Hoi Polloi & Mundanity

Election or Solution: Dilemma of the Manipuri Nagas

2012-02-07T16:22:00.001+05:30

The Double Standard

Calling it as an act of imposition by the Indian State, NSCN (IM) boycotted the 12th Lok Sabha Election in Manipur in 1997. On February 10, 1998, the outfit expressed appreciation and gratitude to its frontal organizations consisting of the Naga Hoho, United Naga Council (UNC), Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights, Naga Students’ Federation, Naga Mother Associations, Naga Village Chiefs’ Federation, Concerned Citizens Forum, Naga GB Federations and Church leaders, etc. for endorsing their wish and in asserting the national rights of the Naga people by keeping away from the elections. Subsequently, as a follow up to their line of thinking (i.e. calling the Indian elections as impositions), the 7th Manipur Assembly Election in 2000 and the 13th Lok Sabha Election in 2002 held in the state of Manipur were also boycotted. However, the clarion call given by NSCN-IM in terms of boycotting the elections in the name of Naga interests and national rights of the Nagas went to deaf ears to many “other” Nagas, as many Nagas jumped into the election fray, and in fact rightfully became representatives of the Nagas in the Manipur State Assembly. This is particularly true especially in the case of the Tangkhuls, the kindred tribe of Thuingaleng Muivah, who had been actively engaged in the electoral politics of Manipur.

Although NSCM (IM) had given the call to boycott the “imposed” elections by the Indian State in the state of Manipur, it started taking a keen interest beginning with the 8th Manipur Assembly elections. For the first time, the outfit dictated the terms of elections by giving decrees related to the choice of candidates, pattern of voting and others pertaining to the Nagas. A heightened and reckless interference was observed during the 14th Lok Sabha election. Once the “choice” candidates won the elections, the outfit used them (MPs, MLAs) to pursue their goal of Greater Nagaland. Today, one has witnessed the climax of direct interference by NSCN (IM), which even the Home Minister has acknowledged, resulting in re-poll of the 10th Manipur State Assembly elections in many of the Naga dominated areas (polling stations), such as Chandel, Ukhrul, Tamenglong and Senapati districts of Manipur. In addition to unleashing UNC like a wild buffalo to win support for the Naga People’s Front, the outfit used violent means to terrorize and win support. Three poll personnel, one CRPF personnel and two civilians were killed by NSCN (IM) cadres. News of abduction and torture by the outfit continue to pour in.

A note of double standard on the part of NSCN (IM) is easily discernable as far as the issue of election is concerned in Manipur; on one hand, the outfit proclaims the elections as impositions by the Indian State and thus the clarion call to boycott, and on the other hand, it picks their “choice” candidates to serve their own interests. It will not be wrong to state that the politics of boycott undertaken by NSCN (IM) is just a masquerade to fool the Nagas.

Electoral Politics as the Ends in Itself

One pertinent question that needs addressing is, why NSCN (IM), the oldest insurgent outfit in the Northeast region, is jumping into the election fray even in an indirect manner? The answer lies in the nature of the peace process between NSCN (IM) and Indian State. Although details of peace process is a tightly guarded secret but tell-tale signs of the peace process leading nowhere is visible. Neither the issue of Greater Nagaland nor sovereignty finds any significant place in the whole scope of the peace process. Instead, a muddled concept like Suprastate is suggested to solve the vexed Naga problem. That the Naga movement under the leadership of NSCN (IM) has reached a dead end was honestly aired by SC Jamir (Seven Sisters’ Post) and clearly exemplified in the manner in which the entourage of Th. Muivah and Isaac Swu was stopped by the Assam Rifles at Bade village on January 15, 2012 on their way to Zunheboto. The incident struck a stark similarity with the Mao incident in Manipur where Muivah was prohibited to visit his native village at Ukhrul, except it did not create a political fiasco other than old Muivah rendering a hurt press release!

The manner in which NSCN (IM) is slowly co-opted by the Indian State within its fold is not a new one. Scholars such as Gunnar Myrdal and Selig Harringson stand to bite dust, the former for calling India as a “soft state” in terms of its inability to bring about a decent growth rate other than the “Hindu growth rate” and the latter for predicting that democracy stands to fail in India and after that, after two decades or so from independence a military or dictatorship will rule over India. India has proved to be strong state. Take for instance, it can not only deploy its defence personnel wherever it likes but can also control it; plus have a glimpse at its defence spending. Using the same and grandly equipped with the electoral device, centrifugal forces such as the Akali Dal of Punjab, Dravida Kazakam of Tamil Nadu, Mizo National Front, Gorkha National Liberation Front and others were not only co-opted but also drawn into electoral parties. Parties in Jharkhand and Telegana, who earlier voiced separation from India are new victims of co-optation. For each co-opted organizations including NSCN (IM), the obvious alternative is making elections as ends in themselves to exploit own interests.

It is an undeniable fact that in such a situation the Manipuri Nagas (active NSCN-IM cadres and well-wishers) are in a dilemma. To make the situation more complex, they do not want themselves to be called as Nagas of Manipur. However, the contradiction is, the Nagas of Nagaland address them as Manipuris and never welcomed them as pure Nagas. Coming out of such a dilemma in an honourable way (voluntary or forced exit from Nagaland) demands creating a political space for themselves in Manipur, especially so for the new political class of leaders (NSCN-IM). The first task then is ending the political career of Naga leaders who have been engaged in the electoral politics of the state “traditionally”. Here we use the word “traditionally” to denote engagement with the Manipur politics before the inception of Naga People’s Front, and those Nagas who are not related with this party in any manner. So, through the vehicle of NPF and fully backed by NSCN (IM), they are engaged in the politics of Manipur to create a space for themselves in two ways as stated above; end the political career of traditional Naga politicians as well as fill up the political space as reservoirs. As SC Jamir has observed, on account of lack of honesty on the part of NSCN-IM leadership, the issue of greater Nagaland is used to exploit the sentiment of the Nagas of Manipur as well as to conceal their true colour. That joining electoral politics is a compulsion is left for people to guess without revealing the real situation for fear of reprisal.

Thus, as a first initiative to create a political space for them, the 9th State Assembly Election was an opportunistic moment for these Nagas of Manipur. UNC, a mouth piece of NSCN (IM), nominated candidates in all the Naga inhabited districts of Manipur with the sole aim of Naga Unification. A resolution was taken on August 3, 2006 wherein all prospective Naga candidates promised not to be associated with any national political parties. 60 candidates signed the declaration. A common platform known as as United Naga Democratic Front was formed to contest in the election and 11 candidates was nominated. In order to facilitate their candidates, the UNC served an ultimatum on January 24, 2007 to withdraw the candidature of those who had not been nominated by the UNC. But, the declaration of UNC turn out to be insignificant as out of 11 Naga candidates nominated, only six managed to win. Similarly, in the Lok Sabha Election of 2009 the UNC sponsored candidate was defeated. This clearly indicates that the UNC playing the emotional card to create a space is no longer valid.

As a second initiative, UNC came up with the idea of “Alternative Arrangement” which was resolved in the Naga People’s Declaration held at Senapati on July 1, 2010. In the same declaration, a decision was taken to “severe ties with the Government of Manipur”. The Declaration further explained that the “Alternative Arrangement” was sought to fill the vacuum/gap created in recent times, without substantiating what exactly was the vacuum/gap. The Declaration was observed as a “Naga People’s Mandate” but the Nagas of Manipur have now realised that the UNC do not carry the voice of the Naga people as they have failed on two occasions (see Yenning, “Alternative Arrangement and Nagas of Manipur”, The Sangai Express, December 12, 2011).

The latest attempt in the election fray by NSCN-IM and its frontal organizations is the 10th Manipur State Assembly elections. Realising their position, they lessened the activities on “Alternative Arrangement” and involved themselves “full swing” in the elections by supporting NPF. And we are familiar with how the story unfolded or rather ended by having a re-poll today.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, February 5, 2012

Election as Negotiating Basic Needs

2012-01-22T14:41:00.000+05:30

The 10th Manipur State Assembly Election will witness 289 candidates of different political parties contesting in 60 constituencies of Manipur. Unlike the previous Assembly Election, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has limited the electioneering time/campaign. But inspite of declaring a expenditure ceiling the Commission has not been able to limit the actual process of spending as it’s unaware of the cultural situation of Manipur. For example, lunch and dinner parties hosted by contesting candidates continue to be a regular phenomenon of the forthcoming election. These kinds of spending are beyond the purview of ECI. The ECI should also include the local people to help in their exercise. Not only these, it would not be wrong to observe that the intending candidates sponsored the bye-bye (31st December 2011) and New Year parties in many constituencies through their sympathisers. Besides, hosting parties, youth friendly items like sports materials were also distributed by their sympathisers or the sympathisers sanction money directly to the youths to buy items of their choices. It is almost like a festival session that comes once in five years where you get free food, money and unlimited enjoyment. But this situation derogates the mind of the people particularly the youth and also created conflict between people of different intending candidates. Even family members are divided over the issues forgetting that, after election they will be another people in front of the elected candidates.

But, when the people are revolving around the issue of free food, money, enjoyment and also planning what to be extracted from the intending candidates, they miss to raise the crucial basic needs which will shape their future. Amartya Sen called this basic need as ‘Freedom’ which he sees through development. In order to achieve development, he argues for the requirement of removing poverty, tyranny, lack of economic opportunities, social deprivation, neglect of public services, and the machinery of repression. But the construction based ministers see construction as the only development in Manipur. So, when the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi visited Manipur to inaugurate the incomplete Capitol projects, they ask for more construction project like Five Star Guest House which will be beyond the reach of the common people. What concerns us is why they come to inaugurate the incomplete projects and why are they so hurry in inaugurating it. Similarly, the incomplete Khuga Multipurpose project in Churachandpur district was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi in 2010 with a construction record of 29 years. When enquired about the projects, we were informed that since the inauguration is over, we don’t know when it will complete but we don’t expect that soon.

Amartya Sen’s development view is also witnessed in Manipur but mostly on papers. It is not that they are not aware of these views but the issue of giving immediate result or income is the first priority as they are not sure that they will come back. If somehow they come back, they feel more comfortable in this income business. That after 10 years of stable government, we are moving backward with no regular supply of water, electricity, no good roads, failed education and health care systems etc. We failed to find anything to say this area is better. Not only they looted the public money, some of them even went to the extent of bringing migrants and make them settle in their constituencies for election. What they failed to realise is that the migrants’ population is outnumbering the local tribal population and it is going to exceed it if the process continues.

We all are aware that we hardly gets six hour of continuous electricity even in Imphal city except the VIP lines. The situation is same for the government employees who are forced by the government to pay the electricity bills whether they get electricity properly or not. What is surprising is that the bill is almost same as those who are getting the VIP lines. Presently, Manipur is receiving 32.8 MW during day time and 80 MW during night time as reported by Sangai Express on 12 January, 2012. In this limited 32.8 MW, only 29.2 MW is available to the consumers as 3.6 MW is lost in transmission. The share of Manipur is 122.87 MW. But, the power requirements of the State during winter and summer are respectively about 180 MW and 110 MW at peak hours as disclosed in response to an RTI query by the electricity department. The situation of drinking water shares the same fate with no proper supply even within the Imphal areas. But on paper, there are reports of laying of pipes for drinking water in most parts of Manipur without supply of water. Manipur particularly Imphal areas is facing water crisis. If these continue for long, there might be a conflict for water. In addition, a person hardly gets their share of PDS items. If after a long time it comes, then also you get in less quantity. The reason given by the agents are numerous. The inability of the state also contributes to the failure of PDS system. For instance, the state has failed to lift the Kerosene oil for the last many months. This has severely affected the common people who are forced to buy the kerosene oil at Rs 70-80 per litre instead of Rs 14, which is the subsidised rate fixed by the Government. The crisis of Kerosene was reported in 12 January, 2012 in Sangai Express. Besides kerosene, petroleum products like petrol, diesel, and cooking gas are a matter of concern for the common people. Whether it is during blockade or without blockade, the price as well availability is a big challenge. The average price for petrol is Rs 100-150, diesel is Rs 60-80 and cooking gas is Rs 1000-1500. But the government not only failed to provide these things but also fails to check the black marketers. It is like they are collaborating to raise the income for the election.

The Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) is defunct for more than a year whereas the women commission is with no support. But neither ruling nor opposition or intending candidates are raising the issues. The people have filed PIL to revive the MHRC but both the ruling and opposition parties are indifferent to it in-spite of the ruling of the Guwahati High Court, Imphal Bench. It is an open secret that Rs 15-20 lakhs are mandatory fees for recruitment as Sub Inspector (SI), the prices for subordinates posts are little lower. But in-spite of raising the issue of removing corruption, no one pin-point this issue openly. The reason could be, many of them must have been involved in getting things done or their children are running for the post. The issue are endless but it does not mean the people are demanding everything but the basic minimum needs.

What is unfortunate in this situation is that the intending candidates are raising the personal issues of their rival candidates instead of discussing the basic needs. They are more into ‘I am good than him/her’. They try to expose the rival candidates as much as possible. With all these debates, the issue has been sidelined. Most of the political parties speak of removing Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 (AFSPA), Territorial Integrity of Manipur and resolving the issue of self-determination as a main issue through their manifesto. But I personally feel that they are almost making a false promise to the people which they have been doing in every election as it is the best way to exploit the sentiment of the people. But, they all are quite aware that they cannot do anything and have not been doing anything constructive in this regard. It is the constant pressures by the people of Manipur that government of India can no longer sideline the issue. Similar is the issue of territorial integrity. Numerous resolutions are taken by the government of Manipur and submitted to the Government of India but still they are playing the card of territory. It is only the public pressure through uprising that the government of India is hesitating to take any decision. The uprising of 2001 seems to be fresh in their mind. In regard to self-determination movement, most of the political parties either ruling or opposition failed to raise even the issue of human rights violations at a significant level. Then, how we can expect them that they will raise the issue of self-determination. They seem to feel that raising the issue is anti- national and they fear of being branded as anti national which is not the case. Likewise, the 120 days economic blockade failed to reach the Parliament effectively. This indicates their capacity as well as the political will to deal with the issues of Manipur. People don’t usually see them as an agent of change. They are more like an implementing agency with no decision making authority. The ECI is much better than the government. Government failed to provide petrol and diesel even after blockade but ECI have done it in few days after declaring the code of conduct.

Whatever the situation is, it is not affecting the ruling and elites class, whether it is tribal or non-tribal of Manipur. They get VIP treatment for everything such as water, electricity or any other service. Such issues only concern the common people. Those who are enjoying the periodic election like a festival also suffer the same problem of basic needs. Eating a free food or getting some money or anything free of cost in the name of election will not change anything. It is like the more you eat, the more they will eat the public money. So we should not take this opportunity as a festival but an opportunity to negotiate the basic needs that are confronting us in our existence. This does not mean that they will address the issue but at least we can sensitise the reality to these intending candidates and their sympathisers. But negotiating for basic needs should neither undermine nor overlook the armed self-determination movement in Manipur as election is not equal to exercising right to self-determination as observed by United Nations.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, January 22, 2012

Election without Politics & Voting Sans Responsibility

2012-01-15T14:30:00.001+05:30

Election to the 10th Manipur State Assembly is just around the corner and candidates, supporters of every political party of varied colour and nature are working on full swing just to be ruler of people again. Some interesting, also vital features of the ensuing election are the emergence of Nagaland based regional political party, Naga People Front (NPF) with full backing of United Naga Council (UNC) in electoral landscape of Manipur, ban on the Congress party by CorCom, a conglomerate organization of seven Manipur based armed organizations, entrance of West Bengal based Trinamool Congress (TC) as a strong contender, near complete decline of the oldest regional political party of Manipur- Manipur Peoples Party (MPP) etc. Against these multitude of political parties contesting for political power to be the ruler of Manipur for next five years, there lies the complete absence of politics in the overall process of election. Only exception to this trend of complete absence of Politics as driving force for winning election, one can mention the name of NPF, which is fighting on the plank of protecting tribal lands, identity and more particularly for the establishment of alternative arrangement for the Naga tribes in Manipur. Nevertheless their goals and objectives are embroiled within the Naga community but still, they seem to be guided by clear political vision and objective.

Political Trends: Some Visible Aspects

The political process in general and election in particular in Manipur society is marked by certain discernible trends. Such trends call for serious engagement on the part of thinking public and leaders who dare to dream for a change in our society. While our society seems to be lacking that brand of species, state is drifting towards an abyss of darkness and uncertainty. One aspect of this trend is manifested in the political condition of contemporary Manipur society and its electoral process.

Unfortunately most of the national political parties are also unable to generate a substantive issue based electoral politics; they simply fight election for the sake of power. This can be gauged from the fact that most people do not understand which political party stand for what principles, goals, objectives, in short their ideology. Besides, their election manifestoes are seldom circulated in the public thus preventing the emergence of widespread debate and discussion on the issues which particular political party stand for. Interestingly in most of the election in Manipur, manifesto of a political party, which is supposed to be the most vital aspect of the election, has become least important. No one take it as seriously as it deserves. Debate over the content of it and review of the previous manifesto which can go a long way in exposing the progress report of a ruling party are conspicuous by its absence in our society. It is hardly visible in the domain of mass media as well. The end product is the emergence of ‘lies’ and lip service as governing political technology on the part of ruling political elites. This technology rests on the foundation of Machiavellian analyses of human nature and character of public as fool, emotional, lacking power of perception and understanding, forgetful in nature etc. Most political parties surgically executed this theory.

Another important feature of the political process in Manipur, which almost signals the death of democracy and arrival of despotism, is lack of opposition. Our recent memory indicates that there is complete lack of strong and vocal opposition groups. Either in State Assembly debate or in public domain, there is disheartening scene of opposition party or group maintaining stoic silence. Any opposition party or group that remained stoically silent against brutal violation of rule of law, democratic norms and procedures, suppression of rights and liberty of the people under whatever pretext by ruling party is as good as dead. Unfortunately this seems to be the order of the day. Opposition groups in the state had failed to show their responsibility of being an opposition party or group on many occasions. When Tehelka exposed the broad day light stage-managed encounter after shooting dead six months pregnant Rabina episode of 2009, when houses of phumdis dwellers’ houses were burnt down very recently and state reeled under food scarcity, skyrocketing prices of essential commodities due to 120 days long economic blockade imposed by UNC and SHDDC which have become almost ceremonial in the state, they (opposition) failed to rise any vocal or whole-hearted protest and criticism against the ruling party. These are some of the issues against plethora of issues where opposition is conspicuous by its absence.

Next important noticeable trend in the electoral process in Manipur is the complete failure of regional party. Take for instance the case of MPP, which had a strong legacy of struggle and vocal exponent of regional issues. It can be reminded that MPP emerged as a regional political party against the backdrop of a critical moment in the historical trajectory of Manipuri society where there was struggle for food, employment, lack of development, step-motherly treatment of the Union of India etc. These issues are ever present in Manipur society and still our society continues to be haunted by these issues, only thing lacking is a strong party guided by clear political vision and goals that is embedded/rooted in the varied but legitimate needs and aspirations of our people and society. Only then the dream of a developed, undivided Manipur and Manipuris as a people can be materialised. Capacity, political acumen and intelligent tact needed to bring regional issues at the centre of electoral process is the first primary step for survival of any regional party in the state, but what we have been surprisingly witnessing time and again is the acumen of incumbent MLAs while transforming themselves from one party man to another party man. This lack of political sincerity and commitment to a cause, along with the rise of three evils of money, muscle and man power as predominant factors in the electoral process have completely degenerated and eliminated politics – as struggle and contest over certain enduring values that are essential marker of being a civilised and developed society. But then politics is also definitely about struggle for power but power by itself is not an end. It always and unfailing evokes a question; power for what?

Standard and quality of election have become too low to expect any substantive result out of it. Election today is no longer a contesting site for those enduring values for which people lives and dies, it has, without any contest, turned into an arena for exposition and application of Machiavellian tactics and methods with an undivided focused on capturing power by any means. Considering the persisting trend, it is apt to comment that in Manipur, election has become the last refuge of scoundrels and mediocre. In the society of Manipur today intellectuals, scholars, genuine social workers are off the arena of election, only contractor turned social workers, bureaucrats (not many) turned politician have flooded the arena. One reason for such trend is the above cited lack of politics in the electoral process and M (money, muscle and man power) factor. But still then, no one can escape from its effects. It is the very spring from which the source and legitimacy of ruling over people flows. It is here that the crucial importance for intervention emerges, no matter how one likes or dislikes.

Election as mechanism for change

With all these drawbacks, election in our society has become the largest festival of merry-making, having great feasts and carousing, and forgetting everything for some days under the opium spell of electoral festival. Who cares about AFSPA, fake encounters, displacement, burning of huts, rights violation, existing conflicts, abnormally high prices of essential commodities, lack of drinking water, electricity, pot-holes in the road, misplaced development programmes etc, etc ? It does not matter much to the public whether our so called representatives acted like our master during their previous tenure whether they violated rule of law, and ruled arbitrarily, and whether there were trigger-happy cowboys and unruly individuals who ruled the state as their own fiefdom. Simply, public do not care. They just enjoy the entertaining part of the festival. Public usually forget that casting a vote is giving authority to rule over us for five years. People habitually cannot grasp this opportunity of election for avenging the so-called pseudo-leaders and representatives. We fear how many electorates would take all these into account while exercising their adult franchise. To expect that people would cast their votes based on merits, demerits, drawbacks and prospects of candidates and political parties is sheer utopianism. But we need utopianism amidst the crisis of our times just to console ourselves that there is hope, there is a bright future beyond this long, dark tunnel of turmoil. Life would go on with or without elections as before. After all, election is not the only mechanism for heralding change in the society. Yet, we must accept that what our society desperately needs is a change, and that too, a revolutionary change.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, January 15, 2012

Manipur and the Greatest Festival of Democracy

2012-01-08T14:29:00.002+05:30

When was the last time you voted with Manipur in your mind? For that matter, when was the last time you stood as a candidate with Manipur in your mind? These two questions are central in answering or deciding the destiny of Manipur, given that 20 days from today, the dance of democracy that has already gathered momentum in the State with “social workers” taking the lead roles shall be reaching its climax. Precedents indicate that there aren’t going to be any changes. However, the format and texture of the dance seems to have undergone significant modifications.

Manipuris are great patriots. This is an undeniable fact. A small gathering in a meadow, say for worship or public meeting is incomplete without loud blaring of music smacked with patriotic notes. But when it comes down to issues affecting the public, the private overshadows the Rousseau-ic notion of common good. Issue that challenges the patriotic sentiment can “gather” the people together. The world has witnessed the fury of the Manipuris when there was an uprising with regard to the “prospective” disintegration of Manipur’s territorial integrity on account of a cease-fire understanding reached between the Government of India and NSCN-IM. But issues that encroach upon livelihood in terms of scarcity of petroleum products, high prices of essential commodities, under table practices of officials in Government offices, non-availability of drinking water, etc. hardly act as catalyst to “gather” the people together for a political act. Take for instance, even after months long economic blockade has been lifted, we still witness serpent like ques in front of the petrol pumps. Pick up any constituency, there will be many that do not get drinking water. For instance, Kongpal Chanam Leikai, the home polling station of the sitting MLA of Kshetrigao Kendra, is devoid of tap water. People in this constituency either buy drinking water or depend upon the polluted Kongba River. This is in spite the fact that the locality is hardly a kilometre away from the Porompat Water Supply Station. Yet, people fail to demand their rightful rights. Examples aside, such a phenomenon (patriotism versus ignoring livelihood issue) reveals the basic contradiction inherent in the national character of the Manipuris.

Let’s examine the facts of electoral democracy. The institution as well as the practice stands to enhance governance, which is a two-way process. If we take the model of Robert Dahl, political system is like any other system that survives on the process of input (feedback) and output conceptual linkages. People provide the input or the needs. Political parties help in mobilizing and collecting the needs of the people and feeds to the Government. Government analyses and takes decisions based on the inputs or feedbacks. The Government that does not strike a chord with the needs of the people does not stand a chance to return to power. Such norms and procedures are conspicuously absent in Manipur.

Electoral democracy does not promise to safeguard one’s patriotism. In fact, patriotic feelings are harnessed and exploited (as a means) to achieve the end of a particular political party. And precisely, political parties have correctly read the minds of the Manipuris (the basic contradiction stated above) and have taken the people for rides period after period, dances after dances. What else can explain the insertion of patriotic issues such as “save the territorial integrity of Manipur” or “removal of AFSPA” in each and every electoral manifestoes of political parties, big or small. This is indicative of harnessing and exploiting the patriotic sentiments. Likewise, the inclusion of each and every wishes of the people pertaining to livelihood issues is indicative of “projecting” a people-friendly image. If you have read an election manifesto of a political party in Manipur, you have read the rest. There are no differences. It implies that elections in Manipur are not fought on issues or issue-based. Patriotism or livelihood issues, taken together, once the election is over and the winning parties comes to power, the manifestoes remain empty words. None are fulfilled or converted into actions.

Such a predicament suggests few insights:

Manipuris are noble savages in the sense that they are ever ready patriots who would defend their land or fight to protect their precious lives. This is a character or state of mind that endorses Jacques Rousseau’s idea of noble savage. Liberty and freedom are inherent catch words in such a proposal.
Manipuris are noble savages in the sense that they are ever ready to ignore issues that pose a challenge to their livelihood. This is as good as getting a satisfaction from the mere state of existing. Existence? Animals exist, plants exist, stones exist, philosophically speaking, every living and non-living things exist. But human beings attempt to move a degree higher than existence and lead a meaningful life. This is known as living. Coming back to our point, this is a contradiction to Jacques Rousseau’s idea of noble savage, precisely because this state of mind is deprived of the notion of freedom; notably freedom from hunger and wants.
The two contradictions inherent in the national character of the Manipuris, have given way to a skewed understanding of common good, the abstraction of all the individual wills.
This bring us to the conclusion that Manipur is not yet ready for liberal democracy, given that certain fundamental contradictions have not been resolved by the Indian State.

In the overwhelming confusion that prevails in Manipur, what has indeed changed is the format of dance of democracy. But this is not an alarming paradox, given that militairization has percolated in every sphere of life and nooks and corner of the State. Manipur with all its defects and deformations related with democracy, did not resort to use of fire-arms to win elections. A new era has dawned. We hear about western like duel situations of gun fights between intending candidates. The Wangkhei Constituency has been converted into Western-like cow boy movies and is an obvious constituency. Thoubal and other constituencies do not lack far behind. This is the only new ingredient that has liven up our lives. As the election draws nearer, such incidences could multiply.

Already, grand feasts have become a common sight in every locality in commemoration of the greatest festival called elections gifted by Indian democracy. Nationalist and patriotic fervours have reached the highest pitch. Sweet sounding but empty promises are sweeping across the State. Officially, INR 800,000 is the upper ceiling of expenditure each candidate can make in this months long festival of democracy but the reaility is otherwise. Several millions of rupees have been already spent by most of the candidates even though the election is still 20 days away. This time, the election schedule is really great, thanks to the Election Commission of India. After months of economic blockade which not only chocked the National Highways but also the throats of each and every citizen of Manipur, this festival of democracy has heralded a time for merry-making at the cost of candidates. The festival of election is also a grand fair where majority of the voters have been wittingly or unwittingly offering their right to vote for sale. Apart from outright exchange of voting rights with money usually done on the day of voting, there is a subtle and often concealed form of offering and buying voting rights. Candidates started luring voters months back by organising grand feasts, doling out financial assistance to Self Help Groups, extending monetary assistance to families solemnising nuptial ceremonies, death or birth ceremonies etc, etc. By partaking in such grand feasts and accepting monetary assistance from the candidates, people wittingly or unwittingly sell out or surrender their voting rights. Once they partook in the grand feasts and accepted the monetary assistance offered by candidates, people feel they are indebted and morally bound to cast their votes in favour of the particular candidates. This is another trait of the voters of Manipur which cannot be overlooked. This particular trait is quite domineering in the sense that it often subdued or negated other senses like prudence, sagacity, analytical capacity and one’s own assessment of the contending candidates. Political parties and their ideologies have little to do with the electioneering pattern of Manipur. This can be explained by the fact that people hardly see any difference in the ideologies and principles of political parties, and the more bitter truth is, even if there are certain ideological differences, no politician excepting one or two is ever committed to his or her own party. People vote because either they are indebted or they are coaxed or because they do not want to stay away from this great festival of democracy which comes only once in five years. Election manifestoes are for some scholars and college teachers only, and they are dead documents once the election is over. Over the years, people have learned to delink good governance, public welfare and growth from elections. People have elected different sets of politicians in the last 40 years or so, and all these politicians did was betray people’s trust. We wonder if people are expecting anything of common good out of the elections. Nonetheless, election per se is great. Let’s enjoy it.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, January 8, 2012

Crackdown on Phumdi Dwellers: An Ugly Face of Developmental Terrorism

2012-01-02T14:17:00.001+05:30

Barely 24 hours since serving quit notice, humble houses of impoverished lake (phumdi) dwellers were burnt down together with all their belongings by the Loktak Development Authority (LDA) at the command of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi. This tale of tyranny which perfectly fits a dictatorial regime does not end here. The homeless and hapless fishing families were not allowed to raise any voice of dissent. The brute force of commandos was unleashed without any restraint upon the helpless women and children. They were not even allowed to take shelter outside Bishnupur district. Left to defend themselves from the cold and long winter nights with only the clothes they were wearing, many of these displaced families including aged women and tiny tots were preparing humble meal out of donations made by some civil organizations and philanthropist somewhere at Kwakeithel one night when commandos wielding automatic rifles arrived there unannounced and kicked the rice pots right away from the open hearths in another act of bravado. Driven away from the night’s only shelter, the displaced families could only curse their fate, and take solace in their own bitter tears.

Simmering voices of resistance have emerged against the Loktak Protection Act 2006 months back before the humble huts were burnt down. The Act has been justified on the grounds of heritage, as a fulcrum of ecological balance in the state and most specifically as a biodiversity hot spot. The Act has been implemented within the larger framework of the “Save Loktak Campaign”. Consequent upon the implementation of the Act, livelihood of the people who have traditionally been dependent upon the water body have been affected. Government while denying the affected people a place for their voice, which they raised in response to the disturbances to their life, work and deportment (displacement), has also horrendously misrecognised these voices. They are now framed within the volt of state’s own language and categorized as anti-development, anti-government and anti-state. In this habitual framing, the victims are now identified as a security threat, not as ones demanding their rightful places. Within this order, also developing is a body of legalities and illegalities. Loktak is now more than a lake. It has already transgressed the nature that it was once lovingly understood with. It has been now metamorphosed into something that closely looks like an economy of “illegality” built around to check anti-government and anti-state elements. Cleaning the Loktak is cleaning these elements off, not about saving a heritage.

