Sat, 20 Mar 2004 15:53:58 -0800
Subject: Here is the best way for we Manipuris to fly high!!

Is the NE spoilt child?? this is really a great question which i too have been thinking from the past 6 years. I too say a BIG NOOO!! The governor thinks himself too wise with little common-sense to play the game of listen and speak ..a pure indian head !! ( the world knows indians dont think deep and IT is really matching for indians). The article from the despora explain lots..but i would like to sum up them in points. Before going to the solution let's analyse the existing scenario... answering following questions will make things even more clear.

Q1.Why do we have the feeling that Manipur is lacking behind other parts of the country ??
Ans:: 1) we look only at the big cities of other states!!
2) our distinction from mainland india..in terms of looks , culture.
3) We are less in number and it's hard for rest of the country to recognize us.
4) really we are many steps behind other parts of country.

Q2. How do have so much different work culture from rest of the country??
1) Unlike rest other india, NE was completely free from Mughal enslavement of the indian society for 400 years. this was a major cause of indians becoming most adaptive human on this earth. While NE people still keep fighting with the basic instintcs.(** being adaptive does not mean good really. there are pros and cons)
2) NE has more influence from eastern culture ..we need to look back the history ,even the rulers in assam (Ahoms)were from south east asia side.

Q3. What is the cause that we are really lacking behind other parts of the country??
ANS: 1) mughals unified rest part of india which was under a single umbrella later british took advantage of it. we can still trace that , already developed by mughals ,british further established for industrial and marketing purpose. ( this didnt touch NE )
2) point 2) and 3) of Q1 are the reasons NE avoids to mix up easily with the mainland india development process .
3) India is too large but foreign rulers established only in selected areas for their own purpose.
4) development process follow componded way!!

The imbalance created by foreign rulers made it tough for rest other rural india who are suffering equally as we NE people are.. analyzing carefully you'll find that the culpirits are the mughals(partly) and the british (mainly). For instance the british factories in only few parts of the country destroying the iron industry of kakching , the ship bui lders of assam etc.

Q4 WHY WE EVER TALK OF ..WE MANIPURIS ,THEY PUNJABIS, THEY BIHARIS????
Ans: Our whole discussion above would have been really meaningless if everyone in this world know you by only your name and your quality. here comes the question of "Group identity" which plays a big role in society. the SERIOUS point is that Group identity is used by people to predict the quality of a person . This is where you may loose a chance being manipuri or one may loose chance being indian etc.

CONCLUSION: WE SHOULD FIGHT FOR GROUP IDENTITY!! (so better to have a single title for we all manipuris)

Here I put up two scenarios before we really talk of development.
1)what if the manipur state itself succeeds building all infrastructures of development ??
Ans: That time we'll find that people from all over india coming like house flies to compete on our soil. as we are very few in number our identity will slowly banish into the majority folk. For example marathas cant say mumbai belongs to them while many business and activities are run by people from different parts of india. Lesson here is that development of the whole country can only solve the problem of development. ( India is yet to go a long way for development and following this path wont be that practical)

Ideally this only achieves bringing manipur up and sharing out to rest of the India.

2) What if the whole manipuris turn out to be interpreneurs in different parts of the country ??
Ans :: if you go to other parts of the india for education .. the local people obviously feel you dont get proper education at home ( dont be hurt by few of the remarks passed by the local innocent people near your institute). On the other hand, if you become a great interpreneur in a company and all the high class people around saluting will defenitely make you feel too homely. the innocent common people will never have chance to talk to you even hmm!.
Ideally if each of we manipuris can achieve this ..the whole india become home of we manipuris.
So far I have shared only the analysis of the problem in development of manipuris. But justification on either to "convert india home for all manipuris" or "blow up manipur and share out to the whole country" is still left open to great thinkers.

To my opinion following 2nd path (which means improve human resources) has following advantages
1)more practical to implement
2)can make use of the power of being a populous country. ( for instance becoming billionaire in manipur wont be possible without foreign earning while becoming the same in india will be possible without foreign earning).
3)improve Group identity

What steps we need to take to achieve the goal??
1) support proper primary education.
2) need an innovative system of secondary education which can help make our students hold sharp focus on their respective goals and take the advantage of their fellow nation friends learning mixture of all.
For instance we should have different categories of schools with expertise curriculum to handle the desired goals like medical entrance , engineering entrance at the national level.
3)open up coaching centres
4)start technical institutes and do international level activities.
5) open up academic consultancy
Finally the irony here is that ..all these need money and money comes after development!! making altogether a complex solution. But our small number is an advantage here and we can put little bit of co-operative sentiments to make things start working.

