The fundamental principle guiding a civilised society is a fair and strict application of the Rule of Law at all times. It means no citizen is above the law and no public misdemeanour that defiles those public servants, such as the police and other enforcement agencies seeking to uphold the rule of law should not be tolerated. The most important demand of the Rule of Law is that people in positions of authority should exercise their power within a constraining framework of well-established public norms rather than in an arbitrary, ad hoc, or purely discretionary manner on the basis of their own preferences or ideology.
The Rule of Law however is not just about government. It also requires that citizens should respect and comply with legal norms, even when they disagree with them. When a citizens’ personal interests conflict with that of others they should accept legal determinations of what their rights and duties are. Also, the law should be the same for everyone, so that no one is above the law, and everyone has access to protection under the law. Application of the Rule of Law ensures that citizens live without fear for their lives; that they can enjoy what they earn without being subjected to extortion by forces that believe they have a right to a share of what other people earn without doing any work themselves. The numbers of such extortionist groups in Meghalaya have spiralled in the last few years. That such groups operate with impunity also shows that the extortionists do not fear the law knowing very well they can get away with anything. It is this impunity that endangers a society because it impacts adversely on the economics of the state and also puts paid to any kind of entrepreneurial venture. No credible corporate entity would want to invest in Meghalaya because their returns after all the extortion would be abysmal or go on the negative.
Recently a video of a young man giving a mouthful to an official of the Enforcement Wing of the Transport Department because he was pulled up for some misdemeanour. All this happened within media glare. This video will encourage other hotheads to cock a snook at all law enforcers. This will erode the very spirit of the Rule of Law which is necessary if there is to be peace and development in society. Often in Meghalaya the Rule of Law descends to a point of ethnocracy where a particular community feels entitled to live by its own set of rules. Ethnocracy is defined by development sociologists as the specific expression of nationalism ‘where a dominant ethnos gains political control and uses the state apparatus to ethnicise the territory and society in question. This is exactly what is happening in Meghalaya where Khasi slogans like, “Ha Ri Lajong, Leh Katba Mon” (meaning “In my land I shall do what I want”) which in fact is a blatant challenge to law keepers. This has got to stop and the Police and other agencies entrusted with enforcing the Rule of Law must themselves be above board.