Riverine civilization, that is Manipur, evolved through the art of dredging the waterbeds, from time to time, periodically in a more emphatic sense, since ancient times. Apart from dredging, the demanding job also included digging of new water canals and joining of streams and rivers for human consumption and irrigation, and finally, changing the course of streams and rivers away from human habitats so as to avoid disasters during the rainy seasons. Such feats are unimaginable today, if one looks from the perspective of modern science and technology, given that earth movers, technological marvel of modern science, were absent in Manipur of the yore. Onus of the taxing work was on the people (citizens, prisoners and slaves included), whipped and dragged by the task masters under the command of the king. Apart from the diktats of kings, primary association of the nature as a part of human consciousness, thus informing its culture and spirituality, call it animism, also greatly contributed in preserving its surrounding with a kind human touch. Thus, riverbeds had to be dredged so as to allow their normal course of flow, new channels had to be dug so as to feed the plants and human beings, and at times, river courses had to be changed so that there is harmony of life. Water ultimately was/is an inseparable part of the Manipuri world view not only as a source of life but one that also sustains life.

The Loktak Protection Act 2006 and consequent deprivation of people of their livelihood means through eviction (displacement) and is one such practice, which undeniably is an emulation of a colonial act, and jeopardizes the people who have traditionally depended upon the lake.

However, the story of despoliation of Loktak begins with the construction of the Loktak project in 1971 under the control of Ministry of Irrigation and Power, as a central sector project. The project was handed over to the NHPC six years later and commissioned in 1983 at an estimated cost of Rs.115 crores, with a capacity of 105 MW (3x35 MW). This dam has ‘permanently’ raised the water level of this wetland and has blocked the natural flow of water to and/or from the wetland, severely altering the hydrologic cycle of a delicately balanced system. Before the construction of the Ithai barrage, the natural dredging process continuously cleared the silt brought down by the various streams and rivers from the valley and the hills. The roots of phumdi and other aquatic vegetation during the lean season touched the bottom. During the monsoon, the water level and the vegetation rose, bringing silt up with it. Much of this silt was drained out through the Manipur River with the current, together with some of the vegetation or phumdi.

In the post-barrage scenario, the water level is sought to be maintained at a particular level throughout the year, resulting in the silting up of the wetland at an unprecedented rate. Other changes to the floating phumdi have led to the endangering of native aquatic vegetation, the extinction of native fish species and the thinning and proliferation of the phumdi, which now covers more than half of the total area of the present water body. Remote sensing studies conducted jointly by the Manipur Remote Sensing Application Centre and the Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad (1999) shows that the area under phumdi has increased from 10,499 ha. in 1990 to 13,506 ha. in 1994. Consequently, the water mass has reduced from 15,441 ha. in 1990 to 7,875 ha. in 1995. According to the Survey of India, prior to the dam, in 1970, the water mass was 4,882 ha., with no indication of seasonal variations. The hydropower multipurpose project had already submersed around 83,000 hectors of cultivable land leaving thousands of farmers unemployed.

Water and Power Consultancy Services Ltd. (WAPCOS), Delhi, a consultant for the Loktak Development Authority (LDA), has pointed out that the rate of siltation has increased due to “jhumming, deforestation and unscientific land-use practices in the catchment areas”. The present siltation rate is approximately 336,325 tonnes annually. This, as in the case of most reservoirs, is greater than what was projected during the project’s conception. At this rate, the reservoir will reach Dead Storage Level much before the 160 years estimated in Loktak Lift Irrigation Project (Revised), Vol.1, May 1980.

Another problem caused by siltation, weed infestation and proliferation of the phumdi is the gradual reduction of water-holding capacity, which results in reduced power generation capacity. In addition to this, a recent study under the aegis of the government of Manipur found the water to be chemically ‘unpolluted’, but the levels of microbial pollution in the Keibul Lamjao area have increased beyond permissible limits for drinking water (Strategic Option Study, Government of Manipur, 1999). This has been caused in part due to the faecal discharge by phum-dwellers and the decay of phum, but primarily due to the daily draining of effluents by the rivers and streams and agricultural residue, which is not washed off. This has major health implications for the local people who depend on the water for their daily requirements.

In the face of the despoliation of the Loktak Lake, the Government of Manipur came out with the Loktak (Protection) Act 2006 subsequently amended in 2007, and again in December 2011 . One prominent feature of the Loktak Protection Act is division of Loktak Lake into two zones; core and buffer.

First point worth considering is the replication of the idea of “core” and “buffer” zone in the Act by virtue of which restriction is placed upon the people in terms of access to the Lake for livelihood purposes. “Core Zone” as highlighted in the Act is No-Development Zone or Totally Protected Zone. “Buffer Zone” means the remaining area of the lake excluding Core Zone area. However, the point is the buffer areas are too small to accommodate the people who have been traditionally dependent on the Lake. In this denial mode, what is being suppressed is use of one’s knowledge and skills, which ultimately form the core of one’s occupation and source of livelihood, passed down from generations, and the related issue of transformation of one’s identity, for example from a fisherman to an agricultural labourer. Encroachers need to be punished but one also has to distinguish between an encroacher and a dependent on the Lake. The irony about the Act is that still there is room for commercial utilization of the lake from any sources of funding.

Using various provisions of the Act, Government of Manipur started forcefully evicting the fishermen from their habitats at the Lake in the name of environment protection of the Lake. Within five days starting from November 15, 2011, state forces burnt down around 500 floating huts as result of which more than 2000 fishermen including women and children became internally displaced people. More than 500 huts were reduced to ashes, fishermen claimed that property worth lakhs of rupees including implements used in fishing such as fishing gears, nets, domestic articles, cloths, and ornaments were lost. The victims were not even allowed to travel to Imphal or other places to voice their grievances. There was no public hearing, peaceful democratic process, nor any workable rehabilitative plan prior to the violent act of eviction. The State announced only a package of Rs 40,000 as compensation to each family. The fishermen denounced such notice and compensation. They submitted a memorandum to Shri O. Ibobi Singh, the State Chief Minister, requesting to review the order, which was turned down by the Chief Minister himself. Fishermen stated that the order was unacceptable since it could not ensure them any alternative livelihood. They demanded repeal or amendment of Loktak Lake (Protection) Act. 2006 in order to assure their right to fishing and dwelling on the phumdis, which were practiced by their ancestors since time immemorial. Frankly, we don’t understand to what purpose the same Act was amended for the second time this month when damages have been already done irreversibly.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, January 1, 2012

Alternative Arrangement and the Nagas of Manipur

2011-12-11T14:21:00.002+05:30

The issue of “Alternative Arrangement” was raised in the Naga People’s Declaration held at Senapati on July 1, 2010. In the same declaration, a decision was taken to “severe ties with the Government of Manipur”. The Declation further explained that the alternative arrangement was sought to fill the vacuum/gap created in recent times, without substantiating what exact was the vacuum/gap. The Declaration was initiated by the United Naga Council (UNC) which was observed as a “Naga People Mandate”.

The “Unique” Naga People Mandate & Alternative Political Arrangement

It is noteworthy to recall that time and again UNC had used the term “Naga People Mandate” to gain political mileage. However, in many of the occasions, UNC failed to get any political gains. For example, the strength of the “Naga People Mandate” was tested during the Manipur State Assembly Election in 2007. Out of 11 Naga candidates nominated by UNC in the so called ‘Naga dominated districts’ (Ukhrul-3, Chandel-1, Senapat–1 and Tamenglong-1), only six could win. Similar was the situation in the Lok Sabha Election of 2009 when the UNC sponsored candidates were defeated.

Behind this obscure background, if we analyse the recent declaration which talks about severance of political ties with the Government of Manipur, the response of the Naga people seems to be the same (Sic. Divided). One Naga scholar from Manipur observed in a meeting that not many Nagas understand what severing political ties really mean. Even if some understands, none of the Nagas of Manipur, particualrly those who are associated with the Government of Manipur, are following the declaration. The simple proof is: there are no reports of resignation from respective government posts. Even active members of UNC and their relatives who are government employees (Manipur Government) have not tendered resignation cutting across strongholds of UNC such as in Senapati and Ukhrul! The same applies to UNC nominated/backed MLAs. Instead of rendering resignation or for that matter cutting off political ties, aspiring candidates among the Nagas of Manipur have already started election campaigns for the forthcoming Assembly Elections. Community feasts and prayers are aplenty for the forthcoming election in different parts of the hill districts including Ukhrul, Senapati, Chandel and Tamenglong.

The most interesting or contradictory aspect of the “Naga People Mandate” of 2010 is the filing of candidates by the Manipur Unit of Naga People’s Front (NPF) which is ostensibly backed by the United Naga Council. When UNC is rallying vociferously for Alternative Arrangement, the Manipur State Unit of NPF has unanimously chosen to file its Spokesperson K. Somi as the party’s candidate for the Phungyar (ST) Assembly Constituency of Ukhrul District to the forthcoming State Assembly Elections. They have also nominated another candidate during the recent rally regarding Alternative Arrangement. Other than NPF, everyday there is news of one or two Naga prospective candidates declaring support of their villagers or unions or civil bodies to contest the forthcoming election. These instances vindicate that the “Naga People’s Mandate” as voiced by UNC is not a “unique” Naga People’s Mandate. It is a mandate of UNC and an imposition upon the Nagas of Manipur.

Alternative Arrangement for the Manipuri Nagas?

Further, the issue of “Alternative Arrangement” can be seen from different perspectives. First, it is a reaffirmation of the fact that the Nagas have given up the idea of soveriegnty and moved closer for a settlement within the Indian Constitution. Second, the realization that the issue of Greater Nagaland is diminishing and the need to move towards Manipur. This has been observed when the UNC demanded “Alternative Arrangement” only for the Nagas of Manipur instead of merger with Nagaland or any other states.

Third, reading the minutes of the “talk” between NSCN-IM and Government of India, we can understand that the stumbling block to Naga peace process is from the Manipuri Nagas. Perhaps on account of this reason, the Nagas of other states, particularly Nagaland, is helping the movement so that they move out of their states and they can proceed only with Nagaland which is much easier. This move by the Manipuri Nagas can be seen from the experiences of Laldena’s Mizo’s National Front (MNF) movement when the term “Greater Mizoram” was dropped by Laldena while signing a peace accord with the Government of India. The people from Churachandpur and other areas of Manipur which constituted “Greater Mizoram” were left with ‘no option’ and ‘no oportunity’ and even ‘no space’ within the settlement and within Mizoram.

Similarly, if there has to be any kind of settlement to the Naga movement, it has to be sealed only in Nagaland like the case of Mizoram. Of late, the Nagas have realized it. The Nagas of Manipur within NSCN–IM, who want to avoid a Mizoram-like situation, seem to be encouraging the demand of UNC for an “Alternative Arrangement”. In other words, it could also be an inititaive by the Manipuri Nagas within the NSCN (IM) through the UNC to negotiate a space for them in Manipur. Else, they would be repeating the same fate of Churachandpur, when MNF reached a settlement with India. In addition to the MNF expereinc, the split of NSCN along tribal lines at Myanmar is a reality and fresh in memory. The only diffference is that the decision makers were from Manipur and Manipur Nagas, particularly Tangkhuls, were the backbone of the NSCN-IM. This is reflected in the recently published “The Gist of Status of Discussions and Negotiations on various issues submitted by NSCN (IM)”. It is also equally true that the Tangkhuls are the forerunners in any of the Naga pressure group/civil society bodies in Manipur.

In the “minutes”, it is reflected that only the Tangkhuls are considered important among the Nagas of Manipur when any issues come out of Nagaland such as:

(i) State Flag and Emblem: “NSCN (IM) is insistent about separate flag and separate constitution. It has to be noted that even if a separate flag is agreed. It will only be for Government of Nagaland. The contiguous Naga areas in Manipur where Tangkhuls are staying will not be using it. The issue has to be discussed further”;

(ii) Boundaries, “This is a key proposal of NSCN (IM) on which they are insistent. They argue that without this, the Tangkhuls will remain under Manipur which is mainly administered by Meities.”

On the other hand, the political elites of Nagaland, particulrly NPF, realising the move to shift the power base to Manipur, have already expanded their office in Manipur in the name of Naga cause and brotherhood. They are even preparing for the forthcoming Manipur State Assembly Elections. This will result in maintaining some power base in Nagaland if the Manipur section of NCS-IM opts out or forced to move out, which are likely to happen considering past experiences. The NPF leadership is more concerned in retaining their power. That’s why they even formed the NPF led Goverment in Nagaland with the support of BJP who talk of “One People-One Nation” which is contradictory to the ideas of Naga movement. It is suprising that neither Nagas of Manipur nor Nagaland question the allaince. The question of NPF as a platform for the Nagas of Manipur is questionable as there is no Naga leadership in Manipur. It will further divide the Nagas of Manipur.

The Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organization & the Frontier Nagaland: Fragmented Nagas

The Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organization has submitted a memmorandum to the Prime Minister of India on December 14, 2010 for the creation of a Frontier Nagaland. The memorandum states that nine lakh Nagas of the 20-lakh population of the State of Nagaland reside in these districts. The proposed state comprises of four districts (Tuensang, Longleng, Kiphire and Mon) out of the 11 districts in the State. The situation in Nagaland reflects their interest. The demand by ENPO illustrates the fragmentation among the Nagas. If we see in terms of the population, the number that feels exploited is more among the Nagas of Nagaland than Manipur. The number (nine lakhs) is even bigger than the whole tribal population of Manipur.

The Nagaland Congress stalwart and former Finance Minister, K Therie (Dimapur, December 6, 2011, Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network) shares the same concern. He observed, “We have too many hungry mouths to feed. State itself is suffering from want of basic amenities such as free health services, civil supplies, trained teachers, road, water, power etc. Helpless ICU bedridden patients are highly charged, cancer, kidney, heart patients are dying after selling all properties, leaving behind the bereaved family members hand to mouth. Students are frustrated for lack of infrastructure to study their choices.” He further observe “The decisions are injurious to Naga brothers and sisters living in the neighboring states and will only lead to unrecoverable deprivation of opportunities in their respective states”.

He describes the Chief Minister of Nagaland as “Muhammud Bin Tulugh” who shifts his capital from Delhi to Devagiri without preparation and for raising land tax beyond citizens’ means.

Other Alternatives?

The whole movement for “Alternative Arrangement” only for the Manipuri Nagas as well as simultaneously joining the Manipur state election can be seen as an initiative for reconcialiation and peaceful co-existance in the state. The Nagas of Manipur who were earlier under the impression of acheiving something “else” seemed to have realised that the only solution lies in approaching the people and working with the Government of Manipur. They seemed to have realised that neither the Union Government nor the Government of Nagaland, Assam or Arunachal Pradesh listens to their concerns. The free hand given by Government of India, in terms of imposing economic blockade or highway taxation, is not because they are supporting the Naga cause but giving an outlet to the frustrated cadres. One of the senior journalist of this region observed in a seminar at Mumbai that the Manipuri Nagas know that they cannot become Chief Minister or any other high profile politician in Nagaland but they beleive that they can become in Manipur.

It can also be that the Tangkhuls as indicated in the minutes, are preparing their own plan under the banner of Nagas of Manipur. This can be justified when the the Tangkhul Naga Long- the highest socio-political body of the Tangkhul submitted a memorandum to make Ukhrul as a summer capital of Manipur to the (ex)-Cabinet Secretary, Mr. GK Pillai on his visit to Manipur in 2009. Besides, whoever hight profile India’s politicians and breaucrats comes to Manipur in the last two three years, Ukhrul is second stop. Finally, the whole movement could end up by demanding some special status of Ukhrul like Laldena did for Mizoram.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, December 11, 2011

Experimenting with Supra State Body: Separating Politics and Culture

2011-11-27T14:30:00.001+05:30

The news story broken by the Guwahati based SevenSisters Post about the Government of India’s offer for a Supra State body toNSCN-IM for administering Naga people beyond the boundary of the present Stateof Nagaland in such areas as culture, custom and tradition has, as expected,generated mixed responses across the whole North East region. Hopes andapprehensions evoked by the news story are more discernible in Manipur than inAssam and Arunchal Pradesh, the other two States broadly encompassed by theproposed Supra State body. Much before the Government of India’s offer forSupra State body was made public by the Seven Sisters Post, Naga frontalorganisations under the captaincy of the United Naga Council (UNC) have imposedeconomic blockade on the national highways connecting Imphal with other citiesof India and it is still going on. Initially, the highway blockade was launchedto counter the indefinite blockade imposed by the Sardar Hills Districthood DemandCommittee(SHDDC) against the latter’s pursuit of a separate Sadar Hillsdistrict. However, the UNC, till date, has not displayed any intention to liftthe counter blockade even though the blockade which they intended to counterwas lifted 26 days back. It is no longer a counter blockade but purely ablockade. The moment SHDDC lifted their blockade, the UNC’s justification forthe counter blockade vanished in thin air. Yet, the counter blockade continues,and now the UNC’s vindication is New Delhi’s failure to take forward theprocess for alternative arrangement (for the Nagas of Manipur).

Here we cannot overlook the fact that UNC’s reneweddemand for alternative arrangement came at a time when New Delhi’s offer forSupra State body was already made public. The UNC, as per news reportspublished by The Sangai Express on November 22, 2011, maintained that theongoing economic blockade would be called off once the Government of India sendsits feedback over the alternative arrangement demand. Again, the same reportquoted the UNC as stating that “the matter (Supra State body) is at ahigh-level Indo-Naga talk process”.

In view of the re-invigorated campaign for alternativearrangement and the report about the offer for Supra State body, which ofcourse was rejected by the Home Minister of India, Shri. P. Chidambaram as “baselessand mischievous”, only to be rebuffed by the Seven Sisters Post boldly callingthe Home Minister untruthful, it would be rather interesting and meaningful toexplore possible ramifications as well as the underlying concept of theproposed Supra State body.

SupraState Body

According to the report published by the Seven SistersPost about the negotiation between New Delhi and NSCN-IM, the pan-Naga SupraState body was drawn up by New Delhi in response to NSCN-IM’s persistent demandfor integration of Naga inhabited areas under a single political entity to becalled Nagalim (greater Nagaland). NSCN-IM leadership put their demand in thisway.

It is the position of the NSCN that the presentso-called state of Nagaland comprises only portion of Nagaland and that morerealistic boundaries should be agreed upon that enable the Naga areas to beintegrated within one administrative entity. The portions of Nagaland which aresituated in present day Myanmar will not form part of the present negotiations.

Response of the Indian negotiators: Under lawboundaries of State can be altered only after taking into consideration theviews of the concerned State Legislators. The views of the Government ofManipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam are very clear in this regard. Therefore,it would not be possible to concede to the demand in the absence of politicalconsensus from all concerned. Therefore, NSCN (IM) may think of ‘second best’if the ‘best’ in their view is not possible. Possible autonomy of Naga areaswithout altering the boundaries of the State’s concerned so that in manymatters, the representatives of the hill areas may administer the subjects intheir charge along with a supra State body for the Nagas for their cultural,social and customary practices may be discussed. This pan-Naga Supra State bodywill be in the recognition of the distinct identity of the Nagas.

It is clear that NSCN-IM leadership have beendemanding physical integration of the Nagas against which New Delhi is offeringsome sort of cultural unification of the Nagas through the proposed Supra Statebody.

NSCN-IM leadership have not made any official commenton the proposed Supra State body. At the same time, New Delhi has not yetdisclosed any details about the functions and operational mode of the pan-Naga(cultural) body. As of now, what we understand is that the proposed Supra Statebody would administer the Nagas of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh intheir cultural, social and customary practices. The Supra State body will nothave the power to oversee the security aspect of the Naga inhabited areas(beyond the present State of Nagaland). The report published by the SevenSisters Post states “Law and order and police will entirely be the call of theconcerned State Governments but the Supra State body will advise the concernedState agencies on the implementation of different projects in the Naga areas”.

The obvious implication of this arrangement, if it istrue, is that Nagas of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh would havepolitical affiliation to the respective State Governments while at the sametime their cultural, social and customary practices would be governed by theSupra State body based outside the States. This would create not only a diceysituation but also breed a serious dilemma among the Nagas of Manipur, Assamand Arunachal Pradesh. And we are not sure if this arrangement would bewelcomed by the Nagas living outside Nagaland. Instead of the present singleauthority of which they are subjects, Nagas would be made subjects of twoseparate authorities –– the concerned State Governments and a pervasive SupraState body. In fact, the Supra State body is a bold initiative of theGovernment of India to arrive at an honourable solution after 13 years of peacetalk with NSCN-IM but we cannot help asking if politics, culture and socialpractices can ever be separated as intended by the Supra State body.

First, let’s appreciate the positive aspect of theproposed body. It is true that granting rights to ethnic groups, such as theNagas, can ensure their domination. The present proposal goes beyond the formof federalism and consociationalism prevalent in India for the establishment ofmultiethnic states. The earlier approach supports ethnic pluralism,while thefinal position, integration, foresees its decline with the gradual building ofsocial and cultural cohesion. The present proposal or position in the form of asupra body is strongly advocated in the United Kingdom, where multiculturalismwas officially abandoned in 2004 due to its perceived effect as ethnically divisive,in favor of policies concerned with community cohesion ad integration. In otherwords, the United Kingdom was already experimenting with the idea of suprabody. Here, integration is seen as encompassing the goals of ethnic equalityand ethnic interaction, with strong concern over ethnic groups that leadparallel and separated lives.

However, the problem is, India is not United Kingdom.The latter is a unitary state, meaning to say that the Government of UnitedKingdom directly deals with the ethnic minorities, formulates and implementsthe policies directly. In the case of India, as much as New Delhi or the Nagasdesires, the State Governments can never be bypassed. This has been clearlyadmitted by New Delhi. Moreover, the case of United Kingdom relates more withimmigrant population, not the natives. Finally, one is yet to assess theachievements of such a policy even in the case of UK.

In the context of the proposed supra body, one isreminded of the dual administration of Manipur during British colonialism afterthe Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, which was characterised by separation betweenpolitical-economy and culture and religion. The former was an absolute realm ofthe British (including the administration of the hill areas) wherein the Kingof Manipur did not have any say. The latter, that is, culture and religion, wasa domain of the native ruler. We are familiar with the chaotic situation that ensued,which in fact planted the seeds of separation between the valley people and thehills.Thus, one can even go to the extent that the proposed supra body is not anew one but a revisit of colonial policies. Coming to the present understandingof “the political”, political theories ranging from the varied liberaltradition to the Marxist including critical theory as well the subaltern, denies the separationbetween politics and culture. In either way, culture has to form a part of thepolitics or politics has to take into account the cultural stratum. Anypolitical or administrative policy, which calls for a dichotomy between the twois likely to result in collision of authority (State Government versus theSupra State body) without bringing any benefits to thestakeholders. The idea of the supra body instead of bringing desired results,say ending the vexed Naga issue, is bound to generate rounds of conflict in theNorth East.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, November 27, 2011

High profile visits, elections and blockades

2011-11-13T14:20:00.001+05:30

Few days back, at around 8 pm, at different vicinities around various petrol pumps in greater Imphal, heated words were exchanged between those who were in the queues for petrol and state police commandoes. Commandoes attempted to disperse the people in the name of law and order and prohibited the people from spending the night to get their share of petrol: tyres of four wheelers were flattened, two wheelers were squashed and the people threatened. At Singjamei, the people prevailed over the commandoes. But at other places, the commandoes had their ways. The queues were dispersed and people made to run helter-skelter. But it was not for long. People gathered back like floating biomass sticking back together after a ripple subsided.

Let’s recall two visits by dignitaries in the early week of November 2011. Both pertained to electoral campaigns, the first, however, did not outrightly spell out that it has anything to do with the forthcoming Assembly Elections. The former was more on the line of showcasing achievements of the SPF Government in collusion with the UPF Government at the Centre, and thus, talked about achievements in terms of “development”. The irony is that none of the two parties talked about ending the suffering of the people on account of the economic blockades in concrete terms.

In the first instance, after 93 days of economic blockade, the Centre finally found time for Manipur. After the crippling blockade was partially lifted, say in terms of agreement between the SPF Government and the Sadar Hills Demand Committee, Home Minister P Chidambaram landed in the state capital for a series of appearances (sic. inauguration spree) in the state for a 2-day visit. The Chief of Manipur, O Ibobi Singh, accompanied him in all the inaugural functions. Some say that Ibobi’s personal calculation has predicted that if elections are held after 2011, the Chief’s chances of becoming the Chief Minister is dim, and thus, the Chief has personally invited his mentor from Delhi to inaugurate all the ill-built buildings in Manipur. At least, the buildings would have a limestone slab bearing the name of the Chief and protégés as archival sources. Well, in almost every speech of the Union Home Minister, one remark that repeatedly recurred was that “there is no issue that cannot be solved through debates and discussions”. He also asserted that bandh/blockade is not the solution. The Union Home Minister P Chidambaram claimed that there is or will be no paucity of development fund for the State. Finally, he reported that there was peace and order in the Greater Imphal valley as people have not come out in the streets against the economic blockade.

Well said! Yet, let’s remind ourselves of the facts of initiatives taken by the Government in terms of having a negotiation with the most supreme Naga body (sic. After NSCN – IM) i.e. the United Naga Council. Memory fails to recollect any such tangible initiatives. Debates and discussions are something that the Nagas abhor, which is something not found in their cultural traits, although they claim that economic blockade is a democratic device to bring to place the Government and seek justice. Then talk about development efforts in the state. Nothing exists. The second dignitary has rightly pointed out how developmental funds are eaten away by the politicians and bureaucrats (see section below). And about the peaceful state of affairs in the Greater Imphal valley, it has nothing to do with people’s political maturity or the level of tolerance. It has everything to do with the kind of statecraft undertaken by the SPF Government. Indeed, after the July 23rd incident at BT Road, Manipur has not heard much about fake encounters or killing spree by the State forces. However, it does not mean to say that the State forces are sitting idle. At the beginning of this write up, we have shown how rightful demands of the people are silenced through the culture of gun. Even if the State police commandoes are yet to make a mark in the hill districts of Manipur, they are most feared forces in the valley. Moreover, they are supported by the VDFs recently recruited. Thus, Manipur nay the valley area, is at a critical juncture where voices of dissent, disagreement and intolerance (symbols of liberal democracy) are completely silenced. This brings us to the conclusion that the semblance peace or law and order is not a natural one but the forced creation of the SPF Government using military means.

In the second instance, on November 3, 2011, coinciding with the visit of the Home Minister, CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat paid a two-day visit to Manipur. It was an unabashed electoral-campaign visit and had nothing to do with the suffering of the people other than lip service. Speaking at a public meeting held at GM Hall, the Communist (sic. evolutionary) “condemned” the stoic silence of both the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister when people of Manipur suffered as a consequence of blockade and counter-blockade. He noted increase in prices of essential commodities, including petroleum products, triggered by the economic blockade. The Communist leader rued that neither the Central Government stepped in nor did the state authorities demonstrate determination to mitigate suffering of the people. He alleged that contrary to suffering of the common people when prices increase, individuals and political class close to the Government had been reaping the benefits. He also alleged that whatever amount the Central Government might be providing to the State the major share is split between the ruling political party members and high ranking bureaucrats. Prior to winding up the two-day visit Prakash Karat affirmed that CPI (M) will field candidates for the ensuing Manipur Legislative Assembly elections, likely to be conducted early next year.

Well, for one, CPI (M) had long ago given up revolutionary means to bring about human emancipation, and thus, joined electoral politics to bring about change and progress. But what is most disheartening is the timing of the visit of Comrade Karat if one looks at it as an electoral design to imbalance the vote banks of the Congress (I) and allies in the state. Perhaps, comrade Karat should have rescheduled his visit, rather than facing a humiliating response from the electorates. Although, there are strains of truths in his allegations regarding the ruling Government both at the Centre and the State, the Manipuri public is yet to come into grips with the ideals of liberal democracy and for that matter about the meanings of change and progress. This is akin to admitting that both the Government and elites of Manipur were celebrating the visit by the Union Home Minister, and thus, the laments of comrade Karat went into this air, a proof evidenced by the sparse gatherings in his public meetings.

Now, there are rumours that princes, queens, ministers and losers from the Centre would be paying a visit to Manipur. Election time is near; it’s about making false promises and having marriages of the convenience at the cost of the common people. Prince Charming, Rahul Gandhi, has avoided the trip under unavoidable circumstances. BJP Chiefs are targeting the state, well, after selling off boundaries of Manipur to NSCN-IM. The BJP has already brought out a vision paper of the Northeast, in which Imphal would be made into a sports capital of India and under no circumstances compromise the territorial integrity of Manipur. Chidambaram has been talking about the same assurances. The Nationalist Congress Party, Trinamul Congress and others are to follow suit. The tragedy is, none of the parties have brought up the issue of more than 100-days old economic blockade on the floor of the Parliament or pressurized the UPF Government or the State Government to devise ways to end the deadlock.

If these are stories of visits and would-be visits, equally, incomprehensible is the silence of the part of the larger populace. Some say, silence on the part of the valley people is a sign of political maturity. This can never be true. If true, then why is that beginning from the month of October a coalition of more than 34 organizations, namely Protection and Preservation Committee has started demanding institution of fair price shops, mechanism to end corruption and others in the state. The coalition has been demanding end to the economic blockades through sittings and dharnas. As much as the people of Imphal abhor communal conflicts, they are also totally helpless to tackle the protracted imbroglio fuelled by the vigorous demand for creation of Sadar Hills district.

They have come and gone, but the queues before petrol pumps have not shortened a bit. The Sadar Hills District-hood Demand Committee has lifted its record-breaking highway blockade but nothing has changed on the ground. We are suffering of our own doing and we would continue to languish in such sorry state of affairs for years to come until and unless the indigenous peoples of Manipur come together, talk through and compromise their rigid stands a bit.

We fear, neither Congress, nor BJP nor CPI (M) have the will and capacity to solve the vexed problems of Manipur. The recent high profile visits are more concerned with the ensuing elections and they have very little to do with the protracted blockades. As per media reports, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and her son Prince Charming Rahul Gandhi would be visiting the birth-place of Irom Sharmila. Let’s hope, these respected king-pins of India can bring out a panacea from their magic hats to deliver the people of Manipur (inclusive of blockade sponsors and their supporters) from their unending misery. We also earnestly hope they would not fan accidentally or deliberately the ravaging fire of communal antagonism which has already afflicted major power players of the land. Or would they abandon us altogether ? If only we know which is better.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, November 13, 2011

Blockade Induced Poignancy and New Delhi’s Policy of Non-Intervention

2011-10-09T14:28:00.000+05:30

This time the blockaders have gone a step ahead by burning two truck loads of life-saving drugs which is unheard of even during full scale wars. It is strange that New Delhi sees no reason to intervene even as the so called Indian citizens of Manipur are enduring the severest hardship in the entire history of this ancient nation, now turned into a buffer state of the Indian Union. While New Delhi’s prolonged silence remains incomprehensible, we are at pain to note the poignancy of the protracted blockade and the resulting humanitarian crisis. Whereas the State Government is seemingly helpless to do anything on the vexed issue of Sadar Hills district, it appears the blockaders are also equally confused when and how they can proudly discard the highly offensive strategy of highway blockade without achieving anything substantial in return for all the hard labour put in by their supporters. In fact the blockaders themselves have been trapped intractably in their own strategy. This is the tragedy we all are suffering together with no sign of relief in sight. It’s just like champions of the blockades know the way in but not the way out. While taking recourse to the offensive strategy of protracted highway blockade, the blockade champions completely overlooked the concept of strategic retreat and its crucial importance in long drawn battles like the Sadar Hills district demand. As the term implies, strategic retreat is not defeat. Perhaps, we are wrong if this is the final battle for the coveted trophy of Sadar Hills district. Even if this is the final battle, everybody would agree the battle has been dragging on for too long, and after more than two months the battle is still caught in stalemate. Call it collateral or deliberate, people’s suffering has already crossed the limits. Thanks to the twin blockade. Many people have been deprived of their daily basic necessities, and a sizeable section of our impoverished mass are on the verge of starvation with cost of living suddenly leapfrogging beyond the reach of tens of thousands of families. With the blockades continuing uninterrupted in another record breaking run, Sadar Hills district is no longer the prime issue. Once again, highway blockades and the resulting miseries have taken the centre-stage. There is a strong possibility that division among the people based on who support Sadar Hills district and who do not, would be replaced by a new circumstantial division between who want food and who support highway blockade. We believe such division would be decisive in breaking the stalemate and relieve our people who are suffering yet another worst non-military crisis.

