By Kyrsoibor Pyrtuh
The State is replete with public grievances and agitations against the Government of the day. From the SSA teachers who sat in protest for more than twenty days at the Malki ground, Shillong, to compel the State government to heed to their demands and come up with a concrete solution in their favour and many others. The State Capital also witnessed the wild cat agitation preventing all tourist taxis from outside Meghalaya, which are ferrying tourists, to enter the State and tourist places. The demand of the All Khasi Meghalaya Tourist Taxi Association to stop entry of all non- Meghalaya registration tourist taxis into the State has nearly upset the entire tourism industry and adversely impacted the small and medium scale entrepreneurs, home stay owners and workers whose entire business and livelihoods depend on tourists’ footfall. However, these agitations are the symptoms of the larger malaise plaguing the State and also it is telling that there are many loopholes and gaps that need to be plugged.
On the demands of the SSA teachers, the State Government should not sit on it for too long and sincere efforts must be made to solve the impasse. Generally, Education in the State is in a pathetic condition and it is in nobody’s interests to examine and work towards a total revamp. Except, in developing building infrastructure, like construction of new buildings, no one is keen to develop and enhance the quality inside the classrooms so as to equip the pupils/students with appropriate skills and knowledge which will help them embark into the competitive world of business, politics, employment, arts and sports etc. The teachers must be justly and fairly treated in every respect and the Government must immediately adopt a policy towards providing a living wage to all teachers, implement the equal pay for equal work, raise the salary of all the teachers in the State as per law and by law institute a Private School Regulatory body in order to protect the private school teachers against exploitation. Today, every worker, including unskilled, must get a minimum wage of not less than Rs 25,000 (twenty five thousand rupees) a month in order to sustain in life. It is also the need of the hour to work towards dismantling income disparity in both private and public institutions, and to combat inequality in society.
If there is any reason to lend support to the plight of the AKMTTA, it is primarily on the grounds that the tourism industry in the State must uplift the livelihood and enhance the living conditions of the local populace. Now that the agitating tourist taxi drivers have entered into a dialogue with the State we believe that they have a better idea to offer for the formulation of such a policy which will not harm the booming tourism industry. It must be added that the tourism industry is a fragile one and is susceptible to a number of internal and external shocks. Therefore, we must tread with caution and keep in mind that visitors, like the tourists, are here to relax and enjoy the fun and frolic that the place offers. To a large extent, the visitors will need the liberty to experience the place and must be free from all sorts of harassment and hassles while visiting places.
It is important to note here, that the tourist taxi drivers in Meghalaya are an independent lot. Majority of them are self-employed and are driving their own cabs. Hence they are both employers and employees at the same time. Even those who are employed as cab drivers are working for private individual taxi owners, unlike in other parts of the country, whereby cab drivers are mere gig workers employed by different service providers’ companies that are operating in big cities and metros. Working as employees of the service provider’ companies, these gig workers are subjected to various kinds of exploitations. The AKMTTA has made public its stance that it is solely working for the interest of indigenous drivers of Khasi & Jaintia Hills region and for that matter I also wish that they strive to lay down the foundation for the protection of local Khasi tourist cab drivers from the process of “uberization” in the near future.
For the survival of a microscopic indigenous community like the Hynniewtrep, there is a need to re-enforce various laws and regulations which are meant to prevent us from being annihilated and we must work towards establishing a robust defence mechanisms, but not at the cost of regression. The narrative which is still percolating till date that Meghalaya is soon to become the next Tripura is a bit far fetched. In the recent public discourses on reservation policy, Bhogtoram Mawroh, had brought the analysis on the question of population structure vis a vis influx of outsiders, which is based on scientific data whereby he stated, “According to the 2011 Census, the ST population constituted 86% of the state’s population, with district-level figures ranging from a minimum of 73% in West Garo Hills to a maximum of 97% in West Khasi Hills…and the data on government jobs or the Census of Meghalaya Government Employees 2022, provides a community-wise break-up of jobs in the state government, viz., Khasi, Garo, other ST, SC, OBC, and others. The maximum number of jobs (60.86%) was held by the Khasi, followed by the Garo (30.61%), with the figures for other ST, SC, OBC, and the general category being 2.41%, 0.54%, 1.11%, and 4.47%, respectively”. Further, about 90% of seats in the State Legislature are reserved for the indigenous community, besides the Sixth Schedule. These figures are a reflection that the Tribal population in the State is still in control of all the affairs and now the entrepreneurial spirit of the local indigenous lads is leading the tribal community towards having a greater say in trade/business and they will soon be contributing a greater share in the economy of the State in numbers not seen before, provided that they are given an opportunity for fair competition and that a robust system of transparency and accountability is in placed.
For the Hynniewtrep community, to perpetuate its existence here on earth does not depend on the enhancement of its reservation quota or percentage. More than the Reservation Policy, we need to demand for a review of the Single Window Policy which had facilitated the mushrooming of cement plants and degeneration of ecology, post liberalization of the economy. Moreover, the possibility of being overwhelmed by outsiders or foreign nationals seems very remote in the present day. What do we need to worry and talk about is the internal shocks that are likely to implode from within the community. The question that needs to be asked as to what kind of Economic and Environmental Policies will the State adopt to strike a balance between sustainability and economic growth. What policies does the State have so as not to cause internal displacement and landlessness amongst the indigenous community and also not to plunge the indigenous people of the State into abject poverty? As we speak there is an alarming rise of poverty and landlessness within the Hynniewtrep populace and the consequential rural-urban migration is insurmountable.
The signs of discord, within the Hynniewtrep community, had already emerged from the erstwhile Hima Sutnga or Jaintia Hills during the recent public hearings for establishing of a new cement plant. The writings are on the wall that the worst is yet to come. There is a desolation of the land law which regulates and protects tribal land in the State. We are desolating it further by our own doings and the local Presbyterian Church in Lumshnong, East Jaintia Hills, had done just that in complete disdain of the existing law by leasing out about 25 ha of land for a period of fifty (50) years to a cement plant for its expansion. This is a dangerous precedent and for the Church which has been bestowed with the stewardship and prophetic assignments to be involved in giving away land for the expansion of the cement plant is a direct affront and betrayal to the entire creation of God. What are we bequeathing to our children with? Chaos, destruction or order and well being?