The violence that accompanied the Khasi Students’ Union’s (KSU’s) rally through the streets of Shillong was saddening but not surprising.
While it was ostensibly meant to protest the state government’s inaction regarding certain demands of the pressure group, the rally descended into wanton violence as participants targetted government vehicles, buses, Assam-registered cars with rocks, sticks, kicks and more.
Sickening visuals have emerged of these masked men physically assaulting a number of non-tribal men in the street, leaving them bloodied, bruised and, no doubt, terrified. On top of all that, these thugs did not spare statues of Subhas Chandra Bose and Swami Vivekananda either, which is sure to hurt sentiments beyond Meghalaya’s borders.
In the bad old days when disturbances of this sort were more common, such violence may not have raised too many eyebrows. But today, with smartphones providing near instantaneous video evidence of the brutal assaults, something seems to have changed in the hearts and minds of the people.
Even just a few years ago, criticism of the KSU on social media was a rarity among local tribals. But not anymore. Since the images and clips went viral on Wednesday evening, there has been an outpouring of largely negative commentary and condemnation of the masked attackers and the KSU in general.
Today there are more Khasis than ever before studying and working in other parts of India and their safety could be put at risk by such acts meted out against outsiders here. Meghalaya is also hugely dependent on tourists from Assam and elsewhere and attacking visitors to our state could lead to serious repercussions on our tourism industry and the wider economy as Meghalaya depends on Assam for access to the rest of the country.
Perhaps the swing in public opinion led the KSU leadership to distance itself from the violence, saying that certain individuals “took advantage” of the rally to act out. This argument does not bear much consideration. When you call for a very public rally you have to bear responsibility if it gets out of hand. The hooligans were armed with sticks and rocks, wore masks to conceal their identity and even covered the licence plates of the two-wheelers they were riding – they came well-prepared!
Responsibility does not only lie with the KSU but also the police. Where were they? Several police personnel were seen in riot gear AFTER the rally had swept through and caused carnage. They looked more like headless chickens than anything else. When the government knew the rally was coming, why was it so inept? When it was able to police street hawkers as their stalls were demolished recently and the Voice of the People Party rally earlier this month, how was it caught on the wrong foot today?