As for the Government of Manipur, it is as good as dead. Whatever it is saying are all rigmarole, devoid of any sense or logic. But then, what can one expect from a bunch of illiterate gun wielding politicians ? Still we pity them in the present situation for they are caught between the proverbial devil and the deep sea. Misery of the mass, helplessness of the Government and confusion among blockade champions have blended so perfectly to make the situation so poignant which none can miss.

Policy of non-intervention

Whereas the State Government, the general public as well as the blockade sponsors (both demanding Sadar Hills district and those opposing the same demand) have been looking up to New Delhi to bring out a panacea from its magic hat, New Delhi is so far following a policy of non-intervention except for Home Minister P Chidambaram’s lip service in the form of a mere appeal to lift the blockades. Nevertheless New Delhi’s lackadaisical attitude or rather non-response to the prolonged blockade left an indelible impression on the general perception of the Indo-Manipur relations. By following a policy of non-intervention, New Delhi has unwittingly exposed the skeleton of the Indo-Manipur relations behind the facade of enchanting and impressive rhetoric of Manipur being an integral part of India and its people ‘equal citizens’ of India. Juxtaposing the strategy of highway blockade which has become something chronic today and New Delhi’s policy of non-intervention, it is crucial to make a comprehensive study by drawing a line of reference to the controversial Merger Agreement of 1949. The relationship between the two political entities of India and Manipur forged by the Merger Agreement needs a re-visit in the backdrop of New Delhi’s failure to respond to the prolonged blockade for a long time, which was also the case last year too. It is a shameful reality that the post-Merger history of Manipur is largely a narrative of political subjugation and economic deprivation. Manipur was a proud, sovereign nation when it was merged with the Indian Union but 60 years after the controversial merger, Manipur has been turned into a sort of captive market. In terms of geopolitics, Manipur has been rendered a buffer state against the not so friendly eastern neighbours of India. Economically, Manipur has been reduced to some sort of a parasite, unable to live without the mercy of host India. With all its indigenous economic institutions uprooted and destroyed systematically over the last 60 years, Manipur is now compelled to beg for funds, aids and grants from New Delhi to operate some semblance of economy. By and by, a concept of dependency (on India) was ingrained in the minds of Manipuri people, and India attained overlordship over Manipur. In this way, Imphal-Silchar highway (which is a misnomer given the existing condition) and Imphal-Dimapur highway were made our so called lifelines.

Manipur’s dependency on India can be measured by the degree of misery our people endure when these so called lifelines are blocked. At the moment, opening highways is paramount but for posterity, we need to think beyond highways and blockades. We need to pool together our political wits and mental strength to free ourselves from the quagmire of dependency. Just as long as this dependency persists, the very soul of the distinctive Manipuri nation will fade into oblivion, and ultimately Manipur will go down the history as one of the lost civilizations. We do agree that no nation can be fully self-reliant in the modern world. Inter-dependence is an indispensable phenomenon of the modern economic dynamics. At the same time, no nation can survive and prosper without some productive bases of their own. Sadly, this is exactly what is missing in present day Manipur. Without a productive base of its own, one can hardly expect Manipur to make any progressive stride. We are of the firm opinion that Manipur can be self-reliant at least in agriculture sector, and this can serve as a launching pad for other economic sectors of which Manipur has enough potential. An intensive green revolution and socio-political awakening is long overdue in the backdrop of the decaying politico-economic landscape of Manipur. Fight dependency has been the implicit distress call of the past and present humanitarian crises which the State underwent/undergoes because of prolonged highway blockades.

The Indo-Manipur relation as it exists today can best be described within the concept of neo-colonialism. The Indo-Manipur relation operates on the line of an ‘imperial power-colony’ matrix. In the so called democratic political set up of India, Manipur finds no place except as a buffer zone or a neo-colony. The assumption that Manipur constitutes a buffer state or more precisely a neo-colony of India is hardened by New Delhi’s insidious policy of keeping Manipur remote as far as possible. The limited and unreliable connectivity Manipur has with the rest of India and the world through NH-2 (erstwhile NH 39) barring air service is enough for movement of Indian armed forces. New Delhi does not care economic security of Manipur. That is why, New Delhi could not see any reason to open up and develop viable alternative routes to Manipur. The indication is glaringly clear. The existing road(s) can serve the purpose for movement of troops. There is no urgency to develop other routes nor any need to intervene in the serious humanitarian crisis unfolding in the buffer state called Manipur. This is the implicit message behind New Delhi’s policy of non-intervention. When Manipur suffers, no Indian citizen suffer; and for this very reason, Manipuris should stop looking up to New Delhi but struggle for themselves.

Now that the unreliability of New Delhi has been proven time and again, the onus of resolving all outstanding issues lies with the indigenous communities themselves. None of the stake-holders, be it the State Government, or the blockade sponsors or the general public can force New Delhi to intervene in the present crisis if New Delhi does not wish to. Perhaps, New Delhi has too many greater pressing issues to divert any attention to the highway blockades and the resultant humanitarian crisis. Instead of pitying ourselves and blame each other, let’s us be more accommodative and open to each other. Let’s think outside the box. We should solve all our problems within ourselves. Even if New Delhi volunteers to intervene, any kind peace or solution brokered by New Delhi would not be lasting nor satisfactory to all communities. There must be a solution, and definitely blockades cannot be a solution. The situation demands collective discussion and dialogue at people to people level on the fears, insecurities and aspirations of each and every community of Manipur. For this, individuals must first learn to think beyond their own respective communities, and shed tribal mentality towards ethno-exclusive domains.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, October 9, 2011

A Rendezvous with the FRINGES at Café Paradise

2011-09-25T15:50:00.002+05:30

The thrill is gone

The thrill is gone away
The thrill is gone
The thrill is gone away
Although I’ll still live on
But so lonely I’ll be……….

When Haraba crooned the most commercially successful lines of B.B. King (The Thrill is Gone) on the great musician’s birthday on September 16, 2011 in a quiet rainy night at Café Paradise, Imphal, an ecstatic fan summed up the evening as follows:

“Man. This is music! This is music, man! “

The ecstatic lone chap screamed at the top of his voice killing the silence of the crowd, who hitherto have been listening with rapt attention, yes, in an enchanted mood, riveted to the groovy strumming of Sanjeev and Hem Gurumayum (guest guitarist), swaying to the time scaling chantings of the bass guitar and the drums. Uncannily weird for a music concert, one might say. But this was the night. This was the music from the FRINGES. And this was a night of the music lovers. At the back, two beautiful women floated hazily at the rhythm of the music.

But why the name FRINGES?
The name of the band articulates a paradox, the predicament of being at the margins and yet threatening to be the centre.

Thingnam Sanjeev conceived the idea of FRINGES based on his doctoral thesis on frontier governance. He admits, ‘It sounds a little vague.’ But asserts:

For us living at the periphery (sic. fringes) of the Indian Union, our experiences are different. Be it political, social or cultural. However, this is not to assume that the fringes would always remain to be the fringes. The opposite can also be true. The so called periphery can be the core of a civilization, the birthplace of civilization. It can also be the meeting point of two civilizations. All that is needed is an ideological movement.

The band believes that art cannot be created in vacuum. It has to reflect the existential reality of the people who are seriously engaged in creating an art form.

That’s why FRINGES is always cautious about choosing the form and content of the songs we’re making. Since, Manipur lies in a continuum between two civilizations – Sinic and Indic civilization –, it belongs to a cultural milieu where many cultural imprints could be found. In the 18th Century Vaisnavism came to Manipur and in the early 19th century European colonialism was established in the region. Along with the British colonialism came Christianity. The influence of the western music culture has been embedded in many of our institutions including the schools. Our band members grew up in this rich environment.
But why in the medium in western music or for that matter the blues genre?

We choose to use Western music as a form and infuse it with the angst and reality of contemporary Manipur as the content. In Blues one can narrate one’s saddest story, of melancholy and sadness, of heartaches and deaths, and of course, about the political turmoil as we witness in our region. We let our guitars gently weep.

Such a serious and professional approach is reflected in the band’s original numbers. “Trapped” for example narrates the woes of being trapped in a situation, in a world from which we cannot break through.

We are trapped in a situation

Where no one can live in peace
………..
One man’s down, another man’s up
This is the killing field
………..
This bullet knows no friends
Everyone dragged to hell
………..
So people lets get together
Break this chain forever

Like wise “My Heart Sick Fella”, recaptures the gruesome killings of Sanjit and pregnant Rabina on July 23, 2009.
They shoot a man, without any reason
They shoot a man, for money………..
My heart sick fella, please don’t cry
………..
Why don’t you have a gun, in your hand?
This battle can be joyful
My heart sick fella, please don’t cry

Originally, this song was written and composed by Sanjeev when one of his friends (Alfred Monsang) was in the throes of blues (heartbreak), but later on changed the lyrics, while retaining the composition, after the July 23, BT Road incident.The third original song played at Paradiso, “Dizzy”, is a romantic blues, a lover’s lament to his sweetheart with melancholic grooves. In addition to these three originals, 10 cover versions (predominantly blues) were performed by the FRINGES. These included “Born under a bad sign” by Albert King, “Bad Influence” by Robert Cray, “Rendezvous with the blues” by Jimmy Hall, “All Along the watch tower” by jimmy Hendrix, “Pride and joy” by Stevie Ray Vaughan, “Thrill is gone” by B.B. King, “I shot the sheriff” by Eric Clapton, “Phone Booth” by Robert Cray, “Get up Stand up” by Bob Marley, “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett. And there two one instrumental blues and a jazz blues instrumental to showcase their instrumental skills.

The success of a music band lies not in mere and perfect imitation but solely on its ability to create its own music. Manipur has witnessed and still witnessing the rise and fall of musicians, although they’re gifted, precisely because they could/cannot create their own music and serve to their niche followers. Gone are the days of substance abusers donning the garb of rock musicians. And equally gone are the days “illiterates” listening to western music simply because the sound is appeasing to their ears.

The crowd at the small hall of Café Paradise was an assorted mixture. Former rock musicians, pop singers, scholars, film makers and social activists, in short genuine music lovers, thronged coveted site. To an elder’s pleasure, there’re no Korean lovers, semi-nude swingers, pill poppers or grass puffers, who could disrupt the smooth renderings. The scene was a complete opposite from a rock concert at BOAT or Yaiskhul Range Ground. Who says music places a bar on age or profession.

FRINGES as a band is both young and old. It is young in the sense that the members have finally come together under the banner of the band only last winter, 2010. But it is also old in that most of the members have known, shared, learnt and grown up jamming and performing together in studios and concerts in Imphal.

This is how the band would like to put modestly. A senior academician who has come to watch the gig at the Café curiously asked about the band members. It’s not only their musical prowess that captivated him and his friends but also the dudes’ educational achievement and professional lives.

Haraba Ningthoukhongjam (Vocals), grandson to Late Padmashri Khelchandra, is a self-taught singer. He is doctor (medico) by profession. He has been singing for local Rock bands since his early days and toured extensively with the band “Placid Dreams” all over the state of Manipur.

Sanjeev Thingnam (Guitars & Acoustics, lyricist of the FRINGES originals) is younger brother of Late Dr. Thingnam Singh. He is a new age guitarist with a flair for melodies, notes and riffs. He is a researcher by training and a professional archivist at the National Museum, New Delhi.

Rabi Roy Laifangbam (Bass, backing vocals & percussion) is a self styled bassist who draws various elements from myriad styles/genres. He received his MBA degree from Symbiosis, Pune.

Shankar Sapam (Keyboard) had learnt guitar from his elder brother and played in the school rock band and inter-state rock festivals playing Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Rainbow and Black Sabbath covers, etc. In 1996, he moved to the Mumbai and learned to play bass guitar and keyboard.

Sunil Loitongbam (Drums & percussion) is a dynamic drummer who is a sound engineer by profession. He studied sound recording and reproduction in Mumbai. Brought up in a musical family, he started playing guitar in 1989 with various bands in Imphal and went to Mumbai in 1992 and played till 2000. He developed his taste and flair for jazz & blues in Mumbai. He has studio work experience with Studio Smoke as an Assistant Engineer until the end of 2001.

FRINGES has a recording breakthrough with the Timesmusic, Delhi. Their album entitled “Trapped” in the blues & experimental genre is finalised and soon to be released in physical format. Negotiation is on to for the same album to be released in digital format for the benefit of the Northeasterners. They are thinking of doing some research on the Manipuri indigenous music and incorporate the same in their future musical ventures.

By 10 pm the show had to come to an end. As a last gig Jimmi Hendrix’ “All along the watch tower” was requested for a second serving.

“Hey – hey, No reason to get excited, The thief he kindly spoke, There are many here, Among us, Who feel that life is but a joke?.... The hours getting late, Hey, All along the watch tower, Princes kept the view, While all the women came and went, Barefoot servants too, Outside in the cold distance, A wild cat did growl, Two riders were approaching, And the wind begin to howl”.
And, thus, grooved the FRINGES.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, September 25, 2011

Oligarchy and Corruption Conundrum

2011-09-05T18:34:00.000+05:30

When anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare was undertaking a 13-day fast, Manipur was under a looting spree on account of the economic blockade pertaining to the Sardar Hills District demand. The looting spree continues. While the euphoric fast could attract thousands and captured the imagination of middle class Indians, the opposite happened (s) in the case of Manipur. Corruption, in fact, has become a way of life in our State. Such a way of life is not only accepted but also respected and well entrenched in our culture. What else can explain the rot in every sphere of life in our State? Thus, the phenomenon of Anna’s crusade rings an empty bell to our ears. However, this does not mean to say that there were no attempts to eradicate corruption in our State. The 1980s was a turbulent time for Manipur. Armed opposition movements gained momentum. At the same time, educated youths of the State formed voluntary networks, followed the Maoist tactics of wall posters and slogans such as ‘Say no to corruption’, ‘Stop Corruption’, etc appeared on walls in every nook and corner of the valley. Nowadays, anti-HIV/AIDS slogans have replaced such efforts. Certainly, times are changing.

One cannot trace the origin of corruption with certainty in our society. The task is all the more strenuous given the fact that different sets of value systems operated in our society of the past, thus, the very understanding of the term corruption. However, one can surely point fingers to the Manipur of the mid 1960s when modern form of corruption started taking roots. By modern form of corruption, we refer to the structural nexus that exists between the bureaucrats and the politicians in siphoning off public fund. The nurtured relationship could survive precisely on account of the tacit understanding extended by the media to these parasitic elites. And entry to the elite league was impossible without paying a fee, or otherwise, the parasitic elites could survive only through the circulation of their own.

The 1960s was a period, when people have started feeling the reality of joining with the Indian Union. As the number of educated youths increased, the job market was on the down side. Manipur could not receive any investment from the Central Government to start any employment creating enterprises. Moreover, this was a time, when the logic of capitalism started sizing up the general populace, making them profit seekers and self aggrandizers. Over and above, this was also a period when the second batch of educated Manipuri officials retired from their respective official positions, and change of guard took place. Unlike the first and second generation of educated elites, who were swayed by euphoria of being in a new nation-state, and thus, dedicated to work for progress and prosperity of the new found nation, the latter generation was hard-pressed by the circumstances of the time. Any public venture had to have a pay-off, any vacant post had to be filled up by the semi-literate wives, children and relatives, few remaining post had to be made open, yes, to those who could pay the bribe.

Over the years, the practice has become all the more entrenched and respectable, making it a part of the Manipuri culture. And time goes by, so thus the nature and character of the nexus between different kinds of elites to foster corruption. Today, the form of governance or rule in Manipur is characterised by oligarchy, wherein elites of different backgrounds comprising politicians, bureaucrats, defence personnel, media, police personnel and contractors, etc decide the fate of the people. The inclusion of media as a part of ruling oligarch is indeed unfortunate; however, what else can explain its insensitivity during a time of crisis like today? Take for example, why did the media fail to question the meaning of ‘open’ sale of petrol, when few days back, a joker announced that there would be open sale of petrol. Or why do the media fail to report about the exact amount of stock of petrol or diesel in a petrol pump that would go for sales? Or why does not it report about the frequent disturbances by the State police which deprive the share of the common men? In short, has any of the media houses, initiated a debate on the issue of reorganisation of new districts in Manipur or about the humanitarian crisis in Manipur. Everyday we read reports about decision of the agitators and their stands, but there is no coverage on the existential crisis of the time.

The oligarchs of Manipur do not want to end the present impasse as it benefits them and their extended followers. The oligarchs of Manipur remind us of certain characters from the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Monsieur Thénardier and Madame Thenardier are couple of corrupt innkeepers. The couple is associated with an infamous gang called ‘the Patron-Minette’. They steal from people including the dead who have died in the war field. It has become common place for the civilians to “buy” from the police and military personnel during such crisis. The bureaucrats have not come out from the cocoon of red-tapism. Both politicians and bureaucrats are well-fed by the contractors. This brings us to the issue, if at all, the oligarchs have a conscience. Indeed they do have as we have mentioned earlier. They are loving parents and good relatives, they think only about themselves and the welfare of their dear and near ones. But as we said earlier, they are callous and vengeful. Callous nature of the politicians is well exhibited by the Chief Minister himself. Take this glaring example of the foreign visit by Shrijukta Okram Ibobi Singh in search of prospective investors to the State. And he takes along his family members for the visit. Yet, just look at the timing. Who is going to bring about an end to the present impasse in his absence? Is the SPF spokesperson or for that matter the Cabinet minus the CM in a position to solve the problem? Our concern is, did any of the media houses in Manipur question about the timing of the CM’s visit? The reply to the above queries will be a BIG NO. This opens up several possible inferences:

* The oligarchs are in favour of chaos

* The oligarchs do not want to end the crisis

* The oligarchs are for corruption

* The oligarchs are the untouchables

* None gives a damn about the common people

* The people of Manipur are living mummies

But can we remain as mere spectators? Even if Manipur cannot produce another Anna Hazare (let’s forget for a moment whether he visits Manipur or not as desired by Binalakshmi Nepram, the award winner), it is time to rise up against the very foundation of governance that has made us immobile. Or should we surrender totally as dead mummies to the system? Here the role of civil society bodies is important. We are glad that the United Committee Manipur had a public deliberation on the ongoing problem. However, UCM also needs to look beyond the political or be more political and address the suffering of the common people. Very true, the final decision has to be taken by the Government; nevertheless, UCM can start initiating confidence building measures with the agitating parties, say for example, UCM can create a platform for dialogue and invite the aggrieved parties. This can, in the long run, project a more humanitarian face of the Committee as well as exert pressure to the Government. The Government has to solve the problem and this is feasible only if the civil society bodies work in tandem and exert pressure. Let’s remmeber the onus lies on our head. A thousand Anna Hazare would not be able to save our soceity from the festering rot until and unless we, the living dead, wake up and muster the guts to fight colletively against the blood-sucking oligarchs. It's time to disentangle ourselves from the all pervading conundrum of corruption. Muster the guts or perish in the gutter. This is the call of the hour.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, September 4, 2011

District Demand and Objections: Reflections of Ethnic Politics

2011-08-28T14:48:00.003+05:30

The demand for new districts whether it is the Sadar Hills or Jiribam or Tengnoupal are all tinged with communal overtones. Nevertheless, all these are not either fully devoid of rationale or political wisdom. As far as the claim goes that the demand for creation of new districts is for administrative convenience and public welfare, it is also equally reflective of the tribal possessiveness and assertion over their land. But the saddest part is, a current of ethno exclusivity runs beneath the politics of district demand.

The present day conflict, confrontation and contest over land as witnessed in Manipur and elsewhere in the so-called North East India can be traced back to the colonial system of administration under which the plains and hills were administered separately. The legacy of this dual system of administration goes on in the post-independent era and India did little to amend the flawed system. The faith accompli committed by the British imperialist and inherited by independent India is now haunting the collective psyche of Manipuri people who believe in pluralism. As opposed to the idea of a united, pluralistic Manipur, some people are clinging fast to the idea of fragmentation built up on the outdated concept of ethno exclusive nationalism. The champions of these ethno exclusive politics are conveniently overlooking the fact that the Nagas and Kukis are living side by side in many villages and that both the Kukis and Nagas are settled together with Meiteis in different pockets of the valley. Much to the peril of communal harmony, the advocates of ethno-exclusivity have been scheming to sharpen the line of division among the communities as well as to demarcate geographical territories on the basis of ethnic boundaries. This amounts to laying the foundation for exclusive domains. Already, about two decades back, the hills in Manipur had witnessed a bloody ethnic cleansing pogrom unleashed by NSCN (Isaak-Muivah) with a sinister design to drive out Kukis from areas which they considered should be exclusive domains of the Nagas. This was followed by a bloody clash between Kukis and Paites in Churachandpur District, again for control of domain and resources. Given this history of parochial communal politics, we cannot see the district demand as such. Already what we feared has been proven true by the strong opposition raised by several Naga organisations against the demand for Sadar Hills District.

Here, one should not underestimate the destructive power and far reaching consequences of ethno-nationalism and ethno exclusivity. We need only to look at the former USSR and Yugoslavia to understand its potential. It is crucial for all those who believe in pluralism whether they are Nagas or Kukis or Meiteis, to struggle collectively to understand and address distrust, conflicts and conflagrations arising out of ethno exclusive politics. Only by collective action, can the society have any durable chance of effectively deterring ethnic conflicts without permitting them to tear the social fabric asunder. Mind you, this responsibility cannot be left to a single community. Rather than focusing on creating exclusive domains and holding on to it, each and every community should be frank and sincere enough to express and understand the economic strife and unfulfilled expectations, fears and insecurities of each and every community. One should rather be accommodative instead of working for creation of water-tight compartments based on ethnicity. This is not only insane but will surely lead to perpetual conflicts without getting any desirable result.

Understanding Ethnic Conflict

Ethnic conflicts are generally understood to be “identity driven”. And, such conflicts result from a “fear of extinction” that grows out of the experience of being a vulnerable ethnic group living with memories of persecution and massacre. Furthermore, these fears are not reserved for ethnic minorities alone, but may also be felt, and acted upon, by ethnic pluralities, and even majority groups. These fears have the potential to set into motion several processes which can eventually lead to complete breakdown of public order, sometimes irrevocably.

The first process arises when one ethnic group dominates society by seizing control of the institutions that ensure its future dominance and identity. These dominant institutions tend to conduct themselves in the manner of “coercive regimes”, which enjoy high compliance but low support. Since these key institutions are dominated by the ruling ethnic group, they are ill-prepared – other than by coercion – to deal with the second process common to ethnic conflict: social and political mobilization by non-dominant ethnic groups. Such a mobilization places great strain on institutions never designed to absorb such change so rapidly, and normally leads to countermobilization by conservative members of the dominant ethnic group. This in turn only fans the flames of ethnic conflict. The violence that both the dominant and non-dominant ethnic groups direct against one another only serves to fuel the initial “fear of extinction” that both experienced in the first place, and can eventually lead to the complete breakdown of public order.

This model offers several general conclusions.

1. Protracted ethnic conflict is more likely to occur if the fear of extinction is deeply and widely shared within an ethnic populace

2. In societies with a hierarchical order of ethnic relations, the various ethnic groups are more apt to experience some fear of extinction. These societies will be more likely to become involved in ethnic conflict

3. If the dominant ethnic group in a given state is, however, a minority regionally, than its fear of extinction will be greater. This fear is exacerbated if the regionally dominant group(s) have a proclivity towards irredentism

4. The greater a non-dominant ethnic group mobilizes its population, the more insecure, and consequently repressive, the dominant group will become. This, in turn, increases the probability of ethnic conflict

Another way of understanding ethnic conflict is the concern of ethnic groups – small and large – over their independence, individual and group rights, and the need to find “someone” to protect them. If a new security order transcending tribalism is not found, then the much-vaunted “New World Order” will differ little from those of the past. If individuals are to resist the emotional tug for security that nationalism – and other ideologies – provide, a new system must be developed that allows them to feel secure individually, outside of any particular nationalist pack. Consequently, just as law enforcement officers in our streets help citizens feel secure as individuals, (which is exactly not happening in this part of the world) without needing to rely on groups for their physical security, so too must a system be developed that provides a similar sense of security in the multi-ethnic social realm. A credible system of collective security that serves to deter – and if necessary oppose – ethno-nationalist aggression of any type, will contribute significantly to individual security and regional peace.

In the final analysis, the resolution of protracted ethnic conflicts must address the security needs of both non-dominant and dominant groups at both the local and regional levels. Sometimes, it needs intervention from the international community. The role the international community must play is to insure that these needs are pursued without resorting to force, and/or that they are not repressed by the armed opposition of a locally- or regionally-dominant group. Thus, it is incumbent upon the international community to establish some system for evaluating the legitimacy of these nationalist agendas in order to facilitate their non-violent achievement. Evaluating legitimacy will ultimately require the international community to determine who is right and who is wrong; who the community should support, and who it should oppose.

The Present Impasse

Coming back to the present crisis resulting from the unbelievable indefinite general strike on the National Highways over Sadar Hills District demand and the outrageous indefinite counter blockade, one cannot miss the communal overtones and the impending breakdown of public order. If the demand for Sadar Hills District can be justified in the name of better and more effective administration, the indefinite general strike is a complete let down. As for the counter blockade, we can only say this is an inhuman, misdirected response, formulated purely on communal line. The rhetoric of “saving ancestral land” cannot justify any paralysing blockade. The fear of losing ancestral land, or for that matter, any wish to create new domains cannot be solved by resorting to mindless general strikes and blockades. It would be much more rational and politically wise to hold dialogue and negotiate at people to people level on the fears, insecurities and aspirations of each community, not necessarily within the Constitution of India or its volumes of statutes. If we are looking up to the Government to fulfill the diverse aspirations of the different communities, we are only befooling ourselves. As much as the Government is irresponsible, the blockade/general strike sponsors and their supporters have earned the distinction of being notoriously insensitive to the hardships being endured by the general public. Will you ever open your eyes and see that you are bleeding the mass dry? And mind you, the general mass has little interest in your ethno-centric exclusive domains. Regarding creation and re-organisation of districts, we are of the firm opinion that it should be done based on geographical features and contiguity, not on ethnic lines.

This article was published in The Sangai Express on Sunday, August 28, 2011

Archimedeans’ and Clowns’ Affair

2011-05-08T15:00:00.001+05:30

There is this tower, a sovereign figure, shining under the hot summer sun. There are also hundreds of creatures. We call them “Archimedeans”. They live on the top of the tower which they call the “Archimedean point”. They are all brought up by this institution of intelligence. They are uniformed and equipped with a method, an old device to move things around. They believe the tower enables them to achieve absolute sense of “display” of the pursuit of suspicion, coercion and knowledge. If you once get to the top of the tower, you can see, when you look down, some creatures which the Archimedeans call the Clowns, living a funny life, moving their limbs in ridiculous patterns. Unfortunately, everybody does not have the privilege to experience the visual thrills of the world of the Clowns. If you wish to get yourself high on it then you should first be qualified in one thing: you cannot indulge in involving yourself in the stupidity practiced by all Clowns in their world of existence. You need to gaze down to them, put them in your interpretive framework, so that you have the feeling of seeing like an Archimedes (with or without the lever). So in this manner, the Archimedeans know the Clowns. They have piles of “knowledge” about what counts to be a clown. To be an Archimedean is a fashion sans involvement (that is being uninvolved in the world of Clowns, in the meanings of what they see of themselves in the mirror).

The Clowns beneath and the Archimedeans above are related particularly in the way the latter understands the former. The Archimedeans think they are benevolent to the Clowns. They think they are the agents of change, the saviour of the Clowns. They pledge to make good “policies” for the Clowns to live a non-clownish life that is to transform them from being Clown to being intelligence-men. So, they have interpreted what “their” Clowns do, feel, live and die, especially the “worries” of the Clowns.

There is one example (and there are many, as a matter of fact). When the Clowns mourn for loss, (say of anything including “history” and in many forms of which what is called “free political life” being a serious one, as the Clowns feel), they are said to be insane, mad in lousy, nasty cacophony of egalitarian “revolutionary” jargons. This is why the Clowns are said to be pathological and, therefore, “melancholic” (a term for which Sigmund Freud was notoriously famous in western philosophy). To make it more politically correct for the Archimedeans, the Clowns have to be convinced that if something is lost, they should continue to live on without it. This is more akin to recovering the self, finally, to the reality without the object which is lost). But the Archimedeans strongly doubt if the Clowns have the rigour of being a “self”, at all!

The politics of the Clowns in this story should be a work of mourning at best, the Archimedeans would recommend. The Clowns cannot be melancholic, for if they are, they will not believe that they have lost what they had and will be crazy thinking that they will lose what they have not actually lost. But they are melancholic. Hence the suggestion, the Clowns are to be put under treatment (in the form of discipline and punishment), which also implies bringing in pleasures of wealth and status. So, the Clowns are made to believe in detachment from the original which they love most and cannot afford to lose. In other words, it is to make them detached from their attachment, which the Clowns utterly refuse. The point is that the Clowns can mourn but they cannot slip into melancholia, the critical stage where the politics of the Clowns are nothing but pathological. To save the clowns from slipping into being pathological, they sermonise, “Continue to live on. Do not try to lose what you have got.” It is as simple as that, which sounds like the military style of command, “Is that clear?”

What is happening, however, is different at least from the way Archimedeans read the Clowns. The Clowns do not mourn for the lost objects (which in fact are many). They continue to identify themselves with the loss and they actually mourn for things that they do not lose. This in a way is a typical symptom of a melancholic, or perhaps, a melancholic strategy, also. They also believe that the lost object can be regained. They also know that something is lost but refuse to believe that they have lost it, so they try to regain it but through mourning. This is not being pathological. It is rather a job of putting together two things: being melancholic and being called “clown”. So, we have the melancholic Clowns (not exactly in the same way of describing the oxymoron of “boiling ice”!). Being a melancholic clown, therefore, is a complicated job. The Archimedeans will not dare to try for sure. This is something that is happening in the politics of the Clowns today, as you know.

