Manipur News

It is time for the human rights debate in Manipur, where the endless string of mayhem for the past many decades has disoriented the people of the finer points of rights and entitlements, is given a fresh approach. The clash between draconian laws and brutal counter laws, decrees and diktats, has desensitized their finer appreciations of the beauty of even the much hyped idea of freedom. Today, if an ordinary man on the street were to be posed the question as to what he thinks freedom is, the answer in all likelihood would be the rote, superficial, textbook or else indoctrinated definition of it. If he or she understands or believes more than just what it is being advocated to mean, the answer is likely to be a studied silence. A silence induced by fear, whichever side of the fence the belief leans towards amidst the intense conflict over the issue in the place. But an honest answer to the question is important. For one thing, on it will hinge the solution to many of our problems. For another, many other questions of import will necessarily have to be derivatives of it. As for instance, linked to it would be our understandings of rights, justice and a sense of a benign republican polity.

When things get complicated, it is always helpful to refer to the thumb-rule that says begin from the basic. A good way of doing this is as Economics Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen says in his book `Development As Freedom`, to consider the term `unfreedoms` rather than the more ethereal `freedom`. What are the conditions in our individual as well as community life that shackle and weigh down our ability to exercise our freedom of thought, belief and action? Poverty, unemployment, deprivation of political voice, inadequate empowerment to participate and formulate policies that govern our lives, depletion of a sense of purpose in life, shrinking of hope of acquiring the skills and abilities to enhance one`™s own quality of life? What are the `unfreedoms` that are coming in the way of our sense of a more comprehensive `freedom`? We will not presume to know the answer but all we can say is that these are material for honest and intense introspection for all of us at this juncture of our history. This is also the only way we can separate the illusory from the substantial, so vital in our situation.

More urgently, a similar introspective approach is also called for to refresh our understanding of the `human rights` question. The question as to what is `just` and what is `right`, may be relatively easy to answer from the legal standpoint but not so when it is considered as a moral query. This is a very old doubt of humankind and has appeared in literature and philosophy through the ages, and quite interestingly, in this debate, there have always been a grudging admiration for those who have presented dissenting views to the accepted and dominant reasoning. In John Milton`™s `Paradise Lost`, Milton himself seems at times to tacitly empathise with Satan`™s reason for rebelling against what Satan described as God`™s dictatorship, however benevolent. In the Hindu scripture of Bhagavad Gita too, there are many who see Arjuna`™s initial opposition to Krishna`™s sermon that nothing ultimately matters except doing duty to God even if this means bloodshed. Among these who see the human predicament in Arjuna`™s dilemma, is again Amartya Sen in his `The Artumentative Indian`. While duty to God is important, shouldn`™t a consideration of the consequences of this duty be any less important, Sen ponders.

Closer at home, Ratan Thiyam seems also to agree with Arjuna. In his `Kurukshetragi Pirang` (Tears of Kurukshetra) which considers what might have happened after the Mahabharat War, against the backdrop of wails of war widows and orphans, the director poses the same question that Arjuna posed Krishna. This victory of the good over evil can be pyrrhic and even cynical. One is also reminded of Max Weber`™s notion of the `State` as the sole wielder of `legitimate violence` in the larger interest of the citizenry. The non state players in our conflict situation also presume this right to legitimate violence, aspiring as they do to be States. In the Weberian sense then, the two are very much the different sides of the same coin. The point is, this `legitimate violence` has increasingly been the cause rather than deterrent of violence against the citizens. Can `legitimate violence` then still be morally legitimate?

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/rights-and-wrongs/

From 2010 to 2015, every year from November 21 to November 30. Five years down the line and the interesting question is how closely has the Manipur Sangai Festival been able to go with the brow antlered deer, the Sangai, after which it is named ? How much has this festival been able to ingrain the importance of preserving wildlife amongst the local population ? A significant question this is, for remember it was only a few years back that some eating joints at the festival venue were found selling and serving the meat of wildlife. Again how successful has the annual Sangai Festival been able to hardsell Manipur as a tourist destination to people from other parts of the country or even foreign countries ? From the annual tourist festival to the Sangai Festival, surely some progress must have been made and this can be gauged from the fact that the Ambassadors of Norway and China, the High Commissioner of Bangladesh, Councillor Ministers of Indonesia and Japan have confirmed their participation at the festival. Moreover there is also the possibility that the Golden Myanmar flight may transport tourists from abroad. Moreover it is also significant to note that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it a point to be present on the closing day of the festival last year. It however still remains to be seen how much the Sangai Festival will be able to hardsell Manipur to the outside world. An important question this is, for the fact stands that in the past a visit to the festival venue always meant meeting acquaintances, forget about witnessing tourists who come here to have a glimpse of the festival.

