Friday, 25th July 2003
While the main issue of whether to construct or not to construct the
multi-storeyed market complex at Ima Keithel is going on, I want to share
a few personal observation (purely personal, not of the Hmar or Tribal
Students’). In fact, born and brought up more than 30 years ago in
Poana Bazar i have lots of sentiments and effections to share about the
major landmarks within a kiolmeters radius of Poana Bazar. Poana Bazar is
different now, I am different now and other things in Manipur are
different. Some called it growth and development or others called it
globalization and colonization (of economics and politics).
But Poana Bazar still has its name, I still have mine and will continue
to have it but will the name Ima Keithel survive.
What so important about a name? To Christains everything! Everything in
the named of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ok, so this is religion and is not
a appropriate example and name of places, roads, persons etc.
especially markets changes at a drop of a hat. So what so unique about Ima
Keithiel ? Sorry, I am not going to repeat the uniqueness of this place.
Enough have been said by our esteem politicians on the print and electoric
media (whatever their real intentions are) and I have little to added.
Imagine, a multi-storey market named Ima Keithel ! how interesting
would it be. Three/four storey with car parks, clean and polished marbel or
tile floor, fans and a/c, white washed or plastic paint walls, fridge
and cool-storage, beautiful counters of glass and sunmica, etc. Well,
that is not a Keithel, it is a market. It is a super market! so why not
called it a Ima Super Market.
It will be more appropricate and it will also be much easily
understanable to the international community, better still if we give it a little
more international touch and called it Mothers Super Market, that would
be something. Better still, as the Mothers Super Market will become
classy and sophisticate why not share the burden of running the market by
our Eeche and Eechan.
If Eeche and Eechan are running the super market, it would be
inappropriacte to called it Mothers Super Market, so shall we called it Young
Women Super Market (YWSM). I can go on giving ridiculous names and
assumption but I am death serious.
My work over the years have to do mostly with Indigeneous Peoples
Rights. Most of us even among the Indigeneous Peoples (leaving aside the
others) do not understand our cultures and heritages and more importantly
our identity. In Manipur and in the larger context of the Northeast of
India whenever we talk about Human Rights, we mostly concentrate on
civil and political rights. I feel that it is high time that we as
Indigeneous Peoples should start concentrating and understand, identify and
preserve our cultures and heritages old and new for generations to come
after us. For if we do not preserve what little we have, we will lose
our identity even faster than we are doing now. To saveguard a identity
even a name is important. IMA KEITHEL !!
|