Leader Writer: Wangkheimayum Bhupendra Singh
The state as it is has become a long story of agitations and demands cropping up on a daily basis and the never ending construction works of various developmental projects. Demands for separate districts, alternative arrangements, territorial integrity, compensation for the dead, and so on have ruled the state for quite sometime. It is high time that both the people and the government realized the depth of the crisis which is fast engulfing the state, before only the proverbial ashes remain of the state. The people of the state as it is seem to be only trying to find fault with every action of the government, whereas the government is happy to ignore them all and let it linger a little bit longer before the issues subside by themself. In the process, both the people and the government are left high and dry. The people who had elected the government are frustrated at the government’s apathy, while the government is anxious as to what new demands the people could bring up next. The problem lies not only with the government but also with the general public. While it is important for every community to think for the welfare of the community and have all the fine intentions towards the future of the community, what should be all-important is not to offend the interest of the others while making their demands. The means to realize my own good and wants should not at any level affect the overall good of the society. The time is such that all the three major communities of the state feel threatened in the company of one another, which certainly is not only bad for the communities concern but for the overall good of the state as well. The insecurity between the major communities should be checked before it gets out of hand and leads to such catastrophe from where it would be hard for the state to bounce back. The people before making their individual or separate demands should first consider its impact on a larger scale. However reasonable the demands may be it will lose its credibility if it will hurt the interest of the general public or other communities. Though we are all the more happier that no communally hyped incident has come up so far, nonetheless, we should understand that we are already on thin ice and it is upto the people of the state to divert any situation which may destroy the very existence of the state.
When the world over people are racing towards development, the state seems to be going backwards into history with all major players in the state happy with thinking only about their own good and forgetting the collective good of the state in the process. It’s time for all players to start thinking about the collective prosperity rather than confine oneself to just oneself. When the world over, people are fighting for peace and unity, the players in the state are disturbing peace for division of the state. People of the state are happy with building walls around themselves, happy in their own small world. We are fighting for what we want before realizing what we need. There should be a certain divide as well as a connection between want and need. For obviously it should be impossible to realize one’s want before realizing one’s need and vice-versa. Like-wise there is a certain divide between one’s own good and the collective good of the society. While it is all-important for someone to have fine intention for himself and his community, the fact remains that his good intentions should not harm his neighbours. However, the people should also realize that tolerance and acceptance are needed for a peaceful co-existence. People should not oppose a demand just for the sake of opposing. Tolerance of what is just and reasonable and the ability to accept the demands will certainly help in unifying the society.
The end point is it will not serve any purpose for all concern if we remain adamant with the demands for our own good at the expense of the others and if the others oppose the demands just for the sake of opposing it.
Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/11/of-oneself-and-the-collective-good/
