Denial and Assertion for Justice

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(Top) A gas stove sits in a room meant to be a classroom and a view of the school in Churachandpur :: Pix - TSE

Access to services like education, health, water, information, electricity etc. are considered minimum requirement to lead a decent and dignified life. Lack of access to these services is considered as a deprivation of the fundamental rights of a citizen. The onus of providing these services to the citizens resides with the state.

As a result, the country have constitutional provisions such as right to education, right to information, National Health Mission and many other programme for the benefit and to secure the lives of the citizens. No doubt, there are elements or peoples in the position of power who considers these services, provided by the government, as their personal property.

This does not mean to say that history has been free from such people, however, the presence of people of such character in large number do not reflect good for the society.

It would not be wrong to assume, for the time being, that Manipur has such people in large number. A report in one of the leading newspaper of Manipur reported that a head master of a school has siphoned off benefits from the Education Department. In the same way Deputy Commissioner has hinted to the existence of a bigger nexus in the Education Department.

Not to be left behind, a school in Singngat are of Churachandpur district, inflated the enrolment of students in the school and withdraw money from three different heads of the Education Department. Moreover, the school building was constructed as a residential complex.

In another incident, an elected representative and his cohorts misappropriated the PDS items such as rice, sugar and kerosene for almost four year starting from 2007. The moot point here is as a society do we encourage such behaviour from people that are supposed to lead the society as role models. It is the duty of every citizen to condemn actions that denies justice to the people.

Justice can take different forms and giving compensation in return to the displacement of home due to mega infrastructural projects taken up by the government for the larger society. No amount of monetary assistance can replace the values and meanings associated with a home and the surroundings. Every chair, table and items in a home is loaded with history and meanings, as such monetary replacement cannot be compared to the associated values.

At the minimum level taking into account the larger needs some monetary assistance is considered a necessity for the displaced people to initiate a new beginning. However, it has become a tradition to play politics over the distribution of compensation. Differences has arises between the cabinet decision to fix the level of compensation before the submission of the report of the Expert Committee set up by the government to look into the issues of rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected villages by the Thoubal Multi-Purpose Project.

Point to be ponder here is if the government is not going to follow or wait for the committee it has set up to look into the issue, then why in the first place the committee is constituted. It is nothing else but wastage of public money. Second, the action of the government reveals the smack of arrogance and complete disregard to the institutions and processes established through long human struggle to bring a civilised society. Besides, the arrogance also comes out when the government decided to compensate the trucks and goods burnt in the on-going economic blockade.

It is a quandary to justify the action of the government when the root cause has not been addressed or those perpetuating the illegal actions have not been brought under the purview of the rule of law. The action of the government amount to saying that the state should not remain in peace, plus all forms of violence is acceptable and the government shall continue to provide some monetary assistance. Through this monetary assistance the government will take the role of a benevolent master.

Since, the government has been intoxicated by the power and those instruments of state have left behind the notion of the rule of law the state is witnessing, blatant misuse of power that is derived from the law. A classic example is the event that takes place in Manipur University where the law enforcing agencies enter the campus of an academic institution, that too in civil dress, threaten the students.

Though, it cannot be denied that the institution had a history destroying its own sanctity by forgoing the rational thinking mind and allowing to be dictated by different forces. But, one should not forget the onus of protecting the sanctity of the university resides with the peoples that are associated with the university namely the faculty and the students. History has witnessed to the fact that institutions of higher learning have been the axis in the progress of a society towards a progressive society.

Though, in measure the students of the university have shown that in a society law has a place and it is not the property of Tom, Dick and Harry.

Hope, the event marks the beginning of a move towards a society where reason and rational thinking shall prevail over the escapist and pessimist thinking that is feature of Manipur whereby justice shall have a meaning.