The 5th of June is celebrated every year as World Environment Day with much joy and lot of tree plantation, then we litter the place with the plastics in which the sapling was planted is another question. Celebrating the WED is expected to create an awareness in the people about the threat to the fragile earth but the question is has celebrating WED really had any impact in the people particularly those in the decision making?
After reading Bryan Kharpran Daly’s article ‘the shameful plunder’ The Shillong Times Saturday May 28; I realized I was not the only one who was frustrated at the way we treat our nature. It seems like all our efforts to communicate to the people about the importance of preserving our nature is wasted. Our MLAs and MDC at least those who can read English looks like they hardly had time to read the newspaper. Knowing bah Bryan’s efforts to explore, survey and map the caves system in the state and his untiring endeavour to save them, I can only add that the article is not only a must read for everybody but it is wealth of information on the subject. The article reminds us of the unique cave system that the state is blessed with and the reason we should be proud of the caves. Bah Bryan is also the only authority in this subject in the state of Meghalaya and I think his article should be preserved for posterity. But like anyone else who is involved in some sort of nature conservation, bah Bryan’s article too is a depiction of that disappointment with regard to the ‘the shameful plunder’ (if I may use bah Bryan’s own words) of the nature by the miners and a government which look the other way while the nature is being looted and destroyed.
Can we really depend on the Government to protect our mother nature? From what we have seen in the past, the answer is no. Government after another has failed to come up with any policy to protect the environment. The state government’s current policy seems to be mining-centric and not environment-centric; it only caters to the benefit of the miners and the environment takes a back seat in the government priority. Has the government done any study on the destruction cause by mining in the state? Has the government conduct any study to find out whether mining has really help boost the economy of the state? How does the economic boom (if there is any such thing) fare when compare with the damage done particularly to the environment? Can all the money we create from coal and lime stone mining help pay to reclaim even a fraction of what we have lost namely rivers, forest and our way of life?
But environment is a big issue; it not only deals with the way we manage our natural resources, is also concerns with our attitude to everything around us. On one hand the government is to be blamed for the way it had managed (or rather did not manage) our resources, but can we blame the government for the entire environment problem we are facing now? What have we done to keep our villages, towns and cities clean? Isn’t it true that we still live by the NIMBY (not in my back yard) attitude? As long as it is not in my back yard, I can dirty any lane any parks even someone else backyard. This is our generation and the generation before ours’ attitude when it comes to garbage disposal. In Khasi Pnar we say “tang ba lait na kti,” we throw waste anywhere just to relieve our hands from holding something particularly trash. One my most embarrassing moment was when I took my English friend John Hewerdine to “u Moosniang” one of Jowai town important landmark. While I told John the folklore about the image of pig carved on a stone, John was busy picking all the litters that was scattered all over the place. He placed the waste in his pocket and threw the same on the next garbage collection point we found.
I think our children’s attitude towards the nature is much mature that ours, many friends told me stories about how their children in some way are teaching their parents about the important of the nature and at times the children were even upset with the way their parent treat the nature. Ma A. N told me of their trips from Mizoram to Jowai and on the way back, the driver of their vehicle purposely hit a young Leopard and the animal died. Not surprisingly the tribal hunting trait took over and the elders in the vehicle were all overjoyed with their catch. The only exception was a young man who was upset of what he had seen and remained silent till he reach home. Once they reached home he angrily told his dad, you were all happy for being able to kill the Leopard but very soon you will only see them on screen. That was the lesson of a lifetime for my friend Allan. One day my youngest daughter returned home from school wearing a long face, I asked her why? And she said “today they have murdered many trees in front of our school”. Notice her choice of word to describe the incident; she did not use the Khasi word “pom” cut instead she said “pyniap” murdered.
We have report in the press; time and again of dorbar shnong organizing community cleaning drive and the efforts of the village to clean the rivers in their area for fear it becoming like wah Umkhrah. All these are good efforts but maintaining the cleanliness of our village, our town and city is not a one day affair, we need to change our attitude with regard to garbage disposal. This write-up will not serve its purpose if it does not provide us with ideas how we can change our attitude towards the nature and the environment around us. We have all heard of the famous three “R”s of nature conservation which reminds us of what we need to do when we use stuffs that are harmful to the environment particularly plastics. First of all flatly refuse using materials that we know are harmful to the environment, if using these materials is unavoidable, we should at least make sure that we re-use them and then to not just dump them but to try to recycle them. This can be our small humble contribution to save the environment and more importantly to keep our villages, towns and cities clean and green.
The theme of this year’s WED celebration is “Forest: Nature at your service,” the United Nation has also declare this year as the international year of Forest. I think it is time for us to ask ourselves what kind of relationship we have with the nature or what kind of relationship our kids have with the nature. When was the last time we venture out into the forest? A Unitarian Universalist Church in the US organise a year long programme to get kids close to the nature, they organize nature camp, rock climbing camp, trekking etc and the theme of the programme is CRP, connect, respect and protect. The objective is if kids are able to connect with the nature they will learn to respect it and then fight to protect the nature. We need to get our kids as close to the nature possible, we also need to generate more forest area. Our ancestors has a tradition of keeping sacred groves, we can recreate more sacred space in our villages, towns and cities by converting our cemetery and cremation ground to memorial parks. I like Khushwant Singh’s idea of planting a tree instead of setting up a tomb stone on our grave, and why not?
India has also been selected as the host country of this year’s World Environment Day not only because India is an emerging Asian economic tiger, but because of the fact that current government’s policy put a major thrust in environment protection. Recently; in a radio interview I was asked what I in my opinion is the threat that await the coalmine areas of Jaintia? My answer was water scarcity particularly during winter. The silver lining is that villages can make use of the MGNREGS to make check dam and dig ponds to harvest rain water and plant trees in any available space in the villages. Projects like this will not only benefit the village but it is also in line with the central government policy of reducing global warming.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Change that we can in 2013
Meghalaya does not need a fortune teller to prophesise the kind of future that is in store for the state if it continues to be led the way it is now. Neither does the state need a soothsayer to declare that it needs monumental change if it is to make any progress and catch up with the rest of the country. The curve in the growth chart of Meghalaya is currently on its downward slide; be it in the health, education or other social sector; it therefore calls for an immediate change to make the curve head north and that change should start from the top. A popular adage says; “there is only one thing permanent in the world and that is change,”
The change that we need is from top to bottom precisely because the rot in the system is not at the grass root level but at the top hierarchy of our political system. It reminds me of the wisdom of an elderly man in Nongtalang who in one of our discussion about corruption said, ‘You only need to push the big boulder from the top and the shingle will follow suit.’ We need to strike at the top which is the seat of power and also the foundation of corruption and once we are able to remove big problem; all else will eventually follow.
We cannot afford to let corruption remains merely a topic of debate in the hearth of the Khasi Pnar or the people of Meghalaya’s homes, enough rumbling and grumbling, the need of the hour is to act and the time is now. If we are hoping to achieve any semblance of a clean politics after 2013; there is no other way but to work for a clean electoral system, because election is where corruption starts.
Few people like bah Arden Basaiawmoit refuse to remain a mere spectator to what is going on in the state decided to move ahead and refused to be cowed down by his adversaries who would certainly discourage him and suggest that he is fighting a losing battle. Like any activist he is foolish enough to believe that he can at least make a difference if not bring change to the political system. How far can the movement go? Only time will tell whether it can bring any change in the political system in the state or not. Certainly the CPC has achieved one thing and that is making people talk about change rather than just grumble about it.
Arden’s Clean Political Campaign is not enough; we need more civil society’s involvement if we are to see change after 2013. If the political parties have started preparing themselves for the next state election, the people of the state too; need to gear themselves up for the same. If the political parties are fighting to win the election, the civil society should see to it that clean political system wins the day and it should starts from the 2013 election. The recent election results of at least the two states of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal once again prove right the adage which says ‘you can’t fool all the people all the times.’
