By Toki Blah
The English language has a beautiful phrase describing futile attempts to change something that refuses to be changed. It’s called “Whistling against the wind”. The Yanks of course express the same feeling in a much cruder, figuratively vulgar form but it means the same thing. It simply means to waste time on a pointless or fruitless task; do something that is ineffective or counterproductive. Living in today’s Meghalaya; witnessing the wasteful and senseless existence of a Government that refuses to govern; listening to the childish, juvenile chatter of immature elected representatives; tormented by the refusal of an insensitive political system (that includes elected politicians, wannabe politicians and existing political parties) to acknowledge the multiple woes of the common man and agonizing at the refusal of the Meghalayan electorate’s obstinacy to differentiate between a political conman and a statesman, one stands alarmed at the speed at which 2023 is approaching to once again give ruthless visionless scoundrels yet another five year term at looting the state. Everyone of them is the same. No exceptions and Samuel Johnson’s declaration (18th Century British writer and philosopher) that “politics is the last resort of rogues” stands vindicated here in our state as nowhere else.
“Pissing against the wind” therefore beautifully articulates all sincere but barren efforts to reverse this cannibalistic political trend of Meghalaya’s politics. It seems that all of us like lemmings, are destined to follow our own elected leaders to our own demise!
Rant all we want but we must also admit that our politicians have one defining quality – their steadfast, unwavering and hell-bent determination to win an election and stay in power whatever the cost! They will promise you the moon and even give it to you if they had an ounce of sincerity in their promises; they will spend and invest money (don’t ask where it came from) ; crawl on their bellies through muck and filth; discard and abandon all concepts of ethics and principles; sleep with the Devil if they must; fortunately it has never come to pass but as someone declared “even sell their own mothers” if need be, simply to win an election and come to power. One really must admire such fortitude and determination of purpose. Sadly however, like all dodgy obsessions, this trait too has a basic flaw – the inability what to do next, once power is achieved!
Now, now don’t accuse me of making it up. It’s all a fact. Look at the governance we are enjoying, not the right word perhaps and ‘suffering’ is more appropriate. Public protests, complains, grievances and public grumblings make up and take up most of our time. Government has no sense of direction; no vision; no goal and crisis management, jumping from one calamity to the next, is the order of the day. Now there are a lot of optimistic but unrealistic people who sincerely believe all this will settle down post 2023 polls. Our politicians are once again out on the road selling this dream to a guileless and gullible electorate. Vote me, Vote us and only us to power and we shall line all Meghalaya roads in gold! Vote in line with the national trend and peace, prosperity and happiness will be yours forever and ever (remember that acche din promise of 2018 spiced with a 15 lacs per voter? Still waiting!). In Meghalaya there is even this ridiculous call for regional party dominance to solve all the state’s problems. Let me with all the unwillingness and reluctance at my disposal assure everyone that it is a pipe dream, which in all probability will turn into a devilish nightmare once achieved. A Pied Piper of Hamelin wishful thinking !
I can already see the accusations and charges against this prediction of mine. How can you say that? Where is the proof that nothing will change? How dare you predict that things will be worse when we are assuring everyone of a return of the Golden Era once we and our party are voted to power? Are you blind ? Don’t you see the thousands that attend our meetings; the large public attendances at our (Sorry, my) campaign? Please forgive me Sirs. Forgive my insomnia. The reluctance of my eyes to be blind. Forgive my inability to be lulled to sleep. The pitiful cry of the poor and the marginalized of Meghalaya won’t let me be. The unbearable cry of hungry babies simply because there is no food at home prevents me from believing in your repeated lies. The hopeless youth who turn to guns, drugs or drinks in an attempt to drown their frustration just won’t allow me to close my eyes. Infuriated teachers sleeping on pavements make me nervous because Education is being compromised and none of you seem to care. The despair in the eyes of that woman you branded a harlot, waiting for customers in the shadows of PB because she has nothing else to sell but her body, simply to feed her hungry babies, continues to haunt my conscience.
Self righteous political rants mean nothing nor do the hollow pre- election promises you make. I still continue to see frantic farmers, forlorn and beaten, forced into distress sale of their products just because pompous insensitive MLAs refused to discuss their plight in the Legislative Assembly. I continue to see our highly qualified youth, anxious to serve the state and its people, forced to seek employment elsewhere simply because of a visionless selfish political system that has no sympathy nor understanding of merit or hard work. I know I will be accused of anger. But I am angry because of a system that promotes empty promises over pre-meditated vision. Sorry but some of us refuse to close our eyes because of the existence of a sightless leadership. The state needs Hope. The people of Meghalaya need a vision. We need a roadmap for the next 10, 20, 50 years. We need to know where are we heading and where do we lead our children to. We don’t have hope. In its stead you only offer empty words that you don’t even know the meaning of. We need leadership as we simply don’t have one. Our demand for 2023, produce a leader or leaders for the people. We are sick and tired of your “winnable candidates” who care for nothing but their own pockets!
The other evening my heart bled in nostalgic reminiscence listening to Headingson Ryntathiang croon as only that melodious voice of his could, the unforgettable Khasi musical composition “Por ba la leit kin ym wan phai” ( Time once gone will never return). I was humming to myself the above tune as I wrote this essay and suddenly it dawned upon me that perhaps it is this melancholic attachment with the past that prevents the Khasis from thinking or visualizing the future! It’s a frightening thought. Perhaps we live too much with the legends of our ancestors to even realize that our children and their future are as much our responsibility as our devotion to the past. Perhaps “Ka juk u ksiew jong nga” is as important, if not more, than “Ka juk ksiar u longshuwa” ( the future of my grandson is as important, if not more, then the Golden era of my ancestors)! Perhaps we need to move out of the imagined glory of our past into a more practical vision for our future. Perhaps as a society, and together with society also its elected leadership, should invest more, devote more time, energy and resources on the wellbeing of our children and their future. If we accept this analogy, then and only then will the need for a vision; a roadmap, long term plan for the future become universally important for the people of Meghalaya. Only then perhaps will the electorate of the state start demanding for meaningful, doable and visionary manifestoes from our politicians and their parties.
Today, bereft of a vision, all of us enter into an election exercise to the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, based only on meaningless rhetoric. It is in such a pathetic and wretched scenario that opportunistic rouges, otherwise lovingly called ‘WINNABLE CANDIDATES’ by their equally opportunistic political parties, get a chance to buy our votes and make monkeys of us all. The whole society is in turmoil. Our own misery adds to this social distress that has befallen us. We need to get out of this rut. We need to save ourselves. To do this we require the will to start thinking about our future. Yes we don’t have leaders that are capable of leading. As a matter of fact they conversely depend on the people to lead them ( ka sur u paidbah). Sad but true, but if that’s the case lets accept it. Let the people demand for a plan of action to save the future. That is the only way to encourage democratic leaders to emerge and force “self centered dukandars and mahajons” to leave politics alone. We need to save ourselves from ourselves. Are we ready to do it in 2023 itself?