The State Government seems to be putting its best foot forward to have everything ready for the festival this year. Sanjenthong is today ready before the festival and despite the threat issued by an armed outfit, everyone must be hoping that there is no repeat of 2011 when a rickshaw driver was blown apart just near the festival venue. That the Government is also serious about regulating vehicular movements can be gauged from the traffic regulations issued by the Directorate of Transport as well as the Transport Sub-Committee of the Traffic Police. Positive steps no doubt, but it should also seep into the consciousness of the political leaders that in most cases, it is their movements which hamper the smooth flow of traffic. Makes absolutely no sense to expect everyone to give them the right of way whenever any of these leaders, who come under the VIP tag, decide to visit the festival venue. In a few days time from now, the Sangai Festival will start and it is also important for the public to come to the point that in as much as the Government has a responsibility to make the festival a success, the people too are responsible in their own way. The people of Manipur will have to don the role of hosts from November 21 to November 30 and perhaps this is the opportune moment for everyone to showcase Manipur in the best manner possible.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/showcasing-manipur-via-sangai-fest-from-november-21-to-30/

Annual Sangai Festival from November 21 to November 30. This is the constant. Another disturbing development is the growing trust deficit amongst the three major communities of Manipur-the Meiteis, the Nagas and the Kukis. This has also become a sort of a constant in the life of everyone here. The three Bills passed by the State Assembly on August 31 this year undoubtedly provided the spark for the inert ‘hostility’ amongst the different communities to come to the fore. A violent one at that and which has already claimed the lives of nine people in Churachandpur district. Checking the influx of outsiders or non-local people into the State of Manipur is undoubtedly the driving force behind the intense movement that was witnessed in the valley area of Manipur for months, even leading to the death of a young student in police action. On the other hand the cut off base year of 1951 to identify the indigenous people of Manipur is another reason for the huge uproar in Churachandpur district and the yet to be cremated/buried nine mortal remains is the proof of the intensity of the protest. Apart from this there is also the heated debate on whether the three Bills passed by the State Assembly were money Bills or not and why the Hill Areas Committee was by passed. Each side obviously seem to have their own side of the story to tell, but has anyone really thought about Manipur as a whole ? Looking at the reality, it should be obvious that no one has looked beyond the immediate interest of the community to which he or she belongs to. So there are Meiteis, Nagas, Kukis, Meitei Pangals and others here but no Manipuris.

Not the first time that The Sangai Express is commenting on this and this will not be the last either, if one goes by the ground reality. This is where the Meiteis, by being the major community need to seriously question themselves why the idea of a Manipuri has refused to cut into the consciousness of the Nagas and the Kukis ? For starters one may well ask how many students from the Naga and Kuki communities are actually members of the Manipuri students bodies in different parts of India ? Just to cite an example, how many Naga and Kuki students are members of the Manipur Students’ Association, Delhi ? The same question may also be raised with regard to student organisations in other cities, such as Chennai, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai etc. The reality is grim and ugly, if one may add. But has this reality really helped anyone ? None. This is where the people need to come together, shed pre-conceived notions and find common interests which would be beneficial to everyone. For this to happen, the reality has to be accepted first. There may be genuine reasons for any grievances but reading everything along the line of community divide is not the answer. The people do have a responsibility in making the place a better place for the youngsters to inherit once they come of age. How to build up trust may just be what the doctors would prescribe to deal with the ailment afflicting Manipur now.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/divide-becoming-sort-of-a-constant-growing-trust-deficit/

Researchers from Norfolk-based University of East Anglia (UEA) has recently rated the people of India as one of the least honest and kept the country in a category of the dishonest along with China, Japan and South Korea. The key finding of the research suggested that people’s honesty varies significantly between countries. However, Asian countries were not significantly more dishonest than others in the quiz, where Japan had the lowest level of dishonesty, said the research. What is even more interesting about the news is the way dishonesty has been measured using a novel methodology. The research conducted using a coin flip test among 1,500 participants from 15 countries found out that the four least honest countries were found to be China, Japan, South Korea and India.

The research however points out that the difference between Asian and other countries in the coin flip may be explained by cultural views specific to this type of test, such as
attitudes to gambling, rather than differences in honesty as such. The findings also suggest honesty is less important to a country’s current economic growth than during earlier periods in history. The research team examined whether people from different countries were more or less honest and how this related to a country’s economic development. For research made the participants take part in an online survey involving two incentivised experiments designed to measure honest behaviour. The participants were first asked to flip a coin and state whether it landed on “heads” or “tails”. They knew if they reported that it landed on heads, they would be rewarded with money. If the proportion reporting heads was more than 50 percent in a given country, this indicated that people were being dishonest.  The same participants were then asked to complete a quiz where they were again rewarded financially if they answered all questions correctly. Data from the tests was compared to estimate whether people from particular countries were more likely to tell the truth. The countries studied understudy were chosen to provide a mix of regions, levels of development and levels of social trust. Estimated dishonesty in the coin flip ranged from 3.4% in Britain to 70% in China. In the quiz, respondents in Japan were the most honest, followed by Britain while those in Turkey were the least truthful. It was found that people were more pessimistic about the honesty of people in their own country than of people in other countries. The research found out that the honesty of countries was related to the countries’ economic growth too.

While one can argue on whether or not the methodology adopted could truly explain or rather measure the level of dishonesty, the research at least points out significant qualitative connotation already made known by earlier studies. Hope, the research would be an eye opener for those who swear by transparency.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2015/11/measuring-dishonesty/