PART I: Fear in the Air
New Delhi has pumped in billions of rupees to the northeastern states year after year. Most of it comes as grants. Of the Rs 4,800 million that Meghalaya got this fiscal year, only Rs 480 million is a loan. But the state is underdeveloped, and nearly 50 per cent of its population lives below the poverty line.
Agricultural productivity at 0.43 per cent is among the lowest in the country. The absence of development has contributed to increased xenophobia, says Roving Editor Ramesh Menon.
Rs 4800 million is a lot of money. For a state with a population of around two million.
All the northeastern states get huge grants, because it is classified as a special region. But these states do not have a clean record in spending the funds which hardly trickle down to the poor
tribal.
Meghalaya Governor M M Jacob, who frequently travels into the hinterland, told rediff.com he sees rampant poverty all around. Resource mobilisation, he said, was very poor with the state government not making use of the funds it was given. But every minister you meet only talks of how the Centre must pump in more funds.
Union Minister of Planning Arun Shourie recently said the northeast must get out of the grievances syndrome, concentrate on building their states, make it self-reliant. Defence Minister George Fernandes angered many when he said funds were frittered away in the northeast and corruption was rampant.
Says B Dutta Ray, 77, author of Tribal Identity and Tension in Northeast India:
"Hundreds of crores are being pumped in here, but it is going into few hands. Today, the
elite tribals exploit the poor tribals. Nearly 54 per cent are below the poverty line."
The argument often advanced by the Khasi and Garo tribals is that the Bengalis and Marwaris have cornered economic positions and fleeced the locals to get rich.
The Khasi Students Union added their voice to the campaign. Then, came the armed outfits.
Points out Mrinal Miri, author and acting vice-chancellor, North Eastern Hill University:
"The Khasis outside Meghalaya are warm, friendly and hospitable. Higher education and exposure
to the West through Christanity should have brought in a wider vision. But they never got the
political leadership they deserved. Political narrowmindness and utter disregard for the
future of the state made it a fertile ground for xenophobia to flourish."
Chief Minister E K Mawlong's coalition government enjoys the support of 39 United Democratic Party and Nationalist Congress Party MLAs. Of these, 31 are cabinet ministers. Another is the speaker, one the deputy speaker, the remaining six enjoy cabinet status as chairmen of various government organisations.
Mawlong says matter of fact: "I have done it to give everyone some responsibility. We want to share it."
"Not a single MLA in the present assembly has not been a minister at some point of time. The
only interest of politicians in Meghalaya is to stay in power," says KSU president Paul Lyngdoh.
Xenophobia has been one tool to stay in power. Come election time and hatred is an emotion
politicians play with to get votes. It worked once, so they use it everytime.
Points out Padma Shri recipient Patricia Mukhim who lives in Shillong: "Politicians whip up
xenophobia as it is the only thing that can tilt the balance during elections. It is the only
election issue and politicians from every party use it."
Meghalaya has no industries to exploit its rich resources. The state has coal and limestone, ginger, pineapple and orchids. It also has a large number of herbs.
No outsider can come in and set up an industry. He needs to do it in a tribal's name. With the current mood of distrust and hate, no one from outside the northeast is ready to invest in Meghalaya.
Guess where the grass for broomsticks in India comes from? Meghalaya. But wait. The broomsticks are made elsewhere and then sent back to Meghalaya. No enterprise is encouraged.
Jacob, minister of state for home in P V Narasimha Rao's government, says outsiders have to be assured of safety before they invest. No one speaks that kind of language in Meghalaya.
There is also fear. Militants announced recently that any criticism will be dealt with severely. Says Miri: "Internal criticism has been totally stifled. Life is vibrant only if you express yourself."
When the KSU takes a belligerent stand on 'outsiders' they get huge support as it is made out into an emotive issue. An issue where outsiders came in, set up businesses, and prospered while the tribals remained consumers.
Businessmen often channel their profits into ventures in their native provinces as investing in a state
where they have no rights to property or independent ventures is seen as risky. Especially since the 'Outsiders get out' slogan surfaces every few months.
In recent years, countless Bengali and Marwari businessmen have sold their properties at throwaway prices in distress sales and left the northeast.
