By Patricia Mukhim
In a democratic country the right to protest is fundamental do as to ensure that those elected to govern (not rule) the country don’t turn arbitrary, self- serving and corrupt and that governance is not derailed. In India the right to protest is derived from Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution which grants to citizens the right to freedom of expression. The right to protest so as to publicly challenge and/or persuade the government to respond to certain demands stems directly from a democratic interpretation of various provisions of Article 19. Just as press freedom is not explicitly mentioned in Article 19(1) (a) so too the right to protest. It flows from the freedom to publicly express one’s opinion on the activities of the Government.
Protests are usually by a group that believe in similar ideologies. These groups enjoy the right to form associations under Article 19 (1) (b) of the Constitution (Right to Freedom of Association). Groups that form such associations feel they need to challenge government activities collectively. These are by their very nature political organisations. Article 19(1) (c) of the Constitution grants to citizens the Right to Freedom of Assembly. Hence curtailing such assembly of persons who wish to question and object to government actions through demonstrations, agitations and public assemblies as well as to form long-term protest movements as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution is arbitrary. But there is a rider here. The right is to “peacefully” gather and demonstrate against the State’s actions or inaction. The protests are in the interests of democracy and the objective is to address flaws in governance. As in the right to freedom of expression there are reasonable restrictions on the right to protest. A group’s right to protest cannot infringe on other citizens right to freedom of movement, trade and commerce and the right to safety and security. Above all the right of a group to protest does not give them the right to violate public order by words or action.
In Shillong city the use of the slogan, “Ha Ri Lajong, Leh Katba Mon” (In my own land, I will do as I wish) must be carefully analysed because it violates the fundamental rights of others who too are citizens of India but residing in Meghalaya. What happens if all the 35 lakh people in Meghalaya decide to do what they want? Will that not lead to civil unrest? Hence the slogan is provocative and a challenge to the very idea of public order as it gives the slogan shouting group a sense of impunity that they can do anything; violate every rule and also encourage others to do the same without fear of being arrested.
In Shillong we have enough instances to show that each time there is a rally, the processionists have scant respect for public property. Hence all shops along the areas through which they pass have to down their shutters. A shop owner in Police Bazar said “one stone thrown at our shop window can cost us a lot both in terms of repairing costs and mental trauma.” Has this been considered by those in charge of maintaining public peace and order in Shillong City? The buck stops at the door of the DC and SP of the District. On November 1, when section 144 was already in force a group decided they were going to violate that order on the plea that they have the constitutional right to assemble and protest. This was repeated on November 10.
As far as permission for holding public and rallies is concerned the Deputy Commissioner can deny that permission on the grounds that he/she apprehends violation of public order. The DC however has to have proof that protestors will inspire unlawful or disorderly activities and that such conduct is likely to occur. All those who have been district administrators know for a fact that each time a pressure group decides to take out a rally, some people invariably get beaten up without any provocation. There is vandalism leading to shops having to shut down because no one wants a confrontation. The question here is whether there has been any example of a rally that passed off peacefully. If the district administration has invoked Section 144 is there any penalty for violating that law? If not, then why are others who break different sections of the law punished? Is that not using different yardsticks for different categories of people? The HYC has leaders who are well-versed with the law since at least two of them are practising lawyers. How come they congregated on November 10 on the issue of scholarship for students by violating Section 144?
As far as the police are concerned, they need to get complaints from the district administration before dispersing the crowd that violated Section 144. Since there were no complaints there was little they could do but to stand guard lest someone decides to break the peace. The point that merits discussion is whether it is correct for the district administration to issue an administrative diktat that it cannot uphold. What does this say about the rule of law in Meghalaya? True the HYC rally was peaceful yet the organisation was able to prove to the world that it could violate the law with impunity!
From now on until the elections in February 2023, there will be several groups that will have their list of demands. Some that are politically aligned, albeit surreptitiously, will try to create a law and order situation if only to paint the MDA government in a corner. While there is no denying that this Government deserves the severest of criticism for many of its acts of omission in terms of delivering governance to the last mile and commission in the number of scams that have unfolded, there are other ways of holding it to account than by predictable public protests which create a fear psychosis in the city. This is the only sore point about public protests in Shillong. They tend to turn violent and deflect from the real purpose. On October 28, after the FKJGP protest rally against unemployment ended, the rallyists on their way back assaulted the innocent in places like Laban. It just gave the unruly elements of society a handle to wreak violence at the drop of a hat. And guess who the victims are? As always, the non-tribals residents who are too petrified to even file an FIR. Such intimidatory tactics have gone on for too long and there has to be an end to targeted violence.
Interestingly, the pressure groups that create public disorder have just a few cliched but populist demands without offering solutions as to how to resolve the issues they wish to be addressed. The latest statistics by the think tank Observer Research Foundation is damning evidence that Meghalaya is unable to meet the nutritional needs of its most vulnerable section – the children. 50% of children are stunted due to severe malnourishment. One reason for this is poverty and as a paediatrician had stated it is the result of the mother’s own health status. With 56% of women aged 19-45 years suffering from anemia how can they give birth to healthy children? These are critical issues for our society but is anyone going to raise the banner of protest for such issues? Will anyone question the poor healthcare facilities? No, these are issues that are forgotten even during elections. It’s the same old ILP bandwagon which now seems to have been subsumed under the unemployment problem.
The Government needs to create a think tank using local resources (no more consultants please) to go into these tenacious issues that have remained unresolved for a long time. We therefore wish to question as to what has happened to the Meghalaya Economic Development Council? Is it still alive or dead and buried? If alive, who is heading it and what are the outcomes of this Council? Also, Meghalaya might be the only state with an Employment Generation Council. For the longest time it used to be headed by the former Mawlai MLA SD Khongwir. How has this Council helped the state to strategize on creating employment outside the government sector? Why are the pressure groups not raising these pertinent issues? Any answers?
