The significance of the observation of Khongjom day in a grandeur manner is its ability to instil in the minds of all the sacrifices made by our forefathers in the protection of the territory of our land. They fought against the British might valiantly and fearlessly laying down their own life to uphold the prestige of the land. We are now living in a land of our own. If our forefathers did not feel the need for fighting against the invaders would we have what we are having now? The answer will be in negative. Though Manipur lost in the Khongjom war it reminds Manipuris are ferocious when they are challenged. Unrelenting and ceaseless, they continue to fight till they get the goal of their choice. But the time has come for all to ponder where and how our energy is being utilised. Social ailments like corruption which have eaten into the vitals of the society have permeated everywhere, but none comes out to fight against the menace of this disease. Corruption has threatened to tear apart social fabric. The possibility of brilliant student yet poor becoming a Government servant is remote in Manipur. Those who can gamble by selling homestead land and paddy fields may be able to lead a blissful life, there is no doubt about it. Many young men had taken up arms to bring a change to the society and also to liberate Manipur. Nevertheless the attack carried out at Kwatha by armed elements leaves a big question mark. What message the attackers wanted to give by ambushing unarmed civilian officials. Something is wrong somewhere. Human life is not a plaything. One must show restraint in the face of provocation. Manipur will set on the path laid down by forefathers when we as people learn to respect each other. Let us learn to despise those who become rich and famous by indulging in heinous activities. Let us learn to show respect to those, who make sacrifices for the cause of other people. Until that happens we will continue to see social unrest caused by the ever widening gap between the haves and have nots. As we observe Khongjom day we must take a pledge not to indulge in any form of activities that will be detrimental to the well being of the society. It is really sad even the drivers, who toil hard to earn a living are gunned down. Disgusting stories of young girls being kidnapped and killed continue to ring in our ears. All out efforts must be made to check such type of incidents. The cooperation of all is required. When these men and women related crimes are stopped our forefathers will rest in peace. The men in power must attempt to achieve this goal.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/relevance-of-khongjom-day-celebration/
