Is disruption possible in Manipur politics? - II

Akendra Sana
Manipur in the past attained many noteworthy achievements through prolonged mass agitations in the past. Whether it was the statehood from being a union territory or the inclusion of the Meiteilon (Manipuri language) in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution and other issues dear to the hearts of the Manipuri people were achieved or resolved only after hard struggles of agitation. These mass agitations did not however throw up a singular individual or force who could have caused a disruption in Manipur politics that could bring about a more just and less corrupt public life.
What kind of agitation would bring about disruptions that have much larger impact may be by catapulting an individual or individuals or a force multiplier that usher in major upheavals and positive influences on the lives of the common men in the streets of Imphal, Chandel, Churachandpur, Senapati or Ukhrul. True these two agitation for full statehood and language recognition did bring about the goals they set for themselves and certainly brought major changes. But they did not change the way public life was conducted. And they did not spin up any major different political formation or individual politician with wider appeal who promised a less corrupt society with conviction and long term commitment because they were not intended to? Or is it that we continued to be contended with the way it was and we were not really looking for any kind of disruption that was capable of introducing a more equal society where aspirations of both the poor and the rich are expected to be met?
In the past there was the birth of the Manipur Peoples Party that can to an extent be called a disruption. But it arose more out of misgivings some leaders had against the then ruling Congress Party and cannot truly be called a disruption that helped an individual or a force to herald any major long lasting shift from the then existing political life. Well the phenomenon of the MPP with its birth in 1968 was in the past. It was a formidable force through the 1970s till early 1990s electorally and in later years its influence has become weak. However, despite having been in power in the past, for the moment they appear to have outlived the fire they once had. Some semblance of a healthy strong political force can the MPP once again become only if it can reinvent itself in a major way. That of course is for the party to decide and act to stay relevant.
What then are the examples elsewhere? Well, in the past and in our neighbourhood in Assam, the student agitation of the late 1970s and 80s produced a Prafulla Mahanta and his team whatever were their weaknesses and limitations and whatever they had later become and whatever shelf life politically such individuals have. Mahanta, former president of the All Assam Students Union (AASU) which spearheaded the Assam Movement which came to be known as the Anti-Foreigners Agitation in the 1980s went on to form the Assam Gana Parishad (AGP) and became Assam’s first ever youngest Chief Minister at the age of thirty-three in 1985.
 In recent times we can think of a Kejriwal who managed to emerge as a disruption and made things happen whatever the drawbacks and weaknesses he and his team suffer from. Both in the state of Assam and the national capital Delhi, it is interesting to note that they both arose not out of any existing political formation but from mass agitation of their respective times.
It is important for Manipur to reimagine for a better future in its political life.  Think of the successes our youth have achieved whether it is in the field of sports or the arts and all other fields. Many have reached heights that are widely respected and admired throughout the world. It is for them and all those who aspire to achieve similar positions that we need to reexamine ourselves once again to change the way we conduct our politics. Let it be within the norms of acceptability of expecting results for their merit and the training the youth have attained for further growth and for meaningful lives in their homeland. Should we not be attempting to usher in a society of meritocracy and nothing else? Is there a leadership that can inspire?
Can there be one singular issue that is able to fire imagination with a much wider appeal that is more inclusive of the aspirations of  the majority of all the communities however disunited they may appear at different times in history and at present? Such an issue must be potent to bring about a movement worthy of involvement of all. It is urgent to be convinced of the hunger that the present needs a disruption in the politics of Manipur to steer the people away from the curse of hopelessness so that the future once again become something to anticipate smilingly for our younger generation.
So it is only when we have the courage to hang our heads in shame and grind our teeth with determination can we hope for some positive change. These are challenging times, yes, but solutions must be sought. Of course the agenda is to be able emerge out of the state of helplessness with or without disruptions.
 Is there then an outlier somewhere nearby, someone who would provide the ignition that would channelize all the trapped energy for every frail nerve to spring to life?
Concluded
The writer Akendra Rajkumar studied History at Delhi University and is a former Regional Head of a Central PSU in the financial services sector.
Views are personal.