Shanchothung Tsanglao
Research Scholar, NEHU
Having listened, read and watched the ongoings of the current pandemic and its effect on our people, I am reminded of a quote from Dante Allighieri which goes, “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.” I hope it will not be blasphemous if I say that it is not the darkest place I am afraid of. If I am afraid, it is the moral crisis that I face in remaining mute, and thus, with the hope that it might bring calm to those distressed and to me, I write.
As a person who has voluntarily opted to stay back in my host state, Meghalaya (another small state like ours, which is also fighting tirelessly against the crisis) I can only say that I can relate to some of the issues that our brothers and sisters are facing around the country if not the entire world. And while most of us are facing hardships and untold miseries, let us also remember that while our humble state struggles and is spending endless nights for our safekeeping, other states and countries have also been left helpless too in this fight against the invisible enemy. Let us remember, if the world had been prepared to face a crisis of this magnitude, perhaps it would not even have led to this being termed as a crisis. But yes, it is here and we must all learn to deal with it, together.
No form of government is perfect. As we learn from history, the ideal of a ‘greater good’ always comes with a price. That is as far as my knowledge of politics goes and I would not dwell on it further. But as to how our own government is dealing with the crisis, learning everyday from its mistakes and striving to do better every new day, I say, thank you. Respected Sirs and Madams, for a financially impoverished state, fraught with a history of struggle and oppression, dealing with multiple communities and their varied nuances on an everyday basis, and now topped with the icing on the cake in the form of a life threatening virus, I commend the work that has been done and is being done. I am thankful that in such a short span of time, our people have come together as one and I give all due credit to the state machinery for doing its part. I thank the frontline workers, the various organisations, the church, the volunteers, the central government and most of all; I thank our Almighty for working through all of us.
Yet here we all are. On a daily basis, we come across all forms of content in circulation on social media platforms addressing the struggles of stranded brothers and sisters, the problems faced by returnees, the angst of people in quarantine centres, the distrust of our own back at home, the incessant jibes at the government of having ‘failed’ to do the ‘right thing’. If only we could all take a step back and try to comprehend the logistics involved in moving thousands of people spread across 3.287 million square kilometres of our country. If only we could understand the problems faced in safeguarding a population of more than 22 lakhs with the shortages in infrastructure, connectivity and resources that we face being in a remote, often unacknowledged corner of the country. Can we not give the state machinery some benefit of the doubt if there are loopholes; some certain amount of shortcomings which I believe is not being done deliberately?
Jibe after jibe, criticism after criticism, negativity after negativity, the state machinery has humbly fought through for the greater good and continues to do. Can we take another step back and realise that this government is our own and that each jibe, each criticism and negativity that we are flinging is being done to our own mirror images, for is not a government a mirror image of its people?
We talk incessantly of corruption and its many forms, and admittedly it is a vice inherent in most institutions and there have been many backlashes against the appropriation of financial assistance rendered with the best of intentions at present. Can we all take another step and ask ourselves if we have appropriated the assistance for its best intention? Can we accept that perhaps for now, it is the best that the government can do? If we can, let us give our support in return.
Having asked all of us to take some steps back for reflection, the only possible step is forward and would not it be better if this step forward is one that is taken together? The crisis is here to stay and the struggle is going to be a prolonged one. And for one who is not a witness to the ongoings within the state at present, it is hardly fitting that I write for the same, but for those of us currently outside, let us tell ourselves that our government needs us now. It needs us to be patient, it needs us to understand that it is doing its best in its own functioning to keep us safe wherever we are, that it is doing its utmost in reuniting us with our own and that among other things it is in great need of our prayers as well.
So, for all of us, for once, let us keep a rein on our negativity, pat ourselves on our back for doing our part and tell ourselves, my government needs me!
