Day: December 4, 2014

The chief minister, O Ibobi`™s appeal for all to give their mite towards ushering in peace in the state so that development can pick up momentum is now familiar rhetoric. So many others have said these same words before him too. There can be no doubt that the interrelationship between peace and development is a typical example of the chicken and egg conundrum, however often forgotten here is that this prognosis is not all this simplistic and hence the prescriptions to it also have also never worked as they should have. This, it is arguable, is because there are a number of other factors that are acting as bottlenecks, if not roadblocks, in the way of both peace and development. One of these, not many will dispute, is the total absence of political legitimacy in the state, in spite of the fact that political stability is more or less have been ensured by the introduction of the Anti Defection Law. Unlike in the past when not many average citizens could remember how many times the state government had fallen in the past decade, today in the changed circumstance, the Ibobi ministry has lasted two and a half terms already, and is on way to completing three. Partly as a cost of the instable politics in the past, and partly because those in the vocation have not changed their ways, politics and politicians, though powerful, are still seen as unscrupulous and selfish by the people. In the face of this fall from grace of politics as such, there are still very few amongst the general public who would unhesitatingly vouch anything good can ever come out of politics. The damage this poisoning of the mind has done to the state, although intangible, has been far reaching. A detoxification of this public mindset must predicate any serious talk of peace or development. Only such an awakening can resolve the chicken and egg situation of peace and development that has today been reduced to a cliche. Neither peace nor development are likely ever to come within reach if politics in the land has not undergone such a moral cleansing.

We would like to remind our leaders that mere appeals for peace are nothing more than lip service. We would also like them to remember that when they appeal to others to allow peace to return, they are presuming their own innocence in the matter, as well as excluding their own responsibilities in setting right the things that have gone wrong. We can without hesitation say that all of us, big and small, weak and powerful, rich and poor, are intensely concerned about the issue. If at all there are differences, it is in the approach to a solution although in the end, all will have to acknowledge it is a common problem, needing a common solution. Which also incidentally means each and every one of us, not the least the politicians, will have to contribute our share in putting the peace train back on rail. This can be done by each of us pursuing our works and duties with honest conviction that what we do well and honestly is our way of contributing to peace, and consequently development. Looking at it another way, we see the chaos all around as a collective retribution for the crimes and sins we each of us have committed in the past, perhaps without even realising it or because our conscience have become blunted. The punishment then is equally a poetic justice for all. The rich, the powerful, the corrupt… as much as the average law abiding citizens who are too caught up with the routines of their everyday lives and made cowardly by the intimidating issues all around, to raise their voices and articulate honestly their minds. The latter especially should remember what Amartya Sen said in his The Argumentative Indian: `Silence is a powerful enemy of social justice.`

Leader Writer: Pradip Phanjoubam

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/12/chaos-as-penalty/

`Getting Zero: Zero new infection, Zero AIDS related death, Zero discrimination` is the theme for this year`™s World AIDS Day observation. It is heartening that Chief Minister Okram Ibobi speaking during the observation organised by the Manipur State Aids Control Society had come down heavily against misuse of funds by NGOs which are meant for spreading awareness. He had warned that any organisation found pilfering funds will be blacklisted. The CM`™s warning is indicative of the malpractices, and their quantum, on the part of the NGOs, which are working in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention, control and management. The CM`™s apprehension must have reliable grounds in the information gathering machinery of the state. For the common people, a good enough premise that something is terribly wrong with some of these NGOs would be the conspicuous mushrooming of palatial houses belonging to NGO workers. If there is a political will, weeding out such NGOs is not a difficult task for the government. There are enough mechanisms to check the flow of funds of the NGOs. We would definitely like to see the CM`™s words translating into action.

The CM underscored the fact that awareness is the key to control further spread of the HIV virus amongst the population. It is true that with the introduction of Antiretroviral Therapy, ART, there has been considerable hold on HIV related deaths in the state. But then the goal of `zero discrimination`™ is still a far-fetch one. Discrimination exists at various levels of our society. This discrimination can be seen in the Leikai community, at social functions, at the work places and even within the family. Sometimes, discrimination can be seen at the most unexpected places `“ the public hospitals and clinics. It is said that people living with HIV generally do not feel comfortable in their visits to the ART centres of the state. A visit to such ART centres will ascertain the fact. It is disheartening enough to see people standing on queue just to collect their ART drugs. But to know that most of these centers are without proper resting place or even drinking water facility moves one to the verge of risking a conclusion that they have been discriminated and then forgotten. More often than not, there are complaints of `unwanted attitude`™ in the functioning of the State AIDS Clinical Expert Panel, a reviewing and decision making body on all cases referred by the ART centres regarding viral load testing and starting of 2nd line and alternative 1st line ART.

Some leading NGOs have been equally critical of the government`™s policy and functioning on the HIV/AIDS issue in the state. An outspoken NGO worker, L Deepak, who is the president of the Manipur Network of Positive People, speaking on a parallel observation of World AIDS Day had charged the government of neglecting the issue. He maintained that the government has failed to earmark funds for HIV/AIDS in the state budget. He said the current funding on HIV/AIDS are all global funding that comes through the National AIDS Control Organisation; and he further urged the MLAs, ministers and officials concerned to shun rhetoric and rather practice what they preach. That there is an unfortunate deficit of trust between the NGO workers and the government is a picture painted by these different takes on the issue. In order to be anywhere near the goal of `Zero new infection, Zero AIDS related death, Zero discrimination`™, the chasm of mistrust between the NGOs and the government must be spanned. A little bit of soul searching on both the camps with focus on the issue might do the trick. One cannot be overly optimistic but this is one case where one does not have much of a choice.

Leader writer: Senate Kh

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/12/fighting-hivaids-bridge-the-gap/