The Moral of Policy and Programme Universe : The Biggest Cheating Sector in Manipur
Amar Yumnam *
Tell tale pictures of the present state of the CCC which has been inaugurated - Pix :: TSE
To begin with let me recall a point which everyone is aware of. Any development in any land occurs because the moral of the policy and programme universe is such that the government feels it necessary to be absolutely sincere with the public, the governance adopts a perennial spirit of openness and transparency with the public, at no point the government endeavours to bluff the people, and an orientation of enhancing the welfare of the people dwells every policy implementation.
In such nations, the government continually endeavours to move forward with the people, appreciate the emerging knowledge levels of the people and work accordingly. It is only in such contexts that development would occur and would be sustained.
Manipur Context: Given this necessity of a particular type of moral for policy and programme universe, we need to seriously assess the situation in our land of the jewels. There was a time about the 1950s and 1960s when the government of the land seriously felt that the people need to be educated, informed and involved about modernisation and development. It is true that the level of education was low and intimacy with the development programmes was one of faith and expectation.
At no point the people doubted the sincerity of the moral of policy and programme universe of the government in so far as commitment to welfare improvement of the people was concerned. But the path dependent effect of this period has been the prevalence of an attitude in the moral of policy and programme universe of the government of the land that the people are fools, incapable of appreciating the bluffs of the government and incapable of any introspection on the negative effects of the new directions of the moral universe.
The reality of Manipur today is that over the last four to five decades we have experienced a certain development capacity dwelling the minds of the people. The people are no longer stupid as they were forty years back and there is already a moral of academic and intellectual universe which can read the moves of the government between the lines.
On the opposite the government has remained stagnant in her appreciation of the dynamics which the people have experienced. The predominant moral of the policy and programme universe of the government of Manipur today is that the people can be bluffed on any policy and programme, and people would just herald it as development and welfare commitment of the government. This moral attitude has wonderfully served the self aggrandisement and rent seeking efforts of those in government that they continue with this premise in all their exercise in the moral of policy and programme universe.
We may elaborate what has been the overriding behaviour in the moral of the policy and programme universe of the government of Manipur. We all know that all our democratic players in this universe now have been concerned with the proportion they can extract at the personal level in the name of serving the democratic ideals of ensuring the progress of the society. There has not been any instance where we can safely say that the moral commitment of the government is non-questionable and above board.
Unfortunately, the moral of the bureaucratic universe seem to have been so benumbed, suppressed and disempowered such that the civil servants are no different today from the players in the arena of democracy. In other words, there is no section in the moral of the policy and programme universe from which we can expect a new wind for reversing the absolutely downgrading trend.
Now the degradation has reached such levels and acquired such strengths that life of anyone seriously questioning it would be in danger. We may think of applying a cost-benefit analysis here. The first significance factor is that the personal benefits ensured with the continuance of degradation is enormous and have no time bound for the persons in the democratic play and the civil sector of the government supporting them.
Secondly, the costs of any likely punishment of the degraded behaviour are absolutely nil as all are equally involved in the exercise of efforts for personal aggrandisement. This is how the moral of the policy and programme universe has become undoubtedly threatening for the common people as the agents of the policy universe can get away with anything.
The recent examples of this new character of the moral and policy universe of the government of Manipur are multiplying by the day. In fact, nothing can be more sickening than this character to anyone involved in the moral of academic and intellectual universe. First we had photographs of roads decaying within the first month of serving the visit of head of the people of the country.
Second, we had photographs of the first modern bus terminus inaugurated by the head of the people of the country again. In this it was absolutely out in the open that the entrants could not serve the purpose of entry by any vehicle. Third, we now have photographs of the city convention centre. To someone very familiar with the city convention centre in Los Angeles, it was absolutely heartening to find the emergence of one in our own land even though on a smaller scale.
But the news now is that there is nothing inside this centre which was also inaugurated by the head of people of the country. Fourth, we also have news that the building to accommodate the highest seat of judiciary in this land. Here the facilities inside have not been as announced and agreed. Remember this building was also inaugurated by the head of the people of the country.
These facts establish beyond doubt that the degraded component has now taken full control of the moral of policy and programme universe of the government of Manipur. Otherwise how can one explain the fact that even the head of the people in the country had been taken for a ride.
The latest example is of two buses under a very important and financially huge programme of the country. I am talking of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. There are many who are aware of the ethos, objectives and directions of the programme. There is no instance anywhere under the sun where, if development matters, such drama would be held.
What were the ethics, the welfare principle and urban objective served by this drama of two buses in the heart of the business centre? There are many people who are informed of the number of buses which landed in our land and at what time. Finally, is this the way the moral of policy and programme universe of the government of Manipur wish to wind up the much hyped JNRUM?
In fine, we have so many questions to which we would expect appropriate answers and explanations from the players in the moral of policy and programme universe of the government of Manipur. Times are changed from the one when we had none who could understand the dynamics of this moral universe.
* Amar Yumnam writes regularly for E-Pao.net & The Sangai Express. The writer is the Dean: School of Social Sciences, Manipur University, Director, Centre for Manipur Studies at Manipur University and a Professor at the Department of Economics, Manipur University. He is also the President of North Eastern Economic Association. The writer can be contacted at yumnam1(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk
This article was webcasted on February 27th, 2012.
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