By Salil Gewali
People across Meghalaya are visibly upbeat that tourism is about to receive an unprecedented boost. Sohra, long admired as a shy and weepy beauty, has finally been chosen to be crowned with the tiara of the Integrated Tourism Circuit under PM-DevINE.
Well, at the heart of this happy news is Chief Minister Conrad Sangma. His graceful acumen in speaking the language of the Centre often dwarfs Chief Ministers from many other states. Of course, he visits Delhi with solid plans and clear purpose. His sweet smile says, “Meghalaya matters and should not be ignored”! Someone even quipped: “Our CM is clearly a perfect striker, able to send the ball straight into the goal post while the union ministries nod in cheerful agreement.” The recent warm exchange of hugs and camaraderie between Conrad and Jyotiraditya Scindia stands as a testimony.
Let us hope these developments are done with care. The natural beauty and ecological balance must remain intact. Yes, many believe this project will open the doorway to extensive employment opportunities for those who remain jobless despite having academic degrees and practical skills. Nevertheless, I feel many are still unaware. People from this tourist hotspot, Sohra and nearby villages, come to Shillong and struggle to the bone just to hunt for a job. Let me share just one story. (Some details have been changed for privacy.)
Over two years ago, a young man named Bah Bor left his home in Sohra and came down to Shillong in search of a job. He had just completed his BA degree and carried with him a rosy hope of becoming great. His mother sold vegetables in the Sohra market. Bah Bor, along with his younger brother and sister, would help her while their father stayed home due to health issues. As the eldest of five siblings, the weight of the household had naturally fallen on Bor’s shoulders. How their parents had managed to send all the children to school was another sob story. Needless to say, the poor village family had naively believed that educated children would become the stepping stone to a brighter future. But reality was far from that. The town, like many others, was already caught in an economic slowdown for various reasons.
After three months of running from pillar to post Bah Bor finally found work at a car/bike wash center, it was not his choice to work there. The pay was just RS 6000 a month. Despite being a BA graduate, scrubbing vehicles and the like for a wage that barely covered his meals and rent was deeply frustrating for the young man. Of course, he had shed many tears remembering his parents’ hard struggle to send him to school, only to end up as a “labourer.” He told me that other boys with similar qualifications earned even less. Some got just Rs 4000 or Rs 5000.
He was deeply worried for his parents and younger siblings, knowing he could hardly send anything home. Bor worked at the car-wash center for about one and a half years, never missing a day, not even during the biting cold of winter. He even picked up the bad habit of puffing “biri”, for which I scolded him often. Later, he quit after I convinced him how tobacco products slowly kill one’s lungs and heart. I was overjoyed. Very recently, I heard he got a new job at a shoe shop. It pays him Rs 8000. Still a modest amount, but for him, it feels like a step forward.
Does this not clearly speak of the gap between education and employment, between rosy dreams and daily survival? We harp on education as the sole path to prosperity. But in reality, it is downright absurd. And it reminds us why a series of projects like the Sohra Tourism Circuit must take root in Meghalaya as soon as possible. If thoughtfully implemented, and without hindrances, they can bring jobs home. Youths like Bor won’t have to leave their hills and families to wash cars in distant towns. They can stay, work, and grow where their roots are.
I have cited Bor’s story because what he went through is shared by “innumerable” other youths across the state. I strongly feel that this widespread struggle should draw the considerate attention of the concerned authorities. It goes without saying that formal education these days has rather become a tool for an elite class of people to grow rich and richer, while the rest keep getting poorer. For this I blame the current academic framework. We learnt “Book-Keeping,” we mastered “Accountancy,” only to become the servants of tycoons like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Ambani, Adani, Mittal, Jindal…. — men who count billions while we count coins. Are so many of our energetic boys, many with BAs and some pursuing Masters, not running across town on bikes and scooters, delivering an endless stream of parcels for a handful of capitalists such as Snapdeal, JioMart, Myntra, Flipkart, Meesho…..? These few online shopping centers have kicked hard right on the “stomachs” of millions of small retailers. Is this not a serious issue? And yet this one issue is what the government has heartlessly ignored till the date.
Unless we teach the “language of empathy and humanity” and the glaring flaws of “economic disparity” to our children from early school days, we will keep churning out degrees and frustration in equal measure. Alas, how long will we continue to empower a privileged and smart few to lord over the struggling majority with no fear and with no mercy?