Few favouring changes for us!!
1) now india started opening up to rest of the Asia and soon they'll see people of our look more rich ones than those in the kitchen hmm!. (probably this will help improve group identity).
2) development of the south east asian countries will touch down upon our side which is more likely to happen faster than the mainland india. though we could be mere gateway ..being a locale could be always fruitful.
3) India is developing fast and we will certainly get some share of it.
My dream !!
Look at the whole developed asia ..i feel happy we come very close to the center. and one day i hope to enjoy the central position when the whole asia would open up as business partners.



Date: Sat Mar 6, 2004 2:12 am
Subject: RAP/PAP and foreigner skills exchange program + NE - spoilt child

A friend of mine just quit her job to teach english in china through this organisation and actually paying a fee !! for that oportunity
http://www.teachinchina.cn/en/
I have appended a related previous post from the archives at the very end.

WE HAVE TO GET RID OF THE FOREIGNER ENTRY RESTRICTION for the North East !

Attracting foreigners voluntaring to disseminate various skillsets is very easy after that. The strategy is to initially mount pressure by our various organisations on our politicians to demand compensation from the central govt in the state budgets for lost foreign tourism earnings and also for the deprivation of intellectual development opportunities if they are going to retain this "COLLECTIVE punishment for ALL" policy. To me, more than the foreign tourism economic input, this opening up of our people to the advance knowledge and ideas of the developed world, is more invaluable and important. It is a sign of our intellectual and political weakness that we are letting the indian central govt impose such a debilitating and discriminatory policy on the north east.

We are always blaming ourselves how lazy we are, how corrupt our leaders and question why we cant ape the development happening at hyderabad and pune and bangalore. But the more I try to analyse this over the last few years, I feel more vindicated that we in the NE are not the "spoilt pampered child" as the mizoram governor called us, but unfortunate, deprived, voiceless minorities that will continue to escape the overall pace of development opportunities of a country like it does in every other country of the world.

We can never compete with the bigger cities to attract industries when we dont have any of the essential infrastructures - rail or cost effective road transport, reliable communication and the vital electricity leave alone the skilled human resources even if extortion was to end and with the tax exemptions that are being thrown in by the central govt. So our economy will continue to be almost agrarian (that too predominantly subsistence) and trading and forced to live off central govt handouts. The local agrarian economies are now at risk of collapsing as cheaper produce imported from better infrastructure, economies of scale and subsidy enjoying neighbouring regions are making it uneconomical. EVEN with the future trade links with ASEAN and china, we will remain MERELY a transit point with the big employment generating industries remaining in the big cities which has the necessary cost effective infrastructures.

So it vindicates my previous argument that intellectual and industrial development in an underdeveloped and minority region is ONLY possible if it was a country as otherwise the region will remain unable to compete for attracting the big industries and intellect creating institutions and will be left to BEG for the annual budget from the centre as there will be no large revenue or employment generating entity in the region.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Manipur-Diaspora/message/1353
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Manipur-Diaspora/message/1357

And this is not just the NE of india but remains the fact in every underdeveloped region of every country in the world. That is why every underdeveloped region aspire to achieve their independence. Assume manipur was a country tomorrow. It would certainly be a baptism under fire, but we will over the years have to create all the administrative and policy generating institutions, our own factories and industries that produce anything from soap, oil, food items, clothing to railway carriages for the consumption of the entire population of manipur thus generating enormous local employment opportunities. We won't be able to compete with cost with those produced in india and china and that is why we need to have tariffs against these imports to prop up the local industries and hence protect the local jobs. Development aid and loans from developed countries and institutions like the world bank exist to drive such infrastructure development projects.

This economic activity will further bring about bigger investments to improve the essential industry generating infrastructures. Once we improve our competitiveness, we gradually lower the tariffs and that is what every country, even the US and Europe, does to protect their local economy and jobs.

But if we do not have the political power to borrow money to create these local job generating industries to produce goods required for local consumption nor enforce such tariff policies to protect them, no local industry can compete with those in the infrastructure enriched big indian cities. And that is why there is this big protest by the developing countries against free trade and globalisation where the rich developed countries with their economies of scale and subsidies are wiping out industries in the poorer countries. So the free market forces that exist internally within every country will ensure that these remote underdeveloped regions of any country will remain underdeveloped and the resulting economic stagnation and poverty and unemployment and hopelessness will fester separatist sentiments further feeding this cycle.

