The obnoxious system

Kakai Singsit *

This somnolent hamlet was awash with exquisite bikes zooming to and fro across the village and its vicinity. It was like a mini- Imphal as every household has its own bikes.

But, this was the hinterland with little economic prospect and a place where Government schemes and subventions seldom reach the actual beneficiaries only to be devoured by the rapacious village chief in cahoots with local officials and self-proclaimed revolutionary leaders.

From an economic point of view the area provided little prospect. The diminutive expanse of the area, compounded by an arid soil provides little or no scope for agriculture. The road was littered with ruts and potholes. There were no schools worth the name. Though the people were poor yet they led an ostentatious life.

It was a paradox that such an unproductive area could be home to so much trendy motor cycles. The million dollar question is from where did they get the money for purchasing those hi-end bikes ? God must have not rain it down like manna from heaven. Then How ! It was intriguing.

A random comparison with my area shows that ours is much better off in the domain of employment, economic condition and living standard. But, when it comes to the average of motor cycle possession the hinterland beats us emphatically.

At last, I asked a friend from the university who gave me an answer that left me fumbling in shock. They were from poppy plantation. It confounded me beyond measure and I was gasping in disbelief on the thought that my people who profess Christianity should stoop so low as to resort to the most despicable and debase calling i.e., the plantation of poppy. On further examination I came to realise that this was not confined to a particular area but all-pervasive.

Poppy cultivation cannot be justified from any aspect viz. legal, religious or morality. It is very much contrary to the Christian ethics of simplicity and piety.

Then what must have goaded these poor people to resort to such demeaning calling ? Was it driven by the compelling circumstance to keep the wolf away from their doors or was it motivated by pure greed ? Whatever their motive might be but there is no justification in cultivating a plant which is the sure fire to hell.

As I tried to unravel the probable reasons to the entire gamut of this activity, I stumbled across sordid sequences of evils within our society- A vicious circle of corruption, deprivation, suppression, exploitation towards the poorer sections of the society by the so called chiefs or reactionary leaders.

Dysfunctional administration and indifference of the Government is an important factor. Government schools are by design crippled due to the massive utilization of teachers elsewhere. The sparseness of the area and the modest population makes it impossible to open private schools. Even if it is open it is beyond the reach of many of the poor people.

Villagers have little rights- political, social, legal, economic or religious. There's no right to vote here. A villager has to vote according to the whims and diktats of the chief or the reactionary group controlling the area.

The just concluded election has clearly demonstrated that all most all the entire MLAs who were elected from the Kuki-Chin community were either directly or indirectly propped up by the so-called reactionary leaders. And we, the people have to chime in with their wishes or face eternal perdition. So, jobs, sops, schemes and subventions go to them not the people.

Absentee chief is another jinx that is afflicting the hinterland. Nestled either in Imphal or district headquarters they have this propensity of imposing their iron-clad will from afar. They seldom visit their village but relish in screwing the villagers of all the benefits meant for them.

If anyone has the temerity to question his conduct then surely he is in trouble. Either he is kicked out of the village, fined with hefty penalties or ostracized. In a nutshell, chieftainship is the embodiment of tyranny that needs to be purged.

The MNREGA that was launched with so much aplomb and expectation as the sure antidote for poverty alleviation and rural development has only made the village chief's and reactionary leaders richer.

In fact, job card has been ridiculed as JOB CAR owing to the fact that the village chief instead of distributing the wages to the villagers are more inclined to purchasing cars and constructing plush houses at nearby towns. There are villages that have not distributed wages to the villagers even till today.

While our egregious chiefs and reactionary leaders are getting richer and fatter after feasting on the poor man's blood, on the other hand the poor man's misery has reached up to the seventh sky with no respite at the end of the tunnel.

I've heard villagers revelling on being told that the car of their chief had faced an accident. There was not an iota of empathy but a morbid glee.

The nouveau rich's arrogance in their attitude, rapacious in character, licentious in moral, vulgar in their habits, perverted in their thoughts have become more powerful after forging an ill-assorted alliance- the marriage of militancy and chieftainship. The driving force was to stifle the voice of dissenting villagers and the second was to share the spoils. Either way, the poor are thrown into the abyss of poverty.

The surge of polygamy among these nouveau riche in recent years is the direct fallout of MNREGA. Polygamy, a social taboo has now become the new normal.

The poor should not have been in such an abject helplessness had there been proper administration and accountability but the sad fact is that there isn't. Given no option and the urgent need to educate and feed their children they have been forced to take to the cultivation of opium, the easiest and shortest way out. It is such irony that opium has to play the stabilising force in many parts of the rural areas.

The Churches, like its medieval counterparts are slowly and surely sullying its sacrosanct character by becoming the instrument and vanguard of these exploitative groups who manifested in different facet and forms. In fact many of the Church are becoming subservient to these powerful groups of people who discreetly influence its decisions. If you want an important position in the Church you need to have nexus with these people.

A man was running for the post of the Church secretary. He campaigned hard but was defeated. His friends feeling sorry for his loss went to mollify him. The man stood up and said, "My friend this is politics and losing or winning is an intrinsic part of it. So take heart." They came out reeling.

It leaves one with a bad taste in the mouth to witness the Church assembly, normally conducted in the first month of the New Year, to deliberate on all matters concerning the Church for the current year descending to a fish market with all the dins and recriminations. It's no different from the boisterous India's Parliament session.

And there's this Church sponsored and nurtured by an MLA. It is said that if you want to occupy important position there you've to be amenable with him. Our Church new building construction was in progress. The elders went to the local MLA for his benevolence who insolently told them that he will take the entire responsibility for its completion but it should be a quid pro quo. It seems they were agreeable to his proposition.

Furious, I chastened one of the committee members why don't you pull down the portrait of Jesus Christ and hang that of the MLA there instead of Jesus Christ ! The idea was dropped later.

There's a fad in the hills of letting the MLA build the Church and voting for him as a quid pro quo. Church hallowed character is being bartered for votes. Just imagine sitting inside a Church built by an MLA with his corrupt and ill-gotten money. Mammon's !

There's nothing wrong in an MLA donating for Church construction or renovation works but let it be done selflessly and with no axe to grind. Churches should be bereft of politics and politicians should let the Church alone.

If your village chief is a Catholic you've got to be. If he embraces other denomination you have to re-orient yours. If he supports a political party you have to. If he switches loyalty so you've got to sync yours too. Everything is presented to the villagers as a fait accompli in which you have little say. Fall in line it or leave the village is the most popular catchword.

For the village chief is the law and its fountainhead. He owns the land and everything not even sparing the villagers mind space. He is above reproach, infallible and therefore can do no wrong. He makes the law and adjudicates it. He is the legislator, the executive and the judiciary. In fact, he wields everything that a dictator, the incarnate of evil, wields.

You might be a bureaucrat, a Minister or even a Pastor but the day you're at loggerheads with your chief then you're a goner. In fact, your house or your entire property is his. Everybody's expendable here.

Another cruel irony is that all militant leaders and rich elites are now becoming village chiefs either though acquisition or confiscation. It seems this reprehensible system will never go unless there's Government intervention.

Now one starts wondering how two forms of system diametrically opposed to one another can co-exist together in a democratic country like India. In other words, how can chieftainship, the embodiment of tyranny flourish in a democratic system ? So, if the Government want to extricate the people from poverty it should first pay attention to this aspect. The panacea is total overhaul of this obnoxious system.

If not, I weep for the future of my society and the generations to come.