By Gregory Shullai
From the most basic interpretation of the heading of this article, you can gather that I am writing after having heard some speeches from our political leaders on their successes…and there have been many speeches of this category in the past few days…even messages on Facebook and Instagram. Those with a family legacy in politics believe they have lifted themselves out from those family roots and have assured every detractor that the success they have earned is the reward of something that they undertook quite voluntarily and independently and that it would not be right for anybody to attribute their success to a legacy. They make it very clear that the past decades have, in this respect, been the years of their severest efforts in struggling to succeed, and this is leaving out of all reckoning what they have had to endure and overcome by way of criticisms, challenges, misunderstandings, and embarrassments caused by their detractors. The truth is something they will not utter, and that is that politics gave them the success that their parents never could and that politics has become their bread and butter and now they claim that what remains of their spirit shall be used in giving full and complete expression to the objectives and goals they have for the people of the State, or the country as the case may be, because, if they are to be believed, it is for this that they have so far endured their critics and challenges.
For us, the first thing we have to say regarding what are called new ideas here in Shillong, at the present time, is that they are not new, but the very oldest of ideas of a politician cast into the mould of these new times. The lovely time of the elections draws ever nearer, and I must confess that my longing to see who is entering the fray and from which Party grows keener every day – the period of silence is almost over, and there is enough contempt that we can express against the administration for having failed to lift the poverty level above what it is. A recent State-Wise Poverty Rate in India released by the NITI Aayog National MPI based on NFHS-5, places the people of Meghalaya as the third poorest in the country above only Bihar and Jharkhand. And if the CAG’s report is credible, we are in debt to a tune of ₹26000 crores!!! But, let there be no doubt regarding these embarrassing figures – our leaders think these figures are a sign of development.
As thinkers, we can divide our representatives into two groups, materialists and idealists, the first being the ones that see their gains in a material sense, the second on their consciousness of things. No prize for guessing to which category the bulk of our representatives belong, and since the bulk belong to, if I may assume, the materialists, we have to admit that as materialists they are least bothered with political theories and more concerned with the sensational or the perceptual aspect of what can be acquired from a profession in politics, because that, according to them, is what it’s supposed to be about. The idealists, also see the gains that are to be had in an occupation in politics, but they don’t see that alone. They don’t deny the money and fortune that can be had from politics, but they see them as the other gain. This manner of looking at things is something that even the materialists have time and time again admitted and were constrained to admit. The French philosopher E.B de Condillac, the most noted materialist said, “though we should soar into the heavens or though we should sink into the abyss, we never go out of ourselves, it is always our own thoughts that we perceive.” Even an idealist couldn’t have said it better. And if we apply this theory to the present set of legislators in Meghalaya there is one thing we will most certainly see, and that is, that they will say that good thoughts are fair and right but thoughts transient, whereas money that is put away today will still be there in the days to come. Thoughts change and pass away; money stays the same. Shortly we will come to learn of the assets our representatives have acquired – do not be surprised if they are among the loftiest in the State. Creating better men and women to shoulder the responsibility of the State in the future is not a political goal these days. Even the wealthy business men and women who joined politics will tell you that there is no profession on earth that brings wealth like politics does.
And so, regardless of one’s antecedents, there is one common purpose that the majority entering politics aspire for – getting wealthy. Of that there can be no question. Our people must learn to see through all the distraction of a politician’s superficial claims. They must realize that whatever a politician claims as the driving force behind his/her motive is all hogwash and that they entered the fray with the sole hope to gain wealth and power. There was a time when politics was not so lucrative and only the most learned and respected men and women in society dared to aspire to become politicians – we had a choice and we chose wisely then. Now we have no choice, it’s only the “Caligulas and the Escobars” that we must choose from. This fact is so obvious from a casual glimpse of the powerful lifestyle of a politician these days, and the simple lifestyle of politicians of the 1970s, and before. In short, the truth of the oaths they swear upon does not reside in the temple built in her honour as far as they are concerned. The good outcome or the rubbish we get from the leaders we elect; we alone have to pay for. We know all too well that the lesser individuals who have succeeded in politics – have acquired for themselves more than they had dreamt. With it they believe their prestige has skyrocketed. Their behaviour and talk have altered drastically. This is a common phenomenon throughout the country. Politics has become a paradox – a “noir et plus noir” with men and women rising beyond their modest upbringings largely through deception and hypocrisy.
The premise that a politician must immediately acquire costly assets because it is the correct thing to do is psychologically and experimentally wrong. The leader of the Party, or the leader of the House should make it a point to every elected member that they too are public servants liable to proceedings under the law for illegally acquired assets. I know I should be careful not to speak too boldly on these matters because politicians understand this fact a hundred times better than I do, the solution included, but what else can I do? except to rejoice in the fact that I can raise this matter at all, especially the underlying deception. Of course, what the people would have liked most of all would have been to see how their issues have been attended to, and not by word of mouth, because the time seems long past when their wishes should have been gratified on the ground.
It is the sign of our times, observable to the coarsest observer, that many intelligent and upright persons withdraw themselves from an election and take to a solitary and a critical way of living from which nothing fruitful materializes – comparatively. They hold themselves aloof and prefer to perish in ennui than degrade themselves with the wealth that a life in politics can offer. What they do they themselves declare as drudgery. They run guest houses, raise orchards, rear cattle, etc., and even these Government claims were promoted by the State and that their success story reflects the good image of the ruling party so that the Party can once again secure the maximum number of seats in the Assembly – and its leader, the opportunity to occupy the former “Goodwood Bungalow” which is now the Chief Ministers’ low-rise residence. It is very evident that the intention to focus on the success of an individual rather than on the State is being looked upon as a crucial strategy to take the people away from the underlying broken social sub-stratum upon which the State is going forward, from the unemployment and from the rising drug abuse among the youth, and the corruption in public service. Everyone knows all too well that the progress coming from personal endeavours is rightfully the credit of the people and not Government. It is this mischief that we need to be aware of; but have we achieved such an awareness?
It is no exaggeration to say that it is hard to find an acceptable index about what it means to be advancing or progressing in the current state of affairs that we are living in. It is even more difficult for us to find among the common men and women these days someone who knows the meaning of what it is to be happy and to feel at ease with the living conditions. The youth feel this unease the most, they know it is not that they brought it upon themselves, their parents repeatedly tell them that in former years one succeeded because of what one was whereas now one only succeeds if one plays politics. For today’s youth the whole significance of this situation might make them feel a little wistful; but unfortunately, I must dissipate this mood for them by referring to the irksome solution of how to go about winning under these circumstances – sad to say I have no other formula. For those that are built of stouter material they are entitled to set themselves higher ideals. For the general man and woman however, they suffer terribly when Government lacks sympathy for their collective plight; and the fact that for the past few years they have lost Government’s friendly interest in their fate, is more than just a worrisome fact – it is a driving force that has taken many to their doom. How often do they have to dream of the creation of more posts in public service at their level of interest which was always the spirit of our former politicians? Instead, we have reemployment and political appointees galore. Among other things, what I can observe is that most of our youth are taking up the most desperate efforts to make two ends meet, and, like the State on drawing up its budget for the year, inevitably arrives at the most hopeless resort – take a loan. It is tougher for the youth facing the task of balancing their spending and earning – it is basically moving from one standard of living to a lower one, even giving up the little pleasures of life for the pains instead; or to put it succinctly – to cut down expenses. It is a pity that we have to pay so dearly for electing our leaders, earlier things were not so.
