Pick up any newspaper published in Manipur or browse through any website relating to Manipur, I assure you that you will surely be left with no iota of doubt about the simultaneous existence of multiple Governments in Manipur, functioning with equal ferocity and effectiveness! Right next to the news-item on the appointment of 'Ad-Hoc Teachers', you will most certainly spot a Press Release (promising revenge killing, threatening people, apologies etc.) issued by this or that 'proscribed' group and if you are not too tired, just flip the newspaper across, you will find series of self confessions ('Ei Yu Thakchara-roi', 'Ei Lanjare', 'Ei Khuramjari', 'Eibu Ngak-Piyu', 'Mari Lei-Naba Authority-Na Yengsanbiyu' and stories like that of a Drunkard adding one 'Extra Long-Dao' to the allotted 'swimming exercise' in the cold of one chilly night are widespread ), which are as effective as any 'Jokes Columns' in raising your spirits Subhe Subhe. Sad but true, the stark reality is that apart from the Central Government in Delhi, Manipur is practically being ruled by the following types of Government, with or without authority, at any given point of time:

A. The Official Government of Manipur - Its main functions have now been relegated only to 'regularly irregular' disbursement of salaries after a Darshan of the RBI every month, siphoning 'Development Funds', raising hands and performing the mandatory 'Namaste' to their ultimate Babus in Delhi without uttering a single word about developmental perspectives in Manipur (one, language problem; two, most of our politicians are neither interested nor have any vision of 'Development'; three, their only objective in life is personal interest gratification and ensuring at least 5 years of merciless 'Loot and Plunder') and sending some Commandos here and there to run after the very UG activists with whom they shamelessly share 'their exploits' on a daily basis .

B. The Government of the Proscribed Groups - This Government can best be described as a 'Government of Governments' with different power centers scattered across and managed by 'more than half a dozen' proscribed groups, who have a tendency to run amok after every issue, issuing their own version of 'Fatwa' and maiming drunkards, small time narcotic traders, while exonerating big time thugs like corrupt Politicians, prescribing 'Designer Outfits' for our helpless Manipuri women, while letting off our Manipuri men wearing the most modern of outfits (pants, shirts etc. instead of Khudei, Khu-rum, Khamen Chatpa Feijom etc.), issuing 'Donation' Letters and killing people who either have no money to donate or refuse to donate, undertaking Government contracts on percentage basis. This Government survives only on donations. While I do not intend to question the main objective these proscribed groups seek to achieve, I certainly and seriously condemn the means many of them adopt in endeavoring to achieve their objectives and needless to say, 'Means' are as important as the 'End' itself.

C. Government of the Students - The third Government ruling Manipur is the unrecognized Government of the various Student Bodies, always at loggerheads with one another and more than busy in teaching their own Teachers, issuing conflicting Press Statements on what books to be prescribed for them (rather than teachers and Education Boards doing it!), 'squatting' on hunger strikes for all kinds of conceivable irregularities, participating in state politics at the cost of their main academic pursuits etc. Unfortunately, I am yet to come across any workshop, seminar etc. organized by any of these groups, aimed at developing Manipur as an economy, creating job opportunities, asking for more incentives for industrialization of Manipur etc. This Government seems to have the objective of politicizing every issue under the sun, instead of giving any constructive feedback for tackling the most dangerous enemy lurking i.e. Poverty and Unemployment.

D. Government of the Meira Paibi - Different types of Meira Paibies man different Ministries of this Government in different directions. This Government seems to be more engaged in banging Lamp Posts, tonsuring peoples' heads for 'heinous' crimes like polygamy, unauthorized elopement, drinking. They are into solving family disputes, setting up small roadside huts for 'Round The Clock' security coverage - only to run for life at the first sight of a security personnel at night, organizing Demonstrations as and when called for by other 'vested interest' groups etc. Indeed, Meira Paibis have contributed a lot to various social reforms, but now, time has come when their activism should be diverted to more productive development issues. If our Meira Paibis can organize huge demonstrations on human rights issues, certainly we can expect them to organize such rallies, demonstrations etc. for pressuring the Official State Government to create a more conducive atmosphere for investment and corporatisation of Manipur.

