Manipur - A land of discontent

N Haokip *

The row between Tribal students and MU Authority deserves special attention from higher authority for amicable solution. Since MU is now a central university the argument put forward by MU authority that it follows the Central govt reservation system should have been readily accepted by all.

However, the Tribal students feel cheated and demanded proportionate reservation since Manipur is more or less a tribal state with 34% of the state's population a point to reckon with.

Without bothering who is right or wrong I would like to narrate the differences between two Manipuri citizens each from the valley and the hill.

To begin with, being a tribal myself, life had never been easy from the days of my schooling till the time I got the job. Majority of govt sponsored schools in Manipur are worthless, but fortunately for me I studied in a central sponsored School till Higher Secondary level.

Since Manipur colleges could not provide the infrastructure for higher education, I had to leave for other state for higher education. Like many other students from Manipur my parents are poor farmers without any source of regular income.

My parents and elder siblings toiled day and night in the field and jungle to support me. With determination I managed to complete my studies with additional experience on "the price of poverty".

On the one hand my friends from the valley even if they are not very rich were much better off than me. They were very supportive with me and we all treated each other like brothers. Besides studies I had constant financial woes which atleast my friends from the valley need not bother.

More or less tribal students are at disadvantage like me because largely they are yet to benefit govt bonuses unlike their counterparts from the valley.

Till today more or less the only regular source of income in Manipur is govt Job. We lack entrepreneurship and no private investors to generate employment.

Again one needs money more than anything else to secure a govt job in Manipur. That means a poor fellow like me will never get a job.

Had I not be fortunate enough to get a job outside the state, today I would be doing every bit to disrupt the system for the injustice done to me. There lies the problem. Many un-employed youths are bound to get discontent with the system and will do anything to be heard.

Here one needs to view issue with broader mindset with the intention of lasting solution rather than quick fix solution that invite many undesirable consequences.

The Bandhs called by different organizations to get attention from the authority at the drop of a hat is doing no good for anybody. It is high time we avoid such things and find more acceptable means of protest.

At the same time in the context of MU reservation issue the govt must play fairly and look for win-win solution after all tribal or non-tribal they are citizens of Manipur. The myopic view and often short sighted policies of the govt are largely the cause of many of our problems.

Therefore, at this juncture MU has become Central university, but who is going to benefit from it?

By and large the state populace should take advantage of the central funds and it should be equally accessible to all. Unless quota system is implemented fairly, poor tribal can never benefit the existence of such institutions.

Without giving communal tone or politicizing the whole issue let the people at high places come down and find the most acceptable solution. This will save the govt from frequent disruption in its functioning.

Not only this, many issues can be solved with long term perspective however painful it may be at the moment.

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