By Lamshwa Kitbok Nongrum
Meghalaya had just commemorated its 50th Year celebrations with a series of festivities that were befitting of the accomplishments and successes of the State over its half-a-century-long journey. Or is it?
No doubt, there have been achievements over the 50 years of Statehood. Of late, however, the State has taken more of a backward slide rather than marching on to achieve its immense God-given potential. As we enter into an election year, perhaps, a relook into some of the inherent problems that have ominously stared us down for over five decades, should reinvigorate our political consciousness which had been awakened so beautifully by the Hill State Movement of yore!
The Memory Crate: One of the most evocative images from 2022 was the Memory Crate. It aimed to preserve memories through a tangible way, which would then be sealed and re-opened in 50 years. Apart from memorabilia, Government officials penned letters to the Meghalayans of 2072. The Crate would have nostalgic value when it is reopened and the contents would be a “yardstick to gauge the development of the State.”
Of the various “yardsticks to gauge the development” in any State, the Infant Mortality and Maternal Mortality Rates are considered as important indicators of public health. They reflect the intuition that the structural factors which have an impact on the mortality of infants and mothers, also affect the health of the entire population. Meghalaya’s IMR is one of the highest in the country with 29 deaths per 1000 live births as of 2020, down from 39 in 2017. While the decrease over time had been hailed by the government as “impressive,” it is still an extreme outlier when compared to other similar-sized North-Eastern States. Manipur’s IMR stood at 6, Mizoram at 3, Nagaland at 4, Sikkim at 5 and Tripura at 18. Also, the 2022-data of the Health Management Information System had put the total number of pregnant women in Meghalaya at 80,380. This, along with the IMR rate prevailing in the State, would have translated into the tragic loss of thousands of precious young lives during that period.
Yet, the IMR is but one indicator in which the State has fared poorly. In other socio-economic parameters too, Meghalaya had always been a persistent bottom dweller. In NITI Aayog’s Education Index, the State is third from the bottom amongst the small states with a score of 38.43 as opposed to top ranked Tripura’s 56.1. Similarly, in the Health Index it’s composite score of 43.05 pales in comparison to Mizoram’s 75.77. While the State ranked 2nd on the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment 2021, it came in 29th in the Ease of Doing Business rankings. It also ranked 27 amongst 36 States and UTs in the Direct Benefit Transfer Performance rankings.
Coming back to the Memory Crate. Out of respect for the people of Meghalaya in 2072, this writer hoped that an honest account and not a waxed lyrical of the Meghalaya of 2022 had been placed in the Memory Crate. After all, the government had said that the Crate would be enclosed in a glass case to be placed in the New Legislative Assembly building!
Dome or doom: A Dome traditionally represents absolute power, and is the generally accepted architectural symbol for democratic legislatures around the world. However, the ugly portends had been written on the wall for democratic politics in Meghalaya. On January 9, 2001, an inferno consumed the old Meghalaya Legislative Assembly building. And then two decades later, what would have been a resplendent symbol of democracy for the State, came crashing down in a mangled wreckage of steel and concrete. The official statement pointed to a design fault! IIT Guwahati which had been tasked to carry out a safety audit, reported that a lack of coordination between the executing agencies had caused the collapse. It even advised a dome of CGI sheets be erected in place of the collapsed one, in an inadvertent note of sarcasm. So much for symbolism!
The collapsed dome incident is, perhaps, the embodiment of a middle-aged state with an established nexus of various interest groups, resulting in a total lack of accountability. And without any political consequences during elections, domes will continue to come crashing down under the sheer weight of the percentages that most contracting firms in the State have had to contend with. What’s even worse is the fact that many projects in the State have been funded through State Development Loans, external debts and soft loans from international institutions. In 2021 the RBI had observed that the State Government guarantees have become a risk due to the large outstanding debts and losses to state-run PSUs. Meghalaya is one of 10 at-risk Indian states, with a total outstanding guarantee of 5% of its aggregate GSDP. It is also the only small state on that list. As with all borrowed money, these shall eventually have to be repaid with interest. It is an irony that public infrastructure should fail in a State which presented to the world the immense possibilities of bio-engineering. Living root bridges stand testimony to the fact that infrastructure projects have long gestational periods and hence, their impact can never be felt immediately.
