Truth as our weapon
By Lyzander E Sohkhlet
For years, Shillong has been caught in a tug of war between law and chaos, between order and disorder. We are told to sympathize endlessly with those who occupy pavements illegally, as though sympathy requires blindness to legality. We are told that to care is to condone. But who will sympathize with the pedestrian forced to walk on the road because the footpath is gone? Who will care for the elderly who can no longer stroll safely? Who will defend the student rushing to class but trapped in a bottleneck of makeshift stalls? Our compassion cannot be selective, our sense of justice cannot be partial. The tide is turning, and it is not turning in favour of those who have hidden for too long behind the language of fear, the language of intimidation, the language of vested interest. They may shout, they may spread lies, but they are losing, losing to the thousands of voices who have risen up in Shillong, losing to the will of the youth, losing to the power of the people who refuse to be bullied anymore.
They call us liars. They accuse us of twisting facts, of spreading half-truths, of hiding behind laws that they claim we misread. But the more they try to discredit us, the more the truth shines. Because truth does not need ornaments; it does not need slogans invented in haste or fiery rhetoric in newspaper columns. Truth is lived, seen, and signed by the people themselves. Today, that truth is written not by me, not by the courts, not even by the state machinery, but by thousands of men and women, citizens, teachers, students, business owners, specially abled students labelled “elitists”, who have signed their names in a petition demanding the removal of lawless hawkers from the streets of Laitumkhrah. The petition that now circulates and has been signed by thousands is a resounding answer to the question of what Shillong’s people want. This is not the agenda of a few elites, as some would desperately like to frame it. This is not the scheme of politicians looking for easy headlines. This is the voice of ordinary citizens, youths, parents, shopkeepers, office-goers, the very pulse of Shillong declaring enough is enough. They want their streets back. They want their city back. The Shillong Municipal Board has been tasked by the court to inspect, to report, to put numbers where there are only claims. And that will happen. But beyond that, something greater has already begun: the people themselves have decided to reclaim agency. This petition is not just ink on paper it is a declaration of a collective will. It is democracy at its most raw, where people speak directly, unmediated by politicians, activists, or power brokers. And this is why the accusations of lying no longer bother me. When the people stand behind you, when signatures pour in by the hundreds and then by the thousands, when ordinary Shillongites put their names to a cause, you know you are not speaking alone. They can try to attack me, they can call me elitist, they can question my motives, but they cannot erase the will of the people.
I am doubly proud of The Seng Samla Laitumkhrah. The organization has always stood on the principle of Ieng Skhem ha ka Hok – to stand firmly by the truth. And what greater truth is there than this: that law matters, that order matters, that public space belongs to the public, not to a few who would seize it without right. The Seng Samla has shown courage in standing for this principle, despite the brickbats, despite the misrepresentations. And I count myself blessed to be part of this movement, to be part of a generation that does not bow down to intimidation but rises for what is right. Let them write their essays filled with rage and ego. Let them accuse us of twisting the law, of misreading judgments. The law is there for all to see, the High Court’s directives are public documents, the inspection orders are binding. What cannot be faked is the sight of thousands of signatures. What cannot be fabricated is the groundswell of support for order, for hygiene, for walkability, for Shillong itself. Make no mistake: we are not just fighting a battle over Laitumkhrah. We are defining the future of Shillong. If the pavements of Khyndailad can be reclaimed, so too can the spaces of Laitumkhrah, and beyond. This is not the victory of one place, but the awakening of a city. The youths of Shillong, mocked so often as apathetic, distracted, or disengaged, are today at the forefront of civic responsibility. They are saying with clarity: “We want a Shillong that works. We want a Shillong that breathes. We want a Shillong that belongs to all, not to a few who squat without responsibility, endangering the lives of many.”
The battle is being won, the war is in sight and we will win it. And this war is not waged with sticks, stones or machetes, it is fought with petitions, with civic engagement, with truth. That is why it terrifies those who oppose us. Because how do you argue against the people themselves? How do you discredit signatures that multiply by the day? How do you silence a city that has finally found its voice?History will not remember the angry essays that sought to slander us. It will not remember the slogans of resistance cooked up to defend illegality. History will remember this moment as the one where the youths of Shillong rose to their duty, where organizations like the Seng Samla held their ground, where petitions became the weapons of a peaceful revolution. So I say this without hesitation: we are winning. The real youths of Shillong are not only winning the battle, they are winning the war. And when victory comes, it will not be mine, or yours, or any single group’s—it will be the people’s. Because no matter how they accuse, no matter how they lie, no matter how they rage, the power of the people prevails. Always. I am not afraid to say it, and I know thousands stand with me when I do: the future of Shillong is not negotiable. And we, the youth, will not allow it to be stolen by intimidation.
(The writer is a student of St Edmund’s College, BA Political Science) Email: [email protected]