We should tell the WISE VISIONARY mizoram governor who called the north east people "spoilt children" to have India, even at this current pretty advanced and developed status, remove all the trade import tariffs and open up all their markets and see how the indian industries and economy survives from the onslaught of the developed countries and china. The indian economy will certainly collapse resulting in a NE like instability once jobs don't exist. When the big indian developed cities can't compete with the developed world on an equal par by removing ALL trade import tariffs, how can they expect the NE region with their non existent infrastructure to compete with the other indian cities. And if the non existent infrastructure wasn't enough, they further strangle us by imposing restrictive and depriving policies like mobile phone service and foreigner entry restrictions !

In every independent nation that has the power to chart their own future progress and development and protect their non competitive industries with tariffs, the most underdeveloped area and people within that nation will NEVER enjoy the same pace of development and progress as the bigger cities. Economic realities demand that big industries and infrastructure remain consolidated and not dispersed to get the best cost and competitive advantage. So underdeveloped regions like the NE in India with no political power will remain ignored as an uncompetitive area in this capitalistic free market system. Also in multi ethnic or racial countries that do not enjoy an equal share of political power, the dominant ethnic/racial group will ensure that power and prosperity remain within their group. In more DEMOCRATIC societies of the developed countries, the people of such regions enjoy an equal political power to ENFORCE that despite the economic disadvantage, funding and support from the centre is retained for local industries to protect local jobs and maintain an equitable economic climate across ALL regions of the country.

So it is detrimental to the psyche and confidence of our younger generation to be brought up believing the flawed argument that we in the NE are underdeveloped not because we face great odds but purely because we are too lazy. And this is not to find excuses and blame others for our underdevelopment but for our intellectuals to analyse this information and ensure that we take every opportunity that we can avail to help us bridge this unfair disparity in infrastructure and opportunity and not continue flogging the primitive strategy of "Just work harder to overcome the odds". That is why it is very frustrating to me and I label it criminal for the meitei intellectuals to refuse to accept this GLARING disadvantage and continue refusing to take up SC/ST status simply because we are embarrassed of the derogatory "tribal" label !

http://www.e-pao.net/epSubPageExtractor.asp?src=news_section.Manipur_Diaspora.SC_ST_debate_from_Manipuri_Diaspora_Group

It is a bleak picture but firstly it is the unfortunate LONG TERM REALITY and second it is very essential to analyse this information for our people to realize that it is not our people's inate laziness but the enormous odds stacked against us that has INEVITABLY left us in this hopeless state we are in today and likely for a long period. So now the crucial study is how should this information be used ? The indian govt must be made to realise that we are not dumb anymore and are aware of this information and so we hold them RESPONSIBLE to compensate and bridge this disparity. We are being forced to come with a begging bowl for each annual budget not because we are "spoilt and lazy" but because they have robbed us of the opportunity, we had for many centuries as an independent nation until just 50 years ago, the viability to host our own industries and economy and hence to generate our own local jobs.

This should enable the north east to negotiate and rightfully DEMAND a separate top up COMPENSATION in the state budgets for these deprived opportunities of India's making including the separatist movements we have today. They should no longer be allowed to arm twist us and collectively punish the whole population with their SCHEMING blame on our extortions and separatist sentiments for our underdevelopment as this very festering climate is of their very OWN making. They can't wash their hands off saying sort your separatist problems first and then we will bring about development. The stagnant economy is the cause of the separatist movements and NOT THE OTHER WAY ROUND ! So it is us who are even more brainless to allow this flawed reasoning to hold.

If the separatist movements were all gone tomorrow, peace will be there definitely but the non existent infrastructure will still make it unviable to attract big industries and unemployment and poverty will again AUTOMATICALLY kick start the strikes and bands and the separatist movements !

It is not an anti indian or pro separatist call but to debunk such flawed reasons for our under development. Our people needs to know that it is not just our laziness but lack of opportunities and infrastructure and the enormous odds we are fighting against that is the MAIN reason for our underdevelopment and our resigning to our state of hopelessness.

If India and the entire colonised world had to this day remained colonised, robbed of the opportunities they now enjoy as an independent nation for only the last few decades, the previous prevalent sentiment of the white colonisers that the natives were inferior to them and can never achieve their developed status and that they were meant to rule over them would still be upheld today ! Economic and intellectual development inevitably comes with opportunities created when one is in COMPLETE and INDEPENDENT charge of one's destiny and policies as an independent nation. And if one is deprived of that and in the case of Manipur, ROBBED of it after enjoying that for centuries, we should rightly demand compensation for it till they can give us the same infrastructure at par with the rest and not allow ourselves to be condescendingly dismissed as a lazy and spoilt child !

