By Bhogtoram Mawroh
Last week, I was pleasantly surprised to be invited to a play titled ‘After Ayodhya: Its Conscience and Man’, performed by Pearly Dew Higher Secondary School in collaboration with Forever Young and the Maitshaphrang at the Meghalaya Bharat Scouts and Guides Hall, Shillong. Maitshaphrang is an organization founded by Michael Syiem, former president of the Khasi Students’ Union, known for advocating the introduction of patrilineal traditions and the equitable distribution of property among all children. I do see the merit in the second argument, but not the first. Abandonment of matrilineal traditions will not only lead to chaos but, in the long run, weaken our political claim to our homeland. Despite our differences, however, I appreciate his energy and dedication to many causes, even at this advanced age—one being his commitment to promoting theatre among the Khasi.
Theatre among the Khasi, from what I have been told, is just over 100 years old, with the most popular groups being based in Jaintia Hills, especially Jowai. Not long ago, I met a young Pnar artist who spoke about her involvement in theatre in her hometown. Unfortunately, I had never seen a performance myself, so when I was invited to this play—written by Michael Syiem—I was excited to finally experience one. The title intrigued me. Ayodhya is closely associated with the Babri Masjid demolition, which signaled the rise of Hindutva forces in North India and eventually led to the elevation of Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister.
In the last parliamentary elections, Ayodhya again became an important flashpoint, with Awadhesh Prasad of the Samajwadi Party, a Dalit (the first indigenous people of India), winning the Lok Sabha seat from the constituency. This victory symbolized the comeback of the non-Hindutva forces to stall the BJP’s juggernaut, which wanted to win more than 400 seats, and, as alleged by many, to put them in a position to change the Constitution. Ever aware of the importance of optics, when Modi took his oath, he bowed before the copy of the Constitution to assure the voters, especially the backward classes, that his party will never violate the Constitution, drafted by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a Dalit. Therefore, I was doubly excited about attending the play. And I was not disappointed.
The play was a musical, and it began with the protagonist narrating an encounter between Conscience and three delegates representing two first world countries and one third world country. When asked how long it would take for their respective countries to become self-sufficient, the time period for the two first world countries varied from 20 to 50 years. However, for the delegate of the third world country, Conscience could not give a reply because, according to her, the country had too many god-men who all promised their own version of a stairway to heaven. Though not mentioned, the third world represents India, which is famous for producing many god-men, many of whom in recent times have been very young.
One of the most powerful scenes from the play is when the various religions, viz., Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, are shown to be fighting each other to have the right to build their own place of worship. An armed character then appeared, threatening to kill everyone unless they vacated the site, as he intended to build a shopping mall instead. He was subsequently chased away by another character who claimed the armed man had illegally infiltrated and set up shop on his land. According to him, force was justified to defend land rights against trespassers. In the end, a scrap collector entered the scene after everyone had left, pleased that the destruction had left behind debris he could sell to support his impoverished family.
This particular scene had a lot of messages which give an insight into Michael Syiem’s own thinking and politics. The KSU, of which he was the President, has long been fighting for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP), claiming that it will help stem the tide of illegal immigration into the state. The claim that the state is overrun by illegal immigrants is widely accepted, but it is not supported by data. However, in recent times, that claim has gained more traction due to certain incidents.
Some of the people who died recently in the illegal mines in East Jaintia Hills have been alleged to be illegal Bangladeshis. There have also been several arrests of Bangladeshis crossing into the state in recent times. However, there are certain things that need to be considered. First, being a Bengali Muslim does not automatically mean that one is Bangladeshi. It would be like saying that all Bengali Hindus are East Pakistanis or that all Nepalis are recent migrants from Nepal. Many have lived in the region for a very long time. Also, it does appear that all the people caught were using the state as a transit to go to other places and not to settle here permanently. Some might linger, but eventually, without any work, they will leave. In fact, if one wants to control illegal immigration, coal mining must be completely banned in the state—something unlikely to happen.
True to Michael Syiem’s politics, the scene suggests that while religious groups fight among themselves, illegal immigrants may eventually capture land and resources. I partly agree with some of the points. There is already an ongoing attempt in the Northeast and elsewhere to pit indigenous people against each other on the basis of religion. I do believe an attempt is being made in our state as well, and he is right to point that out. In that context, land for him is sacred, but not because of its affiliation to a particular religion, but because it is connected to the history and identity of the people. And therefore, to protect it, any measure, i.e., force, is justified. It is clear that I don’t agree with some of the messaging embedded in the scene. In my view, the greater danger comes not from (non-existent) illegal immigrants but from members of our own community who exploit others for wealth, prestige, and power, including those who are attempting to use religion to divide indigenous people. Being the astute person that he is, Michael Syiem does understand that as well.
There is another scene where a businesswoman is bragging about how she can make money by selling rubble, in this case the rubble from the destruction in Ayodhya. In fact, she revels in fishing in troubled waters if there is profit to be made. The scene was preceded by a song which was about money and what it can buy. To my pleasant surprise, the famous quote by Karl Marx, “Religion is the opium of the masses,” was used to drive home the point of how those with money are using religion to keep people agitated while accumulating wealth. At another point in the play, the main protagonist lamented that in a village full of thatched houses, the only dwelling made of concrete (a symbol of prosperity) was the place of worship. Michael Syiem is right to have grown weary of religion, and his views on the link between the insatiable drive for profit and violence have been borne out by history. The most pertinent examples of this are colonialism, (neo) imperialism, and the genocide in Palestine, just to name a few.
In the end, Conscience comes back again, ties up the narrative, and brings the play to a conclusion. It was Rabindranath Tagore’s poem “Leave This Chanting” that closed the show. What really impressed me were the catchy songs. I think the actors will become better with more exposure, and this is exactly what Michael Syiem wants. As someone who has been involved in theatre for a long time, he was really disappointed that it was not part of the film policy. This would have allowed the art form to grow in the state. In fact, the play was originally written as a poem and intended to be staged as a street play, but financial constraints prevented that. For this production, he received support from Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, MP from Shillong W. R. Kharluki, North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum, and the Director of Arts and Culture. However, a dedicated institutional support system is needed so that other groups may also benefit. Through both his play and advocacy, this is what he seeks to achieve. I wish him all the best in that endeavour.
(The views expressed in the article are those of the author and do not reflect in any way his affiliation to any organisation or institution)
