Meghalaya’s tryst with freedom

There was a spirit of celebration in the air on August 15, this year. It’s almost as if we were set free from some kind of self-imposed bondage. Self-imposed because the bandh calling organisation, namely the HNLC, hardly has any presence and does not even have the capacity to deliver a hard copy of their diktat to media houses.

Hence they took the route of cyber space where they could send an email sitting somewhere in Bangladesh (as claimed by the police) and media houses would oblige and publish their bandh call and their tiresome rants against the Indian State.

This year, thanks to the Meghalaya High Court, the media had to refrain from publishing any such call for a bandh from any group/militant outfit. At first look, this directive from the Court to media houses looks like an infringement on Article 19 (1)(a), the Right to Freedom of Expression. But the question arises as to whether anti-national elements also enjoy similar rights.

Can they use a Constitutional Right to curb the fundamental rights of the citizen to free movement and the right to pursue their livelihoods?

This being the first time that the Khasi & Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya enjoyed a bandh-free Independence day, many were still unsure of how to claim their freedom. It is like using a limb that has been under plaster for a long time and taking tentative steps, not knowing if it will actually support our movement. But a beginning has been made.

Thousands of citizens moved around with a sense of liberation and gaiety. This good initiative has continued and will continue in the years to come. August 15, 2015 is a red letter day for Meghalaya and will be remembered as the day when citizens actually had their tryst with freedom after over two decades of bondage.