A Hill State! Hills are still there. State! What State?

By Toki Blah

Recently watched 24^th Episode of 4Front Media programme “Ka Rynsan Iathir”. Panel discussion was on “Jingkyntiapseng bad Coalition Politics” ( Floor crossing and Coalition Politics), a curse that continues to haunt Meghalaya politics even 53 years after its birth. Panel members comprised of a retired Politician, a person well versed and experienced in the topic under discussion (Bah Loniak Marbaniang). A prominent and noted Journalist who has never made any bones about her feelings on such political gymnastics (Kong Patricia Mukhim). An  eminent Academician  of Political Science from one of the prominent Colleges of the city (Bah Manbor Singh Warjri). Last but not least, an educated and politically active young man of the state (Bansharailang Pyngrope).

The discussion was well moderated by the able Kong Ibankyntiew Mawrie and all the panelists never shied away from expressing their learned views on the pros and cons of the subject under discussion. Some of the main points covered were (a) Manifestos and Party Ideologies had very little to do with the harsh realities of ground level politics. (b) Political survival of the elected MLA often compels him/her to quickly change the noble intention of “serving the people” to “appeasing his/her supporters”. (c) This compulsion then makes it crucial to be in Power by jumping fences or crossing floors simply to partake of the crumbs of Power of the Treasury benches. Ideology, ethics and principles have very little or no role here. Consultation with the constituency simply translates as “ pressure from his/her close supporters who miss out on Govt. contracts, supply orders etc”. (d)  Coalition Govt for the sake of stability, just another “worn out”  excuse on how to share the spoils of power between political parties who during elections had described each other as “something that just crawled out of the gutter”.

I watched the above discussion with keen interest mainly because of the Topic itself and also due to the various inputs provided by the learned panelists. It was an interesting conversation but what caught me by surprise was the abrupt summing up and the consensus arrived at, that all the above ills illustrated above arose from the ignorance of the electorate about the principles of Democracy (ka jingbym sngewthuh ia ka jingmut synshar paidbah). To me, this is partly true but does not cover the entire saga of Meghalaya’s sordid experimentation with Party-Based electoral politics. We watch the enthusiasm of the electorate during election times. When asked why, the usual answer is “We must not waste our vote. It is our Democratic Right”. Quite a decent awareness of their democratic Right, I would assume. Again the usual more than 60-70% turnout at elections indicate quite a high level of political awareness of the power of the vote in Government formation. Political consciousness of Democratic Rights exists. So the critical question arises, why then this tolerance and unwarranted public charity towards political waywardness, floor crossing, betrayal of election promises and disruptive behaviour of Public representatives ( be it MLAs or MDCs)  once they are elected? I believe this is a million dollar question that no Political Luminary will voluntarily venture answering. Its too risky! Period! It’s something we, the public, must try to workout for ourselves. So let’s do it, before someone comes up with a Bill to prevent us from even doing our democratic homework!

WATCH THE FULL DISCUSSION (KHASI)

Without wasting time let’s accept the fact that as far as the Khasi Pnars are concerned (I have no idea about the thinking in the Garo Hills), the belief here is once the representative has been elected, the job of the electorate is over.  The apparent presumption is the elected candidate will go ahead with Government formation; stick to his election promises; keep the interest of the public uppermost in his mind and contribute towards the Good Governance of the state. The electorate has placed people in positions of power and now expect a judicious and sensible exercise of such Power for the good of all. Politically gullible perhaps but impeccable understanding none-the-less of how democratically elected Governments ought to act! The real Problem arises from (a) people’s inability to understand how Power, raw unchecked Power, can corrupt even the noblest intentions of Good Governance. (b) that to prevent this misuse of Power, there is that democratic need for a 24 x7 alert mechanism of the electorate to continuously monitor, examine and evaluate the performance of their elected representatives (c) that the electorate has the absolute right to raise, even before the next elections,  a hue and cry when they feel betrayed. It is the absence of these three factors  that has enabled our elected representatives to walk away with murder! In a nutshell, it is the public’s lack of knowledge of the fact that – Those voted to power, have the obligation and responsibility to bring about Good Governance for all and that if this does not take place, we, the electorate, have the Democratic Right to raise Hell over it! What is left, therefore, is to define Governance, share it with the general public and let Democracy take its own course.

So what is Governance?

In Khasi, we call it “Ka Synshar Khadar” and unfortunately, still associate it only with the functions of our Dorbar Shnongs (Ka Synshar Shnong), where traditionally it is basically linked to maintaining peace and harmony within the village; settling domestic disputes and representing the village with higher authorities. This narrow and restricted concept of governance is no longer relevant when applied within the frame work of a modern State Government popularly elected to power by the people. Here, Governance needs to be defined as “the political system and its ability to introduce, a management system,  in which power is exercised in utilising the state’s economic and social resources for overall development”. In our case “Yes, we have a Political System”. Has it introduced a management system? Perhaps, but apparently it has failed to deliver! Does it exercise POWER in utilizing the state’s resources {natural resources (like land, water, minerals), human resources (labour, skills, knowledge), capital resources (machinery, infrastructure, finance), and entrepreneurial resources (innovation and risk-taking)} to bring in overall development? The answer is a big NO! This is where those elected to power have failed and failed miserably. I think here is where political transparency and accountability are nowhere to be found. Yet, no one is held responsible. We witness in Meghalaya, Power being used to enhance individual wealth and prosperity. We see it all around us. Welfare and development of the state comes in last for consideration.

The fault of Meghalaya’s electorate is that they see this criminal exercise of power happening right under their noses, but they lack the courage or the platform to call for accountability! That is the element of democracy missing in our people.

So what is the need of the hour?

Online channels’ discussions by “Rynsan Iathir” of 4Front Media and “To ngin ia thir” by Shillong Times in the local Khasi language can be powerful voices for informing the public of not only their Democratic Rights but to their Democratic duties as an electorate on how to keep erring representatives on the straight and narrow. The issue of Governance (synshar khadar da ka sorkar Jylla) needs to be more thoroughly debated and explained in such Panel discussions. Of importance too are the public welfare packages that Good Governance is supposed to bring to the people. Ignorance of these aspects by the public at large and how to avail them has been most responsible for Govt apathy and individual MLA /MDC contempt for the welfare of the hoi polloi. It is also mainly responsible for the electorate not asking questions during election campaigns as well as the inability to challenge Government when it veers from issues of public interest. It might also be interesting to know from public minded figures, who usually are panelists of such platforms, how should the Public raise its collective voice, but not be seen to be politically partisan or pressure group driven? Dorbar Shnongs or associations  (Synjuks) of Dorbars would be ideally placed for such a role. Dorbars have so far still been able to maintain that profile of political detachment and impartiality. Their inability, however, to see themselves as catalysts or harbingers of change, outside the confining conditions of the Sanad of the Syiem or restrictive manacles of the MLA Scheme, is a sad reflection on the type of mindset that still prevails in our Dorbars.

The point to note, however, is that there are these Panels for discussions in the Local Language that can stimulate thinking or the process of thinking in our people. This is welcome and must be encouraged.

(Toki Blah is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer; he frequently writes columns for local newspapers in Meghalaya and offers consultancy on development matters.)