The melancholic Clowns rise to speak on the topic of their anxious choice: all is not well and nothing is going to be alright if things are left in the way they are now. The Archimedeans take no time to intervene and say that it is imaginary for the Clowns to talk even like that and continue even to go further saying that their audience is non-existent. What the Clowns do is merely a ranting to the un-listening passersby, the “goers” who never move but are crazy about moving and progression. They advise the Clowns to negotiate with law and live orderly. But there is a fact also. The Clowns sleep in the silence that their insecure walls build; outside is ruled by the stochastic barrels singing the anthem(s) of the nation (in whatever forms it might be, who cares). The men behind barrels have got the balls to make it right through the chest of the Clowns. As a character of western genre once said, only two things go right through the heart: gold and bullet. It is the latter this time, however, and this will be so, for a long time to come in the land of the Clowns. There is certainly not going to be a knocking on the heaven’s door in this land as long as Clowns remain as Clowns and so will the specter of Bob Dylan think. So the Archimedeans say that the Clowns should stop behaving funny in many manners and patterns, in ways that is everything for them.

They say there is a way for them to stop being ridiculous: to stop being Clown by talking intelligently in sensible syllables and sounds. The Archimedeans point out: it is “dialogue” (which is actually a “dialect” unknown to the Clowns as their language is to move the limbs). Maybe the clowns have learnt the new language of late. But the effect is obvious for all dialogues, that the Archimedeans propose, have the fate of the “Socratic irony” (an endless critique of critique with no “truths” discovered, nay, invented for God’s own sake, or for the sake of Socrates even).

The Clowns talk about impossibility. But they aren’t impossible in any ways, the Archimedeans believe, because, the Clowns may be reformed. This is the sense they have when they advise the Clowns to be protean believers and not incorrigible at all. The Archimedeans know the language of the Clowns but they are not allowed to speak in their own language, their movement of limbs is vulgar like raising the middle finger. Thought without moving the limbs, they would say, is a thought with “intelligence which is sensible” to all.

But isn’t it Jacques Ranciere who talked about “distribution of the sensible”? You have to do, think and speak in order to disturb the dominant share of what is sensible. Your words and actions can also be sensible if you break the dominant definition of “what is sensible”. Following Ranciere, politics is about distribution of the sensible, disturbing the dominant sensible itself. He would support the Clowns arguing that their speech is misrecognised and understood as only groans, or cries expressing suffering, hunger, or anger. And the Archimedeans will be ready to fight with Ranciere for he makes a sense in a different language though.

They continue to scoff at the Clowns for living in a preposterous world of nonsense which, they say, is what they believe and actually do. This is precisely the ways of being idiotic, going by this definition. Yet, there are many more like Clowns around. The Clowns also know that they all are their own self-replications, in their own feat of being idiotic and therefore, being Clown. Remember, melancholia reasserts in many forms all the time in the land of the Clowns. At the same time, the Archimedeans have learnt too much of the Clowns and are intimately involved with the Clowns’ affair. What will the Clowns lose, then? Nothing but “Clown”, which they are not right from the beginning.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, May 8, 2011

Save Loktak Campaign : An Illogical Song

2011-05-01T12:17:00.003+05:30

Riverine civilization, that is Manipur, evolved through the art of dredging the waterbeds, from time to time, periodically in a more emphatic sense, since ancient times. Apart from dredging, the demanding job also included digging of new water channels and joining of streams and rivers for human consumption and irrigation, and finally, changing the course of streams and rivers away from human habitats so as to avoid disasters during the rainy seasons. Such feats are unimaginable today, if one looks from the perspective of modern science and technology, given that earth movers, technological marvel of modern science, were absent in Manipur of the yore. Onus of the taxing work was on the people (citizens, prisoners and slaves included), whipped and dragged by the task masters under the command of the king. Apart from the diktats of kings, primary association of the nature as a part of human consciousness, thus informing its culture and spirituality, call it animism, also greatly contributed in preserving its surrounding with a kind human touch. Thus, riverbeds had to be dredged so as to allow their normal course of flow, new channels had to be dug so as to feed the plants and human beings, and at times, river courses had to be changed so that there is harmony of life. Water ultimately was/is an inseparable part of the Manipuri world view not only as a source of life but one that also sustains life.

Ikou khatpa or Lai loukhatpa (welcoming a deity to its abode, the temple) is the first ritual of Laiharaoba, in which the particular deity, thus far roaming in its spirit form in the water, is “pleased” and taken to its man-made abode, so that its holy presence brings prosperity to mankind and stave off-disasters. Significance of water in our cosmology lies here. Spirits of the deities are not taken down from the heaven or sky, neither are they plucked from the air or wind, nor, for that matter, dug up from the earth or sand. Centrality of water in our world view is further enacted by the spiritual attendants, including the myth of creation of universe as well as life created out of water/fluid, in the unfolding days of Lai Haraoba.

Colonialism & Disruption of Harmony

Varied aquatic food, in addition to water creatures such as fish, mollusk and others, consumed in Manipur have been a matter of amazement to outsiders, who regard Manipur as a jungle-mountain state. Legends talk of how various water bodies have supported livelihood of the general populace of Manipur. For example, the destitute Khamba and Khamnu survived on water plants of Loktak Lake. Moreover, people living in the vicinity of such water bodies, developed skills, which later on became traditional occupation of the area, passed down from generation to generation as forms of knowledge.Access to water bodies for livelihood purposes, except sacred ponds, was an unrestricted affair until the arrival of the British in Manipur. Monetization of economy from 1891 had a tolling effect on the colony. Colonial administration demanded revenue from any available source, and thus, imposed upon the people taxes such as water tax, fishery tax and so on. People’s survival rights were neutered. Over and above, the kind of devotion paid to the water bodies, at least in the domain of maintenance such as dredging and channeling, in the erstwhile era of free Manipur came to an end.

Harmonious relationship between man and nature, environmental consciousness as modern-day understanding put it, came under severe attack during the colonial period. On one hand was the non-intervention of the colonial state, in terms of maintenance and preservation of natural surrounding, as mentioned above, along with denial of the general population a free access and involvement. With the abolition of Lallup system, (clamed as an emancipatory act informed by humanity and liberal ethos), which colonial British termed as “forced labour” or “corvee”, without understanding the socio-cultural and economic context of Manipur, the erstwhile practice of an individual’s involvement in creating a harmonious relationship with nature came to an end. On the other hand, as a continuous part of the colonization project, there was the parallel phenomenon of overt commercialization and exploitation (unmindful) of the natural resources. Holistic understanding of the universe, where every being and innate object has a role to play came to an end during the era of British colonialism.

However, it would be wrong to assume that there were no resistances against such form of alien rule and practices. Chronicled incidences such as the Thoubal Resistance against water tax and denial of fishery rights is an indication of the hardship faced by the people during those days. Unrecorded but popular stories of resistance, passed down from this repressive and exploitative era, are stuffs of legends, which can even draw the attention of scholars like James Scott who theorises on “weapon of the weak”. Our grandfather fondly remembers Amuchoubi of Yaiskul and her antics.

During the times when Maxwell flexed his muscles not only as the Political Agent of Manipur but also as one who made sure that colonial subjects paid their taxes (water, kapok, chilly, etc.) on time, Amuchoubi of Yaiskul was a major challenge. When the wave of water tax struck hard upon the people, Amuchoubi of Yaiskul was also one among the victims. Grandfather says:

She cleaned her Sanabul until it glittered. After the morning bath, daily, she fetched a Sanabul of water from the Imphal River and leave it at Maxwell’s gate. Mind you, the Goras are polluted, neither did we allow them to enter our homestead nor did we enter theirs! At the end of each month, when Maxwell is on the errand to collect water taxes, Amuchoubi used to demand money as charges of fetching water for (from) Maxwell. Although, Maxwell forbade her, she continued and never paid water taxes.

Dawn of a New Age

Modern state is pervasive in its action. Its power lies not only in its ability to exercise violence at will in the Weberian sense of the term but also in its ability to “enthuse” hope to its citizens. This dawn of the new age, associated with the idea of freedom and justice, attempts a break from colonial state, in the sense that it promises (through periodic elections) responsibility and accountability. Welfare is the catchword, wherein, it promises that arenas presumably unlooked or exploited or even uncared would be paid attention. Every available means would be used in the name of development for welfare and justice, yes, in the name of the people. However, it never bothers to pay attention to the structural violence unleashed in the process of undertaking development or preservation and protection project. As Ashish Nandy puts it, however, the modern state in terms of practices in formerly colonised societies, only ends up emulating the erstwhile colonial state. The Loktak Protection Act 2006 is one such practice, which undeniably is an emulation of a colonial act, and jeopardizes the people of Manipur.

First point worth considering is the restriction placed upon the people in terms of access to the Lake for livelihood purposes. The notified areas are too small to accommodate the people who have been traditionally dependent on the Lake. In this denial mode, what is being suppressed is use of one’s knowledge and skills, which ultimately form the core of one’s occupation and source of livelihood, passed down from generations, and the related issue of transformation of one’s identity, for example from a fisherman to an agricultural labourer. Encroachers need to be punished but one also has to distinguish between an encroacher and a dependent on the Lake.

Finally, can a Loktak centric approach save Loktak? Definitely no. In beginning sections of this article, we have identified the holistic approach to environmental concerns followed by our ancestors. To reemphasize, a topical treatment cannot solve the problem of Loktak. Rivers that drain into Loktak need to be identified and dredged on a regular basis. This also demands, identifying the sources of the rivers and routes, so as to undertake aforestation. Prevent erosions; forestation is the only way out not only to control flood but also to prevent siltation. Equally important are the issues of Hydro Project and other multipurpose dams, which have restricted the normal flow of rivers and streams. Participation of people is also denied in the Act, for example, one has to get permission even to undertake research in the Lake. Yenning is sorry to say that an expensive “Water Master” can never do miracles and save Loktak.

Simmering voices of resistance have emerged against the Loktak Protection Act. The Government while denying the affected people a place for their voice, which they raised in response to disturbances to their life, work and deportment, has also horrendously misrecognised these voices. They are now framed within the volt of state’s own language and categorized as anti-development, anti-government and anti-state. In this habitual framing, the victims are now identified as a security threat, not as ones demanding their rightful places. Within this order, also developing is a body of legalities and illegalities. Loktak is now more than a lake. It has already transgressed the nature that it was once lovingly understood with. It has been now metamorphosed into something that closely looks like an economy of “illegality” built around to check anti-government and anti-state elements. Seemingly, cleaning the loktak is cleansing these elements off, not about saving a heritage and ecology. We fear, the campaign remains to be an illogical song with palpable notes of tyranny.

(The Sangai Express, Imphal, May 1, 2011)

Disconnection Drive is a Farce

2011-02-20T15:04:00.003+05:30

The ongoing disconnection drive has produced three issues that we need to engage with. One is the state offensive in the garb of welfare policy. The other is the preaching of liberal moralists who see the disconnection drive as both pedagogic and disciplining project. The third is the subterranean political moves of the poor, irresponsible and uncivilised lot which they articulate in the non-bourgeois space.

Following a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), Guahati High Court, Imphal Bench, order sought an explanation from the Government on the reasons why it should not produce a white paper on how the whole business of electrification and management of electricity is actually taking place in Manipur. However, instead of following the procedural move as expected, the Government wagered to pick on the much familiar terrain. It started a ruthless disconnection drive in an authoritarian fashion. And things came up in their own course on the sides of both the Government and those who are governed. An army of personnel of the electricity department assisted by the much feared police personnel are on the streets and carrying out what they call “disconnection drive”. The campaign is justified on the ground that it is to control the theft of the scarce electricity as well as recover the “due” bills. In a way, instead of falling in line with the High Court order, the Government has succeeded to force many of the consumers pay the bills on the spot. It has also brought to book many of the illegal consumers and defaulters either by sending them to lock up or disconnecting them from the power lines. But there are places the State will not dare to go, take for instance the hill areas of Manipur.

Although there is a serious lack of organised stir on the issue, one will, however, observe resistance of a genuine kind unfolding in front of us. As a matter of fact, thousand of households are disconnecting themselves from the power line during daylight only to resume connection when the sun sets. Yenning heard from hearsay that the electricity department is now planning to launch the disconnection campaign during night time as the unscrupulous and uncivilised citizens popularly known as “thieves” have developed a nocturnal instinct to connect power line at night.

Well, the initiative of the Government could seem to be a committed measure in order to discipline the irresponsible attitude of the citizenry of this land. But the grisly efforts of the Government have clearly drawn a line between those who can afford and those who cannot afford to use electric energy. Besides the divisive project with which the ongoing disconnection campaign has already driven, this campaign has consequently reconfigured the rich and the poor into a new division between the responsible, ideal and model citizenship on one hand, and the irresponsible, condemnable and uncivilised, on the other. In this new distribution of the norms of model citizenship, it is the poorer section of the society who bears the brunt of the assault and remains “merely” the irresponsible citizen. But now we need to see how being irresponsible is political. Over and above, one also needs to understand how the “irresponsible, condemnable and uncivilised” cannot be made civilised within the regime of thought that the current scheme of improvement carries.
Seen from the moral high ground of the liberal moralists including, for example, the recent editorials of The Sangai Express, there is a serious lack of capacity, albeit, failure on the part of those who do not pick up the electric bills and “illegally” tap electricity in order to become a responsible citizenship. And this is why, as they would grumble, there is a general attitude of apathy. For example, one runs something like, “sarkargee oiradi keisu kaide” (if it is a Government property, it does not matter).

Such an attitude is, as they (sic. liberal moralists) say, a regressive attitude, a sign of immaturity that is born out of a lack of civic values and the sense of civil capability required in order to live in a civilised order. To Yenning, what they fail to fathom, however, is a serious political element that is prominently displayed when illegal consumers just refuse to be legal, and therefore, defy to become responsible citizenship. What they do not understand, still more, is how the poor, illegal and irresponsible citizens resist the diktats of the Government in a different form. What could be, for example, a possible meaning of the statement which is commonly heard every morning in many of the local cha stalls : “kanana ngamge yengnasi” (let’s see who finally wins)?

This attitude is not to be misunderstood as apathy and lack of civic virtue. This is, on the contrary, a serious move of resistance which is widely circulated in the non-bourgeois space where notions of civic and public are constituted in different forms with different articulations. Those who do not and cannot pay the bills and legally connect themselves to the power line would share this line among themselves. This is the language they speak and which the Government would not sit back to understand. In the official vocabulary of the Government, those who do not pay for electricity owned by the Government and its corporate partners are either defaulters or thieves. What the officials of the Government cannot understand is the meaning of the acts of defaulting and thievery in the way the defaulters and thieves alone do.

Extended literatures on South Asian and Southeast Asian politics and peasant societies have extensively documented diverse ways in which a large section of population encounters the state practice beyond the discourse of bourgeois public and civic space. Such literatures inform us that it is not correct to be talking about state-population relationship only within the liberal discourse of right-citizen-democracy. There are other ways of living a political life. And this is seen when a sizable population tell a story of how they encounter the state in their subterranean moments of daily existence with the official discourse of governance and the act of governing. Liberal vocabularies of right-citizen-democracy discourse cannot grasp this subterranean political moment, its site of occurrence and form that has haunted like a spectre. This is even more telling in a society like ours where a deep sense of distrust in the state is ingrained generally among large sections of society. And what seems to be atrocious to the liberal moralists is that the moment of resistance that wakes up late in the night in every thousands of households will not die down in a very long future.
In this regard, there remain a couple of moot questions that we all can think together.

Will the poorer people suddenly change their attitude and be ready to comply with the diktats of the electricity department?

Will the neighbours tell the officials of the electricity department about the mysterious remains of the piece of cable hanging from the power line?

Will they tell the name of the illegal consumer who furtively cut them last night?

Yenning believes that we all know the obvious answers.

Ignorance of this fact of political life in Manipur is also indicative of the theoretical silence that we face today particularly among the academics. Recentmost PIL and other similar PILs in the past on the issue of electricity seemed to have given strength to this theoretical silence. Particularly the most recent PIL have inadvertently ignored this elementary aspect of political life and this is partly responsible for the widespread backlash, discontent and even dissent to the much glamorised PIL. In other words, what have been demonstrated by “the irresponsible, condemnable and uncivilised” is that being political need not always be “public and civic”. Unfortunately, the litigators failed to capture this political aspect and moreover their silence could be a result of ignorance of this political understanding. Perhaps, the litigators could have believed that they were being (and only) political when they initiated the PIL move.

Yenning wants to admit that the irresponsible citizens do not want to know what the Government officials think and do. They do not believe in the heaps of the corrupt files and thousands of digitally infested bytes of records. These are the tools which the Government officials pose to show their accountability which is true considering the state of corruption today in this land. This being the case, then, Yenning suggests the Government to seek to know how the poor, illegal and irresponsible receive the official stories of achievements and their policies of welfare in the non-bourgeois quarters of daily life. Without this effort, there is a wager as a rebuttal to the stand of liberal moralists and the official narratives of the Government that the ongoing disconnection drive has a farcical destiny. Unfortunately, the Government is still insisting on disconnecting “the people from power”. What else is more fitting than what Slavoj Zizek once said, “You are right because you are wrong. You are right in the wrong direction”. Let’s say, it is political, stupid!

(The Sangai Express, Imphal, February 20, 2011)

In the Twilight of Electricity’s Department Disconnection Drive: Missing Questions

2011-02-20T14:59:00.003+05:30

Recently three Manipuri gentlemen have filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the State Government in connection with erratic power supply. As a response or rather as a reaction to the PIL, electricity department had initiated a rigorous drive against the defaulters and unauthorised (illegal) power consumers under the Manipur Electricity Regulation Act 2003. The drive has resulted into the disconnection of many defaulters and put some of the unauthorised consumers behind the bar (as reported in newspapers). The reaction of the electricity department to PIL filed by the three gentlemen is sudden, drastic and unprecedented. It appears as if the department is suddenly awakened to its duty, which has been forgotten long ago. These three gentlemen should be applauded for making power department move through the PIL. It is needless to emphasise the importance of electric energy for the comfort and happiness of ever increasing middle class element in our society. In the modern age, life without electricity is simply unthinkable. This is particularly true for middle class element who is directly accessible to modern appliances and electronic gadgets to which modern notion of comfort and happiness solely depend. Second point is electricity, nowadays, is the moving force behind small scale industries, enterprises etc. in the state. For all the services that electricity provide us, it has become an essential component or should we say commodity in our life just as water, food, shelter, health and education. Nevertheless it is another matter that nobody talks about rising cost of health, education, poor quality of drinking water as well as scarcity of supply. Perhaps powerful section of our population can make access to the above sector and commodity from alternative source of services and market except electricity. For instance quality drinking water can be bought from market, quality health service is available in the expensive private hospitals and similar is the case of education. In fact ‘quality’ is the hallmark of middle class that defined their craze for ‘privatization’ and ‘opening up’ which is believed to bring an era of development and quality services in the state. The notion of good governance which is going around media and intellectual circle of the state is intrinsically related to the notion of privatization and liberalization. Good governance as a concept and practice in the third world became eminent from the 90’s of the twentieth century. This is a concept which became popular with the onset of economic globalization. Logically this idea is also related to the transparency and reform in the government and administrative practices. Reason behind the notion of good governance is to drive home the point that only privatization and liberalization with necessary structural transformation can serve consumers (people) better by providing goods and services.
Coming to the present disconnection drive launched by the Electricity Department, Government of Manipur, one cannot help but submit that it is too harsh an action whose victim is mainly the already victimised section of our society that is poor and downtrodden fellow of our society. Anyone having rooting in the moorings of Manipur society will agree with Yenning’s observation that the current disconnection drive is too hasty and harsh and it is untimely. Current action shows the very act of arbitrariness committed upon the larger section of the population by invoking an act which is so far oblivious to the public. It is untimely because from next month onward there is series of examinations which are crucial to the future career of younger generation. The ongoing drive of the electricity department to fish out the defaulters and illegal consumers with the help of state police, though appears justified and legitimate to some but to many it sounds like thunderbolt coming out of nowhere and the very act is unjustified and untimely. The action is too harsh because most of the consumers have to sell their belongings (property) to clear the dues in order to get the light. Another point is that most of the defaulters and unauthorised consumers belong to the poorer section that may not be in a position to clear the dues. Many are AAY and BPL card holders who are getting PDS items because of their poor economic condition. The crux point is, would they be able to clear their dues at one go. Definitely not, then what is the solution? One of the interesting points is the calculation of dues based on compound interest. This remind us of old feudal era where big landlords exploited and appropriated labour and property of the peasants and farmers. In fact compound interest is a kind of theft committed in broad day light by using arithmetic. This system must have no room within a democracy. One crucial point which we seem to have forgotten is to analyse the reason why around eighty percent of the consumers fail to give electric bill. What went wrong with the service provided by the electricity department? Why did the department remain mum so long on the issue of regular supply? Where have gone the promises of state government to the general public of Manipur for cheap and regular electric supply while initiating Loktak Project? One of the crucial missing element with all of us is, we very often ask but never question. It is time we the people of Manipur start questioning. We should now start questioning the reason why power (bill) rate per unit is very high in the state, what is the electricity department doing with regard to the defaulters who belong to the so called very very important persons (VVIPs)? Why does the government fail to deliver cheap and regular electric supply when there are abundant hydel power sources? Why should we pay rupees 400 monthly when there is no electric supply to the public?
The present disconnection drive is partial in the sense that it is applying only to the general public who have been overburdened with so much chaos and issues which perhaps are more crucial than the erratic supply of electricity in the state. So far electricity department is not touching the VVIPs area, quarters of ministers and MLAs as well as the government departments. According to media reports, till 30th September 2010 rupees 250 crores were due to consumers and rupees 22 crores to Government Departments which is nevertheless not detail. Some of the Government Departments which are yet to clear their bills are PHED Rs 7.85 crores, MAHUD Rs 3.07 crores, IFCD Rs 2.39 crores Medical Rs 99 lakhs, Electricity Department Rs 75.17 lakhs, Revenue Department Rs 68.47 lakhs, Manipur Police Rs 58.34 lakhs, GAD Rs 47.13 lakhs, Art and Culture Rs 46.57 lakhs, Minor Irrigation Rs 41.13 lakhs. Out of the Rs 250 crores due to the consumers, the amount due to the ministers, MLAs and VVIPs are also included. The moot question here is, who will disconnect the power supply of Electricity Department.
Considering the various flaws of the Electricity Department and unnecessary tension and anxiety resulting out of the current drive, we lay down following as charter of demands in the interest of general public of Manipur.
Stop immediately the current disconnection drive in the interest of students in view of the ensuing Board and Council Examinations.
Give a time period to the consumers to clear their dues and allow them to clear the bill on instalment basis.
Reduce the per unit charge of electricity to the affordable level that is rupees 3 per unit.
Stop archaic feudal style of taxing by removing compound interest in the calculation of electric bill.
Looking at the poor economic status of the general public and likely economic burden that may be resulted from their effort to clear the due, we demand for fifty percent waiving of the dues in the interest of the poorer section of the society.
Free electric supply to people who are living below the poverty line.
State government initiates the required process to appropriate the ownership of Loktak Hydel Project.

We believe that above action will go a long way in easing the burden of the people, and at the same time can restore regular supply of electricity to the people. In a democracy, there are certain procedures and ways of doing things, one cannot do things arbitrarily. It is equally important to see that both rich and poor be accommodated within a democracy. What we need here is the rule of law rather than rule by law. At the same time, in our craze for regular supply of electricity we should not remain blind to the falls and flaws of the concerned department and state Government and to the plight and untold miseries that will be accrued from the current drive launched by the Electricity Department in reaction to the PIL filed by the three gentlemen.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, February 13, 2011

National Rehabilitation Policy : As Good As Dead

2011-02-20T14:55:00.003+05:30

After almost two decades of threadbare discussions over various draft policies, the Government of India finally announced National Rehabilitation Policy (NRP) for Project Affected Families (PAP) in February 2004. The NRP was pushed forward in near secrecy without allowing little debate or discussion prior to its approval. But as several analysts, experts and human right groups pointed out, the NRP was more about legitimising displacement in the name of development projects than rehabilitating displaced people. The policy though very noble in principles, as highlighted in its preamble, is hollow in reality and regressive in comparison to previous drafts and also some of the existing State or project resettlement and rehabilitation policies. The policy did not accommodate even the Government’s own experience of resettlement and rehabilitation in the past 50 years of dealing with displacement caused by development projects, disaster and ethnicity conflicts. It does very little to address the issues raised in an alternative draft policy submitted on October 5, 1995 in response to the proposed draft policy document prepared by the Ministry of Rural Development in 1994.
The alternative policy draft prepared by thousands of displaced persons, PAFs, social movements, civil society organisations and researchers advocated land based settlement as key to restoration of livelihood, participation of PAFs in project planning, resettlement and rehabilitation process and other measures for making it sustainable. However, the NRP deviated quite asunder from the alternative draft policy and it rather has a strong cash-based component and has provision only for consultation with PAFs and has no provisions for addressing second generation problems and making the livelihood sustainable. At the best, the NRP has provision for settlement or relocation but attempts no rehabilitation though it has been accepted world wide that displacement entails other traumatic psychological and socio-cultural negative impacts. Ultimately, the policy proved nothing more than a document to appease the guidelines laid down by various loan/aid-giving international financial institutions which would ultimately provide legitimacy to the Government’s power to acquire land browbeating all opposition and resistance and hand it over to big multinational companies. Interestingly, all these anti-people activities are done with a morally acceptable but misleading rhetoric of ‘development’ and ‘public interest’. A deeper analysis would revealed that the NRP is not aimed at ensuring prompt relocation and resettlement or opening development opportunities to displaced persons or PAFs who have nothing to gain in the game of development but have to pay heavy price for it.
As rightly pointed out by W Courtland Robinson in Risks and Rights : The Causes, Consequences, and Challenges of Development-Induced Displacement, even as the NRP covers its mandate to include landless workers, forest dwellers, tenants and artisans in its definition of PAFs, but on the whole remains gender blind. Contrary to the centrality of the idea that ‘avoidance of involuntary settlement where feasible or minimising it by exploring all alternatives should be an integral part of any rehabilitation and resettlement policy, the policy accepts displacement and then appoints the administrator for resettlement and rehabilitation who will work to minimise displacement of persons and identify non-displacing or least displacing alternatives in consultation with the requiring body. By perusing the details and documents of the policy, one will find that the overall policy is poor in details and specificity of provisions of resettlement and rehabilitation and rich only in ambiguities and probableness, leaving much to the interpretation of officials concerned.
In reality, the NRP has a very restricted mandate and covers only development induced displacement in rural areas and has no provisions for disaster induced or conflict induced displacement. The whole vocabulary of the document is one of welfare and relief rather than of promoting rights of resettlement of PAFs, and create a situation for their empowerment and a better standard of living. Ironically, it fails to introduce provisions which would allow participation of displaced persons and civil society in the process of planning of the project, seeking non-displacing alternatives or in sharing intended benefits out of the project.
Displacement and Misplaced NRP
Displacement in India has been caused by various kinds of development projects, ethnic conflicts and natural disasters such as earthquake, cyclone, flood, riverbank erosion, drought, landslide, desertification, etc. The displacement by dams is only one kind which contributes around 50 per cent of the total displaced persons. But the provisions of the National Rehabilitation Policy drafted by the Ministry of Rural Development are in no way appropriate to address all kinds of displacement and subtle differential impacts of displacement in each of the cases. The policy draws heavily from the existing rehabilitation policies for water resources PAFs of Gujarat, Orissa, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka and covers only development projects and leaves others without looking into the specificities of each cases which are never uniform but specific to each other. The policy privileges the displacement by dams and fails to address the issues arising out of other kinds of displacement-related cases. The policy makes no provisions for dealing with urbanisation and semi-urban situation arising out of projects such as railways, highways, mines, industrial townships etc. It mentions, “In case of projects relating to Railway Lines, Highways, Transmission Lines and laying pipelines wherein only a narrow stretch of land extending over several kilometres is being acquired, the Project Affected Families will be offered an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10,000 per family and no other resettlement and rehabilitation benefits shall be available to them”. The policy gives no guidelines of calculating the cost or damage to a family but arbitrarily fixes an amount which given the past experiences would ultimately ruin the interests of the affected family.
On the other hand, any resistance to the displacement was treated as a ‘law and order’ problem. Guided by such misplaced notion, the issue of rehabilitation and resettlement was never a priority with the power centres. Land was acquired by the draconian provisions of Land Acquisition Act 1894 of the colonial era and the same Act is still in practice with some amendments in 1967 and 1984. This Act has become a very convenient and effective weapon in the hand of independent Indian State for acquiring land from its citizens. Here, we may recall Jawaharlal Nehru’s remark on displacement caused by Hirakud Dam. In a speech to the displaced families, he stated in 1948, “If you are to suffer, you should suffer in the interest of the nation”. The National Rehabilitation Policy, formulated decades later was not independent creation of the Indian State. Rather it was also a consequence of a conditionality of the World Bank or/and other multilateral financial institutions in order to facilitate the processes of corporate take over of the country’s resources. The Government of India’s refusal to discuss the report of the World Commission on Dams, Supreme Court judgement on the Narmada and the proposed interlinking of rivers are clear pointers that the NRP was not formulated with any genuine concern to rehabilitate displaced persons.
NRP and Human Rights
Displacement from one’s habitual residence and the loss of property without fair compensation is a serious form of human rights violation. In addition to violating economic and social rights, arbitrary displacement can also lead to violations of civil and political rights, including arbitrary arrest, degrading treatment or punishment, temporary or permanent disenfranchisement and the loss of one’s political voice. Ironically, the NRP makes no attempt at addressing various rights violations which are common in these circumstances, specially that of vulnerable groups whole vulnerability increases manifold in these situations. It uses the word ‘Right’ in two instances, once to give cash compensation to tribals in lieu of loss of their customary rights over forest produce and secondly to grant fishing rights in the reservoir, in the case of large dams. This shows the true nature of NRP and the respect shown by the Government to fundamental rights of its citizens (Madhuresh Kumar 2005, Globalisation, State Policies and Sustainability of Rights) .

