By Gregory Shullai
The idea of advancing the administration of a State to the status of an individual’s personal projection is a veritable “twin brain” idea – and only leaders destined to lead are able to do exactly that…great minds think alike don’t they? I cannot remember anyone who, since we attained Statehood, could radiate and reflect so much from all the personality and knowledge of the individual like our current Chief Minister has shown. I decided I would write something on it but I did not write because I was waiting for several things to be decided, but I am writing today because nothing seems to be getting decided. In the meantime, and it’s been quite a long meantime, I spent several weeks writing on other subjects that went to “My Memoirs” and today there is a chance to write somewhat normally again. I hope, that what follows will be accepted with goodwill, for if not, one will have nothing but ridicule for what is written (one might view the remarks as personal and we all know that anything personal is indeed comical). Apart from this I have reached a point at which I live as I think and desire nothing more than to express what I think. In this aspect I shall regard anyone’s judgement as a verdict. There is nothing particular that I would want anyone to dwell on – dwell on it fully.
The first impression that comes to mind when we dwell on the transformation of the style of functioning of the Legislative Wing in our State is that we all have pleasant memories of the past, and that the present legislators are quite delighted with what they have inherited – the Land Transfer Act, para 12A to the Sixth Schedule, the Living Root Bridges, global recognition for our biodiversity, the rich uranium belts in the State, etc. If all this is on one side of the coin on the other is the face of our friendly CM. One sees the CM walking the streets, and more especially on prominent billboards. This is something new to many of us…that’s his style. Basically, the CM is more dramatic than objective and in short that is saying that it’s an unfamiliar style…even a new style in an administrative sense; and our people – especially our bureaucrats – see progress in this style. Personally, a lot of things remain to be said, remain even to be thought, so I suspect, and in this area of truths, I will be blunt, the CM surpasses a thousand times the understanding and the comprehension of the average Indian parliamentarian, and may it remain so. Having said that let me outline the compass of my thoughts as clearly as possible. Some may venture to congratulate him as our best leader, but let me be satisfied with the wish that he remains to be what he has been to Meghalaya since he first came on the political scene.
I prefer not to say a word about the State’s ascendency; these are writings on the wall, intelligible to intelligent people. We don’t hear much about corruption these days – even the newspapers don’t report it anymore. Look around you, all the street walls in Shillong look beautiful, everywhere there are hoardings of the successful artists sponsored by the CM: their faces actually on the same hoarding. After all said and done, levering our youth into the atmosphere of the present times must come not only by being in sync with the times but more importantly by syncing them with what it means to be a good human being – and see if they communicate themselves as a coherent whole. There can be no doubt that these upcoming artists have only one thing to say and that is that they may be able to prove themselves worthy of the CM’s interest and firm encouragement – polemic comments will hardly make any dent on them. Under these circumstances I have been telling myself that only the most bizarre person would come out with anything anti CM – someone three quarters lunatic.
I think I now understand what our CM’s doctrine of politics is all about! There are some hoardings that declare a “vision of 2032” implying that when (not if) elected in 2028 there will be an even greater influence in the promotion of talents and with it a new burst in promoting the youth. Make no mistake that in such promotions there are no pretensions – it is altogether beautiful to see the CM’s confidence in everything he undertakes. To this praise of the domesticity that I have begun, I add the praise, or rather the cordial expression of my joy at seeing the trust that the CM has in the Rangbah Shnongs (Headmen) of Shillong with his decision to strengthen them by giving them more responsibility in the maintainance of their localities with special funds provided through the CMConnect programme – that’s a pleasantly meaningful management style that has given his opponents an attack of indigestion, it would be a pity if they choked on these generous handouts, don’t you think? Truly, to write about the CM’s outreach to the people of the State, means only one thing, to pray for his good health, to wish him luck, so that he can properly take his plans forward, so that the State will always be the only place on earth where we feel at home.
