By Bhogtoram Mawroh
The violence that took place during the FKJGP (Federation of Khasi Jaintia and Garo People) rally on unemployment was highly reprehensible. Violent acts must be condemned and all those who assaulted innocent bystanders should be brought to justice. The fiasco that took place, however, raises important questions about the rally, the organizers and the ongoing class struggle in Meghalaya.
The first and most important question is whether the FKJGP wanted the violence to take place as a tactic to put pressure on the Government to meet their demands. KSU (Khasi Students’ Union) president Lambok Marngar, who also took part in the rally, stated that he feared that “many of the youths will take up arms if they see a bleak future ahead.”. Was this a prelude to that future? Personally I think such a strategy is going to backfire badly. Once the cycle of violence starts the damage is going to be collateral. Let me give a relevant example.
The 2017 anti-railway agitation was marred with many cases of violence in Meghalaya. Among them was a case of arson in which a petrol bomb was hurled at a house in Pynthorbah. The agitation against railways was (and still is) about the fear of influx. Most probably the people who threw the bomb must have thought that the house belonged to an immigrant. But the family that got injured in the attack was that of a Khasi lady. One child was seriously wounded and received burn injuries on both the hands and face. Once violence starts, such collateral damage will become common. Do the pressure groups like FKJGP and KSU want their own jaidbynriew to be victims of such violence? If not, they have to understand the path to violence is not going to be the solution. It will, instead, lead to the downfall of the movement.
The second question – assuming that FKJGP did not want the violence to happen and it was done without their approval, does the group have the mandate to lead the movement? Unity and discipline are very important attributes of an organization projecting strength and confidence in its ability to be taken seriously as a credible stakeholder to any negotiations. Time and again Shillong has been a witness of such rallies turning violent. Knowing this, what steps did FKJGP take to prevent it from happening again? Did it instruct its members to maintain discipline and to ensure that its directive was implemented; interspersed senior members in the crowd to supervise it? In short do the members respect the authority of the leaders? Assuming they took all the steps to ensure that the rally was peaceful but were still unable to prevent the violence, can they in an event of a settlement with the Government get its members to abide by the agreement? Or will there be splinter groups emerging who will oppose the agreement and continue with the agitation which will start the process all over again? Why should the Government then negotiate with them since it will be a futile exercise as they are not a credible organization who can represent the interests of all?
The third important question that emerges from the debacle was whether there were elements in the rally who wanted to create trouble. These could be individuals who had ulterior motives and did not want the rally to succeed. This may sound far-fetched but it’s a genuine possibility. A few years ago, I was attending a workers’ union meeting where issues regarding the working conditions and pay of a certain group of workers were being discussed. These workers were working under a contractor who was not providing any basic amenities while paying them very low wages. While the discussion was going on, a lady stood up and tried defending the contractor.
The lady asked those present not to form the union. She informed everyone that she was also working under the contractor and narrated how he had helped her during medical emergencies. He could do the same for the other workers as well but they must not go against him. She was an interruption which nobody wanted. After she had her say the meeting resumed again. The union was formed and the workers were able to negotiate with the contractor for improved working conditions. Later it was revealed that the lady was an agent of the contractor who was sent to sow seeds of dissent and break the unity among the workers. If that had succeeded the workers would still be working under horrendous conditions with very low wages. This particular lady later became a prominent member of a certain pressure group which burned brightly for a while. Did the same thing happen here as well? Were the people who committed those acts of violence instructed to do so by those who wanted to defame the movement?
The violence during the rally raised some very important questions which must be answered. The danger in not answering any of those questions is that the issue of joblessness or lack of decent job (people stuck in uncertain and low paying jobs) will now be pushed to the backburner. The narrative will be built that it’s just a law and order problem which has to be dealt likewise. Post-rally has the Government promised to fill up the 7000+ vacant posts? Instead the violence will be used as an excuse to forget the issue altogether. The vacant posts will never be filled. And to add salt to injury, the number of such posts will increase in the coming years. This is not just happening in Meghalaya but throughout the country as well.
Recently the Union Government informed the Lok Sabha that as on March 1, 2021 there were around 9.79 lakh vacant posts in the various central government departments as against the total strength of 40.35 lakh. Even when such posts are filled they will be done on a contractual basis where job security will be absent and pay will be lesser than those of regular employees. In many cases the pay will be fixed with no provision for increments. If the employees decide to organize and demand for their rights, they will be threatened with termination of their jobs. In fact, contracts will be made in such a way that organizing and demanding rights will be made illegal. What happened to the contractual teachers who were pressing for reinstatement to their jobs? They were met with teargas and baton charge. Worse, some policemen even taunted the protesting teachers by challenging them to a fight. All this was done under the pretext that the protestors were trying to storm the secretariat, i.e., the State used violence to prevent violence.
This is the danger which is staring at Meghalaya right now. The issue of joblessness and decent work is a class issue which will intensify in the coming years. The State will use the excuse of violence either committed by the protestors or perpetrated on the protestors to sideline the issue. Like the policemen who taunted the teachers they will then accuse the people of being lazy and not creating jobs for themselves or “you should be ashamed to ask the government for help. Now go sit in the corner and starve.” In the meantime, the inbred burom class and its kin, who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth, will capture all the institutions, public and private, to hoard the resources for themselves leaving no space for others. There is a class struggle going in the State and it is important that it is not hijacked or defamed. Only then can a truly just society emerge in Meghalaya. If not darker days await all of us!