I believe if we can only have a clean election, half of the battle against corruption is won. The Election Commission of India has introduced radical electoral reforms but politicians can always find some loopholes in the system and circumvent the rules. There are also issues peculiar only to a certain areas which the general election guidelines fail to address. As the saying goes; local problems call for local solution, only the local civil society can, address these local electoral problems.
For instance we have a practice in Jaintia hills wherein during the 20 odd days of electioneering, candidates organize election campaign in the major town or villages of their respective constituency. The candidates visit all the places followed by a huge motor cavalcade which include buses, cars and what have you. Every evening; each candidate spends thousands of rupees if not laks to hire these vehicles to carry his supporters from their respective villages to the meeting place. The host local Dorbar Shnong (where the meeting is held) can help curb the expenditure of the candidates by allowing only the candidates and few of his supporters to come and canvass in their village. If all the Dorbar Shnong can stops this madness during the election; I think half of the candidates’ expenditure is saved. Better still, instead of allowing the candidates to campaign in their village on different dates, the Dorbar Shnong can instead organize a common platform for the candidates to debate in front of the people.
I don’t know how civil society group would address a peculiar problem like people asking money from the candidates. During election people literarily come to beg money from the candidates for their medical checkup, buying books for their kids, money to pay their children schools fees or admission fees and even buying nappy for newborn babies. Young people particularly boys queue in front of the candidates’ houses to seek sponsor for picnic, musical concert, excursion trip and even for drinks. How can we do away with the practice of visiting candidates’ houses during election for a cup of tea or a few plates of rice and pork? There is joke doing the round in Jaintia hills about a certain candidate who came up with a clever idea to test his chance of winning the election. He thought since there are so many people who came to dine in his house on the voting day, simply counting the numbers of used plates will help him guess the numbers of votes he will get. The numbers of used plates almost exceed half the numbers of the voters in the electoral roll of the constituency. From the numbers of used plates our candidate was very confident to win the election. But on the counting day, contrary to what was expected, he did not even get quarter of the votes polled and loss the election. Since then we have a saying in Jaintia hill ‘don’t ever estimate your chance of winning the election by counting the numbers of the used plates.’ This is another election problem that the civil society needs to be creative enough to come up with idea to discourage people from visiting the candidate’s house during election.
There is another practice perhaps peculiar only to the Khasi Pnar society and that is when the Dorbar Shnong decides to sponsor a candidate because he is from the village, he is the son of the soil or for other reasons. Of course everybody knows that there is no such thing as 100 percent unanimity in any kind of community decision and very often than not, the minority who do not conform to the majority’s decision were denied their rights to votes and even ostracized by the village. We have instances where houses of those who opposed the DS (majority) decision were burned to ashes. DS should be discouraged from sponsoring candidate because it is undemocratic and it is against the tradition.
Political observers in the state have a reason to cheers when the churches too have taken a stance against rampant corruption in the state. Pastors of the Presbyterian Church in many of its gathering; be it the Assembly or the Synod used the pulpit to speak against the evil of corruption, this is indeed a reason to be optimistic. Albert Sweitzer on one of his trip to the USA; visited Chicago and many people waited to welcome him at the railway station. Setting foot on the railway platform; Albert Sweitzer saw an old woman struggling to carry her bag, instead of walking straight to the dignitaries and press people waiting for him, he immediately went to help the woman carry her language and then return to meet the welcome party. A journalist watching in awe at what had happened can’t help but remarked ‘that was the first time I saw a sermon walking.’ While the church’s move to rid corruption from the society is a good sign, it is equally important that the church start to walk the talk. There are many ways churches can involve in the process of bringing clean electoral process by not favouring a candidate just because he belongs to the flock is one. Allowing the members of the congregation to exercise their free choice without direct or indirect influence from the church is another. A reporter friend told me of a big church meeting just before the MDC election. The church leaders made a special seating arrangement for all the candidates which are members of the denomination. At a certain part of the service; the priest walked to place the candidates sat and introduced them to the gathering and pray for them. No, there is nothing wrong with praying for anybody if it is done at the right place; the right time without any ulterior motive.
There are plenty that the church or civil society can do to improve the electoral system in the state, perhaps the church can also help by instructing its members not to visit the candidate’s house or ask money during election. The church and the civil society can work together and form election watch group and help publicise candidates with criminal antecedent and other information which will help voters make an informed and conscious decision when they vote. These are just few areas that faith groups and civil society can do to create an atmosphere conducive for free and fair election. The need of the hour is for the people to start doing something that will not make us live to regret the next five years and blame ourselves for not doing enough to bring change.
The change that we need is from top to bottom precisely because the rot in the system is not at the grass root level but at the top hierarchy of our political system. It reminds me of the wisdom of an elderly man in Nongtalang who in one of our discussion about corruption said, ‘You only need to push the big boulder from the top and the shingle will follow suit.’ We need to strike at the top which is the seat of power and also the foundation of corruption and once we are able to remove big problem; all else will eventually follow.
We cannot afford to let corruption remains merely a topic of debate in the hearth of the Khasi Pnar or the people of Meghalaya’s homes, enough rumbling and grumbling, the need of the hour is to act and the time is now. If we are hoping to achieve any semblance of a clean politics after 2013; there is no other way but to work for a clean electoral system, because election is where corruption starts.
Few people like bah Arden Basaiawmoit refuse to remain a mere spectator to what is going on in the state decided to move ahead and refused to be cowed down by his adversaries who would certainly discourage him and suggest that he is fighting a losing battle. Like any activist he is foolish enough to believe that he can at least make a difference if not bring change to the political system. How far can the movement go? Only time will tell whether it can bring any change in the political system in the state or not. Certainly the CPC has achieved one thing and that is making people talk about change rather than just grumble about it.
Arden’s Clean Political Campaign is not enough; we need more civil society’s involvement if we are to see change after 2013. If the political parties have started preparing themselves for the next state election, the people of the state too; need to gear themselves up for the same. If the political parties are fighting to win the election, the civil society should see to it that clean political system wins the day and it should starts from the 2013 election. The recent election results of at least the two states of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal once again prove right the adage which says ‘you can’t fool all the people all the times.’
I believe if we can only have a clean election, half of the battle against corruption is won. The Election Commission of India has introduced radical electoral reforms but politicians can always find some loopholes in the system and circumvent the rules. There are also issues peculiar only to a certain areas which the general election guidelines fail to address. As the saying goes; local problems call for local solution, only the local civil society can, address these local electoral problems.
For instance we have a practice in Jaintia hills wherein during the 20 odd days of electioneering, candidates organize election campaign in the major town or villages of their respective constituency. The candidates visit all the places followed by a huge motor cavalcade which include buses, cars and what have you. Every evening; each candidate spends thousands of rupees if not laks to hire these vehicles to carry his supporters from their respective villages to the meeting place. The host local Dorbar Shnong (where the meeting is held) can help curb the expenditure of the candidates by allowing only the candidates and few of his supporters to come and canvass in their village. If all the Dorbar Shnong can stops this madness during the election; I think half of the candidates’ expenditure is saved. Better still, instead of allowing the candidates to campaign in their village on different dates, the Dorbar Shnong can instead organize a common platform for the candidates to debate in front of the people.
I don’t know how civil society group would address a peculiar problem like people asking money from the candidates. During election people literarily come to beg money from the candidates for their medical checkup, buying books for their kids, money to pay their children schools fees or admission fees and even buying nappy for newborn babies. Young people particularly boys queue in front of the candidates’ houses to seek sponsor for picnic, musical concert, excursion trip and even for drinks. How can we do away with the practice of visiting candidates’ houses during election for a cup of tea or a few plates of rice and pork? There is joke doing the round in Jaintia hills about a certain candidate who came up with a clever idea to test his chance of winning the election. He thought since there are so many people who came to dine in his house on the voting day, simply counting the numbers of used plates will help him guess the numbers of votes he will get. The numbers of used plates almost exceed half the numbers of the voters in the electoral roll of the constituency. From the numbers of used plates our candidate was very confident to win the election. But on the counting day, contrary to what was expected, he did not even get quarter of the votes polled and loss the election. Since then we have a saying in Jaintia hill ‘don’t ever estimate your chance of winning the election by counting the numbers of the used plates.’ This is another election problem that the civil society needs to be creative enough to come up with idea to discourage people from visiting the candidate’s house during election.
