Games people play in Arunachal

[This article was published on August 29, 2010 in The Sentinel Arunachal] It is show-time once again! But what is the next scene? Who is blinking first? Is it All Nyishi Youth Association (ANYA) or Home Minister (read Congress led government)? These are not the questions one is interested in. Discerning Arunachalees are interested in knowing where the legislatures are? Aren’t legislatures supposed to keep an eye on functioning of the Government? Are the MLAs and MPs forgetting that Rs 17.15 crores and Rs 16.22 crores respectively were spent to elect them besides unaccounted man-hours of officials and voters worth crores? Haven’t they understood their responsibilities towards the electorates?  MLAs and MPs would do well to remember that sourcing FDR, SPA etc from Government is not the only job they have been entrusted with. Therefore, if ANYA has taken the lead to confront the Government, Opposition legislatures do not deserve to be in the august Assembly. Do we really need Opposition legislatures or parties? What choice does the organizations like ANYA has?  Pledging to take-on ANYA with iron-hand is far too strong a word in a democratic setup. Isn’t that so reminiscent of the Chief Minister calling the anti-dam protestors as anti-Arunachalees? As long as Arunachal is part of democratic India, everybody has right to opinion and right to express it. No one can be threatened and man-handled for airing one’s view as long as it is within legally permissible limits. One hopes that people are not mistaking Arunachal to be part of any communist set up. Although one doesn’t disagree with such democratic ‘expressions’ and ‘demonstrations’, yet one tends to grow cynical about such moves because of the past records. For instance, not a single organization have had focused and sustained campaigns on any of the issues since the current government came back to power. On an average at least 3-4 organization raises concerns for at least 2-3 issues every month. ‘Outstanding’ is the least word to describe the way they raise it with passion, zeal and intensity. But that’s it. Period. Over. Within a fortnight, they tend to lose out steam: distracted and diluted; and issues are left wherever it was, without an outcome. Flip of chart in the calendar is followed by change in themes and tones of protest too. Laundry lists of such issues/ concerns and organizations can be prepared by even a child of 8 years old, without asking even 9 years old to wreck their memory.  Claiming itself to be the voice of majority in the State, too many organizations have taken too many stands and thereby creating confusion amongst Arunachalees at the cost of crippling the lives of weaker and poorer section of society who doesn’t have the luxury of having refrigerators or two wheelers at home and are solely dependent on daily shopping and public transport. But one is given to understand that ‘bandh call’ is the cheapest, easiest and most effective way of democratically registering its protest: announce bandh call, sit back at home and watch the show without a penny spent. Other forms of protest cost money, time and energy.  Evidently protest is carried out in corporate style where cost of organizing is taken into account. And understandably, in business, there is no space for emotions and sentiments - that’s a fair call but aren’t these organizations responsible to their stakeholders who approve their actions, passively or actively?  Larger questions are: aren’t protest registered in the name of larger interests of society? Why not share and show the benefits of such protests to the larger society (read stakeholders) to garner their support for future endeavors? Can any organization show us an evidence of successful outcome? One doubt if there has been any. What business is it where there is never an outcome, forget successful outcome? It is high time that civil society organizations, unlike political parties, should be more accountable to the general public and keep public updated about the outcome of their demands and protests, not just let them suffer.