Says a Delhi based Marwari trader who fled the northeast a few years ago: "I asked myself if
money and property was more important than my life. I left everything and moved to Delhi. I can
never think of going back."
Militants in Meghalaya have killed numerous businessmen who did not respond to their extortion notices. Says a distraught trader: "It is difficult to sleep well. Once the notices come, you just have to pay."
Sometimes students walk into a shop and say the militants have sent them. Then they pick up goods and leave without paying. Tribals often drive away from petrol pumps run by non-tribals without paying for the fuel.
Though the Supreme Court asked the Meghalaya government to hold a civic election over a year ago, it has been unable to do so. There are no nominations. Ananta Dey, a Bengali businessman who won earlier elections, was shot dead sometime ago. The militant Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council has said no to an election.
Manas Chaudhari, editor of the daily Shillong Times, is often told he is a Bengali and that is why he is critical of the tribals. "An editor is seen as an editor all over the world," he says, wondering how his Bengali origins can affect his journalism.
The non-tribal population in Meghalaya measured at around 20 per cent in 1972. Today, it hovers around 14 per cent. That should make the tribals rest easy, but the panic continues.
Finance Minister Scott Lyngdoh echoes a common thought when he says residents of Meghalaya fear they will face the same fate as tribals in Tripura who are today outnumbered by Bengalis and other non-tribals. Politicians often cite the case of Tripura to whip up xenophobia in Meghalaya.
The KSU hardly ever speaks of issues involving students, but constantly harps on how outsiders swamp the state. Says KSU president Paul Lyngdoh, 29: "We have a legitimate fear of outsiders as we have a border with Bangladesh and Assam from where illegal immigrants come. Then, they stay put getting involved in mining and construction activity."
That is not all. The KSU has for many years demanded that Khasi girls should not be allowed
to marry non-Khasis. They demand that a law be enacted to ensure this.
Many businessmen from outside the state are married to local women. The suspicion among the tribals is that they did not do it for love, but because they want to save income tax. Tribals are exempt from income tax in Meghalaya, and marrying a tribal could be a suitable route to achieve this.
It is also easy to carry on business activities in their wives's names as state laws prohibit
non-tribals from carrying on any independent business or investing in property.
Points out Kynpham Singh Nongkynrih, a Shillong lecturer: "Many non-tribal businessmen keep our
women just to carry on business activity. This has really hurt us. It has made us very angry."
Says acting vice-chancellor Miri: "Some of the deep insecurity that the Garos and Khasi tribals have in Meghalaya is justified as the communities were never able to assert themselves."
KSU chief Lyngdoh says the state's politicians have not addressed serious issues. He points out to a recent two-day assembly session when one day went in condoling deaths and other formalities, the other was spent in a no-confidence motion.
After Meghalaya got statehood, the tribals wanted to have complete control. They only had
demographic control, not economic control. Market forces were in the hands of non-tribals from Assam, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
The rift started here.
If the tribal population want to get complete control, they have to open up, not withdraw inwards and become victims of xenophobia. There are enough lessons in the marketplace to learn from.
In the same breath, they also ask for the imposition of innerline permits that will control the entry on non-tribals from other states. Says KSU leader Lyngdoh: "We cannot wipe out our identity at the cost of development. The permit system will discourage outsiders from coming in."
If education came into the state, it was largely because of Christian missionaries. There is
largescale unemployment today. The future of the educated youth is bleak: No new avenues are
opening up.
Mawlong says the youth must employ themselves as government jobs are saturated. Meghalaya has 45,000 government employees.
Says Nongkynrih: "The fear we have of outsiders coming in cannot be labelled as xenophobia.
Inflitrators from Bangladesh and Nepal are coming in daily. Contractors bring in Biharis and Bangladeshis as they work for low wages. Then, they stay on. Politicians encourage this for their vote
banks."
Ironically, as markets all over India open up, politicians in Meghalaya are trapped by their jargon and cannot advocate that the state open up, modernise, compete and grow. Says Nongkynrih: "Look at what bright chief ministers like Digvijay Singh and Chandrababu Naidu are doing for their states. But our leaders do not travel and have become like frogs in a pond."
Design: Lynette Menezes
Part III: 'It is very lucrative to be a militant'
Part IV: 'If there is political will, the militants can be finished in no time'
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