Of late, Manipur has witnessed displacement caused by different factors such as construction of dams, expansion of highways and airport, laying of railway tracks, armed conflict, ethnic conflict etc. Though certain sections of these displaced people have been compensated with cash, we fear if any single displaced family have been rehabilitated or given land for resettlement. This is understandable given the content and spirit of the NRP. Again, the cry of the people displaced by the ethnic conflict of early 1990’s for rehabilitation and justice would always get lost in the wind for there is no specific provision to address displacement caused by ethnic conflict. Unfortunately, anti-dam lobby groups, resistance movements and the general public are either standing opposed to projects that entail displacement or are demanding compensation when they cannot resist the State’s design. But very few people are asking for proper rehabilitation and resettlement. Sadly, this is the missing part in the people’s movement against Government sponsored projects. Perhaps civil society organisations and human rights groups are pre-occupied with the immediate concerns of defending human rights violation by both State armed forces and non-State actors. This is understandable given the prevailing situation in Manipur where all other issues are overshadowed by the armed conflict. Nevertheless, deprivation of ancestral land, displacement and human rights violation entailed therein cannot be overlooked. It demands a sustained and well orchestrated collective struggle, specially for a small and vulnerable people like the Manipuri nation. As for the National Rehabilitation Policy, it is as good as dead.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, January 30, 2011

Citizen’s Concern, Civil Society & the Middle Class Sensibility

2011-01-17T16:13:00.002+05:30

Holding of a seminar at the Centenary Hall, Manipur University, on civic-military relationship, jointly organised by the Red Shield Division and Manipur University provoked not only curiosity but also a sense of amazement from the reading general public. Curiosity in the sense that when appeals are being made to demilitarize the academic centre, how come intellectuals and scholars have consented to take part in an academic seminar organised by the military. Amazement emanates from the fact that the Indian State has succeeded in pushing one of its agency, the military, which does not have any business with democracy, to talk about democracy. Finally people were overwhelmed, not at the fact that ideas, which does not have any real binding on the lives of the common people but of academic interests, were exchanged on the floor of the Centenary Hall but because the sanctity of an already tarnished and militarized University was soiled by the very orchestrated act of the army and participants should have been conscious about this tangible sensibility.
That Manipur runs on middle class sensibility is an undeniable fact. Citizen’s concerns are de facto voice of the middle class, of those who occupy positions of power, the academia and various non-governmental organizations, and so on. Class location objectively determines people’s economic and political interests and influences, not their subjectivity, political consciousness, beliefs, behavior, and so forth. But classes, as Max Weber observed, are not communities; they are not groups whose members share a sense of belonging and a set of objectives. Perhaps, this was the case of the middle class intellectuals who participated at the seminar. One can even go to the length of saying that middle class seeks mobility (sic. promotion), self aggrandizement and recognition more than any other classes.
Governmental Technology & the Middle Class Phenomenon
In the contemporary world, governmental technologies have succeeded in enlarging the space as well as legitimacy of the State. This is true not only for India but also for many of the countries, which declare themselves as liberal and democratic. Let’s take the case of India. From time to time, on a yearly basis, might of the Indian State is displayed through pompous shows on the 26th of January. In addition to the display of varied cultures in the name of unity in diversity, the show is incomplete without the display of its arms and armaments. In the words of Clifford Geertz such act can be interpreted as cultural signification or stage show.
At a larger context, a sense of participation has been created amongst its people by constituting a political society through the craft of introducing a liberal albeit electoral democracy. In such a political society, everyone is induced to imagine themselves as equal in the sense that each adult is given a single and non-transferable franchise. Moreover, as is embedded in the very nature of the State by virtue of having declared itself as one following liberal political ethos, benevolent face of the “liberal” State is projected through various schemes. Today, MGNREGS (formerly NREGS), mid-day meal programmes, free and compulsory education for children below the age of 14 years, introduction of BPL cards for public distribution schemes, etc. can be read as governmental technology at least to pacify the disgruntled working class and peasant, so as to avoid a revolution of massive scale. So there is interplay of electoral promises and art of governmentality.
It is common knowledge that agencies of the State are used invariably in order to maintain its “liberal” and benevolent face. But what is even more surprising is the use of certain sections of the society (in addition to the agencies of the State) as a part of its governmental technology. This is akin to Gramscian understanding of hegemony, wherein every existing opportunity and institutions are exploited to maintain the State’s status quo as well as hegemony.
The Indian State survives by creating needs of different dimensions to different sections of the society. In such acts, one infallible truth projected by such projects is that existence of the State is deemed to be compulsory; only when the State exists then only the needs would be fulfilled. For example, if the downtrodden and the working class have been promised food or education through various government schemes, the middle class are promised upward mobility in terms of perks and entitlement. And finally, the rich are promised endless accumulation of wealth. Capitalism is spelled out as the most efficient economic system where any hopes can be fulfilled. This is the mantra used by the State as its governmental technology.
This brings us to the larger issue of middle class sensibility, citizen’s concern and the state of civil society in Manipur. The truth is while a semblance of equality have been showcased amongst the citizenries at least in the domain of the political society, the civil society remains a realm solely belonging to the middle class. Moreover, middle class as in any epoch of history remains to be harbinger of ideas, the most revolutionary at least in the domain of ideas, educated, profit seeking and restless. Appropriation of this class as well appeasing their appetite is a must for the modern State. Obviously, their needs and tastes are different from the common mass. Take for example, citizen’s concern on regular supply of electricity. Every person in Manipur wants to get regular supply of electricity. Deliberations that took place at Imphal Hotel on the same issue, demanding a white paper from the Government and seeking help from concerned citizens such as legal action and so on failed to address the likely consequences on the common mass. For example, is the concerned civil society ready to fight for people who would be selling their land in order to pay off the electricity bills (dues)? Very true, as we are in a capitalist relationship of production as well as dictated by the culture of consumerism, one has to pick the consumer culture. However, the point is that how come civil society misses out on the issue of waiving off dues by the Government. There has to be a beginning, perhaps at unequal lines as marked by John Rawls when we talk about justice. Middle class obsession and narcissism have to be given up for the larger good or at least when issue of public good is involved. Manipur can do without such sensibility.
Lessons from the Seminar on Civil-military Relationship
To say that civilian organizers of the seminar were partners, if not agents, used by agent of the State (sic. the army) is not saying too much. Or perhaps, they were the motivated ones who aim for upward mobility in their salaried positions. Such issues are left to the readers to have their own guesses. Few questions need to be addressed:
¡ Was the seminar a larger design to showcase the benevolent face of the army and harden their stand on persistence of AFSPA in Manipur? For example, Major General Hooda declared that AFSPA is needed to combat insurgents in Manipur. Here, Irom Chanu Sharmila’s fast to remove AFSPA has been reduced to oblivion. Moreover, this is contrary to the citizen’s concern on human rights violations.
¡ Can the mere act of organizing a seminar in a University give the army the onus of proving that they have a good relation with the civilians? Facts say otherwise.
For the larger interest of Manipur, perhaps Major General Hooda should have demanded removal of the Assam Rifles camp from the University campus. At least, this gesture could have made them more popular with the civilians. We believe civil-military relations cannot be made or unmade by intellectual exchange of ideas at seminars or workshops. Whatever rapport built up on the premises of such seminars would remain confined to the participating intellectual class and higher echelons of the military. One thing, we are sure, the seminar gave a perfect platform to the military to justify imposition of the draconian AFSPA against which the people of Manipur have been fighting for the last 30 years, epitomised by the self-immolation of Chittaranjan and the unsurpassed crusade of Irom Sharmila who has already dwarfed Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, January 16, 2011

Description of charges filed against Chairman Meghen

2010-12-19T13:39:00.002+05:30

National Investigation Agency (NIA), is the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency in India. The federal agency charge sheeted Chairman Meghen on December 16, 2010 at Guwahati. The agency is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states. The National Investigation Agency Bill 2008 to create the agency was moved in Parliament by Union Home Minister on 16 December 2008. NIA was created after the Nov 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was realised. Some of the law references utilised by NIA, in addition to Indian Penal Code, include the following:
 National Investigation Act, 2008
 The Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982 (65 of 1982)
 The Atomic Energy Act 1962 (33 of 1962)
 The SAARC Convention on (Suppression of Terrorism) Act 1993 (36 of 1993)
 The Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982
 The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967)
 The Weapons of Mass Destruction and Their Delivery Systems

Chairman Meghen has been booked by a Special Court of NIA under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as Unwanted Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He’s been charged under four sections (sections 121, 121A, 120B and 123) of IPC to be read along with five different sections (13, 16, 18, 39 and 40) of the UAPA. Sections 121, 121A and 123 under IPC are related with offences against the Indian state, specifically waging war against the Government of India.

Chargesheet under Indian Penal Code:
Section 121 of IPC relates with waging war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India. It states, “Whoever, wages war against the Government of India, or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with death, or punishment for life and shall also be liable to fine”.
Essential ingredients of the section include that a person,
(a) wages war against the Government of India, or
(b) attempts to wage war against the Government of India, or
(c) abets the waging of war against the Government of India
The offence under section 121 is cognizable, non-bailable, non-compoundable and triable by Court of Session.

Scope of the section is quite wide. It states, “Section 121 not only the principal offence (waging war) but also attempt and abetment. Here it is wider than the common law, offence of treason or misprision of treason”.

Section 121A of IPC is related conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 121. it states, “Whoever, within or outside India conspire to commit any of the offences punishable by Section 121, or conspires to overawe, by means of criminal force or the show of criminal force, the Central Government or any State Government, shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of other description which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine”.

Under this section, the term “to constitute a conspiracy”, it is not necessary that any act or illegal omission shall take place in pursuance thereof. The offence under section 121A is cognizable, non-bailable, non-compoundable and triable by Court of Session.

Section 120(B) of IPC relates with punishment of criminal conspiracy. It states:
1. Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment for a term or upwards, shall, where no express provision is made in this Code for the punishment of such a conspiracy, be punished in the same manner as if he had abetted such offence.
2. Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy other than a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable as aforesaid shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding six months, or with fine or with both.

Section 123 of IPC relates with concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war. It states, “Whoever by any act, or by any illegal omission conceals the existence of a design to wage war against the Government of India, intending by such concealment to facilitate, or knowing it to be likely that such concealment will facilitate, the waging of such war, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall be liable to fine”.
The offence under section 123 is cognizable, non-bailable, non-compoundable and triable by Court of Session.

Chargesheet under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act:
The UAPA, intended to deal with terrorism, was amended in 2008 following the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai. According to the Government of India, the December 2008 amendments balance the need to fight terrorism with the need to protect civil liberties. The amended Act borrows provisions from various (previous) anti-terror laws.
Section 13 of UAPA relates with punishment for unlawful activities. It states:
(1) Whoever –

(a) takes part in or commits, or
(b) advocates, abets, advises or incites the Commission of, any unlawful activity, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine

(2) Whoever, in any way, assists any unlawful activity of any association, declared unlawful under section 3 (of UAPA), after the notification by which it has been so declared has become effective under subsection (3) of that section, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.

(3) Nothing in this section shall apply to any treaty, agreement or convention entered into between the Government of India and the Government of any other country or to any negotiations therefore carried on by any person authorized in this behalf by the Government of India.

Section 16 of UAPA relates with bar of jurisdiction. It states, “Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, no proceeding taken under this Act by the Central Government or the District Magistrate or any officer authorized in this behalf by the Central Government or the District Magistrate shall be called in question in any court in any suit or application or by way of appeal or revision, and no injunction shall be granted by any court or other authority in respect of any action taken or to be taken in pursuance of any power conferred by or under this Act”.

Section 18 of UAPA relates protection of action taken in good faith. It states:
(1) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government in respect of any loss or damage caused or likely to be caused by anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rules or orders made there-under.
(2) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the District Magistrate or any officer authorized in this behalf by the Government or the District Magistrate in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or any rules or orders made thereunder.

Section 39 of UAPA relates with punishment for supporting terrorist organisations. It states:
(1) A person commits the offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation,-
(a) who, with intention to further the activity of a terrorist organisation,-
(i) invites support for the terrorist organisation, and
(ii) the support is not or is not restricted to provide money or other property within the meaning of section 40; or
(b) who, with intention to further the activity of a terrorist organisation, arranges, manages or assists in arranging or managing a meeting which he knows is-
(i) to support the terrorist organisation, or
(ii) to further the activity of the terrorist organisation, or
(iii) to be addressed by a person who associates or professes to be associated with the terrorist organisation; or
(c) who, with intention to further the activity of a terrorist organisation, addresses a meeting for the purpose of encouraging support for the terrorist organisation or to further its activity.
(2) A person, who commits the offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation under sub-section (1), shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, or with fine, or with both. Offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation.

Section 40 of UAPA is related offence of raising fund for a terrorist organisation. It states:
(1) A person commits the offence of raising fund for a terrorist organisation, who, with intention to further the activity of a terrorist organisation,-
(a) invites another person to provide money or other property, and intends that it should be used, or has reasonable cause to suspect that it might be used, for the purposes of terrorism; or
(b) receives money or other property, and intends that it should be used, or has reasonable cause to suspect that it might be used, for the purposes of terrorism; or
(c) provides money or other property, and knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect, that it would or might be used for the purposes of terrorism.
(For the purposes of this sub-section, a reference to provide money or other property includes of its being given, lent or otherwise made available, whether or not for consideration.)
(2) A person, who commits the offence of raising fund for a terrorist organisation under sub-section (1), shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding fourteen years, or with fine, or with both.

Issue of Self Determination:
Against the charges leveled against him, Chairman Meghen’s reply was that he has been fighting for self determination. Now the question is, will not India look for other options other than the legal. Political leaders of Manipur as well as India have been crying hoarse that the armed opposition groups of Manipur do not have any public sympathy or support. Moreover, the outfits are blamed as extortionists and robbers. Then, why not a plebiscite be conducted (as UNLF has been demanding) to decide whether people of Manipur wants to live within the Indian Union or not? India needs a clarification on the issue of self determination.

(published in The Sangai Express, Imphal, December 19, 2010)

Private Tuition & Sectarian Education System

2010-12-12T14:44:00.001+05:30

This year is no different from last year. Post July 23 Kwairamband Killings, students were sitting idle in the Manipur Valley when annual examinations were round the corner because of the indefinite class boycott imposed by some students bodies demanding justice to the broad daylight fake encounter last year. This time, it is not any student body that is calling the shots but a grand association of teachers, appropriately named Council of Teachers’ Association (COTA). In total disregard to the fate of tens of thousands of students, Government school teachers under the banner of COTA have launched an indefinite cease work strike, again demanding ‘justice’ in the form of implementation of the 6th Central Revised Pay in toto. Strangely, there is no vocal outcry from any quarter till date even as the teachers are virtually holding their own students at ransom in pursuit of their demand, a much fattened pay. Unlike the previous year, no guardians’ association has come forward to raise a single voice of concern for the hapless Government school students though some student bodies have issued a few strong worded press statements. Just as much as their demands are justified, we cannot miss the insensitivity of the teachers toward plight of their own students. As rightly said, “teachers are architects of the nation”, we don’t expect such callousness on the part of our esteemed teachers. Yes, if we should talk about irresponsibility and insensitivity, no doubt, the Government always tops the list. This article is not intended to find faults of anybody but is aimed at highlighting the woes of the Government school students.
Whether it is class boycott or cease work strike, it is mostly the Government school students who are suffering the worst. Their more fortunate colleagues reading in private schools are little affected by such disruptions for they have the privilege to go to private tuition centres or hire private tutors. On the other hand, the Government school students are literally abandoned by the Government and their own teachers whereas their parents could not afford private tuition. The end result is an unassailable disparity between these two groups of students. This is most glaringly reflected in examinations conducted by the Board of Secondary Education Manipur (BSEM) and the Council of Higher Secondary Education Manipur (COHSEM). Government schools drawing blank in BSEM and COHSEM conducted exams is neither surprising nor inexplicable.
Culture of private tuition
Since the past decade, groups of parents thronging at the gates of tuition centres or private residences of teachers have become a common sight. Presence of parents at such sites seems to have a common purpose, Yenning guesses, a mission to ‘educate’ their children through private tuition. Parents’ escorting their children to the tuition centres is another inescapable sight. This is a new found tradition visible in almost all localities of Imphal and greater Imphal. Thirty years back, private tuition was reserved for a privileged few who were academically not so bright. Even then, private tuition was largely confined to one or two subject(s). Over the years, private tuition or coaching has become an integral part of formal (school) education system in Manipur. With students going for private tuition for each and every subject, private tuition or coaching is fast acquiring the status of a parallel schooling system. There are many compelling and not so compelling factors for the rise of private coaching system in parallel to the formal schooling system. Frequent bandhs, boycott and other disturbances are some of the compelling factors. Here, we cannot overlook the heightened sense of competitiveness. It is really painful to see that private tuition is assuming the character of a tradition in our society. We do agree that private tuition equips students better to face examinations. At the same time, it evokes a question of fairness. Whereas the level of competitiveness is rising year after year, the arena of competition is shrinking reciprocally. Competition and sense of competitiveness has already become an exclusive domain of private and mission schools only. These exams have become so lopsidedly unfair that students of Government schools have been thrown out of competition. This fast growing tradition of going for private tuition gives unfair advantage to those students who can afford while victimising many poor students. If private coaching raises the level of competitiveness, it is also one major factor for the increasing number of High School drop-outs. A notion seems to have been imbibed by the students that it is impossible to pass Board and Council exams without going for private tuition. To many poor parents, both in rural and urban areas, private tuition is a luxury they cannot afford. With the culture of private tuition spreading like a plague, many families are struggling to send their children to private tuition sacrificing other basic requirements of the family.
Nurturing dependency mindset
Private tuition has many inherent demerits, producing serious implications on multiple aspects of our social life. However, by virtue of its sheer relevancy to the education system, private tuition centres are gaining prominence at the expense of public schools. The shift in the education pattern is that schools are there to conduct exams and issue certificates, while the actual teaching and learning is done in private tuition/coaching centres. Schools have deviated asunder from their sacred purpose of imparting education to students. Growing culture of private tuition is a manifestation of parents’ dissatisfaction with the educational performance of schools. The rising popularity of private tuition and coaching centres has its roots in the Indian education system where marks secured in the examinations are used as the sole criterion to measure a student’s abilities. This system of judging a student’s potential and ability defies the very purpose of schools, which is to prepare students for examinations and more importantly for life beyond. Again, private tuition contradicts the aim of education, that is, to make students think and nurture their innate potentials. Underscoring the flawed education system which has deviated quite afar from its intended line, the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) recommended in 2005 that education should be for nurturing multiple intelligence in order to fructify the full potential of each child. And this has to be supported by a constructivist approach to learning and a flexible, scientifically designed student assessment system. “Performance should be portrayed in a portfolio revealing his/her total being. This can include domains such as life skills, academic/non-academic and vocational subjects, personal qualities”, CABE recommended. Private tuition/coaching operates in total contradiction to such recommendations. In other words, it stands to mould students to secure maximum marks in examinations. Guided by this objective, private tuition/coaching feeds students with ready-made answers/solutions. With private tuition assuming central role in the school education system of the State, students have been accustomed to a culture of spoon-feeding. The culture of spoon-feeding is robbing away the thinking power of our young students. Students are not allowed to exercise their mental faculty to tackle a problem and arrive at a conclusion of their own because teachers in coaching centres are ever present to supply them with ready-made answers. This slowly cultivates a mindset of dependency among young students where they cannot think of solving any new problem without teachers’ assistance.
Poor students, the victim
Even if one likes to blame teachers and parents alike for the malaise stunting the mental and physical development of our students, Yenning believes the crux of the problem lies in the all pervading system in which only marks matters. The infectious growth of private tuition/coaching that we see in Manipur is the spill-over effect of the system followed all over India. When mark is the only criterion for admission in higher educational institutions including technical ones, it is only natural for students, teachers and parents to focus on securing maximum marks. With majority of parents disillusioned with the performance of public (sic Government) schools having failed to generate marks to the scale demanded by higher educational institutions located outside the State, a fertile ground was bred for gradual ascension of private tuition culture over formal schooling. Much earlier, mission schools run by Christian missionaries and other private schools, which mushroomed in the later phase, have disqualified Government schools from being educational institutions. It is now a fact that education sector (up to higher secondary level) is one sector in Manipur, which has been fully privatised. And now, private tuition culture is fast emerging parallel to the formal school education system in Imphal valley, if not in the whole State. Perhaps, this could be the beginning of ‘double-privatisation’ of education sector.
Either it is general strike, bandh, blockade or curfew or class boycott by student bodies or cease work strike by teachers, it is the Government school students who could not afford private tuition that suffer the worst. Not only, are they thrown out of any academic competition, they are also denied any meaningful education, thanks to the myriad disruptions that come round the year. Here, one cannot miss the prefix ‘indefinite’ that comes along with these disruptions, and most unfortunately this has evolved into a sort of fetish. Coupled with these disruptions, the growing culture of private tuition, Government school students have been literally put out of reckoning. Even as all the odds are heavily stacked against the poor students, neither the Government nor the teachers nor the society seems to have any empathy for these underprivileged students. Rather the Government seems to be encouraging this unfair and flawed system. As for the education system in practice, it is quite sectarian at the best.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, December 12, 2010

Higher Education in Manipur: A Far Cry from Wishes of the University Grants Commission

2010-11-28T14:34:00.002+05:30

It has become an informed practice on the part of the Government of Manipur to keep the people of Manipur in a state of confusion, thereby taking away the productive hours, so as to maintain “order” in the name of the State. Much of the misfortunes that have afflicted the people have their origin the manner in which the “State” has responded to the claims of the people. The fiasco pertaining to the fixation of the pay scale of the teachers in the Government colleges of Manipur is a case in point. There has been no “official order” to form a basis the accusations labeled against the Government. However, one has to accept that Manipur is such a small place to garner “information”, given that at the societal level everyone turns out to be a relative! Well, it is worthwhile to examine, the cries of the teachers of the Government colleges, since, whether one likes it or not, the colleges are the sites where the future foundation of the Manipuri society belong.
UGC & the Call for Excellence in Higher education
To make India a power house of knowledge, the University Grants Commission (UGC), through G.K. Chada Committee submitted a report regarding the need for revision of pay scale and other norms governing the teachers and higher education. The report was duly approved by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India (No.1-32/2006-U.II/U.I(i) dated 31st December, 2008). The central idea of the Committee is to retain the best minds (talented youths), in the field of education especially in higher studies. Few highlights of the Chadha Commission are given below:
1.The pay revisions are not only because of inflation. The scales of pay of teachers needed to be looked afresh in the context of salary structures of other sections of the society-corporate sector, private educational institutions and civil service, etc. Two points of view were taken into account.
a.First, the existing scales of pay of the teacher were not fully compatible with any of the existing scales of central government employees.
b.Second, the minimum qualifications laid down for teachers at the point of entry to the profession i.e. consistently good academic record, at least a very good Master’s degree (with 55 percent and above marks in the subject concerned plus NET/SET examination) were considerably higher than those prescribed for entering the civil services.
Therefore, they should be given due incentives. Acquiring higher qualifications also means that the teachers would enter the profession at an age older than of those entering the civil services. Also, it would be a significant incentive for more meritorious scholars to join the teaching profession, particularly at this juncture when both the corporate sector and foreign educational institutions are luring the young talented persons away with higher salaries and better pay packages.
2.Higher Academic Allowance should be paid to teachers in various categories of Assistant Professor since their needs at the initial stages of their academic career are more than those of senior teachers in the categories of Associate Professors and Professors.
3.Others, related to pay structure, promotion and entitlements.
Laudable MPSC: Recruitment & Human Resource in Manipur
While the Government has failed to deliver, Commissions, which do not enjoy any legal bindings, have been doing a commendable work in Manipur. For example, the list of lecturers selected by the Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) and appointed at various Government colleges of Manipur in January 2009 are in line with the guidelines set by the UGC. At least MPSC needs to be appreciated for this particular act of selection especially at a time when even the Manipur University is at the throes of controversy for violating the UGC guidelines for appointment of teachers and research associates.
A cursory look at the academic background of lecturers selected by the MPSC in 2009 reveals an interesting pool of human resources; ones that are closer to the vision of the UGC. Altogether, 133 fresh lecturers were appointed by the Government of Manipur for 25 different subjects. 80 percent of the total numbers of lecturers selected are UGC-NET/JRF qualified. Out of the remaining 15 percent of selected lecturers, five percent of the lecturers are SLET qualified; the rest do not hold either UGC-NET/JRF or SLET but have M.Phil/Ph.D.
In terms of higher studies, around 38 percent of the total number of lecturers selected is M.Phil / Ph.D. degree holders from various universities in India. This is in trend with the older generation of teachers since the Manipur University (earlier JNU Imphal Centre is of recent origin). 20 percent of the lecturers selected have submitted M.Phil / Ph.D. thesis but results are being awaited. 36 percent of the selected lecturers are pursuing Ph.D., which are at different stages of completion. However, the remaining six percent of the total number of lecturers selected have given up higher studies on account of age factor and other difficulties.
The composition of educational background in terms of receiving higher education is another interesting feature. With the exception of Manipuri and Defence Studies (from Manipur University), rest of the lecturers selected have received higher education (at least up to M.A. level) from different universities in India including Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi University, Jamia Milia Islamia, Chandigarh University, Kurushetra University, Jiwaji University, Osmania University, North East Hills University and so on. For example, in the case of Political Science, out of the total number (15) of lecturers selected, nine have received education from JNU, four from Delhi University and the rest from Manipur University. Likewise, in Sociology, 100 percent of the selected lecturers are from JNU.
In view of the rich academic background of those selected/appointed, Manipur can expect a good return in terms of producing scholars at the graduation level. Once again, MPSC should be appreciated for the commendable job.
On Professional Commitment: Vigor & Culture
Age is an important factor in productive endeavours. 90 percent of the total numbers of lecturers selected is in the age group of 30–40 years. Remaining 10 percent is above 40 years old but below 45 years with the exception of two or three lecturers. Hardly two years old in service, professional commitment of the fresh lecturers cannot be challenged by any authority. There is the enthusiasm of being in a regular job and moreover, these are the few lot (young as they are) who believes in bringing about a revolution in higher education in the state. Lethargy has not yet seeped into their young bones.
A new teacher in any educational institution brings along with him/her not only educational qualifications but also a culture of learning-teaching imbibed over the years from her/his alma mater. For example, a scholar from JNU or DU would certainly bring into the new institution, so posted, a culture of idealism and importance of epistemology apart from encouraging the students to read. This is accepting the fact that even the theory of praxis informing Marxism has its basis in the notion of ideal. Moreover, their efforts would be in creating an academic atmosphere, thus, the importance of having a “library” in the true sense of the word, or even tell the concerned authority, “If you want, eat moolah from the funds allocated for buildings and walls but not from the funds allocated to buy books and journals”. They would certainly plead to the concerned administrative authority for transparency and coordination, so as to uplift the status and standard of the concerned institution. This does not mean to say that they’re challenging the mindset of the older generation of teachers. A good institution in its quest for excellence needs to have a confluence of ideas between the older and new generation teachers. Obviously, a symbiotic relationship between the two is a must.
Limitations & the Politics of Number
Acknowledging the intellectual acumen of the selected lecturers is one thing but there is an overwhelming sense of déjà vu when it comes to translating the good intention and their intellectual strength into action. For example, in addition to the 133 newly selected lecturers, in the category of lecturers as defined by the Government of Manipur, there are 49 more (lecturers/librarians), making a total of 182 lecturers. This category of teachers constitutes only 16 percent of the total number of Government college teachers currently in Manipur. Lecturers/Librarians (Sr.) constitute 24 percent. Lecturers/Librarians (SG) constitutes around 7 percent and, finally, Lecturers/Librarians (SG-senior level) constitute around 53 percent of the total number of Government college teachers in Manipur.
The new lecturers are incapacitated with the kind of mindset prevailing in Manipur. In other words, they are regarded as inexperienced and incapable (sic. kids). The Government of Manipur acknowledged similar kind of understanding and effected such a mindset when it declared the extension of working years of the Government college teachers up to the age of 62 years. It reads: Extension of the service years have been made as the “new” teachers cannot teach the new syllabus of the college students.
The Government of Manipur, especially, the Finance Department, seemed to have captured the frozen state of lecturers in terms of numbers, when the Department placed its suggestion of scales of pay. Following table shows the differences between the 6th UGC recommendation and Finance Department Suggestion:
6th UGC Recommendation
Designation Number of teachers Pay Band Pay in Pay Band AGP Basic Pay DA (35%) HRA SCA TA Spl Pay Total
Lecturers/
Librarians 182 15600-39100-6000 22560 6000 28560 9956 2858 1500 1600 - 44512
Finance Department (Manipur) Suggestion
Designation Number of teachers Pay Band Pay in Pay Band AGP Basic Pay DA (35%) HRA SCA TA Spl Pay Grand Total
Lecturers/
Librarians 182 9300-34890-5400 22850 5180 27960 5788 2796 1500 1600 - 43642
Other categories of teachers such as Lecturers/Librarians (Sr.), Lecturers/Librarians (SG) and others are not affected. If the Finance Department suggestions are accepted by the Government, then the present lot of Lecturers and future new entrants are the ones who are going to suffer the most; foremost being academic/career advancement. Although, the Government has not come out with an official order, what Yenning can read is that the Government is playing a dirty politics of appeasing the 53 percent of the Lecturers/Librarians (SG-senior level), who are on the verge of retirement, at the cost of the lecturers.
When faced with such a callous attitude on the part of the Government, defying norms set by the UGC, there needs to be unity among the teachers (old and new alike). But this can happen only when the senior lecturers abandon their paternalistic attitude and think in terms of professional solidarity.
Does not Manipur want to become a powerhouse of knowledge? Gone are the days when Manipur was the destination for higher studies. One cannot blame the phenomena of insurgency for this deprivation. The Government as well as the senior teachers are accountable for the crisis.
Now the question remains: Will the Ibobi sarkar pull up its socks and work towards bringing about a revolution in the realm of knowledge? For decades teachers have been blamed for the degradation in education in Manipur. Now all we want to say is give the teachers a chance; you have already given ample opportunities to the contractors and armed forces.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on November 28, 2010

Development Projects, Environment and Resistance

2010-11-14T14:36:00.002+05:30

In common parlance, development connotes change for betterment and advancement. Also the term conveys a sense of optimism and expectation of progress, and of a general improvement in the living condition of people. Manifestations of development are multi-faceted and diverse. It may include advancement in medicine, education, culture, sports and of course economic well being. Notwithstanding the emerging discourses on post-structuralism or post-Marxism, the contemporary scene is characterised by the continuing imposition of an orthodox Western vision of development for the non-West, most glaringly reflected in the contested and controversial notions of structural adjustment, deregulation of the economy, privatization, and good governance. But this concept of development orchestrated by Western will is now facing a stiff challenge, and within a newer current, development tout court has been rejected outright by a vast majority of indigenous scholars and native political scientists as lingering legacy of unacceptable western practices devised systematically for subordination of the Third World.
This rejection of the western concepts of development is rooted in and founded on the experiences during the colonial period. Basically, the western concepts envisioned and endorsed the West as the model of development, civilization, rationality and progress. In the process of the race for imperialism, these ideas were bestowed with universal relevance through colonial agents. By the mid 19th century, a notion gained firm ground that the American Anglo-Saxons were a separate and innately superior people who were ‘destined’ to bring good government, better governance, commercial prosperity and Christianity to the American continents and the whole world.

