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By Amar Yumnam
There is now a call to shun the forthcoming Orange Festival and it is not without reason. Any festival sponsored and organized by the state cannot be without reason and without a cause; it can never be festival for the sake of it. The festival should definitely have a cause and be a movement to sustain a spirit for enhancement of lives. All these cannot happen in a vacuum and should necessarily be founded on a commitment of the state to transform society and economy for taking the well-being of people on a higher pedestal. This has not happened in the case of the Orange Festival and hence the expected angst of the people whose well-being has not been taken forward at all despite the annual festivals. This has not been only in the case of this, but has rather has been the marked feature of every functioning of the state in Manipur. This does call for an introspection to identify the missing element which makes the repetition of such experiences a routine one. The social impact of this is also visible in the recent involvement and arrest of a police officer and army personnel in connection with harassment of civilians to extract money and other belongings; thankfully in this we see a remarkable improvement in the police administration of the land as exemplified by the arrest of the involved police officer in real time of the notice of the event.
In the introspection process, I must admit that enjoying the Nupi Lal drama recently on 12 December has been a wonderfully learning experience. I am not a student of History and indeed very poor at that. Besides, I have never earlier witnessed the dramatization of the remarkable social event of Women’s War in Manipur. But this time I did. Ohh! I cried profusely! I am not qualified to comment on the historical component of the show, but I would not restrain myself from expressing the feelings on the social characters epitomised by the drama.
First, the drama conveys very strongly the existence of a very rooted nation at that point of time in history in spite of the presence of British authorities on the soil. Second, it manifests the presence of a group of people identified with the nation and thus nationalism. Third, there is ample evidence of a presence of a vibrant spirit to sustain the nationalism. Now these are not characteristics which can be evolved and established overnight. It definitely must have taken centuries to create a society with these qualities and the unstinted efforts of the forefathers and the kings (includes queens). These qualities would not die easily, and the global presence of Manipuris today in different spheres of activities and walks of life is testimony to the continued strength provided by these social qualities.
But we are now facing a genuine social problem here. In the historical period we could observe the polity-wide presence of these qualities and the benefits out of it were at the level of the masses. An individual could prove himself in the social context itself. In the language of Economics, what was experienced was the possibility of rise in the social marginal benefit without compromising the well-being of an individual. The atmosphere of social competence for each individual endeavouring to excel was sustained in a nice way. However, today the picture is altogether different. This atmosphere is fast disappearing within the social context prevalent in Manipur today. Besides the remnants of the historical qualities are to be searched at the individual levels rather than social and in the individual display of excellence in a context outside of the home society.
The question before us is why such a situation has arisen today. The spirit of nationalism and coupled by the collective commitment of the people to sustain it are divine qualities. These should continuously be nurtured and allow to evolve from one level to another for ensuring forever forward movement of society. But unfortunately two things have happened in the post 1949 scenario of Manipur. First, there is the non-evolution of an Indian state alive to the demography, culture and geography of post-1949 India. It should have been in the fitness of things for the Indian state to sustain the positive social qualities of Manipur and allow these to strengthen the generation of a powerful Indian nationalism. Instead of this, the approach of the Indian state has been to view these qualities as rather anti-Indian elements. This is the natural fall-out of the base failure of the Indian state to adopt a policy of nation-building till today, and following a policy of control, dominance and subjugation. The earlier spirit has not died completely and a new one has not emerged either. But the emerging gap provides a horrendous opportunity for social and political sharks to push for personal agenda.
Secondly, there are the lapses contained in the polity prevailing in Manipur today particularly in so far as they relate to the character of the dominant political class. There naturally have emerged individuals who can capture the gap and visualise the opportunities for enhancing private marginal benefits at the sacrifice of social marginal benefits. They can easily play the trick of following the orientation of the Indian state without in any way serving the cause of it, and in the process push for personal aggrandisement lock, stock and barrel. This group of individuals is conversant with the inherited social characters of Manipur, and adept in playing with the spirit of Manipur. The ruling political class of Manipur is now supplanted by a group of contractors equally manipulative in cashing on the prevailing circumstances.
The chaos in Manipur today and the rising decline of the youths on their expectations on the future of Manipur are natural results of the play and interplay of these two forces. But this definitely is not a sustainable route for advancement. The state should change her character and acquire new abilities founded on the endogenous qualities of the society of Manipur. Only then can we hope for peace and development.
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