Along with the rest of the country Meghalaya too protested the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha last week. In a democracy, to protest is a fundamental right; to be violent and commit arson are not. A protest may be organised by one or two groups and people who feel strongly about the issue under protest like to affiliate themselves with that group even if they are not members. However, every protest also has its share of agent provocateurs. These might enter a protest rally after carefully studying the behaviour of the group thats calling the protest. They are part of the protest just to incite violence so that the cause of the protestors is defeated. On Thursday after the Meghalaya Assembly had passed a resolution to invoke the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in Meghalaya as a deterrent to the CAA, hundreds of people on two wheelers rode past Police Bazar, vandalizing shops, beating unsuspecting passers-by and generally creating fear psychosis in the city. In fact, in the week-long protests, vandals were seen targeting certain localities and trying to set ablaze vehicles or breaking their windows. This senseless violence has been part of the culture of protest in Shillong. Hence the Government law and order machinery cannot claim to have been caught unawares.

This unprovoked violence has very pernicious effects on young people from Meghalaya, studying and working outside the state. Video clips of the violence in Police Bazar on Thursday have gone viral. These would have reached people across the country by now. They create anger and resentment against all tribal people of Meghalaya living outside. This cycle of violence will take long to break. So far no earnest efforts have been made to resolve the conflicts and heal the emotional fractures. Those in their twenties and thirties today would not be able to relate to the events of 1979 when a cycle of violence shattered the harmony between the tribals and non-tribals. The disruption in social harmony is difficult to repair. It will take an evolved kind of social engineering to repair the faultlines that are, unfortunately, not given enough time to mend. Every time there is social unrest over small or big issues the non-tribals residing here, including those whose ancestors have come here over a century ago, become soft targets. They are alienated and treated like interlopers who have no right to their living space. So much so they dont feel that sense of belongingness and stake-holdership for this city. Its time for the elders from all communities to come together and build bridges of peace and understanding.

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Anatomy of a protest - The Shillong Times