Berger, MT wrote in Civilising the South : the US Rise to Hegemony in the Americas and the Roots of Latin American Studies. (Bulletin of Latin American Research)

“Furthermore, throughout the nineteenth century, Anglo-Saxon assumptions about US civilization being the highest form of civilization in history took firm roots, as US attitudes toward other nations and inhabitants came also to be increasingly based on a well-defined racial hierarchy”.
This concept of racial hierarchy and the idea of a modernizing, developmental, civilizing project consciously and systematically associated with imperialism to legitimise colonization of Asian, African and Latin American countries was challenged strongly by 1917, and the birth of what came to be viewed as the ‘Communist threat’ to Western freedom and civilization. This heralded the rise of national liberation movements, of course with the open support of Soviet Russia, and with it, native people (of colonised nations) started sharply scrutinising the western concepts of modernization and civilizational progress. Soon, the proud claim of benevolence bestowed upon native societies by western imperialists vis-a-vis economic development came under sharp criticism with the exposure of economic exploitation of the colonised people.

Nevertheless, the western concept of (economic) development was pre-dominant and was ironically adopted by most of the newly independent countries whose leaders, hitherto, denounced the same model as exploitative and imposition of the western hegemony. Interestingly again, the Modernization Theory which came into prominence during the 1950s and 1960s has its roots in the academic citadels of the West. But the modernization theory was actually a ‘modernised’ version of the colonial- era western concepts of development and progress.

In the words of David Slatter, “modernization theory was basically constructed around three inter-related components; an uncritical vision of the West, largely based on a selective reading of the history of the United States and Britain; a perspective on the non-West or traditional societies that ignored their own histories and measured their innate value in terms of their level of westernization; and an interpretation of the West--non-West encounter which was based on the governing assumption that the non-West could only progress, become developed, throw off its backwardness and traditions, by embracing relations with the West.”
The misplaced notion of the universal applicability of the modernization theory was exposed not by communist movement, then spearheaded by Soviet Union but by the rise of social protest movement within the United States itself. In fact, universal applicability of the modernization theory was shattered by the rise of radical nationalist movements in the Third World, the protracted Vietnam War (1955-1975) and the growth of social protest movements. In addition to the military and political implications, the Vietnam War had economic implications too. In one sense, it was outright rejection of the western or American model of economic development through the application of modernization theory. The protagonists of modernization theory disastrously failed in grasping the heterogeneity and complexity of the developing world before they embarked on preaching the theory around the planet.

In contrast to expectations of the modernization process dictated by the western model, the so called development projects have caused widespread environmental damage, resource exhaustion, and disrupted or destroyed the cultures and economies of numerous traditional and tribal communities. Adoption or rather enforcement of the western-defined development project only facilitated industrialisation of the West at the expense of the Third World countries. It expedited integration of the economies of Third World countries into a world economy dominated by the industrial centres in the West placing them in a dependent relationship to the West that has continued, albeit in different forms, since decolonization. The green revolution which emerged in the 1960s as a development strategy for improving food production also aggravated developing world’s dependence upon the West in many ways. First, the developing countries were dependent upon foreign banks, which provided the necessary credit to purchase the expensive inputs. Secondly, the project supplanted traditional agriculture practices with Western methods, which required the intervention of Western professionals and institutions. Thirdly, the project made agriculture dependent upon industrial outputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, expert advice, credit etc, thus subordinating agriculture to the requirements of industrial growth.

This has evoked strong voices of dissent and sometimes violent protest movements. In response to this assault, social movements have emerged across the planet to pose challenges and alternatives to the process of development. Social resistance movements that evolved over the past three/four decades in different parts of the planet seek to address comprehensively the crises of ecology (e.g struggles to prevent deforestation and pollution), economy (e.g struggles to preserve indigenous local resources and/or secure urban housing), culture (e.g struggles to protect the integrity of indigenous people), and politics (struggles for increased local autonomy and greater control over the local resources). These resistance social movements involve a multiplicity of groups like local community groups, human rights organisations, women’s associations, indigenous rights groups, tribal bodies, student bodies and of course environmental activists. Although most of these resistance movements are non-violent in nature, 73 members of the National Association of Indian People of El Salvador (ANIS), who were involved in struggles for economic rights, were assassinated by the military in 1983.

As witnessed in Manipur as elsewhere, larger section of these resistance movements is located within the realm of civil society and, not surprisingly, it is civil society organisations which are spearheading the movements. They are neither part of the processes of material production in the economy nor part of state-funded organisations. A deeper analysis of the activities of these civil society organisations will reveal that they are consistently attempting to articulate alternatives to the political process, political parties and the State. Perhaps, that is why, none of the political parties including opposition parties bothered to take up the cause of any of the many environmentally disastrous projects being planned by the Government. One social movement which successfully combined the strategies of resistance and articulation of alternatives to development was the Chipko Movement. The Chipko movement was a peasant movement that emerged in 1972 in response to the effects that ecological destruction (specially deforestation) had had upon the local culture and economy in the Garhwal Himalaya region of Uttar Pradesh. Resistance was articulated through a variety of non-violent methods including hugging trees to prevent them from being cut down, demonstrations and uprooting of eucalyptus saplings in social forestry plantations. The movement took its name from the Hindi word chipko which means to hug or hugging. As a result of this movement, the Government of India granted some concessions and certain state forestry practices were reformed. What is rather disheartening in the context of Manipur is the failure of vigilant civil society organisations and environmental activists to mobilise people for a sustained movement like the Chipko Movement or the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Again, despite the glaring negative impacts of Loktak Hydroelectric Project on environment and ecology, our scholars, academicians and civil organisations are unable to articulate an alternative vision, if not a model. This is understandable given the prevailing situation which demands constant engagement of civil society organisations in human rights and other more pressing, immediate issues. But by ignoring development issues vis-a-vis environment, we are only forsaking our own environment in the name of West-defined and State-sponsored development projects. Who cares ?

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, November 14, 2010

The Bangladesh Factor and the Politics of Silence

2010-11-14T14:27:00.002+05:30

The reported arrest of RK Meghen (alias Sanayaima), the Chairman of the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), from Dhaka on September 29 this year, marks a significant landmark in the history of liberation movement in Manipur. It is a landmark event in the sense that Delhi has not accorded due respect to a leader of the oldest armed opposition group in the Northeast, thereby sending a message to the international community that there is no liberation movement in Manipur or a political conflict but a matter of law and order problem. The stoic silence is a form of political violence which not only takes away the claims to human rights but also covers up the reality of the political conflict. If one has been an astute observer of the political machinations of India, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is an example. On one hand, India denies the existence of a political conflict or a war-like situation in Manipur, but on the other hand an emergency constitutional act (AFSPA) arising out of a war like situation has been imposed over Manipur. The whereabouts of the rebel chief has remained unknown with both Dhaka and Delhi not yet coming out with an official report on his status. Even after various organisations, cutting across the international boundaries had appealed on his behalf, there has been no impact on either Delhi or Dhaka.
In this week’s edition, Yenning avoids delving into the possible outcomes on account of the arrest of the UNLF Chairman or its effect on the future course of liberation and revolutionary movement in Manipur. That would be grand speculation. Instead, a broad development in the Indo-Bangladesh relationship is sketched to provide the context of the arrest. The Bangladesh factor poses a serious threat to the operation of armed opposition groups belonging to the Northeast.
Bangladesh Factor
Change in leadership guards (political) in Bangladesh affects the country’s relationship with India. The political relationship between India and Bangladesh has passed through cycles of hiccups. The relationship typically becomes favourable for Bangladesh during periods of Awami League government. Awami League, aided by India, was the main separatist party, headed by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which spearheaded a Liberation War against Pakistan. India under Indira Gandhi fully supported the cause of the Bangladeshis and its troops and equipment were used to fight the Pakistani forces. The Indian Army also gave full support to the main Bangladeshi guerrilla force, the Mukti Bahini. Finally, on 26 March 1971, Bangladesh emerged as an independent state. Awami League came back to power in 2008 after the end of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (commonly referred to as the BNP)’s tenure (2001 to 2006). A military-backed interim administration looked after Bangladesh during the 2006–2008 Bangladeshi political crisis.
India has had sour relationships with Bangladesh during the rule by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (commonly referred to as the BNP), especially under the leadership of Begum Khaleda Zia. BNP is the mainstream center-right political party in Bangladesh. Founded in 1978 by General Ziaur Rahman, the Seventh President of Bangladesh, the party has evolved into one of the most powerful political entities in South Asia. The BNP was established by President Ziaur Rahman to provide a political platform for him after his assumption of power during Bangladesh’s volatile period of martial law from 1975 till 1979. The BNP also accommodated not just his supporters, but also those traditionally opposed to its principal rival, the Awami League. Ideologically, the party has professed Bangladeshi nationalism, described as the Islamic consciousness of the people of Muslim majority Bangladesh, in order to counter the secular Awami League. It is also seen to distrust Bangladesh’s large neighbour India and often opposes cooperation with the neighbouring country in combating terrorism and establishing regional connectivity. The party has also been accused of turning a blind eye to the growth of militant Islamic extremism in the country and for allying itself with Islamic fundamentalist parties, such as the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, which had also opposed the independence of Bangladesh. For a long time BNP has been suspected by India for harbouring India origin separatist and liberation movement leaders on her soil.
During his short stint as the Prime Minister of India (for over 11 months, including 3 months as caretaker Prime Minister), I.K. Gujral laid down a set of five principles to guide the conduct of foreign relations with India’s immediate neighbours. The five principles are popularly known as the Gujral Doctrine. Among other factors, these five principles arise from the belief that India’s stature and strength cannot be divorced from the quality of its relations with its neighbours. The declaration also occurred at a time when the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Elam was at its peak in Sri Lanka and the BNP was in power in Bangladesh. One of the most strategic points, which form the basis of India’s present effort to fight “terrorism” along with Bangladesh, is, “No South Asian country should allow its territory to be used against the interest of another country of the region”.
Relations have improved significantly between India and Bangladesh after Awami League under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina (eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) returned to power in 2008. One of the first steps undertaken by Sheikh Hasina was to crackdown on anti-Indian militant groups on its soil, such as the United Liberation Front of Assam. Sheikh Hasina’s state visit to India in January 2010 has been termed by India as a landmark visit. Apart from dialogue over the controversial Farakka Barrage, three pacts were signed to combat terrorism and organised crime. The pacts signed included Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons and Agreement on Combating International Terrorism, Organised Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking.
Alongside, India and Bangladesh are working on an Extradition Treaty. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asserted during the visit that her government would go to “any extent” in cooperating against the menace of terrorism. The Times of India quoted her: “To end terrorism, we want to cooperate. We can go to any extent to cooperate”. She also reiterated that Bangladesh will not allow its soil to be used for any terrorist activity directed at India.
While pro-Awami Leaguers are jubilant about the understanding between the two Prime Ministers, anti-Awami Leaguers, mainly BNP-Jamaat supporters, simply consider the deal a “total sell-off to India”. The popular understanding is that Awami League is called “pro-Indian” and BNP “pro-Pakistani”. Few accusations labelled against the Awami Leaguers over the MOU is that Hasina should have given a second thought about the dire consequences of unilaterally giving so many concessions to India.
Sheikh Hasina should have understood the implications of not addressing some pressing bilateral issues, such as the problematic Farakka Barrage, the proposed Tipaimukh Dam in Manipur, the disputed Talpatti Island and corridor for Bangladeshi enclaves in India. The MOU should have also resolved once for all the so-called “push-back” of “illegals” into Bangladesh from India and the presence of anti-Bangladesh militants in India who demand the Swadhin Banga Bhumi to carve out a Bangladeshi territory for Hindu refugees/immigrants from East Pakistan, presently living in India and so on. Keeping in view its long-term security interests, Bangladesh should not throw itself into the Indian orbit. Whatever one has managed to grasp from the MOU, it seems Bangladesh has unilaterally granted India access to its ports and an unimpeded transit to Indian goods and possibly soldiers to contain its rebellious North-East. It is not clear from the MOU if India is willing to give Nepal and Bhutan transit facilities to Chittagong and Mongla ports.
Politics of Silence
The arrest of the UNLF Chief should be seen in the light of the above development. And the question of whether RK Sanayaima has been handed over to India remains a secret, which only the Indian Government can declare. Moreover, whether he would be handed over to India or not still remains anybody’s guess given that even after Bangladesh has clamped down on ULFA, the party’s leader Anup Chetia is still in the Bangladesh custody.
During her visit to India, to a specific question on whether Bangladesh would hand over ULFA leader Anup Chetia who is wanted in India, Hasina evaded a direct reply, saying she was not here to “discuss one name” but broader issues. Extradition or hand over of RK Sanayaima is a secondary thing. What is of foremost concern to the people of Manipur and for that matter, the Government of Manipur at the moment is the location of the rebel chief. When the Government of Bangladesh is yet to acknowledge the reported arrest of Sanayaima, New Delhi cannot ask for his extradition or hand over. Just as much as Dhaka’s silence is deafening, New Delhi’s ambiguity on the issue is outrageous. Or are New Delhi and Dhaka up to some secret plans under a mutual understanding ? But the general understanding of the hoi polloi is, Dhaka and New Delhi cannot be above international norms and principles applicable in such matters like arrest of a rebel chief.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, October 31, 2010

Network Business in Manipur : Capitalist Fetishism

2010-10-18T15:04:00.002+05:30

Human wants know no limits
In the most recent scandal involving a China-based networking business company, under the name of Jainex International Trade (JIT), around 2000 people have invested around INR 20 to 30 crores (Sangai Express, Imphal, October 16, 2010). And the company has disappeared as if a bubble has busted. This is not the first time people in Manipur have been duped. Network business, in various hues and under different names, has entered Manipur and gullible persons have lost money. The catch word is gambling induced by instant money/profit. Let’s examine how the gambling takes place.

Every network begins with a rumour (promise in the networking vocabulary). The rumour has to be spread like a ripple. So, the first trick consists in forming a network of rumour spreaders. These are ones who are well equipped with the technique of presenting a set of lies to prospective investors. They begin with the age-old captivating mantra of gambling : “Are you ready to take the risks?”. Then they proceed with the technical aspect of the network in hand. For example, in the latest scam, which has been in operation in Manipur since September 21, 2010, following are the norms :-
Under JIT Basic Funding, INR 1000 (rupees one thousand only) is charged from new recruits as clients account opening fees with the promise that if he/she invest a minimum of INR 6000 (rupees six thousand only) or a maximum of INR 12,000 (rupees twelve thousand only) to earn a daily profit of 3 to 6 percent of the invested amount besides other business opportunities.
Under the second policy of JIT Power Plus Funding, the company charged INR 1000 (rupees six thousand only) as client account opening fees and promised that an investment of INR 15000 to INR 30,000 (rupees fifteen thousand to thirty thousand only) will yield a daily profit of 5 to 10 percent of the investment besides other business opportunities
Under the third plan of JIT Super Power Funding, INR 1000 is charged at the time of opening the account with the promise that an investment of INR 50,000 to INR 1,00,000/- (rupees fifty thousand to one lakh only) would earn a profit of 10 to 15 percent of the invested amount daily.
Other details include, forming tripod, pair, etc. that is based on number of new recruits, for which a percentage cut is promised
The earned amount is “virtual” in the sense that one has to log in to the website for which an investor has been provided with an ID and password. The same is informed through sms (mobile phone) and e-mail to the registered members
The virtual money can be converted into hard currency from “any” of the banks in India only after the completion of 15 days, for those who have enlisted with INR 50,000/- (rupees fifty thousand only) and above, and for the rest 28 days
At the time of encashment 2.5 percent of the invested amount would be deducted by the processing bank as processing fee
One does not earn any money or interest for mere registration.

What motivates people to join any business network scheme is the amount of high returns being promised to the investors, even if the returns are logic defying. For example, a percentage growth of 10 to 15 is something unimaginable in any of the sectors of economy worldwide. For that matter, the volatile nature of the stock market has never been taken into account, which is marked by ups and downs. Even if we assume that growth takes place at the assumed rate perpetually, it is financially unthinkable to be disbursed to the investors on a daily basis. So, only one commonsensical catch survives, which is, one has to depend on another investor to recover his investment or earn his profit. Therefore, once you have invested your money, it’s like the dice has been cast, rolled, and you just have to wait for the bubble to burst. Until then you’re made happy; sms(es) keep you informed about your daily earnings. One smiles at receiving a particular amount of virtual money. Experienced ones, those who are at the top rung of the network (topliners) convert the virtual money into hard currency through registration fees collected from new recruits (downliners) or selling of PINs to investors, for which they get a percentage cut. In other words, they take the hard currency from the interested gamblers and the required process is completed wherein their virtual money lying in their account is used. Fresh recruits stand to recover the money they have invested in a similar way. Ultimately, the person who stands to benefit is the one who brought in the business to Manipur.

At the end of the day, it is about taking a chance.

Capitalist Fetishism
Networking business is capitalism in its fullest sense. The very basis of capitalism is profit, which is rooted in the Malthusian doctrine and social Darwinism of natural selection, commonly known as “survival of the fittest”. The dehumanization process of capitalism (in which all human endeavours are subordinated to the fetish of capital) has been starkly made possible with the coming in of the information technology. The penetrative power of capitalism, we believed was possible only with the functioning of BFSI (banking, finance, savings and investment) institutions. But the reality is, BFSI institutions do not matter any more. Information revolution (one we call the internet) has made everything look possible at least. A software engineer is all one requires to make us live in a virtual world. While we’re smiling at the virtual money we have been robbed off our hard-earned hard money. Thus, what is dangerous is the mixing of technology with capitalism.

Networking in its true sense is not a bad thing. Each and every aspect of our endeavours depends on networking. And for that matter, the principle behind the functioning of civil society bodies at a larger level, regional or global, is networking. Activists working on a similar issue share action plan, strategy, knowledge and manpower, as symbol of solidarity, to fulfill a particular goal. Even in the economic realm, economies at different places of the world have managed to come out of crises on the basis of networking. For example, Robert Putnam in his study of southern Italy demonstrated that social capital and trust built through networking was responsible for giving the southern Italians a comparatively better off livelihood than the northern Italians.

Closer home, traditional institutions in Manipur worked on the basis of trust through building networks. Take the case of the Singlup. It was and still based on the principle of trust and networking. Even the modern day marups, are based on the pool of the social capital. In this form of networking only trusted friends and individuals are allowed to be members of a specific marup. In the 1980s and 1990s, Soibam Leikai, Wangkhei Khunou, Imphal East, was praised by the elders for the successful style of networking (marup), the locals indulged in. For example, almost every family in the said leikai owned a lorry. In a major way, this kind of financial networking (marup) helped in uplifting the living condition of the people in the specific area.

In these instances, area of operation is defined and restricted whereas in the case of the business network, as we understand today, it is not so. Internet has broken down barriers and borders. The penetrative power of capitalism is felt stronger with the emergence of such medium. Capitalists are having a field day, eating up the greedy, who prays for instant karma.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, October 17, 2010

Irabot, the lone champion of the mass

2010-10-03T15:20:00.002+05:30

Hijam Irabot, popularly and most fittingly named Lamyanba (meaning pioneer) Irabot is the only qualified leader of the mass in the entire history of Manipur. No other personality can stand up to the towering figure of Irabot. Perhaps, that is why, the whole month of September, the month of both Irabot’s birth and death, is celebrated every year unfailingly far and wide with mass participation. Just as much as the name of Irabot is dear to the common people, his personality is one subject that constantly draws attention of social scientists, historians, revolutionaries, poets and journalists alike.
Irabot earned his martyrdom fighting against the twin scourges of foreign domination and internal oppression. In the entire galaxy of leaders and self-proclaimed leaders born in the soil of Manipur, Irabot stands out alone as the one and only leader who fought for the toiling, oppressed mass. He was a poet, a dramatist, a journalist and a revolutionary to the core. In the modern politics of Manipur, Irabot is a legend. The seat of power and privileged life entitled to Irabot in his capacity as a Member of the Manipur State Durbar could not tame his revolutionary zeal. Simply put, unlike his contemporary elites, he could not simply watch the sufferings of the mass sitting in the ivory tower of being a Durbar Member. It was not long before Irabot gave up his status and seat of power and antagonise the royal family with whom he had matrimonial relationship to take up the cause of oppressed mass.
Irabot’s movement was multi-faceted in the fact that he was demanding a sovereign republic in place of a British controlled monarchy while leading the fight against exploitation of people in the name of religion (sic Hinduism). As aptly named Lamyanba Irabot, he was a pioneer in myriad fields. He was a pioneer in journalism, students’ movement, sports, political mobilisation of the mass and the armed revolutionary movement. With due acknowledgement of people’s recognition given to Irabot’s contribution towards socio-political evolvement of Manipur as testified by mass celebration of September as Irabot Month, Yenning would like to re-visit the heydays of British imperialism in Manipur up to the ultimate passing over of the paramountcy to the Indian Union with special reference to Irabot and his activities.
The period of king Churachand was marked by unprecedented religious oppression of people directed by the Brahmasabha in addition to political subjugation under the British colonial rule. Here what qualified Hijam Irabot as the one and only genuine leader of the mass was his simultaneous or combined struggle against religious oppression and political subjugation.
At the time, the socio-religious life of the people was at the mercy of the Brahmasabha which received full patronage of the king. In fact, ex-communication and ostracism was the order of the day. Brahmins marrying Meitei girls and then keeping their wives as outcaste within their families and again prohibiting their wives to breast-feed and feed their own children was a common practice. Even if the Meitei girls, unable to bear such atrocities, got separated from their Brahmin husbands, they were not allowed to re-marry other men.
The Brahmasabha held each and every family of the Manipur valley in a vice-like grip without giving any room for personal freedom even at the time of death. The Brahmasabha could declare any family impure (Mangba) when there was a death in the family. In such cases, the bereaved family were prevented from cremating their beloved father/mother or son/daughter whoever it might be. The family was allowed to go for cremation only after paying ‘purification fine’ to the Brahmasabha which was generally fixed around Rs 80, an astronomical amount during those days. This practice, as expected, soon became an effective tool for religious oppression as well as economic exploitation of the mass for benefit of the Brahmasabha members and the king. Already, the mass were paying all kinds of exorbitant taxes imposed by the British colonial rule. Various other taxes were exacted from the impoverished mass by the Brahmasabha in the name of imported doctrines of Hinduism. Mention can be made about Chandal Senkhai, Panchnapet, Pala Sentek, Kangching Thouri Sentek etc.
Chandal Senkhai was one of the most audacious practice devised by the Brahmasabha to earn an unfailing income from the mass. Under the rule of Churachand, each and very people of Manipur valley who adopted Hinduism were forced to adorn their forehead with Chandal. Again, for adorning one with Chandal, one has to pay a fixed sum of money and this was collected by the Brahmasabha.
Other than these, the common mass were overburdened by a number of taxes and duties imposed by the State administration under the British colonial rule. Amin Chakthak, Peon Chakthak, Dolaireng, Yarek Santri, feeding horses and elephants without payment were some of the common forms of exploitation witnessed during the heydays of British imperialism in Manipur.
Villagers were compelled to cater to all the needs of Amin and village chowkidar including food and lodging as and when they visited any village. This is a brief description of Amin Chakthak. Likewise, officials of Agriculture Department coming to villages for collection of tax were given food and other requirements by the villagers as a compulsion. This was called Peon Chakthak. Government officials like peons, clerks visiting villages were carried on palanquins or litters from one village to another by the villagers without any payment. This form of forced labour was called Dolaireng. Again the villagers were forced to guard Government officials staying at their villages day and night as well as the cash they collected as tax. But the villagers were never paid for guarding the Government officials. This was another form of exploitation of the mass by the Government and it was known as Yarek Santri. Forcing villagers to collect fodder for horses and elephants of royal families and Government officials without giving anything in return was another inescapable misery endured by the common mass.
The practice of forced labour was rampant during the period. There were three kinds of forced labour viz; Pot-thang Puba, Pot-thang Shuba and Pot-thang Selkhai. When high-ranking Government officials went to far off places, some common men were forced to render their service as porters. This was called Pot-thang Puba. At times of building roads, bridges and bungalows, a large number of people were forced to assemble themselves and work as labourers. This form of forced labour was known as Pot-thang Shuba. In both these cases, people working as porters and labourers were not paid a dime for their service. Not only these, people were forced to bring fish, chicken, eggs, other domestic animals, rice as well as cash for offering to bureaucrats. This form of exploitation was perpetrated in the name of Pot-thang Selkhai without showing any leniency during the time of Political Agent Mr Shakespeare.
In fact, this period was one of the darkest chapters in the history of Manipur. From this darkness emerged a new light of hope called Nikhil Hindu Manipuri Mahasabha (later re-christened as Nikhil Manipuri Mahasabha) under the able-leadership of Hijam Irabot. Long before Irabot adopted Marxism as his political ideology, Irabot was at the forefront fighting against political subjugation, economic exploitation and religious oppression of the mass by the British imperialists and the Brahmasabha patronised by the king. Against the atrocious edicts of the Brahmasabha which ex-communicated people only to be re-communicated after payment of money, Irabot stood up like a messiah for the oppressed mass. Under his Goura Dharma Pracharini, Irabot and his followers started openly defying the king and the Brahmasabha. They cremated the dead and performed shrada ceremonies which the Brahmasabha prohibited. Irabot was fairly successful in abolishing or neutralising many of the socio-religious injustices suffered by the people then, if not all. Up to this stage, Irabot can be seen as a liberal reformer.

The Chinga Session of the Nikhil Hindu Manipuri Mahasabha held on December 29, 1938 was a landmark in the political movement of Irabot, and for that matter Manipur. The Mahasabha evolved into a purely political platform encompassing all the people of Manipur of both hills and valley with the omission of the word ‘Hindu’ from the name of the Mahasabha. In a very symbolic gesture, Irabot opened the Chinga Session by unfurling a flag embossed with Pakhangba Paphal, very similar to the Manipuri national flag which was in use just before British conquest of Manipur. The session adopted five different resolutions, the prominent ones being demand for sovereignty of Manipur, election through adult franchise, release of Gaidinliu and abolition of such practices as Yarek Santri, Peon Chakthak, Amin Chakthak, Pot-thang, Doilareng etc. British agents were unnerved by Irabot’s mass movement which was fast assuming a political character, totally deviating from his earlier social reformation movement. This was testified by his arrest on January 9, 1940 and subsequent imprisonment for three years whereas Bal Gangadhar Tilak arrested earlier on similar charges of speaking against British imperialism was imprisoned just for four months. In the post-British period, the newly independent India in connivance with some local Congress men employed ‘Irabot factor’ by floating a false propaganda that Irabot was working for integration of Manipur with Burma, only to hasten annexation of independent Manipur into the dominion of India. But it remained only a pretext and miserably failed in convincing the people as demonstrated by the controversial circumstances under which king Bodhchandra was forced to sign the Merger Agreement. Yes, being a communist, Irabot was associated with Burmese communists and this was based on a vision to liberate the oppressed people of entire Indo-Burma region from colonial yoke through coordination of communist revolutionaries. As much as he was opposed to formation of Purvanchal by merging together Tripura, Cachar, Manipur and Lushai Hills (Mizoram), Irabot was very clear that the political destiny of Manipur could not be placed at the mercy of either India or Burma.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, October 3, 2010

The Manipur Municipality Community Participation Bill 2010

2010-09-28T14:17:00.001+05:30

The Manipur Municipality Community Participation Bill 2010 was introduced in the Legislative Assembly shortly after the suspension of the Imphal Municipality Council on grounds of financial mismanagement. The Bill consists of five chapters and one schedule. The Bill sets out the aim of institutionalizing “citizens’ participation in municipal functions, e.g., setting priorities, budgeting provisions etc. by setting up of Ward Development Committee (WDC) and to provide for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.” In order to understand the merits and demerits of the Bill, having a perspective of political participation (related to day to day political affairs of the people), then what participatory democracy stands for today and finally the grass root kind of democracy that India envisions under its decentralization principle would be more awarding.

On Political Participation & Participatory Democracy
Sidney Verba and Norman Nie (both Fabian Socialist scholars) define political participation as, “those activities by private citizens that are more or less directly aimed at influencing the selection of government personnel and/or the actions they take.” This definition is broad in that it takes into account many activities beyond voting in elections, including being active in organizations, working on campaigns, contacting officials, attending political meetings, and being a member of a political organization. Other scholars adopt broader definitions. For example, Lester Milbrath incorporates passive behaviour (i.e., taking part in ceremonial activities), some psychological orientations (i.e., becoming informed about politics), and protests and demonstrations.

Milbrath (1965) was the first to argue that political participation follows a hierarchical structure in that individuals who engage in activities at the top level also engage in activities at lower levels. The bottom rung includes those who do not engage in any type of activity. The “spectator” level consists of activities such as voting, exposure to political stimuli, and talking to others about politics. The “transitional” level includes attending meetings, donating money, or contacting an official. And the “gladiator” engages in activities such as running for office, soliciting funds, and working on a campaign.

Another way to look at the various types of participatory actions is with respect to the level of input required from citizens, the type of information the act conveys to leaders, and how much pressure they place on policy-makers to pay attention. Working on a campaign and directly contacting officials requires a great deal of initiative, while activities like voting do not entail as much time or energy. Direct contact sends a clear message to leaders about a citizen’s preferences, whereas voting only conveys an ambiguous message. Finally, activities vary with respect to the pressure they put on leaders, with voting exerting a high degree of pressure since electoral support is necessary for re-election.

Participatory democracy or deliberative democracy is a political instrument which guarantees participation to citizens. The word participatory discloses the core meaning of popular sovereignty as self-government. In the original ancient Greek meaning, demo-kratia (“rule of the demes,”) entailed engaged citizenship and regular participation. In modern times, however, when democracy has become associated more closely with representation, accountability, and a form of indirect government in which the people select the rulers rather than ruling themselves, participatory democracy has come to be seen as an alternative form of democracy. Consequently participatory, or direct or “strong,” democracy and representative democracy have evolved into conceptual antonyms: two fundamentally distinctive forms of democracy rooted in contrary understandings of popular sovereignty as direct self-rule by the people and indirect rule by “circulating elites” chosen by the people, who otherwise remain outside government.

In principle all democracy is to a certain extent participatory. Every democratic system is rooted in an act of original consent through a popularly ratified social contract or constitution as well as ongoing popular input in the form of periodic elections. To this extent, to say that democracy is consensual is to say that it is participatory. In the modern era, however, participatory democracy implies much more than original consent or periodic elections. It denotes extensive and active engagement of citizens in the governing process, often through participatory devices such as initiatives and referenda, and emphasizes the role of the citizen as an active agent in self-legislation and a real stakeholder in governance.

Classical participatory democrats agreed that popular passions had to be filtered if popular government was to succeed, but they believed that the filter should be within the heads of citizens, and that entailed intensive citizen education. For the participatory or strong democrat, democracy means the government of citizens rather than merely the government of the people. In this formulation citizens are as far from ordinary people as public-thinking and civic-minded communitarians are from self-absorbed, narcissistic consumers of government services.

It is here that participatory democracy can be associated closely with deliberative democracy. To act as a citizen is not merely to voice private interests; it is to interact and deliberate with others in search of common ground and public goods. The aim of participation is not merely to express interests but to foster deliberation and public-mindedness about interests. When Jefferson suggested that the remedy for the ills of democracy was more democracy, he intimated that democracy was deliberative and involved learning. Modern experiments in deliberative democracy such as those of James Fishkin (1991) have demonstrated that citizens can change their minds and become more open to public goods when exposed to deliberative procedures.

