TODAY -

The Economics of Inner Line Permit

Prof E. Bijoykumar Singh *

Students of Samurou, Mayang Imphal and Canchipur  demanding for implementation of Inner Line Permit System in Manipur on July 23 2014
Students of Samurou, Mayang Imphal and Canchipur demanding for implementation of Inner Line Permit System in Manipur on July 23 2014 :: Pix - Shanker Khangembam



It was shocking to see our police personnel thrashing our children who were out agitating for introduction of inner line permit. It was a reflection of their mental state. It is also painful because the responsibility of maintaining law and order is in their hands. It was even more painful to see the DGP declaring an enquiry despite the fact that it was televised.

However, this issue should not be brushed aside simply because some power hungry politicians are involved. It remains as powerful as the issue of protection of integrity of Manipur. It is a time bomb and should be defused by involving all stakeholders. How have we forgotten so fast the lessons from the Assam agitation which had held development of this region at ransom?

There are many issues related with Inner Line Permit. The economics of Inner Line Permit in Manipur is about the benefits and costs of people migrating to the destination state i.e. Manipur.

Who gains? Who loses? What is the net outcome?

The answers to these questions are also highly contextual. Sometimes we need people from outside. It does not mean that we will keep needing them forever. May be we will not need the same category of people.

One hard fact of development is that there is always a gap between our skills and skills appropriate for the evolving technology. It is this perennial gap that has driven migration across time and space. If we look up economics literature on the impact of migration, the findings are highly contextual which means one cannot generalise the impact. Sometimes somewhere migration of labour has been instrumental in development. Sometimes somewhere the same factor has hindered development. There may be economic growth but no development.

When we consider this issue there are many questions. Why do people migrate to Manipur? How does this affect our labour market? What is the quantum of migration? My contention is that unemployment in Manipur is largely a matter of perception. We consider ourselves unemployed if the remuneration is less than a highly subjective decent level.

The migrant workers from Bihar and UP have out-competed our workers because of lower direct cost. It is common to have plumbers from Odissa not only doing the plumbing work but also helping the client in getting the raw material on credit. They use their contacts to mutual advantage. They need to be paid after the completion of their work.

It does not matter whether they are given breaks with snacks. They hardly take any day off. They are more amenable to suggestions. They are hired more frequently. With experience they become even more efficient. I cannot forget Dara, a head mistry who built a floor of our house, out of the many workers who built our house. My son used to learn Hindi from him. He, over time, became a member of our household and I really cherished that phase of my life.

Construction Workers from West Bengal, Odissa, Bihar and UP have found a heaven in Manipur. Right now Manipur is going through a construction –sector driven growth. We need workers who would be available throughout the year. The supply of local workers has been largely seasonal. We can spend more because our income has increased and the financial market has developed fast.

With it has come a taste for design and good workmanship. Local workers are yet to take up this challenge. It is a vicious cycle. You are not hired because you are not skilled. You cannot acquire the skill because you are not experienced. It is a fast changing field- so fast that our workers have to run faster and faster to remain in the same place. The tastes of clients change due to information explosion.

However it is only a part of the labour market. It is where it hurts. We have a similar situation at the top .There is no problem here. We don’t bother when a university professorship does not go to a local candidate. It is the expertise that counts and people at this level can afford to look for alternatives. It is also a fact that many academicians from Manipur have successfully contributed to the growth of many academic institutions outside Manipur.

There are many measures - both short term and long term, for discouraging migration to Manipur. One of the major factors behind migration is the availability of abundant job opportunities in Manipur. These opportunities have emerged as part of the type of development in this state. It will be difficult to expect our people hire more expensive labour when cheaper substitutes are available.

Economics will get the better of nationalism. We have to think seriously on how to make our labour more competitive by lowering the factor price. I am sure it is possible with little reorganisation of our local workers. Another priority area, a part of long term measure, is change in our attitude to work.

A legacy of colonialism is aversion to manual work and we consider manual work shameful. The segment of labour market associated with ‘dirty’ manual work is the centre of attraction of migrant workers. The reality is that we cannot do without this segment. We are talking of empowerment of women. Such empowerment will enable our women to join the social activities in a more meaningful manner.

But who will cook? It will be too much to expect our women to be good cooks and fiery meira paibis at the same time. Urban women employees have been unable to meet this challenge. You will see this when you visit any office at 10 am. This is happening when our neighbour may be starving for lack of work yet it is below one’s dignity to work in the neighbour’s house.

In the USA, people ask whether you work or not, never what you do. Waitership in a hotel for an 18 year old American struggling to stand on his feet is as respected as a university professorship.


* Prof E. Bijoykumar Singh wrote this article for Hueiyen Lanpao
The writer is at Economics Department, Manipur University
This article was posted on July 26, 2014.


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