Anything Goes in Modernity
- Heterogeneity in India's East and North East -

Amar Yumnam *

Of late we have been emphasising the cultural, ethnic and the geographic heterogeneity of India's North-East and East as a way towards better appreciation of the people, issues and problems in these parts. We have been indulging in this for both within and without interactions with increasing intensity.

Merit in the Articulation: There is genuine merit in emphasising this heterogeneity. But this merit is not without limitations. The strength and beauty of the heterogeneity remains confined to aspects relating to traditions, culture and things of past and bequest value.

The cultural richness, the ethnic values, the community artefacts and traditional networks are all wonderful aspects of the societies in the region.

The Worry: The worry and a very disturbing worry in that is the non-translation of this richness into modern functionings and hence the incapability to create a qualitatively sustainable modern institutions. Here in institutions, we include the infrastructure as well as the various interventions like academic institutions, government departments and the wings of judiciary.

While the region is so rightfully boastful of her cultural richness, there is nothing in the region in terms of modernity which can rightfully claim a place in the race for quality. This is despite the so-called acclaim and reward Manipur has been bestowed for her innovation in administration.

While this feeling has been there with us for quite some time, the immediate impetus comes from passing through the Netaji Subhash international Airport at Kolkata. The domestic terminal of this airport has a Boarding Gate numbering 4 and 4A.

One has to climb up to the upper floor for this gate. The interesting part of this gate is that it is there only in announcements, directions and papers. The moment the time for boarding arrives, the passengers realise in no time that there is no boarding gate numbering 4 and 4A, but only Emergency Exit.

The passengers have again to take the Emergency Exit for climbing down for boarding. This is what is happening in of the biggest airports of the country, but situated in her Eastern part. Airports are supposed to be the ultimate symbols of modernity, but anything goes in this part of the country. The Emergency Exit remains as one but on paper, announcements and directions the passengers are advised to go to Gate Number 4 or 4A.

This anything goes feature takes the native immediately back to the thoughts of his own homeland. In Manipur two contemporary happenings are of relevance to explain this wonderfully ethnic feature of anything goes.

First, there have been so called construction activities for the last few years in and around Imphal. These have been causing so much dust pollution and other absolute inconveniences.

Modern infrastructure developments anywhere are so designed and executed such that dust pollution is minimised and the period is shortened. Further it is also seen to it that the other collateral inconveniences are equally minimised and the period shortened to the minimum possible.

But what has been happening in Manipur in the name of development in all these recent years are just the opposite of elements of modernity elsewhere. This aspect of whimsicality, ad-hocism and anything goes feature in short is extended to the academic institutions and the various government departments of the land.

The second happening relates to the law enforcing agencies of the land. The head of the law enforcing agency has been trying wonderfully hard to be academic and shed the negative baggage of legacy. But the legacy of wrong-doing and the opportunism in the agency seem to be so embedded that sometimes we find events like encounter/non-encounter happening despite himself.

There are so many stories of encounters and of how encounters have been avoided through transactions of you know what. The major hurdle facing the present head of the law enforcing organisation must be the modernisation of the mindset of the people on whose execution of his orders he naturally has to depend. This is not going to be a mean task.

The Inertia: I understand that the inertia of traditionality, conservatism and ethnicity are highly difficult genetic like features. But any society wishing to be competitive must be able to transform and transfer her strengths in traditions and culture into her actions of modernity.

This is how even highly traditional societies in South India have joined the global race in such highly frontier areas like information technology.

But the people and places in the Eastern and North Eastern parts of India are bogged down by the anything goes syndrome when it comes to modernity.

We need to seriously ponder on this issue both from the angle of governance and the mindset of the general public.