Grassroot Democracy under Decentralization Principle
The Preamble to the Constitution of India acknowledges the ultimate, supreme and sovereign power of the people. In accordance with the basic philosophy of the Constitution, the creation of people’s power is one of the primary tasks of nation-building. This is possible only when the citizens have an active role in the formulation, implementation as well as monitoring of policies and programs related to their development. Citizen’s participation is thus an essential ingredient of a democratic system. Given the vastness of the country and its far-reaching diversities, effective participation is possible only when the process of governance is adequately decentralized and democratized. Local self-government is part and parcel of this process of democratization and decentralization. A genuine democracy implies a bottom-upwards pattern of power-sharing and not a top-downwards pattern.

The Constitution (74th) Amendment Act ushered in third generation grassroot level local self government in the form of Municipalities during the year 1992. The 74th Amendment Act provisions allow for strengthening the capability of municipal governments. The main areas to which attention has been given are: constitution of three types of municipalities; regular and fair conduct of municipal elections; representation of weaker sections and women in municipal governments through reservation of seats; devolution of greater powers and functions to municipalities; constitution of state finance commissions; constitution of ward committees, metropolitan planning committees and district planning committees. The Act sought to introduce uniform structures all over the country and made it mandatory for all the states to adopt it within a definite time period. The initiative slipped out of the hands of the states. It is commonly believed that this change was a consequence of political design emanating from the top and the demands of party functionaries at the bottom.

The Government of Manipur introduced the Manipur Municipalities Act 1994 for the urban areas. However, the new set of institutions has come in for lot of criticism. There is a widespread perception that the structure is without adequate strength to enable it to function properly. There is a dearth of functions, functionaries and finances to make the new generation of political institutions effective agencies of self-governance. Lack of political will is another bottleneck. It is also believed that Municipalities continue to be extension departments of higher levels of administration. Service delivery has become the major preoccupation of these bodies which has obstructed initiative at the local level. Rampant corruption is another bane of these grass root democratic bodies. Critics have also questioned the democratic nature of the emerging institutions, pointing out that the new leadership has further strengthened entrenched interests in the villages under a new garb.

Of no less concern is the rigid and uncooperative attitude of local level administration which stunts a free play of democratic mobilization at the local level. It has also been pointed out that leadership by proxy has hampered the rise of socially deprived groups for whom reservation had been provided. Many such problems have prevented the emergence of Municipalities as effective agencies of local level democratic self-governance.

Manipur Municipality Community Participation Bill 2010: Problem Areas
The proposed enactment of Manipur Municipality Community Participation Bill, 2010 is to institutionalize citizen’s participation and introduce the concept of the Area Sabha in administration of Urban Local Bodies which is a part of Mandatory Reforms as per the Memorandum of Agreement signed between the Government of Manipur and the Government of India, Ministry of Urban Development for the implementation of JnNURM.

Some concern areas of the Bill are as follows (an updated version shall be posted in the next edition):
(Chapter II) - Ward Development Committee - Constitutional and governance of ward development committee: 3(2). Each Ward Development Committees shall consist of a). the Councillor of the ward, who shall be the Chairperson of the Ward Development Committee; b). two persons to be elected from the ward; c). Two persons representing the civil society from the ward, nominated by the state Government. The expression civil society as given in the Bill includes trade and commerce bodies. Secondly, there is no reservation of seats for women. Possibility of “circulating elites” continuing in positions of power cannot be sidelined.
Chapter-III - Rights and duties of Ward Development Committee: Regarding land use and urbane development there is no clause which specifies that the community should be consulted, other than getting instrumental consent from the concerned parties. There is no provision which states that financial position, expenditure and accountability of the WDC should be made public other than ensure optimal collection of all revenue sources.

In spite of the stated aims and objectives, the biggest lacuna of the Bill is the modality as how to ensure participation of the community e.g. how to transform “spectators” into “transitional” and “gladiators” in the words of Lester Milbrath.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, September 26, 2010

Reason to Smile or Time to Introspect ?

2010-09-28T14:11:00.002+05:30

People in Manipur woke up with a smile on September 10, 2010 or at least the headlines of the leading newspapers in Manipur made them smile. Previous night, few had the opportunity of watching the news on television. The unlucky ones were kept informed through phone calls and sms(es) by well wishers and friends. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a chargesheet in the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate against the killers of Ch Sanjit and a young pregnant woman Rabina Devi. A year and few days ago, on July 23, 2009, when the Manipur Assembly session was in full swing, both of them were killed by the Manipur Police Commando and five others sustained bullet injuries. Declaration by the Chief Minister on the floor of the Assembly made ripples, and Sanjit remained the usual suspect until Tehelka uncovered the dirt (the staged killing).
Movement for justice by civil society bodies under the leadership of Apunba Lup including closure of educational institutions for more than three months could not move the solid rock stance of the Government. The culprits remained scot-free. In fact, once again, the July 23 episode exposed the dark side of the Government as usual. Literally, backbones of the civil society bodies were broken using monkey-like motorcycle-riding lathi-wielding commandoes and other police forces or through the sending of numerous civil society leaders to jail under National Security Act. In addition, Machiavellian politics was adopted whereby certain “organisations” were floated by the Government to counter the movement. Education, all of a sudden, became more important than life. Nevertheless, in spite of the sacrifices, as days went by the shell-shocked crying son of Rabina on BT Road and the earthen pot in which the foetus of Rabina was kept by the side of her funeral pyre became distant memories. Tehelka’s sequential photographs revealing the staged murder of Sanjit in glossy Indian magazines became collectors’ item, not a living proof of the decadence that has seeped into the already decadent Manipuri society. Justice Agarwal Commission remained just another Commission – another feather to crown the glory of Indian democracy.

Report of the CBI chargesheet has arrived like the wisp of autumn wind trying to blow away the troublesome naughty monsoon rain except that the monsoon rain has not cleaned the sinner that Manipur is. And the arrival of the report like the autumn wind holds no promises; winter cannot be far away so as to freeze our sorrow all the more and make us numb and immobile. We can only smile at the moment and the report of the chargesheet is simply like a cooling balm to soothe us of the fierce existential crisis just like the hot tropical sun. Thus, celebration is a far away event. The CBI, true to its professional acumen and practical political sagacity, thus, has added the practical reality in the form of a remainder while releasing its report of filing the chargesheet. It reads:

[…] the above findings of the CBI are not the final proof of the guilt of the accused. Under the Indian Law, the accused are presumed to be innocent till their guilt is finally established after a fair trial.

The reminder is more meaningful given the kind of murkiness surrounding every sphere of life in Manipur. We’re an ancient race of people living in an ancient land but whose integrity is strongly challenged. This brings us the necessity to move away from the issue at hand, such as, whether the “guilty” would be punished or not, or whether the civil society bodies that have spearheaded the movement will emerge victorious. Instead let’s try to engage ourselves with some of the inherent contradictions prevalent in our society. For example, let’s take the case of the civil society bodies fighting against numerous odds even when civility is missing in our society. The understanding of civil is not the absence of military per se. And civility is not merely the acknowledgement of another’s existence but also respecting the network of values that enables the community to work together beyond the issues of survival. In the course of our civilizational evolution, we have retained from the days of the yore, a collective survival strategy erstwhile represented by Shinglup. In our case survival still continues to be the basis of collective solidarity. But the issue of a moral community is a sore point and even political in any of its amoebic form need to have a moral basis or the inviolable individual rights.

This brings us to the question, what is so civil about the Manipuri society today? Only when we’re in a position to address the malaise or the paradox (if one prefers), then perhaps, we would be in a position to predict or even score any kind of victory we dearly dream of. Celebrations would follow naturally. Success of the civil society movement will depend upon the ability to instill a civic sense among the people. This is an issue that needs to be addressed at an equal footing while talking about “civil society organisations” fighting against tyrant acts, corrupt practices and condemn killings staged by the State and others. Yes, killings in any form are condemnable other than ones originating from biological odds. However, while wrangling with the extraordinary, such as deaths that are political and corruptions that are vicious, we also need to realign ourselves with the issues of the mundane and the ordinary, and ask ourselves if we are civil enough in the real sense of term and justified in talking about the extraordinary and the states of exception. Perhaps, cynics would say, death lurks around and so gripping that our engagement with the issues of survival needs to be resolved and give primary. But the problem is while our engagement is such, we have allowed ourselves to be drowned in a parasitic society.
When Geogio Agambem talks about the state of exception, he underscores people (biological as well as ethical) whose lives have been placed under extraordinary sovereign power of the state. Under the extraordinary constitutional situation, such as war, people are given limited rights and probability of death not on account of enemy action but ensuing from the own state is critically high. Even if his focus is on the legal aspect of state, he speaks on behalf of the ethical essence of the people, and thus forbids reduction of the people to its biological species such as the homo sapiens (one devoid of the ethical dimension). From this perspective, removal of the Armed Forces (Special) Powers Act, which is similar to the state of exception and have become normal in the eyes of the state, is mandatory and justified. But apart from the operation of a state of exception symbolised by AFSPA, there are other “exceptions” and “extraordinary” that are accepted as normal and ordinary, in the sense that they refuse to evoke awe or even exclamation from fellow Manipuris.
Take the case of Tangkhai chabi. Earlier associated with a form of agricultural practice wherein produce is shared between the owner of the land and laboring party, today, this agrarian practice has been extended in the field of education. Lups concerned with “quality education” are silent on this topic. On the other hand, hill brethrens who are up in arms against exploitation and oppression by the Meitei chauvinists, especially in terms of absenting themselves away from offices of work and educational institutions, still continues to be lured with the proposal of tangkhai chabi.

Admission by students in colleges mainly for the purpose of standing for election in the college students’ union is another issue which none of the students organizations have condemned. Similarly, when newspapers are cluttered with declarations by student organisations for quality education and “making education a free zone”, outfits continue to disturb the working environment of educational institutions. Over and above, at a time when college teachers are up in arms demanding revision of salary in line with 6th Pay Commission (UGC guidelines), colleges continue to be run by around ten percent of the teaching staff. In other words, few teachers have the habit of taking regular classes. Yenning has nothing against the implementation of the new pay structure. But the issue is one of professional ethics.

As have occurred in any memorable episodes of history, two generalities mark our contemporary lives. Blames heaped upon the sovereign, be it on an absolute ruler such as Pamheiba otherwise known as Garibniwas or a modern State such as expressed in the form of the Indian State or armed opposition groups. Fortunately enough, we have “others” to blame for all the woes gripping our lives and none to blame ourselves. Such is the general outlook, and within this framework emerge and operate enumerable civil society bodies for justice. Will the kind of justice be cordial enough to bring about a just society and rid off of the extraordinary and the exception?

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, September 12, 2010

Imperial Geopolitics: Manipur’s Predicament

2010-08-29T18:26:00.001+05:30

In view of the evolving geo-politics of New Delhi, particularly those designed in response to the thriving economies of ASEAN countries and the burgeoning economic-military might of China, the location of Manipur and the entire North East region of India are fast assuming crucial strategic importance. This can be easily understood from the fact that the region shares over 1500 Kms of international boundary with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal and Myanmar, most of which with the exception of Bhutan do not have a friendly relationship with New Delhi. The North East region entirely landlocked, shares just about two per cent of its borders with the rest of India while the remaining long borderline forms international boundaries. On the other hand, the region is connected to the Indian mainland by the 20 Kms wide chicken neck called Siliguri Corridor. In addition to this limited physical connectivity, the region is yet to be fully integrated with the Indian nation economically and socially. This is testified by the vast economic disparity between the region and the Indian mainland. Racial discrimination suffered by students of the region at Delhi and other cities of India in the form of rape, molest, physical and verbal abuse (sic. chinky) etc, all rooted in racial difference is a clear pointer to the status of the Northeastern people being a social outcaste in the psyche of Indian people. Yet, this is not surprising. After all, the very foundation of Indian socio-religious structure was laid on the multi-layered caste system of Hinduism.
On the other hand, the North East region, historically, has more affinity to both North East Asia and South East Asia than the Indian sub-continent in terms of ethnicity, culture, social traditions and practices. In fact, politics of the region was largely shaped and determined by the relationships between the Burmese empire, Ahom kingdom, Manipuri kingdom and the kingdom of Tipperah (Tripura). Speaking genealogically, the Ahoms of Assam are believed to have been migrated from the Shan state of Myanmar whereas a large number of Chins from Myanmar made their settlements in Manipur and Mizoram. Again, the language spoken by the Shans is quite identical to that spoken in Laos and Thailand.
These ancient sovereign kingdoms were annihilated with the expansion of British imperialism. It was the British imperialists who sowed seeds of the region’s present socio-political predicament. Right from the heydays of British imperialism, British rulers conceptualised the region as a frontier region with respect to their vast colony spanning over the whole Indian sub-continent. This left a lasting legacy extending up to the present day with New Delhi adopting the same policy of treating the entire region as a buffer zone. With the region kept and treated as a buffer zone between India and South East and North East Asia, the socio-economic and political ties that existed between the North East region with its neighbours before the arrival of the British and cut off thereafter were never restored even after New Delhi took over suzerainty over the region from the British Crown.
It is often argued, particularly by Indian policy makers and political leaders, that one fundamental impediment to economic development of the region is its disadvantageous geographical location and landlockedness. This argument is rather interesting. Merits and demerits of a region’s location are relative terms which cannot be defined in any absolute parameters. Again, geopolitics pursued by the particular country and corresponding geopolitics devised by its neighbours are major determining factors for merits and demerits of a region’s location. This debate revolving around geographical location, geopolitics and economic development or backwardness can be contextualised in the North East region and its surrounding countries. Yes, the region is remote from all directions but in terms of distance, the region is comparatively quite near to Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan and even China and Thailand than most other main Indian cities with the exception of Kolkata. Just as much as the region occupies the extreme periphery in the politico-economic set up of India, the region has been virtually sealed off from all its foreign neighbours. Cut off from all directions, and its way only open to surrogate mother India through the Chicken Neck, the North East region is at a highly disadvantageous position. The so called disadvantageous position, however, is not natural. It was created and imposed by British geopolitics pursued in the region with the sole aim of securing their empire. Earlier, before the British conquest, the region had several routes to all directions where trade and commerce was carried on with different countries without any hassles.
Before the (British) colonial period, the region was connected by a road which extended from Peshawar to Parvatipur (now in Bangladesh) till Assam. This was cut off after partition of British India and creation of erstwhile East Pakistan. Again, the ancient land route linking Brahmaputra valley to South East Asia and Yunan province of China was never restored after the route was closed by the British to safeguard the interest of steam navigation companies owned by British subjects who operated in the rivers of Burma. The Imphal-Tamu road was also lying almost defunct until it was officially opened as late as on April 12, 1995. However, with cross-border trade at Moreh and Tamu limited to very few items coupled with inefficient customs administration and negligible infrastructure, the cross-border trade is yet to take off in its real sense.
Here, we cannot side-step the much hyped Look East Policy. Though the Look East Policy (LEP) can be traced to the period of economic liberalisation initiated during the Prime Ministership of Narasimha Rao, it was also a policy response of the Government of India to the post-Cold War geopolitical configurations. As much as it is an economic policy aimed at integrating the liberalised economy of India with the thriving economies of the ASEAN countries and beyond, the LEP is a composite politico-military strategy propelled by changing geo-political considerations. This is understandable if one takes into account the ever rising Chinese influence among ASEAN countries and the decades old insurgency movement in North East region, the basic goal of which is restoration of sovereignty to the erstwhile independent kingdoms. Under such scenario, India cannot afford any strain bilateral relations with Bangladesh, Myanmar or any of its little neighbours. New Delhi’s generous investment in road and power projects in Myanmar and the recent red carpet welcome extended to Myanmarese junta leader Gen Than Shwe was a clear indication of India’s shifting geo-strategic concerns. The unexpected week-long state visit to New Delhi by the junta leader starting from July 27, 2010 is pregnant with implications for the North East region in general and Manipur in particular. Notwithstanding the fact that the United States, New Delhi’s mentor as far as rivalry with China is concerned, is always critical of the military junta like many other nations, India can no longer shun the military junta in the name of democracy. Call it realpolitik or hypocrisy, India played host to the Gen Than Shwe while at the same time giving asylum to thousands of pro-democracy Myanmarese dissidents within its territory.
What is central to the geopolitics of India towards its eastern neighbours is the strategic importance of its North East region. The Look East Policy envisaged and conceptualised through the region is a testimony of its strategic importance both in military and economic terms. Strategic importance of the region in military sense was confirmed during the World War II when Japanese and British forces fought long drawn bloody battles at Imphal and Kohima to wrest control of the region. The significance and decisiveness of the Battle of Imphal in the outcome of the great war can be discerned from the words of General Mutaguchi who commanded the Japanese Army.
This operation will engage the attention of the world and is eagerly awaited by 100,000,000 of our country men. By its very decisive nature, its success will have profound effect on the course of the war and may even lead to its conclusion and we must expend every energy and talent in the achievement of our goal (Imphal : a flower of lofty heights ; by (Sir) Geoffrey Evans and Anthony Brett-James,1962, 111).

The geopolitical significance of Manipur has not diminished a bit in the post Cold War period, rather it is assuming greater proportions. As for the people of Manipur, this is no reason to cheer about. Already, the tiny State has been heavily militarised. This is more on account of the strategic location of the North East region than the insurgency movement. Tight restrictions on cross-border movement of people for commercial purposes and otherwise are a by-product of the region’s strategic importance which is hardened by New Delhi’s nagging suspicion of its eastern neighbours. Here, the Look East Policy sound likes a paradox. Any keen observer cannot miss the contradictions thrown up by the LEP and the policy of isolation being pursued by New Delhi vis-a-vis the North East region. This policy of isolation which originated during the period of British imperialism is driven by the geo-strategic location of the region. The tragedy is, the Chicken Neck cannot connect the region to the economy of mainland India when, on the other hand, the region is closed to all its neighbours. The predicament is felt more profoundly in Manipur, located in the extreme corner of the periphery and connected to other parts of India with the most sub-standard highways which are again often choked by prolonged blockades. Look East Policy or not, we would certainly like to look East and open up this tiny State to the whole world. Time will tell us how the LEP is comprehended in the geopolitics of India and we are more than certain India will never compromise its chosen geopolitics for the sake of LEP. This is the predicament being endured by the region since the heydays of imperialism.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, August 29, 2010

Imageries of Surreal Beauty

2010-08-22T16:36:00.002+05:30

Let’s begin with the familiar

Take one: 20-days economic blockade for a judicial probe into a firing incident and others paint the highways with stones perfectly in harmony with the spirit of justice.

Take two: Promises such as all measures undertaken to ensure availability of essential commodities in adequate quantities in all parts of Manipur perfectly in harmony with gesture of benevolence.

Take three: A polished politician on the floor of the parliament replying to queries that all is well in Manipur – no scarcity of essential commodities, trucks are plying smoothly on the Highways with security escorts – and that the territorial integrity of Manipur shall be safeguarded; Armed Forces Special (Powers) Act shall be amended is typical imagery of an ideal politician fantastic and completely in harmony with the spirit of the Indian democracy.

Take four: Petrol bottle-vendors in front of closed petrol pumps

Take five: Burnt down trucks or a smashed good-laden trucks in a deep gorge juxtaposed against a panoramic lush green hill are typical imageries fantastic and completely in harmony with the nonsensical will of the advocates of democracy demanding democratic rights.

Master strokes one should call them painted in surrealistic imageries except that the events continue to be real not some abstract works of art.

Absence of imagination

Demented minds lack imagination, for example, suffers from the inability to form mental images of something that is not perceived as real and is not present to the senses. Paintings, images on television and pictures in newspapers, etc. do not necessarily constitute a part of the real for such people. For that matter, real for them can only be touched as in holding a gun or pelting stones or burning down something. Or else, reality constitutes in getting hurt or feeling pain of being hit by bullets. Beyond the world of the touchable and feel-able real, as well as the defined self, others do not exist. For example, hunger experienced by others, suffering endured by others do not carry any meaning for these people. Simply unthinkable, let’s say.

Thangjam Ibopishak Singh makes an attempt to define such a place inhabited by people that lacks imagination or even any sense of humanity. Body and head are separated from such a people figuratively meaning they simply exist. As we know, living is different from existence. Plants and animals exist just like stones and mud. Human beings strive to live, one step ahead of existence, for they not only think but also imagine a world free from suffering based on equality and propelled by a sense of justice. Empathy and sympathy, concern about life after death, etc. differentiates a human being from other creatures. Surely they strive to elk out a living out of the miseries and sufferings inflicted by nature as well as co-human beings.

Ibopishak pleas for a thinking people as well as one who can imagine albeit in satirical way with political inflections.

To quote a few lines from Thangjam Ibopishak Singh (The land of half humans):

For six months just head without body, six months just body without head, has anyone

seen a land inhabited by these people?

No? I have; it’s not a folktale; I’ve not only seen but have been to that land.

For six months to talk and to eat is their job; like a millstone grinding.

……

When the head walks, its two broad, fanlike ears, spread wide and it flies like a bird,

beating its wings. When they speak, we can comprehend their language; they speak the

language of men. But when the headless body speaks, a voice that no stranger can

recognize emits from an orifice of the body. This voice is also accompanied by an odor.

A land such as this one is in the news; a land much talked about. The moon shines at

night; the sun shines in the afternoon.

……..

These days, we hear lots of people speaking. Press release after press release and coverages on electronic media continue to bombard us. Empty words, threats and false promises devoid of imagination continue to fool around with our grey matter. For example, sample any press release by any of the so called civil society bodies from the hill areas. Opening lines are with threats and ends in threats. Same can be said about the rhetoric of the so called valley based civil society bodies (term given by the believers of human rights in the hill areas), except that they carry an appeal to universal human values. Then, about the promises by the people at the helms of the public affairs (civil servants and politicians included). Sample, this by Hon’ble Minister P. Chidambam: None will be spared! This was uttered expressing his will to end insurgencies in the Northeastern India. Then again, his lies about the smooth flow of goods on the two National Highways, simply demonstrates mockery which is inflected with a mind purely poverty stricken.

Beyond the bounds of narrow domestic walls

Apart from Thangjam Ibopishak Singh, who indulges in the world of imagination, Yenning would like to take you to two other personalities who stand as the epitome of creativity and positive imagination. First, we are all familiar with a popular character from the Hollywood. Charles Spencer “Charlie” Chaplin (April 16, 1889 –December 25, 1977), popularly known as Charlie Chaplin, enthralled the world with his genre of silent movies. Chaplin used mime, slapstick and other visual comedy routines, traits belonging to the realm of imagination and creativity to instill sense of humanism against the fragmenting forces of industrialization and reign of terror spearheaded by Adolf Hitler. His most famous roles were that of The Tramp and Adolf Hitler.

In 2008, Martin Sieff, in a review of the book Chaplin: A Life, wrote: “Chaplin was not just ‘big’, he was gigantic. In 1915, he burst onto a war-torn world bringing it the gift of comedy, laughter and relief while it was tearing itself apart through World War I. Over the next 25 years, through the Great Depression and the rise of Adolf Hitler, he stayed on the job. ... It is doubtful any individual has ever given more entertainment, pleasure and relief to so many human beings when they needed it the most”. George Bernard Shaw called Chaplin “the only genius to come out of the movie industry”.

The story continues and says that once Charlie Chaplin was asked about his nationality and citizenship. Chaplin replied: I am a citizen of this world.

Let us come closer to the Indian sub-continent. Rabindranath Tagore (May 7, 1861–August 7, 1941), was an Indian Bengali polymath. He came from a wealthy family of intellects and creative people. He was a popular poet, novelist, musician, painter and playwright who reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As author of Gitanjali and its “profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse”, and as the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Tagore was perhaps the most widely regarded Indian literary figure of all time. He was a mesmerizing representative of the Indian culture whose influence and popularity internationally perhaps could only be compared to that of Gandhi, whom Tagore named ‘Mahatma’ out of his deep admiration for him.

A quote from Tagore, shall surely qualify our fascination for him and put to rest our flirtation with imagination. The following verses are from the poem “Where the mind is without fear” in Gitanjali.

WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way

Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Yenning believes the verses are self explanatory. One does not need to be a poet to understand these lines. One only needs imagination, not brute force, to understand the lines that enthused the Indian nation to come out of the world of casteism, religious segmentations and other forms of segregations including ethno-nationalism.

Towards a pragmatic world of action

If thinking and theorization are taken to be purely mental exercises, then one is wrong. Praxis denotes translating an idea into action at least in Marxist theory of social change. Well, material conditions are bad for us and forces of production are beyond our control. However, in order to bring about a better world free from suppression and oppression, we need to think. Yes, think beautiful thoughts. Let ideas dance around us as chipped in by the Italian Marxist poet Yannis Ritsos (1909 - 1990), in his Moonlight Sonata.

Insanity and demented minds can be cured only if one tries to reconnect with the world around us. Lets be frank, in the century old existence of the Nagas and other communities, nothing positive could be attained through blood-shed. Blood begets blood. And finally, the Nagas have never achieved any of their demands (political as well as trivial) through the imposition of economic blockades or robbery on the highways. It is time all of us start imbibing in us the capacity to be imaginative. Let’s see if we can be surrealistic and paint a more colourful world – of course beautiful and vibrant, not the one mentioned in the prelude.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, August 22, 2010

In the Land of the Thieves

2010-08-08T17:06:00.002+05:30

Victor Hugo, French poet, novelist and dramatist (leader of the romantic movement in 19th century France) would have loved to be in Manipur in this 21st century in order to celebrate nature rather than civilization. Hugo and other proponents of the Romantic Movement derided advancement of industrialization (one of the highest stage of human civilization) and resultant decadence of human nature in which almost everyone became a thief. Through literature, art and other medium of human expression they made pleas to value human imagination and emotion over rationality.
Murderers and thieves are central characters in the novels and short stories of Victor Hugo, with social injustice as the larger theme. “The Last Day of a Condemned Man” is a documentary short story about a real-life murderer who had been executed in France. Leading novels of Hugo such as Les Misérables, Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Man Who Laughs deal with murderers, convicts and thieves to portray decadence of the French society. Ninety-Three dealt with the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. Toilers of the Sea published in 1866 is the only exception. Dedicated to the channel island of Guernsey where he spent 15 years of exile, Hugo’s depiction of man’s battle with the sea and the horrible creatures lurking beneath its depths. Hugo’s works had a profound influence on later writers such as Albert Camus, Charles Dickens, and Fyodor Dostoevsky.
If we go by the familiar understanding of civilization, then Manipur can be described as a civilization, for example, a society in an advanced state of social development with complex legal, political and religious organizations evolved over the years. Nationalists take pride in believing that Manipur is an ancient civilization, one of the oldest in the whole of the South-East Asian region. British ethnographers ballooned the Manipuri ego by describing it as “an oasis of civilization” or “comparatively more civilized” surrounded by “savages”. However, markers of civilization such as the quality of excellence in thought and manners as well as taste are missing from the inhabitants. Manipur today can be described as a land of the thieves. The making of the thieves in this State, where industrialization had never taken place and manufacturing units are absent, would have posed a challenge to the imagination of Victor Hugo and other proponents of the Romantic Movement. Thus, Yenning assumes Victor Hugo would have loved to be in Manipur – not only to look at the missing components of civilization but also at the thieves and murderers mushrooming in every nooks and corners of the State.
Baptism with Fire
A blazing inferno broke out from a room storing petrol for black marketing inside 2nd Bn MR Campus on August 2, 2010. The inferno reduced more than 30 family quarters to cinders. Soon after, after enquiring how the devastating fire broke out, the Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Yumkham Erabot, on receiving information that petrol and diesel are being stocked in some family quarters just beyond the 2nd MR campus for sale in black market, raided some quarters together with his officials. During the raid, several quantities of petrol and diesel were seized from quarters belonging to employees/personnel of Manipur Police Wireless and MR. Many other articles like barrels were also recovered. Vessels and barrels containing diesel and petrol were found concealed behind latrines and bushy spots.
After seizing fuel which was found concealed at some quarters of the state security personnel, the Minister charged police and state security personnel including officers of indulging in the black market of petrol and diesel in the state taking advantage of the uncertainty on NH 39 and NH 53. Moreover, he accused that the devastating fire which broke out from petrol kept for sale in black market inside the security zone of 2nd MR campus was a clear indication of the abject failure of Home Department under the charge of the Chief Minister, Srijukta Okram Ibobi Singh.
In the aftermath of the prolonged economic blockade, the State has been facing an alarming situation due to acute shortage of petroleum products and other essential commodities. It was at this crucial period that security personnel meant for maintenance of law and order were found involved in black marketing as exposed by the devastating fire mishap. However, Mr. Erabot waited for the inferno, although he could have witnessed sale of petroleum products in front of shut down petrol pumps. Before he asked, “what 2nd MR officials did all these days before the raging fire destroyed 30 family quarters completely”, what Yenning wants to assert is, it was his moral responsibility to check pilferage as well as black marketeering of essential commodities including petrol and diesel. Moreover, Mr. Erabot and other concerned parties do not dare to question the erratic rationing of fuel. For example, as accused by the United Committee of Manipur, regular provision to some fuel outlets out of a total of 55 reflects corruption in the system with similar mismanagement also creating LPG shortage not impossible. Scarcity of essential commodities, particularly fuel and LPGs is on account of the inefficiency of the State Government for an effective public distribution system.
Baptism is an act of sacrament signifying spiritual cleansing and rebirth. Yenning doubts if the thief-culture could have been baptized by the raging inferno that reduced 30 quarters to cinders.
Salsa on the Highway
If one thinks there is a strong nexus between the ministers, administrators and police personnel involved in racketeering and black market, there is also another form of thief operating on the soil of Manipur.
Extortion on both the highways by NSCN-IM and other insurgent outfits is a reality. Rationale given especially by NSCN-IM is the “repeat of history” viz. an act of retribution by the Nagas against the Meiteis for the wrong committed against the Nagas. Those at the helms of power (Centre and State) are not only aware but also familiar about this reality. Yet again, it took, more than two months of economic blockade for Mr. Chidambaram to “understand” the situation. Whether, the Central Government had adopted a pro-NSCN-IM policy, is all to see. And moreover, the Central Government pressurizing the State Government to use NH-39 is to facilitate the rebel group collect illegal taxes as the outfit had been facing financial problems after vehicles ceased plying on NH-39.
Reports say that more than Rs 10 crore is collected every month by the NSCN-IM. Transporters have openly come out with the extortion challans issued by NSCN-IM. And recently, such were put up for public exhibition. Inspite of the prevailing situation, none have come up with a strategy to combat the illegal taxation and reduce suffering of the people or at least put an end to the dances in the name of liberation on the highways.
Doom of the Temple of Learning
If we say thieves are found only in police camps and the highways, then think again, the Manipur University is run by thieves. We are ready to accept anything except the corruption of the intellectuals. Instead of producing intellectuals and scholars, the sole university of Manipur continues to churn out decadent students and teachers. The very fact the University catching media-limelight is on account of wrong reasons. Scandal after scandal hits Manipur University (MU).
Recently, MU was in the news for not filing income tax returns of its employees and entrance test for admission to various courses. Scandal in admission process is not new. Such incidents have the potential of discrediting the entire examination and evaluation mechanism of the university that must have by now churned out lakhs and lakhs of degree holders of higher learning.
In year 2009, Sangai Express reported of an application for admission to a computer course under the university, which was rejected by the computer department on the ground that the applicant did not have the requisite marks in the qualifying degree certificate for the course. Most audaciously, the applicant returned with another certificate of the same examination, conducted by the university, showing the requisite marks. In the current year various newspapers have indicted how the university is run amuck by contractors and possibility of linkages between administrators and thieves. Such state of affairs only indicates poverty of mind as well as thriving thief-culture in the Temple of Learning thereby resulting in its doom.
Lost of Integrity in the land of the Thieves
In year 2005, the All India Radio, Imphal conducted an opinion poll on the topic “Which of the two is the bigger issue — HIV/AIDS or Corruption”. More people said that they are more worried about corruption than HIV/AIDS. Tragedy about the poll was that it remained an opinion poll. Although persons in positions of power participated in the poll none of them took recourse to change the state of affairs in Manipur.

