Ignorance coupled with fundamentalism and jingoism can be a fatal and dangerous cocktail and unfortunately, in Manipur, we have been witnessing the mushrooming of a number of orga-nisations with high sounding principles which thrive on such a potent mixture.

Giving a more lethal touch to such a trend is the manner in which some of these organisations have managed to earn a certain degree of social legitimacy, either through muscle power or gross publicity stunts.

This trend is visible all over the State and a look at the manner in which some of these organisations have been going ahead and forcing their agenda down the throat of the public is there for all to see.

One very convenient phrase which these organisations invariably use to justify their course of action is Public Interest. So a bandh may be imposed or a general strike called or some things banned here and there all in the name of Public Interest.

Such entities seem to forget that Public Interest cannot be defined by anyone at their fancy and whims, and the biggest worry is there is no one to tell them this.

It is no wonder then that important issues besetting the State are continuously being hijacked by these self appointed guardians of society and in some cases too we have seen some of these organisations at logger heads with each other over an issue or two.

In such a scenario, the biggest casualty is the public, who cannot do anything but just watch the theatrics being enacted in their name.

Be it any issue, education, corruption, price rise, human rights etc etc, these organisations have come under the impression that they should have the last word.

Such a situation cannot be healthy for any society and the Manipur that we see today is part of this malaise. With a Government which is there only in name, it but natural for these entities to mushroom and even earn brownie points from the gallery.

To set things right, we need to have our priorities right.

What is it that Manipur needs today ?

Do we need a people who should develop the herd mentality and remain silent and satisfied doing whatever is being dictated, or do we encourage an atmosphere where each and every individual can exercise his or her mental faculty and raise questions and even dissent ?

Should we develop the culture of agreeing to disagree or do we toe the line that is fed on us ?

These are some of the fundamental questions that need to be addressed to or else, as we have mentioned earlier, Manipur will continue to be a perfect breeding ground for fundamentalists and jingoists, who cannot look beyond their noses.

It is time to show such elements their correct place instead of lapping up whatever is forced down through our throats.

This is the only way in which Manipur can climb out from the morass of rot and mediocrity.