Tag: Editorial

Leader Writer: Paojel Chaoba

India after being liberated from the British rule in 1947 has come a long way. The sub –continent has forged towards the future in myriad aspects of development and still continues.

The political genealogy of the Nation post-independence, according to veteran Indian journalist and syndicated columnist Kuldip Nayar in his book “Scoop”has more or less presented that the Gandhi lineage have monopolized the country’s politics.It may be or may not be so, but the Constitution of India lays down certain fundamental rights to protect and benefit its citizenry and Bills and Acts have to be passed and amended to concur with the change in times.

Being a developing country, huge funds have been pumped for effective administration of the states and various flagship programs have been initiated inclusive of many ‘Yojnas’.But, it is common talk and knowledge that corruption runs rampant  throughout the country including this state beyond the turtleneck. It has been the voice of the common man that the due from the government has not been received in totality.

The first Jan Lokpal Bill was first proposed in 1968 and passed in the 4th Lok Sabha in 1969 but could not get through the Rajya Sabha. Subsequently, Lokpal bills were introduced in later years, yet were never passed.

The Lokpal Bill provides for filing complaints of corruption against the prime minister, other ministers, and MPs , government servants. It is clear that for a less corrupted nation, the institution of the Lokpal is a must ,not only for removing the sense of injustice from the minds of deeply affected citizens but also to instill public confidence in the efficiency of the administrative machinery. Each time, after the bill was introduced to the house, it was referred to some committee for improvements either to a joint committee of parliament, or a departmental standing committee of the Home Ministry and before the government could take a final stand on the issue, the house was yet dissolved again following derogatory theatrics of the allies and opposition members of the UPA government. Justice has been delayed yet again.

To say that a blade of grass is stuck on the head of the robber and a person wiping his head at the instant is synonymous with the actions played by the members of the Rajya Sabha.It is logical that the corrupted would not want to pass the Lokpal Bill, the pathetic legislators along with those in power with their ill-gotten wealth would be booked and seized.

In retrospect, being a democracy,the public elect their representatives and states have their representatives as the Rajya Sabha member. Now, the blame cannot be left entirely to the members of the house but also the public must also be part of the liability. It is the public who have elected the corrupted politicians in the first place.One feels safe to say that ours is a Democrazy society as we yet re –elect and send up the scrupulous and unethical turncoats again and again.

Now, election time is here once again and full revelry amidst political conflict is observed in almost all constituencies of the state. Dinners each night, pipelines of liquor have been laid by each contending contestant following per unwritten election norms. Later, currency notes will be doled out to the voters. The lure of easy money is hard to resist, but it is that bought thumb impression on the biometric EVM machine which have delayed the passing of such a landmark as the Lokpal Bill. Even if the money has to be taken out of necessity,let us make sure to vote for the right candidate or in some scenarios, to the lesser evil.     

“You can fool some people some time ,but you cannot fool all the people all of the time”,quoting these lyrics from a song of Jamaican rebel singer Bob Marley.Let us hope ,pray and act that we the Manipuri people  one day wake up and be able to stand up for our rights.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/a-failed-democracy-a-failed-public/

It is quite an interesting coincidence that as the world sings to the tune of the old adage of ringing out the old and ringing in the new with the coming New Year, Manipur will be virtually ringing out its old government and ringing in a new one. That is, presuming the people are ready or desirous of doing so. For it is not at all impossible, and at this moment quite likely, that the old will return as it is, perhaps with some minor changes here and there. As for instance, it is quite likely many of those sitting in the Opposition benches would seek to return to the Assembly on Congress ticket in the belief and hope that the Congress would still be party to head the next government. But as they say, it is impossible to predict the exact outcomes of any free election, and indeed even the most scientific and organised pre-election opinion polls and exit polls have been known to fail miserably in judging the electorate’s mind – any electorate’s mind.

This is not to say the old cannot become renewed. Everything about life is about this ability to renew and rejuvenate. The old gets replaced by the new sometimes literally, but at other times metaphorically. The old also can reinvent to become new all over again, and this theme is the script behind the romance of so many of the most successful enterprises in life. Steve Jobs’ Apple Computers is the one most fresh in mind to have done this, not once but several times under the charismatic leadership of one of the most amazing technological and marketing genius of all times. However, be it the old team or a new set, what is important is, the state must choose a government with promises a new agenda and a new beginning; a government which is new but at the same time able to pick up from where the old one left.