There is another practice perhaps peculiar only to the Khasi Pnar society and that is when the Dorbar Shnong decides to sponsor a candidate because he is from the village, he is the son of the soil or for other reasons. Of course everybody knows that there is no such thing as 100 percent unanimity in any kind of community decision and very often than not, the minority who do not conform to the majority’s decision were denied their rights to votes and even ostracized by the village. We have instances where houses of those who opposed the DS (majority) decision were burned to ashes. DS should be discouraged from sponsoring candidate because it is undemocratic and it is against the tradition.
Political observers in the state have a reason to cheers when the churches too have taken a stance against rampant corruption in the state. Pastors of the Presbyterian Church in many of its gathering; be it the Assembly or the Synod used the pulpit to speak against the evil of corruption, this is indeed a reason to be optimistic. Albert Sweitzer on one of his trip to the USA; visited Chicago and many people waited to welcome him at the railway station. Setting foot on the railway platform; Albert Sweitzer saw an old woman struggling to carry her bag, instead of walking straight to the dignitaries and press people waiting for him, he immediately went to help the woman carry her language and then return to meet the welcome party. A journalist watching in awe at what had happened can’t help but remarked ‘that was the first time I saw a sermon walking.’ While the church’s move to rid corruption from the society is a good sign, it is equally important that the church start to walk the talk. There are many ways churches can involve in the process of bringing clean electoral process by not favouring a candidate just because he belongs to the flock is one. Allowing the members of the congregation to exercise their free choice without direct or indirect influence from the church is another. A reporter friend told me of a big church meeting just before the MDC election. The church leaders made a special seating arrangement for all the candidates which are members of the denomination. At a certain part of the service; the priest walked to place the candidates sat and introduced them to the gathering and pray for them. No, there is nothing wrong with praying for anybody if it is done at the right place; the right time without any ulterior motive.
There are plenty that the church or civil society can do to improve the electoral system in the state, perhaps the church can also help by instructing its members not to visit the candidate’s house or ask money during election. The church and the civil society can work together and form election watch group and help publicise candidates with criminal antecedent and other information which will help voters make an informed and conscious decision when they vote. These are just few areas that faith groups and civil society can do to create an atmosphere conducive for free and fair election. The need of the hour is for the people to start doing something that will not make us live to regret the next five years and blame ourselves for not doing enough to bring change.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Corruption: The manifestation of u Thlen in the Khasi Pnar Society
Myths, legends and folktales are not merely stories to be told around the hearth of the Khasi-Pnar homes; the stories are not just myths but ways by which our ancestors pass on the intrinsic values and traditions from one generation to another. The stories are meant to be reflected upon in the light of the modern world and to appreciate the profound morals that were neatly woven into the fabric of the stories.
In a nutshell, the folktales have it that when u Thlen (a huge serpent) was killed a feast was made out of it and the entire community took part in the public feast. Legend has it that in a certain family the mother kept wee bit of the meat for her son. Next day, she was shocked to discover that it had turned to a little serpent. The serpent requested the mother to keep it and in return promised to bless the family with immense wealth. But I have another take for the story. U Thlen is a symbol of greed and people’s never ending desire to accumulate as much wealth as they can, using whatever means available without worry of the consequences that their actions might have or can cause to their fellow humans and the environment. U Thlen is a demon to which we are willing to sacrifice truth, justice, equality, integrity, honour, honesty and all the values we hold dear. U Thlen is a devil who kills the human conscience and the human person’s ability to distinguish right from wrong.
Since our ancestors have partaken of the serpent’s meat it has become our flesh and blood. We have all inherited u Thlen in ourselves, u Thlen is innate in each and every one of us; it has become part of our life. Hence in spite of so much talk against corruption it is still prevalent in the society, because u Thlen is within us. The Khasi-Pnar value to earn righteousness has been done away with since our ancestors gobbled the Thlen’s meat. U Thlen which we believe we have killed is still alive in society and it is alive in each and every one of us.
A simple fisherman who lived in a certain island earns his livelihood by fishing. His typical day starts in the wee hours of the morning when he ventures to the sea to catch fish. Every day he returns in the afternoon after catching just enough to feed his family and the rest of the day he slept on his boat. One day a rich man from the city came holidaying in the island. When he saw the fisherman sleeping, he asked him, "Why are you sleeping why don’t you go out fishing?" The fisherman replied "I have already caught enough for a day’s need for my family." The rich man again asked him, "Why don’t you fish the whole day to get more money?" The fisherman asked, "What for?" The rich man suggested, "You can get more money to buy a bigger boat." The perplexed fisherman then asked "Why do I need a bigger boat?" "You can go fishing further into the deep sea and get more catch" "Why do I need more catch?" again asked the fisherman. "You can get more money." "Why do I need more money?" "So you can enjoy and relax the rest of your life," replied the rich man." The Fisherman then replied "Why? What do you think I am doing right now?"
The honest, simple and generous Khasi Pnar who lives a simple life is no more. Greed has taken over the life of the simple Khasi Pnar and everyone is in the rat-race to become an instant millionaire. Like my friend said, "Our life is now ruled by everything instant, fast food, fast car and fast money. No, there is nothing wrong in getting rich by fair and honest means but accumulating wealth by infringing on the right of others or by flouting the rules for self benefit, by cheating and employing other unfair means to gain undue favour is wrong. Ka ‘Hok’ which has many meanings in English like (kaba hok) ‘righteousness/truth’, (ka hok) rights and (ka jingbishar hok) justice has lost its meaning in the contemporary society. A Khasi Pnar who lives by the cardinal principle to earn righteousness is no more; the last few of them live in the village far from the madding crowd.
There are regular reports in the news papers of those in power from MLA to officers who are involved in corruption. It seems we still believe that it is alright to steal from the government and we therefore have no qualms of stealing from what really belongs to the people. Even if we do not directly take home from office articles like registers, papers, locks, file covers and etc, there are those who do not attend office regularly and spend paid time for their own vested interest. Are they too not indulging in corruption? Their salary is being paid by the government and it is expected of them to attend to their duties and give their time to serve the public. We see government employees accumulate wealth beyond their known sources of income and are still proud of it. How else do you explain things when an engineer whose wife is also a government employee suddenly resigns and declare that he has wealth worth crores of rupees? Nobody questions where all the money comes from. Instead we shower accolades on the person. How can one earn so much money if one considers his known sources of income only? But people have accepted this new way of life. If anyone starts raising questions about it, people will say that he is jealous.
Religious orgnisations too are run by people so it is only fair to expect that they reflect their member’s thoughts, aspiration and action. Look at the educational institutions runs by religious orgnisations. Consider the school fees they charge. Even a prospectus of a reputed school costs three hundred rupees a copy. Only in Meghalaya would one find schools funded by the government on a deficit pattern which means that all the teachers are being paid by the government and they still charge exorbitant tuition fees. Educational institutions have now become the geese that lay golden eggs for the religious organizations. In Jowai religious organizations are even competing among themselves to run markets. Trees in the cemetery are cleared to give way to a market instead of converting the same to a memorial park. The church which has committed to abide by the law instead constructs permanent sheds after receiving the demolition order from the JHADC. An organization with an objective to preserve and protect culture and tradition has seen to it that the archery ground (madan-siat-thong) of the Pnar is done away with to make way for a super market.
The Khasi Pnars are now worshiping wealth and (ka hok) righteousness has no value anymore. U Thlen inside us has won the day; we no longer treasure the invaluable land, waters and forest for we have put a price tag on everything. The forests are not our perennial source of livelihood anymore, animals and trees are no longer our fellow creation. The land is no longer our mother or else how would we sell our own mother (mei-ram-ew). We no longer respect rivers and hills which we consider divine. Ka Umiam, ka Kupli, ka Myntdu ka Umngot, ka Kynshi, u lum Shillong u lum Bah-boo bah-kong are all under the hammer waiting only for the right price.