Yenning had in earlier editions talked about the resultant loss of the national character of Manipur after its forceful annexation. We have become so much used to the culture of thief and corruption as way of life. In almost all the works by Victor Hugo, thieves ultimately changed their ways and celebrated the triumph of human spirit. The question, would the various thieves in Manipur ever change?

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, August 8, 2010

Civic Nationalism Vs Ethno Exclusivity

2010-08-01T17:19:00.001+05:30

We live in a world which is constantly evolving around flexible concepts which are neither uniform nor unambiguous. Concepts bordering and related to peoplehood, nationhood and nationality have also been undergoing changes. While these concepts have been more or less rationalised and institutionalised in most of the western countries, the foundation, concept and structure of nationhood are mired with ambiguity and contradictions in many African and Asian countries, particularly more so in states which were left out of the de-colonisation process.
As seen throughout the history, identities of people or nation are crafted through conglomeration of clans, tribes, ethnicity, race or nationality believing that vision of a nation and the desire for a better world can dispense deprivation, oppression, exploitation and so on. The idea of a nation and crafting one is political action that promises vision of a perfect society. Once formalized, ironically, one is back to the earlier position and the long cherished vision of better world vanishes into thin air. Take the cases of process of forging unity within each set of identity, as witnessed today in Manipur and elsewhere in the North East region. They leave no scope to an individual native to have an idea which differs from the set political idea that is the very will of architect of the nation. This is the problem unsettling our existence and weakness of the vision of unity itself which is based on exclusivity. Possibility of the vision is supposedly measured on the nature and strength of nationalism, propagated and instilled, as a way of gathering the people for a political purpose. Thus, ethno-nationalism is taken to be the strongest and only imaginable alternative of mobilizing the people as far as experiences in the North East indicate.
Focusing on Manipur, Yenning believes Manipur has two models, the French or German way, to anchor her vision of better if not a perfect nation to gather her people. The French Revolution of 1789 is considered to be the mother of modern nationalism. The ideology of modern nationalism is supposed to have a “vision.” That vision is to make the national unit and the political unit congruent. When the French Revolution declared the “nation to be the base of political sovereignty,” the idea was to enunciate civic nationalism as different from ethno-nationalism. The nation was conceived to be the people of all sorts including various minorities. The base of that kind of nationalism or civic nationalism was considered to be “the rights of man and the citizen.” The origins of civic nationalism could be traced to that revolution.
In contrast, the origin of ethno-nationalism was mainly in Germany. The two thinkers who enunciated ethno-nationalism at the onset of the 19th century were Johann Fichte and Johann Herder. According to them, people are eternally divided into nations. The proof of this division is the language. The meaning that they gave to nation is equivalent to race or ethnicity. The nation is a collectivity. It is like the body. Nationalism is its soul. The State of Ethnicity is the embodiment of both the body and the soul.
The distinction between civic nationalism and ethno-nationalism was first made by Hans Kohn in 1940 (The Idea of Nationalism). One reason to make that distinction was the experience in Germany under Nazism based on Fascist ideology. The emergence of the two types of nationalism was also observed vaguely by Ernest Renan as far back as 1882 when he wrote Qu’est–ce qu’une Nation? (What is a Nation?). The reason again was the distinction between nationalism in France and Germany.
Civic nationalism has only a functional or utility value. While ethno-nationalism is exclusive, civic nationalism is not. Civic nationalism is inclusive of diversity, pluralism and democracy. While the contrast between the two types of nationalism is considerable, in social reality they may exist side by side. The issue is what is dominant in a particular country and what the guiding principles of nationalism are.
Civic nationalism has proved to be quite useful in achieving the vision of national unity (if not congruence) in many countries that have advanced economically, socially and politically. The natural advantage of being socially homogeneous is obviously rare in countries. Only less than a dozen of countries might claim for the qualification today such as countries like Finland, Denmark, two Koreas, and perhaps Japan. Yet many of them are internally diverse or becoming increasingly multi-ethnic due to migration.
The emergence of nationalism is related to modern socio-economic changes. In the process of modernization and nation building or one may say in the course of capitalist development, many countries both in the West and the East have zigzagged between civic nationalism and ethno-nationalism. Manipur is no exception. But the question is for how long Manipur could afford to go along in this tortuous path with instability and uncertainty. In the case of Manipur, it is not just a question of instability or uncertainty. Ethno-nationalism in various camps has led to internal conflict with over thousand deaths and state of mistrust among ethnic groups.
Civic Nationalism vis-a-vis Naga integration
Given the heightened campaign for Naga integration and the resultant ethnic rivalry, the relevance of the distinction between civic nationalism and ethno-nationalism to Manipur is assuming astronomical proportion. Some people may question the validity of the relevance of foreign or “Western notions” to Manipur. Whatever may be the reservations, Manipur’s present predicament is related to these two notions directly and indirectly. This does not mean that Manipur acquired these two notions one from France and the other from Germany. France and Germany are only two examples where these two notions appeared in distinct forms in the Western hemisphere. That is also not completely correct. While civic nationalism was predominant in France, there is evidence of ethno-nationalism appearing intermittently undermining civic nationalism at times. This was the case in Germany as well.
The persistent political turmoil being witnessed in Manipur has its roots in the opposing political aspirations of its own people. While one group supposedly representing Nagas has been demanding integration of all Naga inhabited areas of Manipur and those of other Northeastern States with Nagaland to make an ethno-exclusive modern state called Nagalim, the other ethnic groups are deadly opposed to any such design aimed at breaking up the multi-ethnic geo-political entity called Manipur. Here arises the relevance of civic nationalism and ethno-nationalism based on ethnic exclusivity. But the long drawn battle between the two streams of nationalism remain indecisive as neither has succeeded in bringing the general masses wholly within their respective folds. Just as there are communal elements within the majority who are espousing civic nationalism, there are many among those influenced by advocates of ethnic (sic Naga) exclusivity who believe in pluralism, diversity and co-existence. This is, in fact, a deviation from ethno-nationalism to civic nationalism. Here, one cannot overlook the fact that Nagaland, won as a trophy for Naga insurgency movement, is already an ethno-exclusive State with Nagas constituting almost 97 per cent of its total population. Again, the campaign for Naga integration does not comprehend any living space for other ethnic groups. Had this been not the case, the ethnic clash of early 1990’s in the hills of Manipur would have never happened. Whereas the Naga integration movement envisages an extended living space exclusively for Nagas, many ethnic groups would be left without a living space while the Meiteis would be confined to the Manipur valley, in case Nagalim becomes a reality. This is hard to imagine because none of the districts of Manipur being demanded by advocates of Naga lebensraum are Naga exclusive.
Our understanding is that ethno-nationalism is neither desirable nor could it serve as any effective tool for nation building in any part of the North East region, particularly in a pluralistic society like Manipur. At the same time, there should be no room for chauvinism or dominance by any majority community over others, should civic nationalism be promoted to consolidate composite Manipuri nationality. The question, however, is how to forge civic nationalism in the future while recognizing ethnic identities and their separate interests which are not detrimental to national unity. There is no possibility of de-ethnicizing people whether they belong to the majority community or the minority communities.
Civic nationalism is the overarching glue for national unity of any country. But it cannot be forged instantly. The most important might be to forge possible unity, solidarity and cooperation among the leaders of all communities to do away with ethno-nationalism and to seek solutions on the lines and in strengthening civic nationalism.
The building of civic nationalism does not mean the eradication or suppression of all ethnic or religious affiliation or feelings. It means the transcendence of parochial or narrow ethnic or religious feelings for the greater good of all communities. Civic nationalism does recognize the importance of ethnic identity whether of the majority or the minorities.

There is no meaning in arguing who started ethno-nationalism first or who should be blamed most. There is no possibility to say one type of ethno-nationalism is better than the other. All types of ethno-nationalism are detrimental to national or human progress. The only exception can be the fact that minority communities do have disadvantages than a majority community in general because of numbers. This has to be recognized and systematically addressed.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, August 1, 2010

Distress Call: Fight Dependency

2010-07-18T14:29:00.002+05:30

For 60 long years, Manipur has been living a life of parasite, uprooted from its indigenous economic base and totally dependent on India. Slowly and steadily, Manipuri people were drugged into a semi-conscious state with the Indian opium called ‘rupees’, pulling them away from their roots, history and nationality, only to be planted in the foreign environment of Indian nationhood. Political subservience of Manipur to India was followed by economic dependency in quick succession. Whether one calls it annexation or merger, one undeniable offshoot of bringing Manipur within the Indian Union is political imprisonment of the former sovereign kingdom. As expected, destruction of all indigenous economic institutions quickly ensued political subjugation. By and by, Manipur becomes wholly dependent on India. The irony is, Manipur was a sovereign kingdom much before the arrival of British imperialists when the so called Indian Union was non-existent. By the time, Manipuris realised about the fait accompli of the Merger Agreement, the notion that Manipur cannot do away with India was already conditioned as a bitter truth. Surrounded on all sides by Indian states, albeit newly founded unlike Manipur and Assam, except the East which is also tightly sealed beyond Tamu, Manipur is virtually under a state of siege. The hard fact is, no Manipuri can go to foreign countries without New Delhi’s permission and no foreign national can enter Manipur without New Delhi’s approval. Even if a foreigner is allowed to visit Manipur, it is strictly restricted to ten days. This is the extent of Manipur’s political isolation, thanks to the controversial Merger Agreement.
Politically confined and economically deprived, Manipur is compelled to survive on aids, grants and loans provided by New Delhi. After systematically robbing off the political and economic freedom of Manipur completely, New Delhi has been feeding Manipur like a benevolent surrogate mother through NH 39, the only door opened to the outside world. Unfortunately, this umbilical cord connecting Manipur to India is at the mercy of transit state, Nagaland, another adopted child of New Delhi but much younger. Just as much as the Manipuris hate being not independent, ANSAM and NSF have reminded us all how dependent we have become on others. It is a tragedy that we cannot wish away this dependence because it was systematically planned and meticulously executed by New Delhi over the years. We are trapped by the Merger Agreement whose legality and authenticity is still a matter of intense debates. We are not allowed to have any relations with foreign countries but we can breathe for life only through NH 39 which is often choked by regular blockades. In another sense, Manipur has been rendered a political pariah in the post Merger era.
Dependence & Vulnerability
Let’s imagine the issue of highway blockades in the absence of the Merger Agreement. What could be the response of the independent State of Manipur to highway blockades ? We are not sure about the answer to this question. But one thing is clear. Manipur would have never relied on a single highway. Certainly, Manipur would be importing goods from India, Myanmar, Assam and perhaps Nagaland, assuming that Manipur is not a subordinate state of India. While acknowledging that economies of nation states thrive on import-export trade, Manipur cannot do away with import-export trade even when it is presumed that Manipur is self-reliant in staple food which was the case in the pre-Merger era. Generally, economists across the planet have accepted that import-export trade is the economic backbone of all modern nation states. With or without India, Manipur cannot afford being isolated either politically or economically. When import-export trade is the backbone of a nation’s economy, highways are in the indispensable arteries, particularly for landlocked states. But under the Indian suzerainty, Imphal-Dimapur road is the only serviceable route connecting Manipur to the outside world. One peculiar feature of the commerce of Manipur is that imports constitute almost 99.99 per cent. In another word, Manipur survives on imported goods. This is the degree of Manipur’s dependency.
When Manipur has been rendered wholly dependent on imported goods, it is only NH 39 through which all the imports are carried out and it is rightly named life-line of Manipur. Here, arises the vulnerability of Manipur to highway blockades. In fact, the Manipuri people are being bedevilled by the twin problems of dependency and vulnerability to blockades which are intrinsically inter-related. These twin problems often act as multiplicative factors, breeding, at times, serious humanitarian crisis as is being witnessed today. To ward off such crises in future, both the problems of dependency and vulnerability to blockades need to be addressed in a wholesome manner. The immediate crises can be overcome by neutralising blockades but lasting solution to the problem of blockades and its effects lies in doing with total dependency on imported goods or uni-directional trade pattern. As we have said, Manipur’s dependency has reached its limits. There is no easy way out or a ready-made solution. It demands a sustained struggle guided by an appropriate political will to reverse the advanced stage of dependency.
Dependent or independent, highways are indispensable to Manipur. Today, highways are road to survival. In future, they can be roads to prosperity. This is all the more undeniable in the absence of access to sea routes or maritime trade. Vulnerability to highway blockades can be reduced significantly by opening as many routes as possible instead of depending entirely on a single route. No landlocked state can afford to rely on a single transit state. This is a universally accepted understanding and one need not be a rocket scientist to grasp its implications. Even a High School student can understand it but how our successive political leaders perceive this decades old problem is anybody’s guess.
Lingering crisis & Distress Call
Now it is more than one month since NSF and ANSAM lifted their blockades but the humanitarian crisis triggered by the blockades is far from over. There is no sign of any relief in near future. We fear, it would take a couple of years, if not longer, before NH 53 can replace NH 39 as the umbilical cord between Manipur and India. But the people are suffering the worst ever non-military crisis in the entire history of this ancient kingdom, with cost of living suddenly leapfrogging beyond the reach of tens of thousands of families. Yes, the people of Manipur are drowning in a deep sea of distress. Here, we cannot help asking if NH 53 can come to our rescue. Will NH 53 be blockade free ? Can Manipur prosper without blockades ? We are afraid, neither NH 53 will be blockade free nor Manipur can ever prosper even if there is no blockade.
At the moment, opening highways is paramount but for posterity, we need to think beyond highways and blockades. We need to pool together our political wits and mental strength to free ourselves from the quagmire of dependency. Just as long as this dependency persists, the very soul of the distinctive Manipuri nation will fade into oblivion, and ultimately Manipur will go down the history as one of the lost civilizations. We do agree that no nation can be fully self-reliant in the modern world. Inter-dependence is an indispensable phenomenon of the modern economic dynamics. At the same time, no nation can survive and prosper without some productive bases of their own. Sadly, this is exactly what is missing in present day Manipur. Without a productive base of its own, one can hardly expect Manipur to make any progressive stride. We are of the firm opinion that Manipur can be self-reliant at least in agriculture sector, and this can serve as a launching pad for other economic sectors of which Manipur has enough potential. An intensive green revolution and socio-political awakening is long overdue in the backdrop of the decaying politico-economic landscape of Manipur. Fight Dependency is the implicit distress call of the present humanitarian crisis.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, July 18, 2010

Political Isolation: New Delhi’s Gift to Manipur

2010-07-04T16:41:00.002+05:30

One valley surrounded by nine hill ranges is a brief ontological description of Manipur, so say the myths, mythology, folklores and folksongs. This beautiful land with salubrious climate is a land clamoured by many. The mighty hill ranges, the lush green valley and the silver-cloaked Loktak lake make it a prized trophy every neighbour wants to fight for. The fertile soil of the valley and the resourceful hills combined together to make the land self-sustaining in almost all aspects until the arrival of British imperialists. Again, this small but beautiful land was inhabited by people, numerically small but brave and proud who valued independence above all. Sturdy traits and indomitable spirit of the Manipuri people stood them firm against all odds and challenges, however heavy and superior the opposing forces were. All these went together to earn the Manipuri nation the distinction of being a sovereign kingdom for more than 2000 years.
The moot question here is, did the geographical features and terrain of Manipur played any decisive role in the continued existence of Manipur as a separate political entity. One prominent geographical feature of Manipur is its landlockedness. Not only it is landlocked, it is being walled by mighty and formidable hill ranges on all sides, presenting themselves as a natural defensive barrier against invading forces. Any invading army had to trudge up and down these hill ranges to reach Manipur valley. This gave ample time to Manipuri soldiers for re-grouping and reinforcement to defend the kingdom or launch counter-strike and annihilate the invading army. In short, any invasion on Manipur was never swift and as such, they always lacked any element of surprise because of the chain of hill ranges. Even during World War II where armed forces were highly mechanised, the Japanese forces had to traverse a tortuous journey in their mission to drive out British forces from Manipur and take control of its strategic location. Equally crippled by the rugged and mountainous terrain, the British enjoyed air support which the Japanese forces had none. Air support proved decisive and Japan suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Imphal.
Following the merger of Manipur into the Indian Union a few years after the Battle of Imphal, the mountain ranges which once acted as formidable barriers to invading forces transformed itself into a sort of prison walls. In the absence of wars or military clashes though the same cannot be ruled out completely in view of the strategic importance of the location of Manipur, it is crucial to re-analyse the geographical features of Manipur with regard to trade and commerce. Little did the people of Manipur and neighbouring countries felt the impedance caused by the mountainous terrain when trade was carried on horse-backs. The need for proper and standard roads was felt very little. This may be attributed to self-sufficiency of the then Manipur and minimal cross-border trade. But with the advent of carts and ultimately motor vehicles and subsequent expansion of cross-border trade, standard roads assumed vital importance.
Being a landlocked country, road connectivity was the only viable means of transport and communication with the outside world in the absence of access to sea routes. In the post-Merger era, importance of road connectivity rose corresponding to the degree of dependence of Manipuri people on goods imported from India. Before Manipur’s controversial merger with India, Manipur had road connectivity to the North through Imphal-Kohima-Dimapur road, to the South-East through Imphal -Tamu road and to the West through Imphal-Jiribam-Silchar road. Yes, these routes exist till today. But over the last 60 years, these routes have been put to disuse except Imphal-Dimapur road which has been made the only serviceable road. Virtually, Imphal-Dimapur road serves as the only ‘umbilical cord’ (strictly in terms of supplying foods and other goods) between India and Manipur and interestingly this ‘umbilical cord’ is always under threat from highway blockaders. The inference is that following the Merger, Manipur has been pushed at the mercy of the transit state, Nagaland.
For Nagaland and some people inhabiting alongside Imphal-Dimapur road, the highway is a goose laying golden eggs. All kinds of tariffs and taxes, both legal and illegal are being exacted from vehicles travelling to and from Manipur along the highway. The end result is abnormal and artificial escalation in prices of goods imported to Manipur and lowering of prices of goods exported from Manipur. Unfortunately, too frequent blockades, repeated harassments to drivers and passengers, killings and robbery in addition to the routine illegal taxes have been slowly strangulating this golden egg laying goose. Now the decision of the people of Manipur, particularly transporters to take Imphal-Jiribam highway which is in shambles and unfit by any yardstick, in place of the relatively much better Imphal-Dimapur route is a bold and challenging voice to all those elements who have been making a goldmine out of NH -39 in the most crooked manner. The message is loud and clear: “We are ready to negotiate the landslides, tortuous bendings, creaky bridges and whatever odds on NH-53 but we can no longer tolerate the persistent humiliation along NH-39”.
What is surprising and indigestible is the failure on the part of political leaders of Manipur to understand the vulnerability of a landlocked hinterland state. It is agonising to read that our political leaders could never sense the risk of putting the entire population totally dependent on the single highway, that is NH-39 which has evolved into a ghost highway characterised by rampant lootings, arson, harassment to drivers, passengers and round the year blockade. It is bewildering that our political leaders could never really understand the vulnerability of being landlocked hinterland state until the infamous 52 days’ blockade of 2005. The Government of Manipur fell to its earlier dormancy soon after the blockade was lifted only to wake up five years later, exactly in June this year. This is the political wisdom and commitment of the State Government ? In the face of such extreme offensive strategy of prolonged economic blockade, the vulnerability of Manipur is such that it often results in serious humanitarian crisis as is being witnessed today. This is basically a consequence of relying wholly on the unreliable NH-39 while completely ignoring all other routes. Naturally, transit states enjoy the leverage to extract economic and military incentives from the dependent landlocked states. Transit states often use the transit routes of landlocked states to exert pressure for political gain. This was exactly what the Nagaland Government and the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) did in the wake of Manipur Government’s ban on entry of NSCN-IM General Secretary Thuingaleng Muivah’s visit to Manipur.
Already, Manipur vehicles passing through Nagaland have been paying huge amounts of money as tariffs and taxes, both legal and illegal without fail, the latter accounting for the lion’s share. This time, the NSF gambled the unfailing huge income with the political agenda of Naga integration. Now that the transporters have opted to stay away from Imphal-Dimapur route and that Manipur did not buckled down to the highway politics of NSF and other Naga frontal organisations is another matter. Here, it is pertinent to interrogate New Delhi’s sustained policy of keeping Manipur remote and isolated. The assumption that Manipur constitutes a buffer state or more precisely a neo-colony of India is hardened by New Delhi’s insidious policy of keeping Manipur remote as far as possible. The limited and unreliable connectivity Manipur has with the rest of India and the world through NH-39 barring air service is enough for movement of Indian armed forces. New Delhi does not care economic security of Manipur. That is why, New Delhi could not see any reason to open up and develop viable alternative routes to Manipur. The indication is glaringly clear. The existing road(s) can serve the purpose for movement of troops. There is no urgency to develop other routes.
With movement and interaction between Manipur and Myanmar, the only direct foreign neighbour, restricted to the border town of Tamu just across Moreh, and transportation to and from other Indian states limited to NH-39 which is under virtual control of the advocates of Naga lebensraum, New Delhi is literally keeping Manipur in a state of political confinement. The paradox being played by New Delhi over Manipur is that it is deadly opposed to entry of foreign nationals into Manipur while simultaneously encouraging exodus of Indian nationals to the remote state in the name of freedom of movement. Whereas the people of Manipur has been demanding implementation of the Inner Line Permit System, New Delhi has been adamantly imposing the unwanted Protected Area Permit System in Manipur.

With all foreign nationals barred from entering Manipur while connectivity to other Indian states has been limited to the blockade prone NH-39, Manipur is virtually under siege. Though located in the heart of Asiatic continent, exactly at the tri-junction of the Indian sub-continent, South Asia and South East Asia, Manipur remains most remote in the entire continent, both politically and economically. This is a gift of New Delhi to Manipur and an offshoot of the Merger Agreement. Now that the unreliability of New Delhi has been proven time and again, the onus of doing away with the artificial remoteness of Manipur lies solely with its people. It’s high time as many routes as possible are opened to the outside world to overcome the vulnerability of Manipur to highway blockades and also for economic development of this landlocked state. Let’s start with NH-53 in right earnest.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, July 4, 2010

Blockade : Indo-Manipur Relation Re-defined

2010-06-20T16:14:00.001+05:30

It’s too late. It is hard to understand that it took exactly 66 days for New Delhi to realise that there is a serious humanitarian crisis in Manipur. The record breaking blockade, now suspended temporarily, has already earned the notoriety it deserved. New Delhi remained inert during the last two months of the inhuman blockade because the humanitarian crisis happened in Manipur and the issue was confined to the two remotest States of the Indian Union. It was strange that New Delhi saw no reason to intervene even as the so called Indian citizens of Manipur were enduring the severest hardship in the entire history of this ancient nation, now turned into a buffer state of the Indian Union. While acknowledging the belated intervention by New Delhi, we are at pain to note that New Delhi’s lackadaisical attitude or rather non-response to the prolonged blockade left an indelible impression on the general perception of the Indo-Manipur relations. The blockade exposed the skeleton of the Indo-Manipur relations behind the facade of enchanting and impressive rhetoric of Manipur being an integral part of India and its people ‘equal citizens’ of India.
What an astonishing irony ? New Delhi did not mind deploying a whole brigade of its armed forces to hunt down a couple of ill-equipped and ill-trained pro-independence armed rebels throughout the length and breadth of Loktak lake but New Delhi has neither means nor wits to end the blockade before the unarmed student bodies lifted the blockade after 66 days. May be, New Delhi exerted pressure on NSF and ANSAM to lift the blockade but that cannot be any excuse or atonement for remaining a mute spectator to the humanitarian crisis for more than two months. The hypocrisy of New Delhi was exposed to the core when New Delhi took upon itself the responsibility of hiring lawyers at its own expense for Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone terrorist nabbed alive during the Mumbai terror attack of November 2008. What a great show New Delhi put up before the world just to make an impression that Indian democracy is ‘perfect’. To complete the show, the confirmed terrorist was given a fair trial and deservedly sentenced to capital punishment ultimately. The inconsistency in the so called perfect Indian democracy was revealed most glaringly when one made a comparative study of the exploits of States forces in North East India, particularly Manipur. The great show of the trial of Ajmal Kasab was staged at a time when many of the so called Indian citizens were gunned down with full impunity, only because the victims were suspects in the eyes of Indian armed forces in this buffer state called Manipur. The truth is New Delhi can go to any length to conduct trial for a confirmed terrorist if it is in mainland India but there is no scope for any trial in Manipur. The general reading is, if the North Eastern people constitute second class citizens of India, Manipuris definitely belong to a third category, if New Delhi’s deafening silence to the just lifted blockade was any indication.
From sovereignty to servitude
Perhaps, the Government of India may be willing to protect the boundary of Manipur because it is an international boundary of India. New Delhi’s willingness to safeguard Manipur’s boundary (international) is not without doubt given the strategy of New Delhi of pulling back all its troops from their forward positions in the North East region leaving the people at the mercy of Chinese soldiers during the Indo-China War of 1962. This episode clearly exposed the second class status of the Northeastern people. In another word, it was a clear indication that the entire North East constitutes a buffer zone in the concept of Indian nationhood, and not the Indian nation proper.
The tricky part is, even if the Government of India is willing to protect the boundary of Manipur from external aggression, it had no objection and was even enthusiastic to re-draw boundary of Manipur within India if such an arrangement could satisfy and silence any rebel group (read NSCN-IM) waging war against New Delhi. The boundary of Manipur would have been re-drawn many years back had the people of Manipur not rose up as one against such design and intention of New Delhi and NSCN-IM. Yes, the constitution of India permits re-arrangement of inter-State boundaries but New Delhi should not overlook the fact that Manipur was merged, or annexed as some historians says, in its entirety. New Delhi should understand that what is an internal matter of India is not always so for Manipur.
Juxtaposing the strategy of blockade, the search of Naga lebensraum and New Delhi’s appeasement policy, it is crucial to make a comprehensive study by drawing a line of reference to the controversial Merger Agreement of 1949. The relationship between the two political entities of India and Manipur forged by the Merger Agreement needs a re-visit in the backdrop of New Delhi’s failure to respond to the prolonged blockade for a long time. We feel really sorry that the post-Merger history of Manipur is largely a narrative of political subjugation and economic deprivation. Manipur was a proud, sovereign nation when it was merged with the Indian Union but 60 years after the controversial merger, Manipur has been turned into a sort of captive market. In terms of geopolitics, Manipur has been rendered a buffer state against the not so friendly eastern neighbours of India. Economically, Manipur has been reduced to some sort of a parasite, unable to live without the mercy of host India. With all its indigenous economic institutions uprooted and destroyed systematically over the last 60 years, Manipur is now compelled to beg for funds, aids and grants from New Delhi to operate some semblance of economy. By and by, a concept of dependency (on India) was ingrained in the minds of Manipuri people, and India attained overlordship over Manipur.
This economic dependency further reduced the political status of Manipur vis-a-vis India. Right from the day of Merger Agreement, starting from Part C State to full fledged statehood, Manipur was kept subservient to New Delhi. The Indo-Manipur relation as it exists today can best be described within the concept of neo-colonialism. The Indo-Manipur relation operates on the line of an ‘imperial power-colony’ matrix. In the so called democratic political set up of India, Manipur finds no place except as a buffer zone or a neo-colony. New Delhi never acknowledges the distinctive historiography of Manipur nor does it respect the sentiments of the indigenous people. Not long after the Merger Agreement, New Delhi exposed its treachery when its first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gifted away Manipur’s vast and resourceful Kabow Valley to Myanmar (then Burma). It was a defining moment in the Indo-Manipur relationship. Whatever faith shared between the people of Manipur and New Delhi was lost then and there. Then the prolonged humiliation of the Manipuri nation by keeping the former sovereign nation as a Part C State, like a fiefdom of a petty chief commissioner all culminated together to define the future Indo-Manipur relation. It proved that the relationship between New Delhi and Manipur was nothing better than assertion by an imperial power upon a colony. Neo-colonialism as witnessed in Manipur has certain peculiarities for many of the classic attributes of pure colonialism are still evident today together with all the characteristics of neo-colonialism. While economic dependency is nurtured and sustained to fit into a case of neo-colonialism, there is heavy military presence, operating beyond the control of civil administration, more akin to occupational forces, acting as constant reminder of the days of colonialism.
Bitter but valuable lessons
Despite the untold misery and hardships caused by the offensive strategy of prolonged highway blockade, the blockaders have done a very commendable job by teaching some bitter but valuable lessons to the Manipuri people in the form of exposure of the real position of Manipur in the political set-up of India. It did re-define the vulnerability of Manipur as a politically isolated entity and the unreliability of New Delhi in times of crisis. At the same time, the blockade re-affirmed the resilience of the Manipuri people. Here, it is crucial to look back to history and study how economic dependency and vulnerability which are basic characteristics of neo-colonialism became a reality to the existence of the Manipuri nation.

As a sovereign nation, Manipur operated its trade and commerce through Old Cachar Road, Imphal-Dimapur Road and Imphal-Tamu Road. This was continued during the British colonial rule too. With its economy more or less self-reliant, the question of vulnerability to highway blockade never arose. But after the merger, Manipur became vulnerable to highway blockades as all its indigenous economic institutions were destroyed and rendered dependent on goods imported from outside. The tragedy Manipur has been suffering in the post Merger era is that the Imphal-Dimapur road was made the only reliable link between Manipur and the rest of India even as the same road is most prone to blockades and other obstructions round the year. The Imphal-Tamu road has been virtually sealed off barring some inefficient trade agreements which are limited to a very few items. When the vulnerability of Manipur to blockade is a gift of the controversial Merger Agreement, the political isolation of Manipur is a direct result of New Delhi’s insidious policies towards the people of Manipur. Going by the way, New Delhi woke up to the blockade after it was already two months old, people have learnt some very valuable lessons, that is; when Manipur suffers, no Indian citizen suffer; the political boundary and destiny of Manipur is never safe in the hands of New Delhi; and Manipuris should stop looking upto New Delhi but struggle for themselves.

This article was posted on The Sangai Express on Sunday, June 20, 2010