By Melarbor L Thabah
The Government of Meghalaya comprises 52 MLAs both from the ruling party and coalition. The NPP which is the ruling party comprises 33 MLAs. Naturally, the ruling party and its coalition partners constitute the voice of the majority. The pertinent question is: “Is the voice of the majority always in the Right?”
The Central Government has always listened to the voice of the majority of the states and union territories. In the same breath, it listened to the voice of the majority MLAs in Meghalaya whom I am convinced do not want the Inner Line Permit (ILP). The Central Government should also not forget that it has a developmental ambition of linking all the 28 states and later 30 states of India (Kashmir & Ladakh) with railways. It has achieved this aim of linking all the 28 states of India including Kashmir except Meghalaya. Mendipathar Railway station is a small railway station located in North Garo Hills District of the Garo Hills region of Meghalaya which I have heard; is remote and lowly populated. Even then, the railway agency has not been able to connect with the densely populated regional capital of the Garo Hills which is Tura in West Garo Hills district. However, the aim of the North East Frontier Railway is to connect to a region closer to the densely located Class – 2 state capital of Shillong which is the main railway network passing from Guwahati, Assam to Byrnihat about 78 KMs from Shillong. Another region where the railway authority wants to connect is the Jaintia Hills region which is Khliehriat district headquarters which is about 57 KMs away from the densely populated regional capital of the Jaintia Hills region, Jowai. The railway authority has failed in all its endeavours to connect railways closer to these vital hot spots. The reason for such an abysmal failure is that whomever is ruling at the Center be it the Congress or the BJP, have failed to barter ILP for goods railways
Until ILP is granted, passed in the Assembly, implemented with all the mechanisms in place then only will the Goods Railway survey start in order to link goods railways to all these hot spots. If the current dispensation at the center refuses to acquiesce then the stalemate will continue. The problem for accession is an utter lack of understanding of the ground realities between the mother which is the central government of her children which are the people of Meghalaya. The sole reason why 90% of the people of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills unitedly oppose is because “Protection of our identity is more important than Development” less we become like the state of Tripura where the indigenous people of Tripura have been relegated to the sidelines and where the immigrants have ruled the roost for decades though there is rapid development yet an identity crisis lingers for the indigenous population much like Assam which has immense developmental activities being carried out yet the indigenous populace are being swarmed in droves by immigrants from Bangladesh in all of its districts. This is where the misunderstanding lie between the mother and her children. What is the use of development when our indigenous identity has been reduced to a minority fringe which can also lead to rebellion to save our indigenous population and when there are no indigenous people to reap the benefits of such a development? “Identity is the holy grail for the North Eastern Minorities and is paramount to development which is secondary”
When the Union Home Ministry officials understand this core issue of concern, it will have to take a final call on whether to grant ILP to Meghalaya or NOT or whether to listen to the majority MLAs who are not always right just because they are majority and represent the people but are not in sync and lacks the understanding of the minds of their own constituents versus the will of the people. More so often, the state governments of the past and present pin this demand on the Pressure Groups (PGs) failing to realize that those pressure groups have unstinted public support with the concurrence of the will of the people and traditional institutions to oppose goods railways with ILP protection first and its mechanisms working in place.
It was also seen in the media when the then late Lok Sabha MP from Shillong seat went to meet the Honourable Union Home Minister Amit Shah to make a case for ILP accession, that it was quickly followed by the Chief Minister and his Deputy who met the Union Home Minister in that very same week to make a case allegedly not to grant ILP as per critics of the State Government though the State Government say in public that it is asking for ILP but nobody knows what is being said in private. The policy of electing BJP Candidates first and then granting ILP later may have worked in Nagaland and Manipur but will never be replicated in Meghalaya because we are different people belonging to different states and different ethnicities of the Mongoloid race (Austro Asiatic and Indo Tibetan) and with a different mindset altogether. Every state must be treated differently and de-hyphenated. The Centre should know that it is not a one size fits all policy.
Two famous, well-known, frivolous excuses widely used to not grant ILP to Meghalaya are:
(a) Meghalaya is a transit state and will affect travelling to other states – Let us not forget that to reach Manipur we have to pass through Nagaland or to reach Mizoram or to pass through Manipur or traversing from Arunachal which are ILP states in which the movements of goods, services and people by rail or road has never ever been affected. The Home Ministry can find out first hand to verify and will find it to be true. In essence, ILP does not hamper movement.
(b) Development will be hampered and cause restrictions to students, workers and tourists – Tourism is one of the many revenues. Why would we “Illogically” hamper them? As for restriction, students, tourists and workers in “Digital India” can book ILP online in this digitized era or offline whichever they want, travel to and fro as many times as they want through online pre bookings, offline when they have work, study or sightseeing in Meghalaya as they please.
For both points, ILP is simply the checking of illegal immigration mostly from Bangladesh and Myanmar, drugs, firearms, interstate gangs / criminals which are normal security checks. To make this easier, modern tech can be used with sniffer dogs. ILP ensures security to the state and nation overall. Proverb: “For any Problem there is always a Solution”
Benefits to the Meghalaya people – Inflation is brought down because of the incoming goods trains, infrastructural development will move forward with brisk pace through goods trains carrying the raw materials and more employment avenues to the people.
Benefits to the Union Government – The government will achieve its aim of linking all future 30 states and union territories with railways near their capital and regional capitals for a streamlined, uniformed development throughout the country especially in the far flung, hard to reach North Eastern States, there will more revenue generation for the states amounting to 30 – 50 Crores or more with every passing year from ILP and for states to spend it judiciously, to lessen the burden of constantly asking money from the Union Government with the eventual aim of the Central Government to reduce the share of grants to all Hilly states of India from 90:10 ratio to 85:10 ratio thus teaching the states about the austerity which is much needed in a world full of conflicts and more potential conflicts which will affected this nation drastically and finally the BJP can establish a foothold in the state by first showing its goodwill and later to become endeared by the people of Meghalaya who will have their say in 2028 and 2029.
Should the BJP acquiesce to ILP accession, perceptions will change about the Bharatiya Janata Party and make itself endearing to the indigenous people which will in turn lead to its eventual foothold later in Meghalaya just like it happened in Bengal. Decision time for the ruling dispensation as to whether it will be the BJP for the people of Meghalaya and use the barter system of ILP for Railways? Delay in decision making of this examination in saying “Yes or No” is viewed as a failure in administration by the Home Ministry (Political). The time is this year. My suggestion is for the BJP to live up to its middle name “Janata” and listen to the Meghalaya people by granting them the ILP. Without railway connectivity in the all-important Khasi and Jaintia Hills regions, railway connectivity in Meghalaya will be viewed overall as a colossal failure.