We worship wealth and we have disregarded that which the community considers to be a taboo (ka sang ka ma) and shame and feeling bad on account of our own wrong deeds and action (ka rain ka rem) is no more. We honour a person not because of the principle by which he lives and by how he carries himself but by how wealthy he is. U Thlen inside us even influences our decision making. Tell me of an MLA who is not a crorepati. We even elect our MLA and MDC based on their wealth.
Therefore a poor man does not stand a chance to win an election no matter what his credentials and accomplishments are.
A kind and caring society has now given way for a society in which a person is only concerned about his individual needs and his own vested interests. Gone are the days when a woman gave birth and relatives, friends and neighbours would come visit the mother and the brand new baby and also bring with them food (ja khon-boo) to feed the two. Among the Jaintias, during the mourning period, friends and relatives would visit and bring food for the bereaved family. During bereavement relatives and friends would visit the family to offer their service to help the family. Now that is gone forever particularly in the towns and cities. We are all busy now, busy to earn more money at the cost of a loving, sharing and caring community.
The Khasis believe they have no written script or no sacred book because our ancestors had accidentally swallowed the scriptures while crossing a flooded river on their journey en-route to the hills. But the Khasi Pnar does have their own un-written Bible in the form of myths and legends passed on from one generation to another and the holy book also extends to everything around us from the nature to the Universe. And by swallowing the book it also implies that the book becomes part of us. The holy text of the Khasi Pnar dwells in the soul of the individual and therefore the human soul is the ultimate authority in one’s life. It therefore calls on each and every one of us to do a soul searching, to introspect and find out where we have gone wrong and how can we rid off u Thlen from us? (The writer is a scholar, an elder of the Unitarian Church and a columnist)
http://www.theshillongtimes.com/23 May, 2011
In a nutshell, the folktales have it that when u Thlen (a huge serpent) was killed a feast was made out of it and the entire community took part in the public feast. Legend has it that in a certain family the mother kept wee bit of the meat for her son. Next day, she was shocked to discover that it had turned to a little serpent. The serpent requested the mother to keep it and in return promised to bless the family with immense wealth. But I have another take for the story. U Thlen is a symbol of greed and people’s never ending desire to accumulate as much wealth as they can, using whatever means available without worry of the consequences that their actions might have or can cause to their fellow humans and the environment. U Thlen is a demon to which we are willing to sacrifice truth, justice, equality, integrity, honour, honesty and all the values we hold dear. U Thlen is a devil who kills the human conscience and the human person’s ability to distinguish right from wrong.
Since our ancestors have partaken of the serpent’s meat it has become our flesh and blood. We have all inherited u Thlen in ourselves, u Thlen is innate in each and every one of us; it has become part of our life. Hence in spite of so much talk against corruption it is still prevalent in the society, because u Thlen is within us. The Khasi-Pnar value to earn righteousness has been done away with since our ancestors gobbled the Thlen’s meat. U Thlen which we believe we have killed is still alive in society and it is alive in each and every one of us.
A simple fisherman who lived in a certain island earns his livelihood by fishing. His typical day starts in the wee hours of the morning when he ventures to the sea to catch fish. Every day he returns in the afternoon after catching just enough to feed his family and the rest of the day he slept on his boat. One day a rich man from the city came holidaying in the island. When he saw the fisherman sleeping, he asked him, "Why are you sleeping why don’t you go out fishing?" The fisherman replied "I have already caught enough for a day’s need for my family." The rich man again asked him, "Why don’t you fish the whole day to get more money?" The fisherman asked, "What for?" The rich man suggested, "You can get more money to buy a bigger boat." The perplexed fisherman then asked "Why do I need a bigger boat?" "You can go fishing further into the deep sea and get more catch" "Why do I need more catch?" again asked the fisherman. "You can get more money." "Why do I need more money?" "So you can enjoy and relax the rest of your life," replied the rich man." The Fisherman then replied "Why? What do you think I am doing right now?"
The honest, simple and generous Khasi Pnar who lives a simple life is no more. Greed has taken over the life of the simple Khasi Pnar and everyone is in the rat-race to become an instant millionaire. Like my friend said, "Our life is now ruled by everything instant, fast food, fast car and fast money. No, there is nothing wrong in getting rich by fair and honest means but accumulating wealth by infringing on the right of others or by flouting the rules for self benefit, by cheating and employing other unfair means to gain undue favour is wrong. Ka ‘Hok’ which has many meanings in English like (kaba hok) ‘righteousness/truth’, (ka hok) rights and (ka jingbishar hok) justice has lost its meaning in the contemporary society. A Khasi Pnar who lives by the cardinal principle to earn righteousness is no more; the last few of them live in the village far from the madding crowd.
There are regular reports in the news papers of those in power from MLA to officers who are involved in corruption. It seems we still believe that it is alright to steal from the government and we therefore have no qualms of stealing from what really belongs to the people. Even if we do not directly take home from office articles like registers, papers, locks, file covers and etc, there are those who do not attend office regularly and spend paid time for their own vested interest. Are they too not indulging in corruption? Their salary is being paid by the government and it is expected of them to attend to their duties and give their time to serve the public. We see government employees accumulate wealth beyond their known sources of income and are still proud of it. How else do you explain things when an engineer whose wife is also a government employee suddenly resigns and declare that he has wealth worth crores of rupees? Nobody questions where all the money comes from. Instead we shower accolades on the person. How can one earn so much money if one considers his known sources of income only? But people have accepted this new way of life. If anyone starts raising questions about it, people will say that he is jealous.
Religious orgnisations too are run by people so it is only fair to expect that they reflect their member’s thoughts, aspiration and action. Look at the educational institutions runs by religious orgnisations. Consider the school fees they charge. Even a prospectus of a reputed school costs three hundred rupees a copy. Only in Meghalaya would one find schools funded by the government on a deficit pattern which means that all the teachers are being paid by the government and they still charge exorbitant tuition fees. Educational institutions have now become the geese that lay golden eggs for the religious organizations. In Jowai religious organizations are even competing among themselves to run markets. Trees in the cemetery are cleared to give way to a market instead of converting the same to a memorial park. The church which has committed to abide by the law instead constructs permanent sheds after receiving the demolition order from the JHADC. An organization with an objective to preserve and protect culture and tradition has seen to it that the archery ground (madan-siat-thong) of the Pnar is done away with to make way for a super market.
The Khasi Pnars are now worshiping wealth and (ka hok) righteousness has no value anymore. U Thlen inside us has won the day; we no longer treasure the invaluable land, waters and forest for we have put a price tag on everything. The forests are not our perennial source of livelihood anymore, animals and trees are no longer our fellow creation. The land is no longer our mother or else how would we sell our own mother (mei-ram-ew). We no longer respect rivers and hills which we consider divine. Ka Umiam, ka Kupli, ka Myntdu ka Umngot, ka Kynshi, u lum Shillong u lum Bah-boo bah-kong are all under the hammer waiting only for the right price.
We worship wealth and we have disregarded that which the community considers to be a taboo (ka sang ka ma) and shame and feeling bad on account of our own wrong deeds and action (ka rain ka rem) is no more. We honour a person not because of the principle by which he lives and by how he carries himself but by how wealthy he is. U Thlen inside us even influences our decision making. Tell me of an MLA who is not a crorepati. We even elect our MLA and MDC based on their wealth.
Therefore a poor man does not stand a chance to win an election no matter what his credentials and accomplishments are.
A kind and caring society has now given way for a society in which a person is only concerned about his individual needs and his own vested interests. Gone are the days when a woman gave birth and relatives, friends and neighbours would come visit the mother and the brand new baby and also bring with them food (ja khon-boo) to feed the two. Among the Jaintias, during the mourning period, friends and relatives would visit and bring food for the bereaved family. During bereavement relatives and friends would visit the family to offer their service to help the family. Now that is gone forever particularly in the towns and cities. We are all busy now, busy to earn more money at the cost of a loving, sharing and caring community.