The youth’s dilemma: Meghalaya has also fared poorly in terms of critical human development indices which has resulted in a vast section of educated, yet unemployable youth. Despite the budgetary provisions and funding, sectors like manufacturing, services, agriculture and its allied fields have never lived up to expectations. The burden of job creation in Meghalaya, for the most part of half a century, had been the sole-lookout of the State Government. Coupled with a politically-convenient reservation arrangement, Government jobs came to be seen as the ultimate life-goal for a majority of the tribal youth.
Times, however, have changed! The dominance of the public sector in job creation and the aura of authority associated with being a government employee have resulted in an intense competition amongst the tribal youth for the coveted Government post. This is as opposed to jobs in the private sector that are regarded as underpaid, exploitative and insecure. This writer had personally met tribal youth who abandoned plump jobs in the private sector for an entry-level officer post in the State Government. It is also a common feature in Meghalaya, that any recruitment by the State Public Service Commission would attract applicants by the tens of thousands. To illustrate, a recent recruitment to 100 or so posts of LDA, had about 10,000 applicants! This extremely competitive nature of recruitment to public service had even caused a slight disturbance in the reservation arrangement among the tribals of the State. More importantly, the fate of the 9900 who were not recruited should have merited more discussion in the public domain.
The problem of unemployment is real. According to CMIE the unemployment rate in Meghalaya is barely 2.3 per cent as of September 2022. However, government data revealed vacancies to more than 7000 government posts, which could not have accumulated over any one five-year term of government. Outdated Employment Exchanges are yet to reform their original purpose of connecting a limited supply of, to an unlimited demand for labour. The Meghalaya Industrial & Investment Promotion Scheme 2016 which provides subsidies and incentives to capitalists, in exchange for a preferential recruitment of local labour, is implemented in a very one-sided manner. And when the youth come out to demand for their rights, the agenda gets hijacked and is painted with communal colours. Such a dire situation could only have resulted from the inherent inability and reluctance of the elected political class to address the problems of an economic nature.In the last few weeks there have promises of dole-outs and lavish ceremonies in favour of foundation stones and ribbons. Extravagant pageantries to present politicians – akin to those of star footballers who transfer between football clubs for the money rather than the possibility of human achievement – have become fashionable. And as election day approaches, the shrill rhetoric on emotive issues would be expected to reach deafening levels and inundate the warnings that have stared us down for decades. More embarrassingly, Meghalaya politics will still be dominated by short-term symbolic gestures – typically the woollen blanket, liquor and cash!
The underlying issues would then resurface to plague any in-coming Government. And many will take to bureaucracy-bashing as a panacea for all our political ailments, rather than fix accountability on the elected representatives. The finger, hence, must point squarely on the “honourable” men and women who would become the Maai-Baap of the constituency they would be representing!
No doubt, Meghalaya has had its share of disappointments and collapses that are unflattering of a State that had been self-governed for the last 50 years. Some may even argue that Meghalaya is a failed State, which is increasingly being sold to the highest bidder. Yet for the sake of our children and their children, this writer would prefer to retain hope. Hope that the voters of the State will awaken from the slumber imbibed by the liquor of short-term, popularity contests which have become the defining feature of the elections in Meghalaya. And that we may not wake up like Rip van Winkle, who, when asked how he voted in the election that has just been held, declared himself a loyal subject of King George III, unaware that the American Revolution had taken place in his absence.
(This writer had resigned from service after working for the Government of Meghalaya for almost a decade and is now a social entrepreneur and activist. He can be reached at [email protected])