Central to the theatre of WWII : Think out of the box
- Sangai Express Editorial :: April 27, 2013 -

Time to look beyond the mere question of co-incidence. The moot point however is whether the political masters and the officialdom are equipped to think out of the box and see things beyond the obvious.

With India emerging as one of the economic super powers in the region and looking to open the gateway to the east under the much hyped Look East Policy, Manipur’s place on the global map is assured.

Per se it is not related at all, but another development that has the potential to propel Manipur further on to the centre stage of the global map is the recent declaration by the National Army Museum that the battle of Imphal and Kohima during World War II is the greatest battle involving British forces.

Biggest battle involving forces from the erstwhile kingdom where the Sun never set, and truly Manipur has carved a niche, wittingly or unwittingly, on the pages of history. World War II was decisive in many ways in that it changed the power and economic equation across the world and the genesis of today’s world can be traced to WW II.

Indian Historians have literally wiped out Manipur from the pages of history, Indian history or otherwise, but with the course of the wind blowing in a different direction now, it is now the world which is tuned in to Manipur and her neighbours in the North East region.

The interesting question is whether the political leaders of the State, the intelligentsia, particularly the academicians will be willing or will be adept enough to capitalise on this.

Central to the Look East Policy of one of the emerging economic giants of Asia and the world and now a place of prominence where the greatest battle of WW II was fought and truly only myopia can rob Manipur of her rightful place on the global map. This is where attention ought to be focused on the History Department of Manipur University and see how they respond to the recent development.

Will the State Government and other agencies related with such a development be able to turn this into an asset for Manipur is a moot question and should be an indication of how well prepared is the State Government to maximise on anything that brings Manipur to the centre stage for the right reason.

Come 2014 and the year will be the 70th year in which WWII ended, the biggest war ever witnessed so far, with so many issues at stake.

With Manipur occupying such an important position in the chapter of WWII, has the Government worked out any plans to mark this occasion ?

Thanks to the LEP, its place in WWII and the changing regional power equation, read economic clout, Manipur’s position cannot be wished away that easily.

On the other hand, this enviable position can be washed away very easily if the people concerned, the people who formulate the plans and execute them fail to live up to the opportunities that have come along.

It would be a tragedy if such opportunities are allowed to slip through the fingers of the people leading the place.

It is also equally important to discard the culture of looking at the LEP and the new found status as the place of the greatest battle through the prism of contract works.

In short it should be clear that the roads and infrastructure being put in place is to occupy Manipur’s rightful place in the emerging new world order and not to merely line the pockets of some people who happen to be close to the people who matter.

Knock, knock. The opportunity is knocking. It is up to the political leaders, the intelligentsia and the concerned citizens of the land not to close the door.