The Khasis believe they have no written script or no sacred book because our ancestors had accidentally swallowed the scriptures while crossing a flooded river on their journey en-route to the hills. But the Khasi Pnar does have their own un-written Bible in the form of myths and legends passed on from one generation to another and the holy book also extends to everything around us from the nature to the Universe. And by swallowing the book it also implies that the book becomes part of us. The holy text of the Khasi Pnar dwells in the soul of the individual and therefore the human soul is the ultimate authority in one’s life. It therefore calls on each and every one of us to do a soul searching, to introspect and find out where we have gone wrong and how can we rid off u Thlen from us? (The writer is a scholar, an elder of the Unitarian Church and a columnist)
http://www.theshillongtimes.com/23 May, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Countdown to 2013: Prospect of regional parties in the state
The clock is ticking and in about 22 months or less than two years time, the state will go to poll again and in some way the next election will be a level playing field in the sense it will be fought on the new reorganized constituencies. Hence even if the various parties are yet to come up with their plan and strategy for the ensuing election, candidates have already done several rounds of visits to the new area to acclimatize themselves with their new constituencies. Having said that, one was reminded of the report that the two regional parties the UDP and the KHNAM already enter into negotiation to at least have a pre-poll alliance if not a merger in the near future. It seems like the regional parties already have their eye on the election and they are preparing for 2013.
Last year the oldest vernacular daily U Nongsain Hima brought out a special issue in commemoration of the newspaper golden jubilee celebration. It was an honour to be asked by the Editorial board of the paper to contribute an article on the subject ‘Is there a future for the regional parties in the state?’ or if I may rephrase the question as ‘do the regional parties in Meghalaya have any future?’ My first point was the fact that the state of Meghalaya was created to fulfill the regional aspiration of the Khasi, the Pnars and the Garos; the desire of the communities to protect their rights, their unique customs and traditions and their expectation to be able to govern themselves according to their hope, dreams and aspiration. Unfortunately somewhere down the line after the goal of having the state created out of then composite state of Assam was achieved, like lion in the pride, the leaders spend their time fighting for the spoilt. That was the beginning of the imminent fall of the all powerful All Party Hills Leader’s Conference (APHLC). Some of the leaders went to join the Congress, while some alpha mail started to created space for themselves and formed new regional parties namely the People’s Demand Implementation Council (PDIC) and Hills State Democratic Party (HSPDP) and still some retain the APHLC (which the leaders of the hill state movement believed they had buried in Mendipahar) albeit in the shadow of its former self. That was the history of the origin of the regional party in the state in a nutshell; but after the unfortunate incidents of leaders tearing apart the colossal hills state movement, there were continued efforts to regroup the fractioned regional parties. One such incident was the three flags alliance (lai lama) a movement to unite the regional parties which culminated to the formation of the new party, the Hills People Union (HPU). Unfortunately the effort became futile because leader like H.S. Lyngdoh of the HSPDP refuse to join in the movement. Then the United Democratic Party (UDP) is again the latest outcome of that effort to unite the regional parties but again this move was unsuccessful not only the HSPDP remain adamant but another faction came out to light in the name of the Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP).
It is ironic that a United Regional Party is the only answer to the Congress challenge in the state. If the regional parties remain divided; it will only make the Congress’ candidates chances of winning the next election much easier. Since the early history of the state, Congress party is viewed by the people as ‘ka parti dkhar’ even today there is still a large anti-Congress section in the population of the state. Hence a disunited regional party only splits the regional party vote bank and they will also not be able to capitalize on the anti-incumbency factor. Then there is another factor at play here, the National Congress Party (NCP), although the NCP is yet to make it presence in the Khasi, Jaintia and Ri Bhoi District, its candidate can play a spoil sport to either the Congress candidate or the regional party candidate. The only way regional parties can match to the might of the Congress is if they are able to have a pre-poll alliance or better still to unite and the reported move between the KHNAM and UDP is a step in the right direction.
The other argument is UDP being part of the government alliance is going to do more harm than good to the party; the party will share the wrath of the voter and like the Congress it will also be affect by the anti-incumbency factor. By being part of the alliance with a national party which has its own national agenda without discrimination between fellow Indians, the party therefore has to compromise its principle to protect the interest of the indigenous people of the state in the altar of coalition politics. But the factor that will hurt the party the most or rather it should embarrass the party workers is the role the party play in the coalition. In the never ending musical chair game played by the Congress MLA, UDP is playing a second fiddle to the Congress or rather it has become passive participant in the coalition. In the present dispensation the UDP has become like an ever-prepared, always-willing-bride waiting for whoever grooms the Congress bring forth from Delhi and any groom will be fine as long as the party is accommodated in the coalition.
The message the UDP leadership gave by act of commission and omission is also confusing to say the least, at one point of time the leadership were vehemently against the transfer of land to the companies particularly the cement companies and then the same leader gave a statement in the press that he is supporting Lafarge mining in his own constituency. One would expect a seasoned politician like Dr Donkupar to reserve his statement on the subject since the matter in still in the court. One would also expect Dr Don to take into consideration the development in the case that was obviously unfavorable to the company but rather than doing that he chose to support the multinational company which in turn could affect the local indigenous people of the area. The other unique tradition of the people of the indigenous people of the state is their respect for the environment, and one would expect Bindo Lanong minister in charge of mining who is also a leader of a regional party to see that the mineral policy is passed thereby upheld the tradition of the people and protect the environment but he too failed to do so and failed the people.
If the UDP which is a major regional party is hoping to be a strong contender in the 2013 election, they first of all need to relook at the party’s ideology and decide on its future course of action. The need of the hour for the party is also to completely revamp the organization especially in the leadership level. The current leadership has failed the party as common people are now of the impression that the UDP is directionless and it’s only interest is to remain in power come what may. If the report of UDP-KHNAM merger is true, one would expect bah Bindo and bah Don to hand over the mantle to a younger generation the like of bah Paul, bah Ardent and bah John Kharshiing. That will give a new lease of life to the party workers and hope for people of the state who are longing for change. The hope for a united regional party is also brighter given the fact that the HSPDP now looks like a spent force. It leader’s long battle with age now seems to be waning, add to that Reverend Basaiawmoit is now caught in a catch 22 situation, the party’s hope to be a king-maker after the election 2013 is dwindling. In the recent past the party has not been able to have any influence beyond the border of the West Khasi hills; it is therefore in the interest of the aspiration of the major tribes which has driven the hills state movement 4 decades ago and in the interest of the state in general that HSPDP also merge to form a united regional party. A united regional party and only that can pose a challenge to the Congress party; HSPDP also has a young female aspiring politician in the person of Finola Lyngdoh Nonglait who can contribute immensely to the new movement. It is up to the regional parties to rekindle the flame and revive the regional spirit of the hills’ people, if the hills state movement can unite the entire region, what stops the regional party from having its own resurrection? In the light of the recent state Assembly election result, where we see the rise of the regional parties, it is high time for the state regional parties to introspect and decided on their further course of action.
