles. We have contaminated the polity with corruption, criminality and arrogance.
The State Government is in a celebratory mood and there will be fanfare and festivals. But uncertainties also abound and are haunting the State and its citizens, especially the “rangli juki” or the commoners.
Unemployment may facilitate the resurgence of militancy or organized gang activities in the near future. As per the employment survey from January 2018 to November 2021, employment in Meghalaya is in a state of flux. The unemployment rate soared above 10% in March-June 2020 alone. Again it went 5% above between March-July 2021. The Government which is still relied upon as the major employer is plagued by corruption and systemic failure. It took nearly five years for the East Khasi Hills District Selection Commission to appoint all the 300 odd DSC qualified candidates of 2011-12. The District Authority was compelled to accord appointment due to persistent agitations and filing of RTIs by the qualified candidates. Besides, the condition is grim due to low wages and Meghalaya has large numbers of underpaid workers. The problem is exacerbated by the contractualization of the work force and majority of the workers under a labour contractor are underpaid and are being denied their rights.
Communal peace is at stake and is being interrupted frequently in the recent past. Despite having 95% of seats reserved for the Indigenous Tribes in the State Legislature why are we reeling under fear? Indeed, there are issues which need to be acknowledged by every community and also to be addressed sincerely by respecting the historical questions. For example, as concrete and as volatile as the Punjabi Line, the entire society has to acknowledge that the Mazhabi Sikhs and their descendants had been living in the area more or less since the establishment of the British Sanatorium and the inception of Shillong Municipal Station in 1878. Therefore, any plans to redevelop the area or relocate them has to be considered in the light of historical reasons and for the common good. Till date the Government has not given any indication as to what it is going to do with the place? However, as citizens we must make an honest demand for a just and fair solution towards the Mazhabi Sikhs in particular and also the area be used for public good, like building of community creche, hawkers’ market, bus bay and community health clinics to name a few.
The historical and anthropological studies have to be given precedence in solving the long and arduous Meghalaya-Assam border conflict. There can be no helicoptered solution to the border conflicts nor will it be solved in a glamorous way as depicted recently. However, genuine solutions can be brought forward by the people and through people to people contact on the ground. It can also be arrived at by improving the livelihoods and well-being of the residents in the borders. Also, by giving palpable support to communities in every aspect.
On the eve of the 50th year of Statehood let us take note, that with the exception of the Land Transfer Act 1971, no other significant laws had been legislated in the State. Of late, two important legislations were adapted and passed viz, the Right to Information and the Lokayukta Act. These two laws also came into being in the State due to public demand led by civil society groups like the Right to Information and Maitshaphrang Movements, KSU, FKJGP, TUR, CSWO etc.
After the passage of the Meghalaya Transfer of Land Regulation Act 1971 there ensued a series of amendments which ultimately led to its total dilution in 1991 with the scheming of the single window policy and the subsequent decision to provide land to the Indian Administrative Services’ officers who are serving the State at Rs 1 (one rupee) per square foot. Let me put on record here, in the year 1980-81 sensing the threat of dilution of the Act, Mr Martin Narayan Majaw who was instrumental in framing the Land Law had to convene a public meeting in the capital to voice against the various attempts to amend and dilute the law which he had legislated. Moreover, the single window policy which is still in operation is the most destructive one.
Against the backdrop of the Land Transfer Act, the Socio- Economic Caste Census 2011 painted a rather bleak story about landlessness in tribal Meghalaya. Accordingly, the percentage of landlessness in rural Meghalaya is as high as 76% and this has resulted in huge rural migration which is intrinsically link to failed agricultural governance in the State.
Since long, the tribal community of the State has been expressing fear of being overwhelmed by the majority community. The fear became existential with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019. However, we must never allow such fears to compel us to subscribe to the politics of hate. Issues can be solved within the provisions of the Constitution and the Constitution of India is transformative and can adapt to conditions evolving in our polity. For instance, the issue of migrant labourers which is covertly or overtly linked to influx, can be best solved by having a robust Inter-State Migrant Labour Regulation Act with equal respect to labour rights, irrespective of caste or community and within the frame work of existing labour laws and the Constitution.
The uncertainty in the health and education sectors is staring at us in the eye. Health issues, including mental health, are eating into citizens’ economic well-being, especially the poor. Access to better and affordable health care facility is a far cry in Meghalaya. Every second person has a relative or friend or acquaintance who is diagnosed with Cancer and the increase in cases is worrisome. The rise in infant and maternal mortality rate is going to impact generations. This is also linked to poverty, just like other crimes. When do we end the cycle?
Education is never an interesting field and no one cares about its development except for school building contracts. The State also seems to have abdicated the responsibility to bring forth human development via education. Today, education is a profit-making business.
The State and the people are going to celebrate that dream which was conceived long before Independence. The dream of being self-reliant, autonomous and self-governance within the Constitutional framework. At the same time the stark reality and uncertainties are confronting us.
Elections are also just a year away. If we are still fascinated by the politics of distribution, which means that MLAs or MLAs to-be are up there and everywhere to provide financial or material support for every death, wedding, hospitalization et al, then we are also partakers of the sin of distributional politics which has led us to this present deplorable condition and which is putting the future generations at stake.