Man! Manipur sucks. You have no future out there. A rather blatant, but not at all surprising, a statement, that usually does its round, every time we come up with the various FAQs that tags along in chalking out a future plan of action once we are though our designated course of study.

At the helm of the affairs of the state, with parallel governments, one literally rotting over the ground and the other ……(you know it all) the youths of this erstwhile SANALEIBAK are sinking into a quagmire that looms ahead with doom. Hungry eyes waiting to devour them in wholes.

Living in Manipur has become nothing short of a torture, a living nightmare straight out of the killing fields of Cambodia and Vietnam. The energy and creativity synonymous to youth has ceased to flow with no outlet at their disposal. To be verbally correct the youths are suffering from creative constipation.

At a juncture when the mainstream media is head over heels in love with the youth and going GA GA over Youthpower, the GENEXT and a horde of similarly glitzy terms, we are sliding into an abyss. The hatred for the system, the banal development process, the lack of opportunities, the overall fear psychosis - have left us with the only option to be hopeless and resigning further to our hopelessness.

Well to a certain extent it may not be wrong to cite the examples of a handful of the Manipuri Diasporas who have carved out a niche for themselves in diverse fields of their interest. Though their rate of progression might be at a snail pace, we are certainly proud of them. Of the hundreds who had the best of education and who throng every available cities of India following their career dreams, only a few seem to give a thought on Manipur.

He or she might be a genius in his or her own right, but it really pricks and pains my heart to see so much talent and manpower misdirected, just because of the dishevelled social machinery in Manipur. It is true that everyone aspires to work with the best in their line of interest. I would definitely dream to be a part of the BBC team. But I think somewhere along the line something has gone wrong with our outlook, if we are too keen to call ourselves an educated mind.

Yes the cash, perks and allowances that comes along working with a blue chip corporation might be a dream come true, and worth the years of labour and toil that one has put into passing the requisite degrees and diplomas. But have we ever given a thought of giving back to society what it has given (or has not given) us? What of Manipur, who has suffered the pangs and perils of our births?

Following the massive goldrush to modernday EL DORADOS, with the greenbuck in our minds, aren't we making a mistake of foresaking our green lands to burn in its own plight? The huge NRI population in Jalandhar never makes it another Melbourne.The big number of Gulf-expatriates doesn't make Kerala aTamil Nadu.It's high time for a reality check.

It won't be wrong to say that we, with our larger than life egos have our eyes set only on WHITE COLLAR jobs. I am all against this concocted notion of thinking, but practically I am one in the crowd, still in the fray. WHERE ART THOU, DIGNITY OF LABOUR? Are there no rooms left for professionals and experts to fit into the system back home? I feel that there are immense avenues in Manipur, where every one of us could be accomodated in, if at all we have the heart and mind for it.

An example straight out of the pocket would be that of an Agriculture graduate, who could prioritise to work with the farming community in the agragrian sector sacrificing the appointment in a high -tech Bio firm. Well lemme not spin tales. The probable rat in the closet causing all this malaise could be nothing other than our lack of ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

We seem unfazed and undazed by it. I've been through this discussion time and again with friends and the only roadblock seems to be lack of capital and the unnecessary intervention from pesky and nosy elements et al. Pioneers have to fall hook, line and sinker with the dictates of the ever dictating authorities.

We are credited with a nose to single out problems, but only a few walks the extra mile to redress the grievances. The GOI has set aside a huge amount of funds and grants to address developmental works. We only need to pave a way. YES!!!!!! There are wolves in sheep's skin, always on the lookout to pounce on any and every available prey. But let that not be the end of the road for us.

History is a great leveller and we are guilty if the wrongs of History repeat again. Let's all join hands to thrash out a meaningful solution to end all ills. The shady deals behind the scenes are an open truth. Why should we remain mute spectators? Labeling them as a bunch of crooks or jumping into the bandwagon just for a ride is not enough.

We put an end to our endless pseudo nationalistic discourses, stereotyping, backlashing once and for all-----we could be full of hope again. With an unaggressive mind, let's unravel the intricate shades of our Motherland, one at a time, creating opportunities out of a blank wall and then opportunities out of it. We should be able to handle pressures left, right and centre. And a final prayer I say:

LORD GIVE ME THE ABILITY TO ACCEPT THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE,
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THINGS I CAN, AND
THE WISDOM TO UNDERSTAND THEIR DIFFERENCE.