Last year the oldest vernacular daily U Nongsain Hima brought out a special issue in commemoration of the newspaper golden jubilee celebration. It was an honour to be asked by the Editorial board of the paper to contribute an article on the subject ‘Is there a future for the regional parties in the state?’ or if I may rephrase the question as ‘do the regional parties in Meghalaya have any future?’ My first point was the fact that the state of Meghalaya was created to fulfill the regional aspiration of the Khasi, the Pnars and the Garos; the desire of the communities to protect their rights, their unique customs and traditions and their expectation to be able to govern themselves according to their hope, dreams and aspiration. Unfortunately somewhere down the line after the goal of having the state created out of then composite state of Assam was achieved, like lion in the pride, the leaders spend their time fighting for the spoilt. That was the beginning of the imminent fall of the all powerful All Party Hills Leader’s Conference (APHLC). Some of the leaders went to join the Congress, while some alpha mail started to created space for themselves and formed new regional parties namely the People’s Demand Implementation Council (PDIC) and Hills State Democratic Party (HSPDP) and still some retain the APHLC (which the leaders of the hill state movement believed they had buried in Mendipahar) albeit in the shadow of its former self. That was the history of the origin of the regional party in the state in a nutshell; but after the unfortunate incidents of leaders tearing apart the colossal hills state movement, there were continued efforts to regroup the fractioned regional parties. One such incident was the three flags alliance (lai lama) a movement to unite the regional parties which culminated to the formation of the new party, the Hills People Union (HPU). Unfortunately the effort became futile because leader like H.S. Lyngdoh of the HSPDP refuse to join in the movement. Then the United Democratic Party (UDP) is again the latest outcome of that effort to unite the regional parties but again this move was unsuccessful not only the HSPDP remain adamant but another faction came out to light in the name of the Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP).
It is ironic that a United Regional Party is the only answer to the Congress challenge in the state. If the regional parties remain divided; it will only make the Congress’ candidates chances of winning the next election much easier. Since the early history of the state, Congress party is viewed by the people as ‘ka parti dkhar’ even today there is still a large anti-Congress section in the population of the state. Hence a disunited regional party only splits the regional party vote bank and they will also not be able to capitalize on the anti-incumbency factor. Then there is another factor at play here, the National Congress Party (NCP), although the NCP is yet to make it presence in the Khasi, Jaintia and Ri Bhoi District, its candidate can play a spoil sport to either the Congress candidate or the regional party candidate. The only way regional parties can match to the might of the Congress is if they are able to have a pre-poll alliance or better still to unite and the reported move between the KHNAM and UDP is a step in the right direction.
The other argument is UDP being part of the government alliance is going to do more harm than good to the party; the party will share the wrath of the voter and like the Congress it will also be affect by the anti-incumbency factor. By being part of the alliance with a national party which has its own national agenda without discrimination between fellow Indians, the party therefore has to compromise its principle to protect the interest of the indigenous people of the state in the altar of coalition politics. But the factor that will hurt the party the most or rather it should embarrass the party workers is the role the party play in the coalition. In the never ending musical chair game played by the Congress MLA, UDP is playing a second fiddle to the Congress or rather it has become passive participant in the coalition. In the present dispensation the UDP has become like an ever-prepared, always-willing-bride waiting for whoever grooms the Congress bring forth from Delhi and any groom will be fine as long as the party is accommodated in the coalition.
The message the UDP leadership gave by act of commission and omission is also confusing to say the least, at one point of time the leadership were vehemently against the transfer of land to the companies particularly the cement companies and then the same leader gave a statement in the press that he is supporting Lafarge mining in his own constituency. One would expect a seasoned politician like Dr Donkupar to reserve his statement on the subject since the matter in still in the court. One would also expect Dr Don to take into consideration the development in the case that was obviously unfavorable to the company but rather than doing that he chose to support the multinational company which in turn could affect the local indigenous people of the area. The other unique tradition of the people of the indigenous people of the state is their respect for the environment, and one would expect Bindo Lanong minister in charge of mining who is also a leader of a regional party to see that the mineral policy is passed thereby upheld the tradition of the people and protect the environment but he too failed to do so and failed the people.
If the UDP which is a major regional party is hoping to be a strong contender in the 2013 election, they first of all need to relook at the party’s ideology and decide on its future course of action. The need of the hour for the party is also to completely revamp the organization especially in the leadership level. The current leadership has failed the party as common people are now of the impression that the UDP is directionless and it’s only interest is to remain in power come what may. If the report of UDP-KHNAM merger is true, one would expect bah Bindo and bah Don to hand over the mantle to a younger generation the like of bah Paul, bah Ardent and bah John Kharshiing. That will give a new lease of life to the party workers and hope for people of the state who are longing for change. The hope for a united regional party is also brighter given the fact that the HSPDP now looks like a spent force. It leader’s long battle with age now seems to be waning, add to that Reverend Basaiawmoit is now caught in a catch 22 situation, the party’s hope to be a king-maker after the election 2013 is dwindling. In the recent past the party has not been able to have any influence beyond the border of the West Khasi hills; it is therefore in the interest of the aspiration of the major tribes which has driven the hills state movement 4 decades ago and in the interest of the state in general that HSPDP also merge to form a united regional party. A united regional party and only that can pose a challenge to the Congress party; HSPDP also has a young female aspiring politician in the person of Finola Lyngdoh Nonglait who can contribute immensely to the new movement. It is up to the regional parties to rekindle the flame and revive the regional spirit of the hills’ people, if the hills state movement can unite the entire region, what stops the regional party from having its own resurrection? In the light of the recent state Assembly election result, where we see the rise of the regional parties, it is high time for the state regional parties to introspect and decided on their further course of action.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Of Apples and Potatoes
(The article that The Shillong Times did not carry but find space in some other English dailies of the state of Meghalaya)
The statement of my friend Dr Richard Ford of Clark University, New York that ‘all politicians in world are the same, it looks like they all graduate from the same school’ is once again prove right. No matter how highly educated or how refine the person is, he will surely one day show his true colour - that he is politician. The statement made by non-other than a respectable member of the house bah Manas Chaudhury comparing teachers and legislators as potatoes and apples is one such instances that brought to the fore the true colours of a politician.
The statement of my friend Dr Richard Ford of Clark University, New York that ‘all politicians in world are the same, it looks like they all graduate from the same school’ is once again prove right. No matter how highly educated or how refine the person is, he will surely one day show his true colour - that he is politician. The statement made by non-other than a respectable member of the house bah Manas Chaudhury comparing teachers and legislators as potatoes and apples is one such instances that brought to the fore the true colours of a politician.
I respect bah Manas not because he owns the Shillong Times but because he is one of the most outspoken members of the house and he is also one who speaks sense in the floor of the house, but I fail to understand why he has to justify the enhancement of legislators pay and pension by comparing the politicians as apple and the teachers as potatoes. The question is why comparing them with teachers; why not comparing politicians with engineers, doctors or accountants? I personally do not see the relevance. It is wrong in the first place for bah Manas to rate himself and his comrade in the house. In the interest of justice and fairness he should let somebody else to rate the legislators, how can he ascribe marks in his own report card. Of course there is nothing wrong with the self-aggrandizement; but it is only fair if someone else did the rating let somebody else decide whether politicians are apples, allu or ullu.
The fact that the disparaging comparison between the legislators and the teacher was made by non-other than the former minister of education; also speaks volume about the attitude of the legislators towards the teachers. It reflect our leaders collective attitude towards the teachers, perhaps it is because of this attitude that the legislators have towards the teaching fraternity that teachers has to take to the street even to get the salary which is rightfully theirs- because they are just cheap potatoes. One seldom sees engineers, doctors, accountants or people of other profession having to hit the street to demand their rights, but one sees teacher association of every hues and colours from lower primary level to college level having to hit the street every now and then.
‘Respect cannot be acquired; it has to be earned’ so goes the saying, do the general public respect the politicians? Well; one only has to look back at the recent Anna Hazare movement and the kind of placards or slogans the people carried to arrive at the conclusion whether people in this country respect their politician or not. The most popular placards are those which condemn every politician as corrupt, it is the kind of image people have of their politicians. Although I do not subscribe to the idea that all politicians are corrupt but since majority of them are, I don’t think it is over generalization either. Few good apples will never be able to change the basketful of bad apples, in fact the other way round will happen and in no time we will have a basketful of rotten apples, if I may use bah Manas own analogy. I think it is basically because our politicians has huge respect-deficit that they rely on the artificial factors to impress people of their status by having their vehicle attached with beacon lights, big security presence and a long motorcade to follow them. In fact the longer the convoy of cars that follows the politician, the more the importance is given to the person. As a matter of fact the respect that politicians have is short-lived, and to some extend is artificial, people respect politicians as long as they are in power, once they are defeated, people’s respect for them also fade away.
