Over 10 days since bidding adieu to 2022 : Lessons from the past
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 12, 2023 -

The greetings are over. The air of optimism, the dose of energy-in short the feel good factor that invariably comes with the dawn of something new may have started to wear off, with the world having completed 10 days of stepping into 2023.

This is how the world and by extension mankind has been existing and going from one year to another until the time for the final adieu comes has been the norm but till then the observation that the past is the best teacher for everyone will stand true.

Like the rest of the world, Manipur too has crossed the 10th day of 2023 and while there is nothing new in this, this is that time of the year for all to look back at 2022 and see how best to avoid the things that made the year just' gone by fall short of making it a fantastic one.

And it is from the past that one can take steps to carve out a better 2023, 2024, 2025 or as the years go by.

To many 2022 would now be a memory and it will dim with each passing day, but to progress in life it is important to look at some of instances of the past so that the errors and mistakes of the year just gone by are not repeated.

Coming as it did at the fag end of 2022, that is on December 21, then one would definitely associate the year just gone by with the tragic road accident at Noney district that killed 9 people including 7 young students.

The Noney road mishap would rank right up there as one of the worst road mishaps to have ever occurred in Manipur, and it was this tragedy that prompted the State Government and the State Transport Department to ring out a warning bell to all school vans and school buses to stick to the prescribed number of students each vehicle is allowed to carry.

The Sangai Express has already had its say on the matter, but this is a point which would need to be repeated time and again.

Schools are yet to re-open following the winter break, but it would be significant to note how many of the school van and school bus operators would stick to the rules and regulations laid down by the Government.

Packing school going kids like the proverbial sardines in a can is definitely a matter of grave concern and this is a point which has already been flagged in this column long before the Noney road tragedy.

As noted in an earlier commentary, one also hopes that the different school managements come around to the reality that they do have it in them to strictly keep an eye on the number of children each school vans, affiliated to their school, carry.

Issue a notification in this regard, is an open appeal to all school management committees.

To many others, 2022 will also be remembered for the vigour given to the War on Drugs campaign with, the police having pulled up some village chiefs but the important point to note here is that the War on Campaign should not be understood only through the prism of poppy plantations being razed to the ground.

The Government will definitely need to do more.

One hopes Imphal is in touch with the neighbouring States, particularly Assam and Nagaland for these are two States where drugs originating from Manipur have been seized regularly.

What is the status of the cases, is a question Imphal ought to know.

2022 was also a significant year for those who have been at the forefront demanding that the Meiteis be included in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution.

Significant to note too that Kakching Assembly Constituency MLA M Rameshwar had mooted the idea of renaming the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, Manipur as ST Restoration Committee on the ground that the Meiteis were at one point of time recognised as tribals.

There were other issues too, but road safety, the War on Drugs and the ST demand for the Meiteis are some prominent points which stand out and which will carry on into 2023.

Manipur, like the rest of the world has definitely stepped into 2023, bidding farewell to 2022, but some issues from 2022 and earlier will surely be carried into 2023.

And lest one forgets, there is the ongoing peace process between the Government of India and the NSCN (IM) and this is again another prominent point which can impact Manipur in 2023 and beyond.