A thought on Khongjom Day
- Imphal Times Editorial :: April 24 2019 -

The people of the state today paid fitting tribute to the martyrs who had sacrifices their life fighting to safeguarding the freedom of the erstwhile kingdom at the battlefield of Khongjom in 1891.

The courage and spirit of our ancestors is worth remembering and paying tribute to those martyrs is our pride to prove the world that we the Manipuri were courageous, hardworking people who had always wanted to live life with dignity.

It is a known fact that, our ancestors of that time knows well that there was no possibility of winning the war against the huge army of the British Empire, but they still fought knowing that they will defeat in that war.

Those ancestors like Paona Brajabashi, Bir Tikendrajit and other unknown soldiers of the erstwhile kingdom would certainly dream of a nation at which people from across the world have great respect.

Points wanted to make here is that, have we paid enough respect to our ancestors who had sacrificed for the cause of the nation’s freedom.

The state of Manipur at present is in the most shameful state.

The so called leaders of the present state and those who had been elected with thousands of hopes have been completely depending to the money sanction from the central government for running the state.

A change in the government at the centre gives so much worried to the state government that sometimes it gives all its effort to go with them using any means.

Lack of sincerity among those in the government has always been a matter of reality that the present day people face.

Unfulfilled promises, threats to the free speech, threats to the existence of indigenous people VIP culture are what the people are experiencing today.

The greatest tragedy of our state is that nothing seems to move until and unless extreme measures are resorted to: be it implementing rules of law or conveying the aspirations and needs of the public.

Add to it the fact that we, as a collective, have yet to realize the undeniable truth that the centre is evidently more concerned with preserving its national territory rather than improving the welfare of its citizens when it comes to affairs of the north east region of the country, in effect, reducing the importance of the region to that of a mere geographical entity.

The peculiarity of the situations confronting Manipur: from its geopolitical to socio-economic conditions needs to be tackled in ways that involves innovative and unorthodox methods.

This calls for a more alert, swifter and sterner government capable of dispensing its plans and proposals more smoothly and effectively.

The frustrations being felt by the public for a long time now need to be addressed. Every aspect of public life and governance has been beset with corruptions, controversies, scandals, accusations of favoritism, despotism and cronyism.

The sooner the present guardians of the state admit to the allegations and own up to such aberrations, the sooner it can address and rectify itself.

Bringing in a system of governance that takes into confidence its people and their needs rather than dispensing administration by tweaking the system to suit its every whim will eventually prove to be the spark that lit up the fire of frustrations trampled expectations.

People faced draught in non-rainy season and flood during rainy season.

The drainage system constructed in and around Imphal city by spending huge amount of many do not serve its purpose.

And every one of us knows that these moneys meant for construction of the public properties are hijacked by people who are near and dear ones with those in the government.

This situation is not what our ancestors had wanted.

They might now feel shame of what we are no.

A simple offering of floral tribute is really not enough to pay respect to our ancestors, we need to build a strong state if we really wanted a fitting tribute to our leaders.