Distrusting

Editorial:-
Sikkim and its leaders have been talking for some time now about the need for a Civil Society in the State. And surely there must be many individual members of the Sikkimese society who worry over the absence of a community feeling at most times. Is Sikkim anywhere near getting itself a Civil Society? Sadly, the State has not even shown any real hints of such a development in the making. A Civil Society is not an organization that one can register and elect office bearers to. It is just a level where the individual starts thinking of more issues than just those that affect him and his immediate circle. It is a state where the society’s reaction to issues and developments is spontaneous and free of prejudices [at least initially]. Simply put, it is a society that cares. Now, let’s look at the capital city. In the past month itself, there were many developments reported in the papers which demanded a public [as different from individual] reactions. The space and manpower constraints at the hospital, the increasing incidents of petty crime, the problem of college admissions, the understaffing of schools and more recently, the fee hike at government colleges and the madness that played out on the streets on Monday evening. What did Gangtokians do? Precious little. Some were disturbed, some concerned, but most remained unmoved. There is unanimous scoffing and in private reviling of politics, politicians, babudom and bureaucrats, but there is no collective soul searching. All that such superficiality achieves then is increased distrust of everything. One saw this is display among the protesting students in Gangtok on Monday when they refused to accept, trust rather, offers of HRDD officials to convey their protest against the fee hike, and then their adamant refusal to accept assurances on face value during their stand-off at the college gates. They could find collective expression, but not representative leaders to negotiate on their behalf and a combination of all these issues led to the unfortunate collapse which could have been avoided if the cops were still more patient or if the society was generally more trusting [then the students would have calmed down sooner]. But, in the absence of a genuine civil society, everyone is seen as a compromised group and every negotiation seen as a sellout. The college episode is only an example of the many disintegrations that Sikkim is heading for because it cannot give itself a civil society.