On the other hand, teachers have the respect of their students as long as they live. On many occasion one can still see elder people; well placed in the society, and if they happened to meet their former teachers they would bow in respect and if one is a smoker one would immediately extinguish his cigarette as a mark of respect. If I wore a hat, I would immediately remove it from my head if I meet my former teacher, similarly I will remove my hands from my pockets if I am to speak to my teachers. Till now I wish I can repay for what my teachers had done for me but that is not what our teachers expect from us. Like the famous poet I feel, ‘I have a promise to keep and miles to go before I sleep.’ It is said that we cannot compare the trouble our parents has to undergo for our upbringing with our care for them when they are old. When our parents nurture us to grow they raise us to grow and bloom like a flower; they prepare us for the future, but our care for them when they are old is our effort to help them journey towards the end. There is a big different here, the former is the journey of hope and the later is the journey of hopelessness. Like our parent our teachers too; spend their lives to see us grow and become success in our lives and that is their reward. Most of the teachers are not wealthy, but they are happy because they consider the success of their students as their wealth. They smile when the meet their old students and you know that is a genuine smile a smile that says I am happy for you. I don’t think they call teaching a noble profession for nothing, so bah Manas; not only the analogy is wrong but the two professions are incomparable.
I happen to know quite a few former politicians; I was fortunate to live in the same neighbourhood with some of them. I admire late ma Edwinson Bareh, late ma H.E.Pohshna, late ma B.B.Challam and most of all late ma Larsingh Khyriem but I am sorry they did not get the same respect I give my teachers. The present generation of politician needs to work harder to get even close to the respect we gave to the former politicians. Going back to bah Manas analogy how can we compare teachers with politicians from Jaintia hills and call them apples? Some of the MLA have not even graduate ‘kot sim rit’, another is not even matriculate, while one is a mere matriculate and still one only passed his twelve class. Of the 7 MLA representing the district only two hold a bachelor degree and another MLA hold a PhD. Now look at the list of the recently appointed government LP school teachers and one will find that the list not only comprises of majority of teachers with bachelor degree but even few with postgraduate degree. I am sorry bah Manas I beg to disagree, giving a choice; if I have to compare politicians with teachers; I will still hold teachers in high esteem nobody can take that away from them. They are the mother of all the precious stones.
Well as for apple and allu, in Meghalaya apple is the fruit of the rich and a potato not only goes with everything but it is one of the important items in the stable diet of everybody- rich or poor.
Environment talk but no action in Meghalaya
(This article was carried by The Shillong Times (TST) on the 25 of April 2001)
Perhaps it was the first the time in the history of the state Assembly that environment issue popped up for discussion for the maximum number of times during the last sitting of the house. If the recently concluded budget session is to be chronicled in the history of the state, it should be for the reason that environment issue figure in the busy schedule of the house. A member of the august even question the way environment clearance was issued to some cement companies to established their units and mining areas on forested area which is against the Indian Forest act. But the issue of land grabbing by the cement companies is perhaps one subject that took even some of the season MLA by surprise. It was this unpleasant discover that made a major coalition partner of the government to demand for a cabinet order to stop transferring land to any company before the land transfer act is duly amended.
Perhaps it was the first the time in the history of the state Assembly that environment issue popped up for discussion for the maximum number of times during the last sitting of the house. If the recently concluded budget session is to be chronicled in the history of the state, it should be for the reason that environment issue figure in the busy schedule of the house. A member of the august even question the way environment clearance was issued to some cement companies to established their units and mining areas on forested area which is against the Indian Forest act. But the issue of land grabbing by the cement companies is perhaps one subject that took even some of the season MLA by surprise. It was this unpleasant discover that made a major coalition partner of the government to demand for a cabinet order to stop transferring land to any company before the land transfer act is duly amended.
In fact our MLA should not be surprise of the fact that the entire elaka Narpuh in now in the hand of the prominent cement companies. This writer had once written an article on the editorial page of this paper wherein it was categorically mentioned that in Lumchong village; the only plot of land that the villagers own is where their houses is (The last of the farmers of Lumchnong). This writer had trekked on the entire stretch of the Lukha River from Sunapyrdi (Sunapur) to Khatdum only to find that entire land has been surveyed and mapped and survey marks of many cement companies can be found dotted everywhere which indicates that the land is owned by certain company. I was not surprise to read in a regional newspaper (Guwahati edition) that a certain cement companies has claimed that it now has limestone reserve of more than 300 million tons in Meghalaya. But the big question is not how can a huge plot of land be transferred to a cement companies which is a non-tribal entity, the question is how on earth can these companies exploit the mineral when the entire stretch of land is still covered with green forest! When this question was asked in the house, the honourable minister of Forest Dr. R.C. Laloo’s replied was that the state depends on the information supplied by the JHADC. What technology or expertise does the JHADC has in its disposal to do the job, when even it’s CFO is only a pure science graduate. Why didn’t the government call for remote sensing data from the North East Space Agency in Umiam? The blame for illegal transfer of land to the companies lies squarely on the shoulder of the so called ‘local directors’ of the companies who are paid by the companies to act as a stooge or front for the companies whenever there is a problem with the locals. The modus-operandi is the companies paid their local directors to buy land from the villagers in their names for a song and then transfer the land to the companies and by power of attorney the land is at the disposal of the companies. Many of these local directors cannot even recollect the numbers of land holding that they help acquire for their respective companies. It was a greats relieve to read of the recent government official statement that the present government has decided against permitting any new cement companies in the state, but the question is for how long? Or will this government last for daring to do so?
Once while walking on my way to the church, a young advocate who came out of the DC’s office court in Jowai on his way to the District Council court, while walking along with me (referring to my writer’s-block during his last few months) said, ‘I do not see any of your article lately, anyway the one I like most is about the facebook (I think he meant the article entitled ‘How facebook help save the caves in Nongkhlieh’). My answer to the young man was ‘it is true we have been able to rid off a multinational cement company from creating havoc in the Nongkhlieh area, but I am sorry we have not been able to save Nongkhlieh from the destruction made by our own people’. It is true that coal mining is going on full swing in the elaka Nongkhlieh, very soon the famous caves with all its fantastic formations and the unique cave creatures found only in this area will vanish, and who are we going to blame for allowing this to happen? The buck must stop somewhere and in my opinion the buck stops on the table of the Deputy Chief Minister who is also minister in charge of mining for the delay he made in enacting the Meghalaya mineral policy. Mr Bindo Lanong is to be remembered in the history of the state for allowing the destruction of the caves in the Nongkhlieh ridge, by not doing what he should do. By act of omission he is responsible for the damage and Lanong and his party will have to pay a huge price for this in 2013. Had he been able to enact the draft policy and use a provision in the draft to declared Nongkhlieh ridge as Ecological Sensitive Area (ESA) the caves can still be protect from destruction. But the deputy chief minister chose to keep it pending and sit on it despite the promise he made to make sure the policy sees the light of the day by the beginning of this year. I am afraid by the time, the policy is enact it will be too little too late, as a matter of fact there is not much to save in Jaintia hills even now except for the caves on the Nongkhlieh ridge.
And then there was Salman Khursheed’s clarion call to the miners to stop mining near the river, obviously, nobody will pay heed to what the minister said. I doubt if the minister himself is serious when he made the statement, it looks like the minister made the call just because it is now a day fashionable to talk about preservation and protection of the environment particularly the water bodies of which he is in charge. Even his junior minister seems to have forgotten what his senior said minute after he utter those words; everybody knows that for ma Vincent H. Pala the occasion is only a photo op. It is suicidal for him to speak against mining for it is also like biting the hand that feed.
