Meghalaya’s uncertain political terrain

Ritam Banati

They say politics is the art of the possible. Politics in Meghalaya strongly underlines the truth behind this age-old adage. This state has witnessed a rapid change of governments for over a decade now. Not only this, it has also seen four Chief Ministers in a short span of five years. The permutations and combinations in the game of numbers in Meghalaya are not based on any political ideology. This easily ensures the possibility of any kind of political alliance system. Perhaps that was why one of its Chief Minister’s had at one point of time explored the strange feasibility of an all-party coalition in the state. Insurgency The volatility of the political system has only fuelled the insurgency problem in the state. There are militant groups within the state fighting for secession. The first tribal outfit was the HALC (Hynniewtrep Achik Liberation Council). It comprised the Khasis and the Garos. It later split into two: HNLC (Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council) and ALMA (Achik Liberation Matgrik Army). The former was predominantly Khasi and the latter Garo. Later even ALMA broke into two – ANC (Achik National Council) or PLF-M (People’s Liberation Front of Meghalaya) and ANVC (Achik National Volunteers’ Council). The ANC wants a separate land for all the Garos of Meghalaya whereas the ANVC aims for a separate Garoland comprising the Garos of both Meghalaya as well as Assam. Development Meghalaya is primarily a poor agrarian economy which has also suffered severely in industrial progress. Due to this, the growth here has not been up to the mark at all. The state has a miniscule percentage of literates. Lack of adequate educational and employment opportunities has lead to widespread migration of the Meghalaya tribes to other affluent parts of the nation. Meghalaya is a good example of political instability causing a recession in the state’s development and vice versa. The problem of insurgency cannot be de-linked from political instability and lack of economic growth. Slow development trend owing to political shakiness has led to the disgruntlement of the tribal populace here. It was to usher in growth that the Congress gave the green signal to the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) for the uranium mining project in Meghalaya. But this venture has become a bone of contention between political parties with most not being in favour of it. The entry of the private sector was also to facilitate the state’s amelioration. The sealing of a deal with some private companies for six power projects by the government invited the wrath of some. Conspicuous among them was the Khasi Students Union (KSU) which termed it as a total sell-out. The project entails that private companies work in the state for 40 years even after its completion. Meghalaya Power Minister Mukul Sangma justified the government decision that it did not have adequate resources to implement the same independently. History is replete with examples of strange political groupings here. There was a time when the Congress and the BJP joined forces to ensure government formation. The backing of the Independents has also not played a less important role. Several parties have united in the past to give birth to one coalition after another. For instance, the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) consists of the United Democratic Party (UDP), Meghalaya Democratic Party (MDP), Independents, Hill State People`s Democratic Party (HSPDP) and Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM). Politics here is more unpredictable than in most states of the country as was revealed during the last assembly polls here. Switching of allegiance is the norm here.