A beautiful land

Heigrujam Nabashyam *

My first reaction to the news that the government of Manipur was organizing a One Day Seminar which I saw in the newspaper some 10 days ago on "Manipur – The way Forward", in its effort to find a way out from the present state of affairs, was an instant laughter.

I read on and I saw names of experts and scholars from Manipur and also from across the country, who would be talking on different subjects; and the Governor of Manipur gracing the Seminar, and of course, the Chief Minister presided over the Meet.

I did not have any doubt in the efficacy of the expertise of the experts and scholars; what made me laugh was the manner the government was behaving – behaving like a local club or a research institution; but certainly an innovation of the SPF government nevertheless.

Seminar, conference, symposium etc. are convenient and popular ways for exchanging ideas or for learning new things especially in educational institutions; or maybe international conference on specific issues. And today in Manipur, seminar, conference etc. are a regular feature in the activities of the clubs or civil society organizations especially, since the coming of the local cable TV. Even some political parties in its wisdom to elicit expert opinions and build public support on certain issues indulge in such activities.

Perhaps this may be a strong observation but a government whose machinery are encompassing and omnipotent and also manned by the best brains of the land, wasting valuable time and energy organizing such meetings, seminars etc. instead of performing its primary duty in a horrible and perennially troubled place like ours by doing simple jobs like managing communal relations by going out onto the hills and the valley, reaching out to the people, sending out peaceful messages and love to all the Echin-enao without any distinction etc. – the minimum duty expected from the leadership of the government, is the height of folly.

True to their reputations the experts did not disappoint the listeners; they took on the issues effectively. However the intention of the government is not clear. Is the government going to be influenced by the expert opinions, which in fact, been carried many times over, albeit in different words especially, by the local English dailies in no uncertain terms, and that the government have ignored them everytime, royally.

So the question is what do the government do with the Seminar ? Or is it a ploy to baffle the public who are overawed by the unprecedented money-funds brought by the chief minister from Delhi; and crores of it have been skimmed off by the powers that be ? Or is it to educate the poor hapless – ordinary mortals or what is it for ?

Great men have great novel ways to do things. There are stories how Alexander or Akbar the Great or even Genghis Khan, the Great Mongol whose only fear was dialogue, do things in their own great ways; so also some leaders in the modern times have their own ways to do things.

President John F Kenedy of the United States during the Cuban crisis which had threatened yet another nuclear holocaust after the war, stood his ground and led the Americans and the world at large, out of a nightmare by his clear vision and strong will; who ultimately was said to have released his tension by a romantic escapade with the Hollywood sex symbol of those days.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister known for his love of democratic principle too, had in his own inimitable way used to assert his will. It is said Nehru used to solicit advice and opinions from pundits and experts. However in case, if Nehru after studying the opinions, felt he had a different opinion, he would make it a point to acknowledge the opinion but he would have his own way.

Such are the stories of great minds who do not hide their shortcomings; but at the same time their conviction for the principle they stand for are unshakable. The same would be true for the chief minister of Manipur, and judging by his past records he would most likely bury the expert opinions, for which his government had meticulously planned to procure, under piles of files. And instead he would make good use of his innate wisdom.

What is expected from the leader of the government is, the chief minister must listen to the woes of the public, an estimated 80 percent of which live hand to mouth and nearly 7 lakhs people are without jobs; it is a different thing if their votes were bought in the elections.

However, being the top executive of Manipur, he must be cohesive in his policy. He should have an open mind and understand the sensibilities of the different sections of the society and act accordingly, instead of whipping the insurgents for all the ills of Manipur for the simple reason that, it is not the undergrounds alone but it is the inefficiency and widespread corruption with impunity in high places of the government that is ailing Manipur all the more. And to check this trend, the easiest way is make the dealings of the government transparent and accountable.

And amusing things also happen in Manipur. Till today prices of essential commodities have not been normalized for example, rice cost nearly Rs. 30/- a kilo and LPG, which is not available at the authorized agencies, are readily available in the black-market but at triple the price. But the best part of the story is no clubs or CSOs do not make any complain and therefore the government sits on it coolly, as if everything is OK.

Interestingly this may have encouraged some vague experts who have the audacity to sing paean for the chief minister for bravery and leadership, when the state has failed on most fronts, on the Akaaspani Imphal – All India Radio Imphal; shameful! It would do good if the AIR authority stop such ridiculous misinformation service. A simple suggestion is change the discussion of "important news" by experts at 7.30 a.m. to "a look at the newspapers" on the line of the Delhi station of AIR's Morning News.

P. Chidambaram, the Tamil union minister once commented – a truism though, that we must choose good people, while reflecting on Manipur affairs some months ago. He is right; Delhi cannot send people to govern Manipur or Tamil Nadu or any state, for all the time.

We have reached rock bottom; our societal bed rock is hewn; the changes in spatial distribution of our native population is alarming; opening up Nongpok-thong to ASEAN via Myanmar promises us economic prosperity but needs indigenous leadership to protect the natives from decimation, to mention a few points. Let us remember we do not have all the time. And we do not have another world too.

However we could be hopeful; given the right impetus, we can bring the change, before it is too late. We can explore ways to undo the damage done to this beautiful land of beautiful people; and it will cost us no money no labour, but it requires our commitment and integrity; if not for ourselves but at least for our children. And now, the question one needs to ask is, 'am I prepared' ?

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