Logic says with the maximum number of 'Governments', Manipur ought to be the 'Best Governed' state, but sorry folks, we have ended up in giving Laloo another opportunity to draw comparisons and to be proud of Bihar! Our 'Governments' seem to be functioning independently, many times clashing, leaving the public bewildered and here, my guess will arguably be as good as yours - who is behind whom! Nevertheless, one common feature of all these 'Governments' is that none of them talks about progressive ideas (of course, subject to exceptions here and there); all are in the never ending business of Tall-Talks and blowing their own Trumpets. No wonder, with such a despicable situation, Manipur stands a good candidate for 'Anarchy' redefined in its worst form !

Ask any Manipuri - who is responsible for this mess? Almost everybody in Manipur will happily say - 'the Central Government' thanks to manipulated campaigns by our Netas, "youths", Village Elders etc. and I must confess that I have not been immune to such a malicious campaign. Right from my childhood, I have always been made to believe that the Central Government is responsible for Manipur's economic woes and I have always nurtured a prejudice, knowingly or unknowingly, against the Central Govt., which hopefully is true with most of my Manipuri brothers and sisters. But when I try to look back and introspect now, it is just baffling to realize the 'crude manner' in which I have been misled all along. Now, I am more or less convinced that our present economic woes are a `making' of our own and no wonder, with our highly corrupt politicians and bureaucrats ever busy in money minting and giving their sons and daughters the best of lifestyles, we end up in such an economic mess.

If one cares to scrutinize the Industrial policies of India, one will easily notice that a lot of incentives have been extended to industrial units located in the North Eastern States including 10 years' complete tax holiday, 50% Transport Subsidy, special package for the tobacco industry coupled with lots of special packages from NEDFi, DONER etc. But we still want to blame the Central Government for our own lack of vision and sincerity! I honestly feel that the Central Government and the RBI in particular have been doing a favour to us by allowing us 'overdraft' facilities, inspite of our almost 'nil' revenue collection records, and still caring to see our Hon'ble CM with a 'Begging Bowl' every month to feed the mouths of thousands of Government Employees back home! We have been one of the most corrupt and visionless states in India and therein lies the answer to our economic misery and please, stop blaming the Central Government `only' for all that has gone wrong with Manipur. Of course, we can blame the Central Government for specific instances of negligence like in the case of Tourism (Special Areas Permits), Non Location of National Institutes in Manipur, poor National Highways etc., but certainly, it would be completely and ridiculously wrong for us to ascribe the whole blame for our economic woes only to the Central Government.

Here, the natural question is: what is the remedy then? I do honestly feel that our media and pressure groups like Student Groups, Local Clubs, Meira Paibies etc. have a great role in bringing an end to the 'Anarchy' that prevails in Manipur. Unfortunately, our media still remains a damp squib and words like investigative journalism, sting operations, hard talks etc. are still unheard of in Manipur and most media groups continue to serve the interest of this or that political organization or proscribed group. Indeed, its a high time for all of us to pull our socks and contribute at least something to save Manipur from its rapid slide to 'economic ruins' - like the one that happened in Nepal. It is just that the pressure groups in Manipur have to go in for a little bit of 'reorientation' in terms of redefining their areas of operation and issues they are dealing with. Our local clubs, 'Youths' and Meira Paibis can definitely propagate progressive ideas about setting up industrial units in Manipur, create awareness about the evils of corruption, ensure that our representatives get elected to the Parliament or the State Legislature without bribing any of us, expose the corrupt and the guilty but objectively. Perhaps, we are one people who have allowed ourselves to be misled all these years and now, it is the right time to wake up from the deep slumber and say 'Enough is enough'.