Can Manipur afford to go on like this ? Wanted : A Govt that works
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Something has to give. Manipur cannot go on like this forever and even as there is nothing to suggest that a solution to the ethnic conflict is anywhere in sight, the people continue to bleed from wounds inflicted by those very set of people who have come to the forefront in the name of doing something for the land and the people. So even as a proscribed armed outfit has gone on record to state that people need to be on guard against the bogus Nationalists who have emerged and in the process been able to indoctrinate the youngsters that those who possess guns are the ‘true patriots’, the All Manipur Recognised Private Schools’ Welfare Association has gone on record to register their disillusionment with the unbearable monetary demands imposed on the educational institutions. This was not the first time that voices of disappointment have been raised against the ‘unreasonable’ and ‘unbearable‘ monetary demands served on the people and earlier there have been cases when markets were constrained to down shutter and all those connected with running the shops and stores staged sit-in-protests. The last time such a protest was staged was when shops along Khoyathong to the Assembly complex downed shutters and plans were on to stage a sit-in-protest. That the dharnas were forbidden as the Assembly session was on then is a different story but here is a case of shopkeepers downing shutters to lodge their protest. There have been many other protests earlier too and this should say something profound about how the Government at Imphal is today totally lost on how to contain the situation. The ongoing ethnic clash, the shabby condition of the Imphal-Jiribam National Highway, the freeway given to armed persons on the Imphal-Dimapur line wherein goods trucks are impounded in broad daylight and the goods set on fire, the slushy and muddy road that connects a district headquarter, Ukhrul in this case, with Imphal, the potholed filled roads plum in the heart of Imphal etc are all indications of a Government which today exists only in name while the place and the people have been condemned to just survive the place. No one knows when things will improve or if at all it would improve but already Manipur is neck deep in the slush and dirt kicked up by a confused and now toothless (?) Government which in turn has given way to the emergence of numerous power centres, all coming under the impression that it is within them to define what is good for the people, never mind the fact that in the process they do nothing except make life all that more miserable for everyone.
No easy answer on what the next course of action should be to bring a semblance of governance, but Manipur cannot continue like this forever. Something has to give, as noted in the opening line of this commentary. And making things worse are the different demands and points put up by different organisations, the most significant being the demand raised by the Rongmei Naga Council, Manipur (RNCM). Redemar-cate the district boundaries by merging villages of five tribes/sub-tribes (Chiru, Kharam, Rongmei, Aimol and Kom) which are currently under Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts with Noney district. Administrative convenience is the line maintained by the RNCM but one wonders whether the call to merge the villages inhabited by the five tribes/sub-tribes actually falls within the understanding of administrative convenience or more about ethnicisa- tion of districts. It is up to the Government to take a call on the demand raised by the RNCM, but it has already dealt a blow on Imphal with many of the fuel pumps coming up with the Petrol Nil sign. The pressure of push and pull on the Government is noted, but this cannot and should not be any reason to sleep over the matter mess that is Manipur today. As things stand today, people are still reeling under the impact of extremely low supply of cooking gas, the piling garbages on the roads of Imphal and the politics of pulls and pushes and it is only right for the Government to see what steps may be taken up to address the issues confronting the people. The present situation is certainly not what the people expected when the BJP was voted back to power convincingly in the 2022 Assembly elections and Imphal would need to think out of the box to set things right.
No easy answer on what the next course of action should be to bring a semblance of governance, but Manipur cannot continue like this forever. Something has to give, as noted in the opening line of this commentary. And making things worse are the different demands and points put up by different organisations, the most significant being the demand raised by the Rongmei Naga Council, Manipur (RNCM). Redemar-cate the district boundaries by merging villages of five tribes/sub-tribes (Chiru, Kharam, Rongmei, Aimol and Kom) which are currently under Churachandpur and Kangpokpi districts with Noney district. Administrative convenience is the line maintained by the RNCM but one wonders whether the call to merge the villages inhabited by the five tribes/sub-tribes actually falls within the understanding of administrative convenience or more about ethnicisa- tion of districts. It is up to the Government to take a call on the demand raised by the RNCM, but it has already dealt a blow on Imphal with many of the fuel pumps coming up with the Petrol Nil sign. The pressure of push and pull on the Government is noted, but this cannot and should not be any reason to sleep over the matter mess that is Manipur today. As things stand today, people are still reeling under the impact of extremely low supply of cooking gas, the piling garbages on the roads of Imphal and the politics of pulls and pushes and it is only right for the Government to see what steps may be taken up to address the issues confronting the people. The present situation is certainly not what the people expected when the BJP was voted back to power convincingly in the 2022 Assembly elections and Imphal would need to think out of the box to set things right.