Issues and issues besieging Manipur : Favoured beat for reporters
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 05, 2023 -

Never short of issues and there is a reason why Manipur is generally known as a favoured beat for reporters from across the North East region.

So even as the State Government is focused on its War on Drugs campaign it has to simultaneously deal with the incursion from across the border.

This is the reason why the Government came to the realisation that opening temporary shelter homes to house the refugees streaming in from across the border would be a more practical move to keep a tab on their movement which may go some way in stopping them from merging with the local population.

At the same time the Government also had to deal with the voice of protest that rose after a Class XII student was gunned down at Motbung Model Village in Kangpokpi district on March 25 and even as the JAC and family members agreed to claim the mortal remains of the youth, the Government had to step in to persuade the All Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur to suspend its total shutdown call from April 4.

RIMS had to be persuaded to see reason and stick to the reservation norms spelt out for recruitment to Group C and D posts in the institute.

God knows why the reservation norm was tweaked in violation of the directives laid down by the Department of Personnel and Training but now that it has been righted, one hopes such a fiasco is not repeated.

The Government has not spoken a word as of now, but it must be equally seized of the development after the blasphemous sermon of a preacher in a Church went viral on the social media, prompting the Rajya Sabha MP, Leishemba Sanajaoba to come out full throttle against what is termed as a derision of the social and religious practise of the Meiteis.

One hopes that everyone come to the realisation that the instantaneous outpouring of anger was not aimed at any religious beliefs but was strictly against the ‘sermon’ of the preacher which happened in a Church.

This is the fact and this is a point which must not be forgotten under any circumstances.

Likewise it would also do good for some of the key board warriors and the motor mouths not to go against any Meiteis who are Christians, just because the said preacher is a Meitei Christian. Let sanity prevail.

All sensitive issues staring Manipur in the face and even as the State Government seems intent on taking the War on Drugs to its logical conclusion, news or information of drugs being confiscated and poppy plantations being razed to the ground continue to be staple news in all the newspapers published from Imphal.

And it is along this line why The Sangai Express has always raised the question of why no king pin has been named so far.

On April 3, news of Assam Rifles and Moreh police personnel confiscating WY tablets and heroin powder from the residence of an accused at Moreh hit the pages of the Imphal based newspapers.

The monetary value of the WY tablets and heroin powder in the international market was pegged at Rs 5.97 crore and Rs 3.68 crore respectively.

Difficult to believe that drugs worth over Rs 9 crore could have been shipped/smuggled in at the behest of just one individual and this is where the people and the newspapers would like to see the follow up action.

This is what is important. To make the War on Drugs come anywhere near to the understanding of being a success, follow up stories are a must.

Or is the seizure of the drugs consignment worth over Rs 9 crore going to end with the seizure of the drug and the arrest of one individual ?

To be sure the Government must have got its hands full but this is the reality and it is the responsibility of the Government to come to the people with a progress report card.

Or is the progress report card going to be out in the public domain only when it suits the Government ?

Let there be no politics in the War on Drugs campaign.

On the other hand the people too would need to study on how true they are to the understanding of Manipur amid the rantings and accusations that are being raised.