Frozen fillings, a new age ailment!

G S Oinam *

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary
desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led by thee into ever widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake"

(Source: Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali, verse XXXV)

We are obliged to submit our observation categorically for the whole drama of fake encounter episode for your feedback and kind consideration. Our observation is purely base on system analysis without calculating indicators like "Who and Who's" in the entire movement.

1. Whereas law and order discussions in the state is never ending story like opening of Pandora Box unless our insurgency (political) problem was permanently solve. Safety and security of common people was the serious concern in the state.
2. Whereas the whole episode of present issue was arises from the Tehelka exposed of fake encounter of khwairamband bazaar, however, news item published in Tehelka was not news but it was great news only when it was widely published in local media. Therefore, local media are suggested to co operate to find out a solution (if media knew how to create news then they must learn how to destroy news when it was unfit)
3. Whereas an enquiry committee is looking into the matter to find it out the facts of fake encounter, therefore, it is correct legally to wait the report of judicial enquiry committee before giving any punishment. One copy each of the Enquiry committee report may be submitted to the Guwahati High Court, Imphal, Union Home ministry and State government for appropriate action. Who demanded and who invited the enquiry committee may co operate to enquiry committee for speedy enquiry reports.
4. Whereas law and order is concern to state home department but none of agitator demanded resignation of state home minister or removal of home portfolio. However, agitators demanded resignation of chief minister on moral ground. It is observe as one step jump demand. None of the chief minister resigned on moral ground so far in India with related to fake encounter cases either in Gujarat, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharastra, etc. In case, CM resigned on moral ground then it will be a great reference to other state of India, constitutional experts said.
5. Whereas demand was true on one side of being a head of state chief minister is the moral responsibility of over all in the state; however, it is presuming that there was no personal enmities between agitators and state council of ministers. Therefore, Union government has taken up many reforms like establishment of Police Establishment Board (PEB), State Security Commission (SSC) and Police Complaints Authorities (PCA) in each state. Centre has asked all the courts to speedy backlog cases and maintain transparent for example discloser of judges asset. Centre is planning to amend the prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 to allow confiscation of properties of bureaucrats after police file a charge sheet against an officer and maximum imprisonment of 7 years in jail.
6. The whole protest was democratic, mobilization was very good, public participation was very good and publicity and propaganda was outstanding. We appreciate the agitators for restrained in non violence and democratic method of agitation. It was simply a great public protest as a whole against injustice. However, in categorically observation, movement sometimes seemed to be tilted to (a) State verses Non State actors when UGs press released in favour of agitators. (b) Sometimes state verses agitators plus opposition parties (like BJP and RSS ally). It has created sometimes confusion to the whole process to make a decision by third party in time. Therefore, Agitators have missed the opportunity; the climax of the whole drama was rated at 30 to 45th day of the agitation but they missed it because they can not project any unquestionable leader.
7. We are suggested agitators to uphold to the original status of being a guardian of social organizations or civil society. We are highly honour Apunba Lup and its June Uprising and still we praise the leaders of June uprising. The issue had a very strong foundation, non political, non interference from UGs and planning, methods, strategy and objectives are all good, well architected except some violence and burning of buildings like State Assembly and State Library building. A guardian must act promptly and must know how to behave equally and balance when there was a crisis in a family.
8. Destroying other systems to repair one system is a signature of bad engineering. Therefore, administrative reforms and minimized election expenditure formula (like poster campaign, flag campaign, street camp, rally for election can be restricted. Mizoram state did it for the fist time in the last Assembly Election) may be the better option in which social organisation may pay attention. Our real politicians are none other then our officers, engineers, contractors and businessmen. In our experience of election opinion polls, we checked only how many more officers/ contractors support the candidate and how many postal ballot paper they can collected. If confused, they support and donate money to the both winning candidates. They study politics and support to candidates because they are directly hit by new government. Therefore, our election opinion polls were 90% correct by a simple survey of officers/ contractors in the valley districts. Candidates are also value the officer's/ contractors vote at the ratio of 1:100 public votes. We have seen many retired / voluntary retired officials join in politics. At the end, elected members are helpless and mercy to them. Therefore, vote by villagers and service deliver to rich men. This system must be breaking up first.
9. We are strongly suggested to implement Police Complaints Authority (PCA) in the state as one part of compromising formula in the dialogue between agitators and government. We are suggested that Members of Police Complaints Authorities (PCA) may include one MLA and other members from the representatives of social organisation, journalist, lawyers, security officers and professionals.
10. Finally, we are strongly suggested opening of school and collages immediately. Lost of one academic year means lost the whole carrier of young and learning children (please see child psychology books). And, lost of carrier means lost of vision because world is very competitive. A fraction of mark and a second of time may change your whole life.

