Appeal to the better sense
- Imphal Times Editorial :: December 06 2016 -

After more than a month of bearing up with self-imposed toleration and calmness the extreme measures and relentless efforts of the UNC to bring the state to its knees and to put the lives of the public to a grinding halt by the series of ‘total shutdowns’ and ‘indefinite economic blockades’, United Committee Manipur (UCM), a leading CSO have thrown down the gauntlet by serving a 72-hour ultimatum beginning from Sunday midnight on the United Naga Council (UNC) to end its indefinite economic blockade on National Highways No.2 and No.53.

This time around, the public have had to endure not only the effects of the economic blockades but also the adverse and unfortunate consequence of the demonetization move by the central government.

That the people in the state endured indescribable hardship would be an understatement, and the growing resentment have started spilling out onto the streets with increasing number of the public staging ‘counter-blockades’ along roads leading to the hill districts.

Earlier, UCM have appealed to the public to refrain from reacting to the frequent disruptions to the lifelines of the state while requesting the government to chalk out a sustainable and amicable solution for the convoluted problems which have the very distinct possibility of being tainted with communal hues the longer such problems persist.

The state government, albeit a tad late, have started the process of arranging for security escorts to make sure the main two highways which serves as the lifelines of the land-locked state remains free of disturbances and disruptions by any group or party.

Thanks to the groundwork by the armed security personnel both from the central and state security forces, the pressure on essential commodities are easing up, and the tension is slowly yet surely going down.

However, the state government should consider the present situation as a precursor to a very crucial and bold step of coming out with its decision on the current social imbroglio, and most importantly, the ‘why’ of it must be laid in front of the public without any ambiguity or reservations.

Stopgap measures have proven to be more harmful than good in more instances in the past than those in power would care to hark back on, and the present measures should not prove to be just another unfortunate instance.

The UNC have proven its point of making sure the state government takes its concerns and apprehensions over certain decisions or rather preparations seriously.

Prolonging the present impositions along the national highways and effectively trying to gag the public will bring nothing but chaos and uncertainty in the society.

There should certainly be a way to air one’s views other than burning up vehicles with nonchalance, vandalizing and robbing the vehicles plying along the national highways in the guise of protesting. Time for better senses to prevail.

Manipur is a democratic state and the public invests their mandate on the representatives who takes their aspirations and dreams into the process of policy making.

It would bode well for the society and the future as a whole if we focus on strengthening the political system through judicious use of our universal suffrage rather than indulge in arm-twisting tactics to enforce our views, even if such views happen to be one-sided and biased.