After visiting many of the big rivers in the district, I wrote an article on the condition of the rivers in Jaintia hills district which was carried by an English monthly magazine published from Shillong (Jaintia hills: the land of the dead rivers) way back in 2007. In Jaintia hills it is easy to count the number of rivers that has not been polluted because there are very few rivers that are still safe for human use; in fact there are only a handful of them. The four major rivers that are still free from pollution are the Myntang, the Mynriang which is a tributary of Myntang, the Umngot and the Mynkhen, these rivers were fortunate enough not to suffer the same fate the other rivers did, simply because there were no mining activity along their courses. Perhaps it is only in Jaintia hills where one can even change the course of the river to enable a person to do mining on the public land. As for Salman Khursheed’s call, well for a start our honourable minister seems to be ignorant of the topography of the land, the fact is no matter where one mines, once the monsoon rain falls, the effluent from the coalmine will gradually flow to the rivers. So it does not matter whether one mine near the river or far away, the sewage will flow downstream, this is a simple law of gravity even a young kid know. Not only active mines cause pollution, even exhausted and abandoned mine continue to cause environment degradation because coal owners do not think it is their responsibility to close the unused mines.
Many rivers downstream of Kongong and and Phramer including Myntdu has been polluted not because there are mining activity upstream but because Kongong and Phramer are stockyard of coal and water runoff from the area polluted the river downstream. There are coal stockyards everywhere where coal is stored and these stockyards too; cause pollution. So, it is not as simple as Salman Khusheed think it is, pollution is not only from the active mines.
What is the government waiting for? Or rather what is the honourable Deputy Chief Minister Bindo Lanong waiting for? Another Anna Hazare like agitation? The department already has the mandate of the stake holders which include mine owners, environmentalist and the District Councils to go ahead with the policy, why delay?
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Khasi Pnar: A community in transition
By HH Mohrmen
Recently much space on the editorial pages of The Shillong Times was devoted to the debate about the Khasi Pnar land tenure system, Khasi Pnar polity et al. What looks like a debate on the some attributes of the Khasi Pnar culture and tradition is in fact a debate on the changes manifests in the society (ka jaitbynriew) in transition. We therefore owe so much to Broncostar Thyrniang, Morning Star Sumer, Prof Kynpham Singh Nongkynrih, Michael N. Syiem and of course our own Kong Patricia Mukhim for kick-starting an enlightening debate.
To begin with, I think it is important to understand who is a Khasi Pnar? I always use the two words ‘Khasi Pnar’ in one breath and without a hyphen. Khasi Pnar is one and the same people much like Siamese twins; they are identical, inseparable yet unique in their own ways. For me the debate started by the patriotic folk song "Khynriam u Pnar, u Bhoi u War u dei u paid Khasi baiar" ends here. Therefore rather than using the nomenclature ‘Khasi’ as an inclusive name for the tribe, I use ‘Khasi Pnar’. The next question that begs for an answer is, ‘What does it mean to be a Khasi Pnar?’ A Khasi Pnar is defined by his identity and when I say identity, I means sharing a common culture which includes language, food habits etc. But the word culture itself begs for definition every time it is being used.
In order to understand the culture one must know and understand the stories, the myths and the legends of that particular culture. Rev Dr John Buehrens in his book ‘Understanding the Bible,’ said, to understand the western culture one must at least know the stories in the Bible because much about the western culture is in some way or the other connected with the stories in the Bible. Some are also of the opinion that the western jurisprudence the world uses has its foundation in the ten commandments of Moses. I think it is the same with the pan Indian culture too. One will fully understand the culture if only one is well versed with the stories and myths abounding in the civilization.
It is the same with the Khasi Pnar culture; one needs to know the stories of the tribe to be able to understand and appreciate its customs and traditions. If we talk about Khasi Pnar hospitality, one must know the folktale about u kwai, u tympew, ka shun and ka duma sla (the betel nut, betel leaf, lime and tobacco leaves ) . To be able to appreciate the clan system of the Khasi Pnar, one must understand the stories of the great maternal grandmother (Iawbei) and the great grand maternal uncle of the clan and the great grandfather of the clan. Almost all the Khasi Pnar clans have fascinating stories about the genesis of their respective clans. In some cases, these stories also relate to the Polity of the area if the clan in question is the royal clan, like the story of ‘ka Li dakha’ and the Sutnga clan of Jaintia syiemship and the story of ka ‘Pahsyntiew’ in the Nongkrem syiemship. To be able to understand the reason why the Khasi Pnar adopts the matrilineal tradition in their lineage system, one needs to know the story in this regard. It will also be difficult to understand the community’s attitude and reverence for nature if one is ignorant of the many stories like the ‘ka Iew luri lura’, ‘ka krem lamet, krem latang’ and thousands of stories that our ancestors weaved in their efforts to try to understand the mysteries of mother nature. One would also need to understand the reason why our forefathers have the tradition of keeping the sacred forests to be able to understand their wisdom in relation with mother earth.
But the crux of the debate is that the Khasi Pnar like any other community is in the process of constant evolution and right now we are at the cross roads. Like many of the young Khasi Pnar, I question the relevance of our dorbar shnong in its present form. We may have moved away from the archaic tradition that only those who sport beards can take part in the dorbar, but, we are yet to have a female head of the shnong. And for that matter if we have one, what do we call her or what would her designation be? Certainly not Rangbah Shnong! How democratic is the institution which does not guarantee equal rights to members of its community? I would also like to see a reformed dorbar shnong run by professionals specialized in community development and not by people who belong to a different profession and become Rangbah Shnong just for the sake of it. Dorbar Shnong (village or town council) is a serious business; the job cannot be performed by someone trying to serve two masters and on a voluntary basis. I also have my reservations with regards to the Syiemship and Daloiship. Why is it that for no fault of mine and just because I was born in the wrong clan, I cannot inherit the chieftainship and neither can I be a Myntri, a Laskor or a Daloi? I consider this undemocratic! With regard to the land tenure system, is it wrong to conclude that the Wah Umkhrah and may other rivers lost their pristine glory because of the present land tenure system? We assume that once we own the land we also own, the stream and rivers and everything in it. These are only some of the features of our tradition that need re-examining in the light of the modern world.
In the year 2009, I visited the Native American museum in Washington DC. I was fascinated by the collection of Native American arts and artifacts and I was deeply touched by the videos screened continuously in the sections allotted to more than 200 Native American tribes in America. I spend much time watching these videos and realized if there is a common thread that links the many documentaries, it is the dilemma that the tribes are facing in their efforts to cope with the modern way of life and simultaneously keep their traditions. In my humble opinion the question is, ‘How do we move forward with some of these antique traditions?’ This is the dilemma that the Indigenous People are facing the world over. To clear the cobwebs from my mind I continued to discuss the issue with my friend and guide Bob Tripp and I remember saying, ‘It is the question of how much of the baggage from the past we can carry to the future?’ Bob’s remark was, ‘Perhaps they are not even baggage’.
The customs and traditions that we have may not be baggage but certainly some can be impediments in the community’s move towards the future. In the tribes’ evolution, we need to re-look at some of these traditions. Some of these customs, traditions and stories were relevant for our forefathers in the era that was, and they should not be a stumbling block for us to move forward and evolve. The rightful place for some of these obsolete customs and traditions are the history books. They should be like a cursor to help us know where we came from, where we were once upon a time and also help us understand the future. These stories will also help us understand and appreciate the wisdom of our ancestors. The stories should be like roots to a tree; their role is to help us stand tall and grow from strength to strength. We must not get stuck anywhere; nothing can stand on the way of the society’s evolution.
To maintain our unique identity, the Khasi Pnar must continue with parts of the culture which are relevant to the present day and keep those that are outdated in the treasure trove of the community. Perhaps a modern day Khasi Pnar is one who speaks his language, understands the stories of his community, lives by the cardinal values of the tribe ‘ban kamai ia ka hok, ban tip briew tip blei bad ban tip kur tip kha’ (to earn righteousness, to know man and know God, and to know his maternal and paternal kin). Perhaps a modern day Khasi Pnar is one who is proud of his traditional attire and uses it with pride when the occasion warrants. And the debate must continue… (The writer is an elder of the Unitarian Church, an environmental activist, columnist and a thought leader)
http://www.theshillongtimes.com/editorial.html
http://www.theshillongtimes.com/editorial.html
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