From the old to new year
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: January 04, 2012 -

Once more a year comes to an end. And it is time, once again to look back and take stock of the events and issues, incidents and accidents, triumph and tragedies of the year past.

As with many other previous years during the last few decades, in the year we have just witnessed slipping into history, tragedies outweighed triumphs and tears, the cheers.

The year was strewn with killings, bomb blasts, kidnappings, human trafficking, strikes, and the longest economic blockades.

At the end of each year, we feel we have seen the worst and most of us keep hoping for the turn around for the better, for the light at the end of the tunnel only to realize that our expectations have been far too optimistic and not in tune with ground reality.

Many disturbing trends seen in the last few years continued through the year gone by.

Exploding bombs at public and crowded places especially targeting innocent public is no longer a rarity, this year saw gruesome instances of this despicable trend, also crimes and violence against women and children continue to take place with alarming regularity.

Over and above, the lack of basic amenities even in the cities, the people of the state, as in the past year, suffered heavily from artificial deprivations because of bandhs and blockades.

But despite these difficulties and trying conditions, in the midst of deprivations and risk to life and limbs many of our fellow Manipuris continue to shine in their chosen fields, giving us those few rare moments which make us feel uplifted, alive.

As we enter a new year, all of us wish to start afresh, literally from a clean slate, especially for those of us for whom the precedent years haven't been good going. Towards this end, we indulge in what is normally referred to as 'New Year Resolutions'.

In case of Manipur as things have been going horribly wrong for the last so many years, we wish our 'New Year Resolutions' for the state would come true.

First and foremost among these resolutions would definitely figure, an end to killings, to lose of precious innocent lives. How we would wish there are no kidnappings, no human trafficking, no bandhs and blockades, etc. the lists is endless.

But we know, we are asking for the impossible. For, it is possible to begin afresh just because we have embarked on a new year, just as it is impossible to put a stop to everything when a year comes to an end.

Even so, it is important to try and change things for the better; we should never be tired of making efforts towards this direction.

In the present era, the primary responsibility of bringing about change for the better lies with the state, as every policy it undertakes, every law it enacts impinges on the life of the people, it is important that each individual also make every little efforts towards a better society.

On the face of it, these individual efforts might seem insignificant, but all these insignificant efforts will certainly add up to something significant and who knows might bring about revolutionary changes.

And talking about changes for the better, as we step into the New Year; the people of Manipur are given the unique opportunity to elect a new government.

Though the choices may be limited, nonetheless, people could exercise their franchise judiciously and elect the best possible representatives from among the candidates in the fray who would be able to steer the course of the state to the right direction for the next five years.

Make the best of this opportunity.