Society will be forward only when it was led by modern elders in our present environment. "Attitude, Efficiency and Discipline" are common language which is often used in contemporary society. Warning, caution and direction to the society by juniors have negative impression. Hopefully, our elders are active in one way or other.

To respect the dignity and experience of elders is one's duty. Confusing status of second party is almost a prime factor for reserved decision of third party. We are suggested from now and then to test drive before issuing a license of leadership actors like driving license for a driver who knows the rules of road and driving skills to prevent from unwanted accidents. Experts are comments that such type of situation are prevails when there was no political maturity and no political classes.

It is grappling with a life threatening ailment that calls for nothing sort of drastic surgery or even chemotherapy to prevent its demise. Proper planning and assessment of target, goal and aims and objectives etc. are common necessities in every process. Obviously, it was simply a great public protest, a democratic protest on injustice! Plan was good. Mobilization was very good; publicity and propaganda was outstanding. "Men can die but men should not be defeat" (from the book of The Old Man and Sea).

Revolution and reforms are the process of changes but not an event. (May I borrow the words often used by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Union Finance Minister "reforms are process not an event"). We should not break down our society completely unless we have no fully knowledge how to build it up better.

A nation's pride is base on three organs i.e. economic might, political might and military might. In normal time, political and economic might has scored the highest honour. Culture is kept in the highest order during sound financial health and it is an indicator of economic might of a society. And time management is the best instrument for all successful theories.

Any emotional situation that takes us out of the present and into the past means that whenever the same kind of emotional crops up later in our life we return to the past for our reference point. If that point was at early childhood, we find our self behaving childishly. As long as the environment is safe, children learn with incredible speed.

However, when the environment is scary or stressful, the children unlearns past learning just as rapidly. Even worse, we condemn ourselves for being stupid or immature and through our mental self talk; reinforce the problem while desperately searching for a solution. But a solution shall not be search from far.

Whenever we feel deeply stressed our brain and body goes into fight or flight response. It is good if we can actually fight or run away, but most of the time we just freeze emotionally. Our "frozen feelings" are the cause of glitch in our learning process. We know we should be able to make a positive change, but that does not change anything. With a sense of helplessness we fear the future and self doubt rules our lives.

The process of changes need not be traumatic. We need to understand that whatever pain we experienced in the past because of which we made certain choices, were the only recourse we had at the time. We could not have done better because we don't know how to do? But we should realize that was then and this is now! We can get help from trained professionals and learn to unblock the negative emotions fused in our past that affect our positive future. We can choose to choose again.

But the sad truth is that fury and intolerance bear away a man's good reason. It is true that intolerance is never without a reason, but seldom with a good one .In fact it is fret, fury and frenzy of the soul and it is willing to revenge with a whole life. Shakespeare was entirely accurate when he wrote in Coriolanus: "Anger's my meat; I sup upon myself! To be angry is to take revenge upon ourselves for faults of others."

Often, terribly hurt owing to intolerance takes just minutes to inflict but forgiving the perpetrator requires time. The best way to feel better is the very opposite of revenge." I forgive you." That could be the most powerful things we will ever do. Forgiving does not mean giving in. It means letting go. Once we forgive, we are no longer emotionally handcuffed to the person who hurt us. When we forgive, we reclaim our power to choose.

Truth is so simple. It means do not hurt or harm any of God's creation mentally or physically. Never use abusive language of any kind or do not tell a lie for any reason. It is simply says, step out of your chains and inhabitations and start helping others with whatever you possess in abundance. This step in knowledge also leads a love that does not discriminate.

Love is blind; meaning it sees no fault in the beloved. This kind of blindness is the height of seeing. This kind of love neither lends nor borrows neither buys nor sells. It is very taking is a giving and it is very giving is a taking making it the same today, tomorrow and forever. And byproduct of this love is peace, within and without.

Each of us has the potential to follow these simple rules, but it takes a lot of courage to implement them, because most of us are already bound in chains created by our upbringing, culture, rituals and customs, and this simple knowledge that can set us free, is scary. This is what a great master said; the weak are burdens to the weak, but to the strong they are a pleasant charge. Seek out the weak; their weakness is your strength.

Each thought is a prayer and every prayer is answer as soon as it is heard and each prayer is heard as soon as it is said. The effort that we do need to make, however, is in ensuring that our prayers do not keep canceling each others effect. When we accept our power, we also learn to send our power packets to all that gives us happiness.

We stop sending them because we don't want to energise them and increase their role to our lives. In our ignorance, we are sending our power packets to the wrong that we experienced, the person we believe wronged us and to the emotions of anger and revenge. These will then easily negate those we sent during our prayer for forgiveness. Later, we might even find it convenient to blame the Creator for not answering our prayers.

---

* The author is a journalist based in New Delhi and contributes regularly to e-pao.net. He can be contacted at gitchandraoinam (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) in
This article was webcasted on November 22nd, 2009.

---