Think over rightful place for students : School re-opened, stir still on
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 04 2015 -
The curfew has been lifted. Educational institutions too have started opening, after remaining closed since July 9.
Tough to say whether the Government took the decision to re-open the educational institutions keeping in mind the academic pursuit of the young students or whether it was taken under the impression that the situation has improved.
Or more importantly, whether the decision to re-open the educational institutions was taken under the growing pressure to make education a free zone.
No clear cut answers here but the first day after the institutions re-opened, after nearly a month, was more than an indication that the pressure on the Government to enact a legislation to check the incursion of outsiders to Manipur will not ease.
This may perhaps explain the stand off at the State Secretariat where security personnel were hard pressed to drive back a number of young students who had descended on the administrative hub of the State to carry on the protest movement.
Tough to say how many students actually turned up on the first day of school on August 3, but what is unmistakably clear is that students will continue to come out and mount the pressure on the Government.
Inner Line Permit System is the slogan that has been raised at every sit-in protests and rallies, but important to note that central to this demand is for the Government to do something concrete to check the large scale incursion of non-locals to the soil of Manipur down the decades.
Statistics have been trotted out to hammer home the point that if the incursion is not checked then there will come a time when the population of non-locals will easily outnumber the locals.
This is a distinct possibility and there is no way that the Government can afford to look over this.
So at the moment, the demand of the people is clear.
Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) or a legislation to keep a check on the increasing arrival of non-local people into Manipur.
Such a legislation or the ILPS may come under the Union list, but important to note the point that has been delivered.
Like everything else, there is something called the carrying capacity. Education is a fundamental right and everyone has a right to it.
However there is also something called the ceiling and this is precisely the reason why there is something called cut-off percentage and competitive examinations to get into any course or career.
Not all students are entitled to pursue medical studies or become doctors.
It is the same thing when it comes to other services such as defence or the administrative services.
It is the same thing too with Manipur. How many people can Manipur accommodate ?
Is it feasible to even imagine that Manipur can accommodate the population of Madhya Pradesh, though as Indian citizens all may be free to settle anywhere ?
It is also the same thing when it comes to urban settlements.
Can Imphal accommodate the population of a city like Kolkata or Delhi ?
The Government of India need to keep this in mind while studying the demand raised by the local people of Manipur.
On the other hand, some thoughts too ought to be given on whether it is productive to let students come out on the streets instead of letting them concentrate on their studies.
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