One would not believe that an author of a book about the political life of his father would not be present when it was released.
It’s about Ferdinand Banshanlang Lyngdoh, son of former Chief Minister Evansius Kek Mawlong who met a tragic death on October 2, 2021 when the Bolero he was driving burst into flames at Umsamlem, Ri-Bhoi district.
The book titled ‘E K Mawlong – A Political Biography’ was not released at a gathering of the crème de la crème of the society but at a mammoth gathering of villagers, church leaders and Mawlong’s family members held today at Little Flower Higher Secondary School, Mawbri, Ri-Bhoi district.
“Hours before he died, he contacted me on WhatsApp and sent pages of the book that are ready for print,” Ferdinand’s eldest brother George B. Lyngdoh, the MLA of Umroi, said at the book release gathering.
“I think that it’s rare that a son would write a political biography of his father,” George added.
Ferdinand fondly known as Ferdy had used all the workless days of the first and second Covid induced lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 to write about his father’s political life and contributions to Meghalaya in general and Umroi constituency in particular.
After the lockdown eased, Ferdy went to the nooks and corners of Umroi constituency meeting people closely associated with his father during the formative years in the 1970s to the tumultuous 1990s.
He collected whatever memories they could bring forth about his father’s start in politics, his struggles and the way he handled the political ups and downs in his more than 30 years as their representative both as MDC and MLA, except for one term in 2003.
“Most of them shared a common view about ‘Bah Heh Kek’, as his peers called him. They remembered him as a cheerful man in a white Ambassador car, wearing a straw hat on his head, waving at them. Mawlong, they told me, would shake hands with lay people with the same respect as dignitaries,” Ferdy said in his introduction of the book.
“What struck me most was that they wished he should have been a priest instead of a politician. Ultimately, Mawlong was their Pa Trai, the biological father of Umroi, who is known to have strived tirelessly to bring positive changes in his near four-decade career in politics. Even when he was physically tired and ill, he refused to stop doing what he loved the most – to selflessly serve the people,” Ferdy said in the book.
The biography captured the life of Mawlong from his childhood days till his last breath on October 18, 2008.
A considerable portion of the book is dedicated to Mawlong’s contribution to the welfare of Umroi and its people.
Apart from briefly touching upon the political history of Meghalaya from the 70s to the 90s, the biography mentioned about the socio-economic issues Mawlong raised in the Assembly as an outspoken member of the opposition, his contribution as Speaker of the House and his works as Chief Minister of the State.
“The lesson I wish readers to derive from E K Mawlong’s story, like I did, is that just like in love and war, everything is fair in politics. It is a complex mandala which the virtuous consider superfluous and the faint-hearted, brutish,” Ferdy said.
The 241-page biography is published by Vitasta Publishing Pvt Ltd, New Delhi. The hardcover version is priced at Rs 595.