And from the last posts I couldn't help noticing this .. "Can you imagine what happens when the teachers call out their names and little Chinese looking Sikhs get up? They are the ones who face a real identity crisis," she said with a smile." "Chinese looking" as being ALIEN indicates the mayang indian's complete ignorance of the mongolian race north east people. Our race are a people of about 10 million and still the mayangs associate us FIRST ALWAYS as a nepali rather than from the north east. It is this neglect of our people by the mayangs coupled by our total lack of any political voice that will ensure that we remain undeveloped for many years to come.



Date: Tue Sep 9, 2003 4:25 pm
Subject: missionaries and cultural shift + foreigner skills exchange program

A forwarded mail on a topic discussed earlier ...
http://www.e-pao.net/epPageExtractor.asp?src=news_section.Manipur_Diaspora.html..
Select the link "The imminent religious challenge facing the meiteis" on the epao page above or you can dig through the archives in the forum
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Manipur-Diaspora
if you have a yahoo mail account.

The program to setup knowledge and information dissemination and training has been dicussed over the years and I am going to expand on that knowing fully well, these are not going to progress beyond the drawing board for sometime. The lifting of the foreigner entry restriction has been my goal for many years now but unfortunately we still have many amongst our people who feel that it is counter productive and some even have reservations about the embarrassment that might be caused by the abduction of foreigners ! I have expressed my views on religion and the Christian proselytizing plans of the meiteis in my posts before.

Being an agnost turned athiest, the only issue I have about Christianity besides the threat of an ethnic and social upheaval is the religious angle of "dumbing down" vulnerable and uneducated people (of which we have plenty in an underdeveloped minority mindset of our people) which happens when religion is pushed beyond the spiritual and moral needs of society and starts challenging the knowledge of science like evolution theory ! I wont ramble on again as they are in the previous posts .

So if these missionaries do come, I hope it is not SOLELY the blind myopic "EVERYTHING by the bible" teachings but also the western culture, knowledge, music, art, cuisine, freedom and interaction with the developed nations on which a more closer intellectual interaction can be established. I dont think we have a single piano or any traditional classical western instrument other than the rock music introduced instruments amongst the closeted meiteis whose only available source of influence is india ! I would love to e.g. see western classical, jazz, chamber music, etc being taught and performed in manipur.

And the best strategy is linked to the removal of the foreigner entry restriction and the free flow of foreign tourists. WE can set up an institute for teaching such skills like music, acting, film making, cooking, crafts, furniture making, ANYTHING and we can offer free accomodation and food to any foreign tourist that have a skill to teach. We screen of all applicants who apply to this program and believe me there will be plenty ! They gives us their skills in exchange for an exotic cultural experience of our various ethnic groups and sight seeing tours and most important a spiritual fulfilment of helping educate the people of an underdeveloped region.

They must commit about 3 months and the longer the better and no pay but we might have to accept shorter periods for more specialised skilled applicants. Accomodation too usually can be homestay in families willing to host the applicants which makes the package a more intimate and exotic cultural experience for the applicant and keeps cost down for us. Existing schools can be used for the classes if we can slot in the right time. These visitors will develop ties and go back to their countries and spread the network to provide us more assistance. WE will have some who will marry people from our state, building an even stronger bond and the reaction of our insecure males to that is the only threat I see to introducing foreigners to manipur! But we do not have to wait for the foreigners and such schemes can be pulled off if we can get volunteers in manipur to organise this.

There are plenty of unemployed skilled people in manipur whose skills and "generosity" can be tapped to help "disperse" and multiply the skills to all and specially those who cant afford that education or come from families without the guidance about the career opportunities. Of course the hurdle is that "generosity" component as it is very easy for successful people specially living overseas to preach "generosity" but for someone without a job why should he/she train someone else that will increase competition and rob his future opportunity ! However organisations like the XXXX can be the footsoldiers to set such schemes rolling as they have the manpower and logistics.

So I find it incomprehensible that members are against their being "engaged" ! If you disagree with their ideology is it TELEPATHY that we must use to communicate your opposing views and arguments to them !! They currently can and play a very important role in our society and thinking we are "punishing" them by keeping them out of our brainstorming sessions does not hurt them but us and more important our people. The only development I see is that we will be driven behind a more anonymous shield in our forum but I dont see that as a serious hindrance or limitation to our agenda.