Meghalaya may now be the most beautiful stage in India, but there are some things that the CM ignores but should not ignore as our most intimate and sympathetic friend. Our business men and women have a problem. They feel they are being
strangled in their pursuits, and this wounds them inwardly. According to them even as they admire the robustness with which “you have fought your way to become the leader of the State through the chaos of new tasks, hardships, fatigue and annoyances;” they feel they do not have the right to trouble you with their problems, but in our shared interest let me state their plight. Though a completely radical statement of the truth is not possible here, I will briefly state the problems they face. Let us accept the fact that from some of the things the CM is promoting nothing really revolutionary in the States’ GDP rankings can come about, but if business – honest principled business – is promoted that is something that will have a direct positive impact. It is here that I feel the need to be true because in some matters there are no facts only perspectives, and that is the reason why one cannot go on breathing only the promotional atmosphere for ever.
Let me be precise on one aspect – the employment opportunities in the private sector and its wide-ranging implications in labour, transport, mining, trade – especially trade with our neighbouring country deserves primary allocation of time and thought. One would think that when the CM listens to the distressing circumstances of those engaged in border trade, the CM would place himself in their shoes so as to understand what it is that distresses them, but instead, it appears that the CM has his way of disarming this section of the people so that the distressed forget the distress they are going through when they take their distress to him in the first place, and they leave realising only too late that they were too obscure and unintelligible – even to themselves. This profound show of seriousness, encouragement, dedication and devotion that our CM is showing in building up the States’ resources needs to transpire to the business sector as well. Do they not need a little more room to breathe profits into their otherwise suffocating and swallowed up returns that they are going through at present? How regrettable it is, though, that I must even have to write about this! it is not as if the CM does not know the whole present apparatus so as to make this suggestion seem like an eccentric whim. That is not the case – it is an urgent unequivocal need, because if our State is to prosper in a real way production and exports must exceed demands and imports and it cannot happen when politics usurps businesses – let politicians engage themselves in politics and let business people engage themselves in business; as far as I can estimate, this is the only approach that can bring a transformation in our future prospects.
There is another thing which is very clear and that is that the CM emanates a sense of gratitude when people approach him with their woes, but does he see the problems of the people without bias and so apply corrective measures to remove their stress and strain? because our image of politicians is only abstracted from the majority of the politicians in our State and sadly they think only of “self”. We do not fear our politicians, we only fear their selfishness just as we do not love our politicians, we only love their generosity, a generosity that involuntarily blesses and heals wherever the hand is placed. A different political agenda is the need of the hour, and if we are to provide the much-needed impetus for employment opportunities and GDP growth something must be done in this regard, and knowing our CM, he can. He can open up unlimited employment opportunities for our youth in trade and commerce. Let it be known that in GDP rankings we are at an abysmally low level in the all-India rankings – 27th among the Indian States and Union Territories for the year 2026-27 (Google), this needs the CMs’ immediate managerial skills.
Well, that is the dark spot and I hope it becomes “was the dark spot” in the coming days, otherwise all is light and hopeful. I would have to be a very morose mole not to hope otherwise because I believe that unless something out of the blue happens to put the CM on the wrong track entirely, or unless he runs out of steam, something beneficial lies ahead in his second term as CM. The music festivals, the promotion of entrepreneurship, supporting home stays and guest houses, boosting tourism and fruit wine production, initiating stadiums and sporting infrastructure, etc, etc all have a lasting effect; people do not quickly forget things that are not easily forgettable – they will pay their dividends. Essentially, he is fortunate that he has no businesslike ambitions, unlike other members in his cabinet, so he needs fear no dangers from that quarter, no distractions, no pressure to make transactions and to circumspect; in brief he can say outrightly and do exactly what he thinks without worrying about how far his fellow politicians can tolerate his way of thinking. It is very clear that he seeks nothing excessive from his cabinet members to face the elections in 2028; it is also very clear, as of now, that we shall see a thing or two that may make a certain predecessor envy him – and more than that, shock even the most hopeful of the Khasi Hills political parties in 2028. Until then…..
