Wanted: Visionary leaders :: Follies of the past
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: November 19, 2022 -

Long term vision. Where would one want to see Manipur, say 10/20/30 or even 50 years, down the line?

And what are the steps that would need to be taken up with an eye on the long term?

These are questions which the political leaders of the State should ideally be tackling now for far too long Manipur has been trundling from one issue to the other and one particular reason why the State and the people are reeling under so many issues today is the failure of successive Governments to look beyond the immediate.

If the Scheduled Tribe categorisation demand for the Meeteis/Meiteis is headlining some of the more pressing issues of today, one may say that this could be due to the failure of the leadership of those days to look beyond.

The same goes with the large scale influx of non-natives from across the international border.

These are issues besetting the present generation and the important point to note is that these two issues could have been averted if only the people in positions of power and influence back at that time had an inkling on how the situation could be like say 20/30 or 50 years hence then.

The present is the fruit of the past, the seeds for which were sown decades back and if at all there is any lesson to be learnt from the mistakes of the past then it is to try and see where Manipur would be say 10 or 20 years hence.

This is what long term vision is all about.

This is one primary reason why the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee (STDCM) and the World Meetei Council have raised the need to ensure some sort of Constitutional protection for the Meeteis/Meiteis and their land.

Allowed to settle in only 10/15 percent of the total geographical area of the State, which is also open to all others and one can imagine how the situation could be like once the train starts arriving in full swing.

The same is the case with the human incursion from across the international border.

Any decision that is taken today should be done so with an eye on the future and that is what is expected from the State Government.

It is long term vision which has catapulted the BJP to the centre stage today and this is a fact which should be acknowledged by everyone.

Again it is the long term vision of Thuingaleng Muivah which has pushed the 'Naga issue' to the centre stage and given them their own 'uniqueness' and who can forget Tangkhul leader the late Rungsung Suisa when one talks about far sighted leaders.

Central to any long term policy guided by far sightedness is obviously education.

This is where questions, serious questions ought to be raised to the Government at Imphal as well as the many civil society organisations active here, where education exactly figures in their overall scheme of things.

When student organisations start behaving like they are a power unto themselves then something, somewhere is seriously wrong.

Why do so many parents prefer to send their children outside Manipur to pursue their higher education once they cross the Class XII stage ?

This is a question which everyone, particularly the Government ought to start exploring and as long as education does not figure high on the agenda of the Government, then one may say that it would amount to robbing the young minds of the opportunity to develop any far sighted vision.

This is what seems to be happening to Manipur right now. An Indian Institute of Technology now adorns Assam. An Indian Institute of Management sits pretty at Meghalaya.

Manipur may talk about RIMS and this is where it becomes important to recognise and acknowledge the far sightedness of the man who is credited of getting RIMS, then known as RMC, to open in Manipur.

Look beyond is a call which needs to be heeded with all the seriousness it deserves.