Editor,
The forth coming 2023 Assembly elections of Meghalaya seems to have drawn the attention of some really big players. The latest is the arrival of Aam Admi Party Head hunters in Shillong to study the feasibility of setting up suitable candidates who adhere to AAP standards for legislators. If one were to go by past performance then AAP has done wonders for their constituency, Delhi. Education standards have gone up, Healthcare is of quality standards, Roads are good, Water supply up to expectations of the people, city waste managed quite well and the welfare of the people looked after. Their governance is free from scandals and scams. Actually these are issues that impinge upon the governance of Meghalaya, which all successive Govts of the state, including the present MDA, have miserably failed to address. If AAP were actually to come to power in our state (please note the big IF denoting a remote possibility anywhere in the near future) they would come with impressive workable blue prints for the above sectors with perhaps a bit of concentration and emphasis on the issue of employment and a Policy on Agriculture, on which 80 % of our population depend on for their livelihood.
Many of us in Meghalaya are not at all satisfied with the type of governance we are enjoying today. People are eager for a change but a quick look at what the many established Political Parties have to offer is not encouraging. There is hardly any talk on how to improve our education system; improvement in the healthcare system; only words but no action on employment; how to establish the Rule of Law in the state; how to improve governance and of agriculture the least said the better. It is the most neglected sector! All of these are simply not on the radar of Meghalaya politicians. Political parties, both national and regional simply dream of coming back into power. Both parties and candidates concentrate only on the Winnability factor. What happens next is left entirely to the mercy of fate and providence. Meghalaya politicians are people who either have no confidence in planning or road-mapping the destiny of the state or they simply lack the ability to do so. The State Planning Board is a big joke. The above are the areas of change that the state desperately needs but unfortunately our home grown political parties (that go by the fanciful epitaph of ‘Regional’) and the existing national parties seem oblivious to all of this.
Let us not mince words. The state needs, no demands, the emergence of new leaders, new political parties with fresh ideas on how to take the state and its people forward. The need for change cannot be over emphasized. We need MLAs with a desire to provide service to the people. We need leaders who are ready to identify the gaps, lacunae and fault lines in our present form of governance; people who are willing and capable of planning for the future of our people; people with vision and the courage to lead towards such a goal. At present they just don’t exist in the present format, set up and design we have adopted for ourselves. The cry in the name of the Jaitbynriew; the ludicrous attempts to project the image of a Good Man (Briew ba bah) by buying votes with money; the endeavor to propel a rich business man as a savior of the economy has miserably flopped. It has failed to produce the desired results and with it the type of leaders we need. It has only led to the speedy decline of the state in all aspects of progress. It has resulted only in the creation of bloodsuckers and leeches of the resources of the state; in ruthless and hardnosed ‘Dukandars’ who shamelessly use their seat in Government to generate investments in their personal firms and family businesses; in a spate of scams and rip offs by people entrusted with the responsibility to do exactly the opposite. Change from all this is sorely needed. We need people to speak out on the above issues. We need the Church to cry for change from the pulpit; we our Traditional bodies to lead in this demand for a better deal for the people ; we need our youth to realize the need for change. Otherwise the only alternative, if left to the existing politicians we have, is oblivion.
Yours etc.,
Toki Blah,
Via email
From archery ground to the Casino
Editor,
There was a quiz which goes, “How many years would a Government repeat itself? “It was a tough quiz until, 2022 came. In 1978, archery (Teer) was legalised to help fatten the exchequer. It was pure game where players only guessed what numbers to bet on based on their dreams. The result each day depended on the 100 arrows that landed on the target. But the sheer size of the target as big as a 200 litre petrol drum from a range of hardly 25 metres also meant that the random number could be pre-decided by the agency running numbers game. It was called “Making.”
Fourth furlong that overlooks the once crystal clear waters of the erstwhile Wah Umkhrah, now has tents from which smoke curls to the sky. These tents prepare tea for the archers and the gamblers eagerly awaiting the number of their professional day dreamers. A coffin is translated to number 99, a lady to number 6, a man as 7 and so on. While some have turned millionaires from the game, an equal number have debts chasing them to their graves.
After the fantastic stories of Ksan Tragedy, Krem Iule and lately Shallang and the High Court finally having to study illegalities of coal mining and transport, we now jump to another story. The Government of India invited CM Conrad Sangma to Delhi somewhere in May last year to finally grant the scientific mining license. Two coal barons from East Jaintia Hills jumped at the challenge. It’s nearly a year now but no progress has been made. The reason? No one can execute scientific mining on a mine that’s already a rat hole. A square peg never fits into a round hole. Thus the illegalities on coal multiplied each day and is executed on a threatening scale.
Now teachers are out on the streets, with broad sarcastic smiles from someone. Cess on diesel goes towards maintenance of roads, as these 12 and 16 wheelers have destroyed roads and Dwar U Ksuid bridge on the Shillong Bypass is now undergoing a quick-fix.
There are many more issues but the last one before the gambling decision was taken was to f the boundary issue with Assam getting the upper hand. Interestingly the HSPDP had effected this when it blamed the Khasis of plundering Assam whereas the intent then was to bring men from Assam to marry our ladies (ring kongor).
The earth is round so finally Teer in Polo Ground, is not the only gamble. Real casino style gambling of international standards will soon arrive in Meghalaya. The witty, far-sighted Conrad Sangma, had in 2021 passed the Meghalaya Regulation of Games Ordinance to prepare for this. And we are told that the Casino will be housed in a hotel taken over by our PWD minister in that disputed area with Assam, now settled. In Meghalaya all religions abhor gambling. If people get trapped in this Meghalaya will be doomed forever. But why should Conrad Sangma care?
Yours etc
J. Kharmih
Via email.