Understanding patriotism : Rise of the pretenders
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 15 2011 -

Vermins, dressed as patriots are a dime a dozen these days. With the increase in the population of these pretenders, patriotism too stands dangerously close to being monopolised by certain elements, who have come under the impression that they are the last word on patriotism.

To see this, one does not need a masters in rocket science technology but sincerity and the ability to tell the cheese from the chalk.

Fortunately for these pretenders, sincerity is an attribute that is on the verge of extinction in Manipur these days and given such a situation more than 2/3rd of the population are not in a position to call their bluff.

Fear is the operative word on which these elements thrive at the expense of sincerity and fear psychosis is the trend which has clouded the vision of the people and it is in this atmosphere that the whole State of Manipur tuned into the spirit of patriotism on Patriots' Day and recalled the supreme sacrifices of Thangal General, Bir Tikendrajit, Niranjan Subedar and Chirai Naga.

It says something significant of a people that even after more than a hundred years or so, the vacuum left by the likes of Paona Brajabarshi, Thangal General, Bir Tikendrajit, Chirai Naga and Niranjan Subedar is yet to be filled and the scene that has been unfolding before the people is nothing but the ridiculous attempt by the pretenders to fit into their shoes and start defining what patriotism is all about.

In fact so violated, distorted and polluted has the understanding of patriotism become that some of these elements have had the gumption to talk about the legacy of the land and the people after triggering a bomb blast amidst civilian population killing and maiming many.

The trend in the last 15 or 20 years has been such that anything goes as long as it comes coated with the sugar of patriotism or in the name of the land and the people and this may include gifting a bomb, executing anyone deemed to be standing in the way of patriotism as defined by these elements or deciding what is morally and socially acceptable and firing at the residence of a Government official or a trader, not to mention the extortion notes and the tussle for contract and supply works.

Everything points to the conclusion that this trend is here to say and this again indicates in clear cut terms that this has been made possible by political patronage and the perfect marriage of convenience is there for all to see and soak in.

So endemic has this culture become that the license to be counted amongst the moneyed and influential class is to be able to cosy up to these two category of people, the political class and the pretenders. The casualty is the fair name of the martyrs of the past, the memories of the heroes who laid down their lives defending their principles and the independence of the land and the people not to speak about the very term-patriots and patriotism.

It is when something as universal as patriotism becomes the monopoly of some interest group that the social and moral fabric of a society stands torn and tattered. This is what has been happening in Manipur for ages.

The plot to bring Manipur to this stage is simple. Let loose a reign of terror, strike out randomly and instil the fear of the devil in everyone and cripple the reasoning capacity of the people.

The presence of a political system more than ready to sup with such elements has only made things easier and what we see is the emergence of a group of people brow beaten into quiet submission. It is in such a climate that false heroes prosper and it is not surprising to see and feel the overwhelming presence of these fakes all over the place, creating an atmosphere where it becomes increasingly difficult to tell the fakes from the genuine.

For Patriots Day to have any meaning it is important that the meaning and understanding of patriotism is not allowed to be subverted by any interest group. No one has the right to come under the impression that just because someone does not agree with a certain train of thought he or she is a traitor.

It is not to create a space for such elements that Paona, Thangal, Tikendrajit, Niranjan, Chirai and others sacrificed their lives for the sake of the land and the people. No one has a proprietary right over these martyrs and certainly not the pretenders whose only agenda has been to muddy the water and confuse the people.

The best respect that may be paid to the souls of the patriots and the martyrs is to unmask the villains, who for long have been sucking the blood of the people and forcing their agenda on the people disguised under the hood of patriotism and under the slogan, for the people and the land.

Allowing this trend to carry on without any effort to reverse it would amount to demeaning the names of the patriots who laid down their lives for the sake of the people.

Turning a blind eye to this necessity would be nothing less than distorting their sacrifices and Patriots' Day would stand robbed of its real meaning and essence. The first step towards negating the trend that has gripped Manipur for the last many years would be to break the silence which has had a deafening impact on the people.

Stand up and tell the pretenders to go back to where they belong is the first and most important step that is needed at the moment