While we hope a sense of the new is ushered in with the coming year and the imminent change of guards in the government, we also must underscore the importance in a change of attitude of the people in general. After all there is much to be had from the universally acknowledged thumb rule that people get the government they deserve. The Manipur electorate must be able to sit down, reflect and make an assessment of the past, and then project into the future to decide what would be best for them. What has been said about the need for the ability to renew and reinvent by politics and politicians, should equally apply to them. They must live up to the reality and expectations of the time and measure their decisions accordingly. They must keep in mind that the world is always in constantly state of flux and that no two moments are the same. The paradoxical logic of the impossibility of entering the same river more than once is the perfect metaphor to describe this situation. In other words, the river is there as the same river but because it is always changing, every time somebody enters it, it is also a different river. Anybody who is unable to acknowledge this profound truth, will be doomed a redundant future and finally reduced to insignificance.

Sadly, at this moment, the fixation of almost all sections of the society seems to lean towards either a revivalist or revisionist view of the past and history. This can never be in the interest of anybody ultimately. What is called for is the resilience to accommodate the demands of the time. Even as we enter the New Year 2012, let it be the collective pledge of the people of this state to be ready to change and accommodate present challenges instead of always looking to the past for salvation and succour. Let them together pledge to face the brave new world of the future rather than live in the false belief of a return of past glory. At this moment, Manipur desperately needs a reinvention of itself for it is now faced with myriad new challenges brought about by myriad new consciousness which have spawned with time. Once upon a time, these consciousnesses, as for instance those which are causing the explosion of ethnic nations, were not there. Today inevitably as per the demands of the times, they have come to stay and there is no point in wishing they do not or should not exist. The progressive way forward is to acknowledge this new reality and then strive to evolve a new outlook that accommodated and put to rest the causes for all the frictions threatening to tear the society apart. It is with this outlook, we appeal to the electorate of the state to vote in January, so as to ring in a new Manipur.


Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/awaiting-a-new-order/

On an absolute scale, there can be no doubt whatsoever Manipur has developed. A former Governor of the state 15 years ago, who had recently visited the state said in private he is certain this is so. A lot many others, including people from the state who had been away for any significant length of time too concur with this observation. But even if this is so, there are certain questions that still beg answers before any verdict on governance in the state can be legitimately pronounced. One of these is very obvious. On a relative scale, can the thumbs up the former Governor and other non-resident citizens are willing to extend to the state administration still be an accurate assessment? That is to say, while it is true Manipur probably has grown in terms of new infrastructures that have come up in the last decade or so, could they have grown more given the quantum jump in the availability of development funds proportionate to the overall growth in the Indian economy? Again, while in terms of quantity things may have improved, can the same be said of the quality as well?

So many articles have been written on this by all hues of writers in the local dailies as to how even the newly renovated roads in Manipur fall vastly short in quality compared to roads even in neighbouring states of Nagaland and Assam. Even without going to the remote hill districts to make this comparison, take the best made roads in Imphal, say for instance the Airport Road stretch from Imphal or the one that runs around the Kangla Fort touching the Raj Bhavan, right in the heart of the capital city, or the short stretch that cuts through the administrative hub of the civil secretariat and the chief minister’s residential bungalow cum office complex. Why are even these roads substandard and uneven on the surface? They had been broadened and bitumen reinforced but the road surface still tells a different story. This difference would be missed as long as a comparison is not available, but somebody who travels out of the state and sees even roads in Assam and Meghalaya would suddenly realise how much has not been done. The old frustrating question remains, why is this being allowed to continue? Why are all those responsible for this so disrespectful about the work they do? Why have they ceased to take pride in the quality of workmanship they produce? If it is a question of scarce means, it would have been understandable, but it is everybody’s knowledge this is not at all the case. The shortfall in the quality on the other hand is on account of money meant for these projects not being spent fully on the projects. In a state bereft of industries worth the name, there are many as rich as any successful entrepreneur anywhere can be. The marble mansions spring up amidst the growing ghetto landscape of Imphal and other major townships bear testimony to this organized thievery. Yet the state remains remorseless.

There are of course many public buildings, grand by Manipur standard, such as the Assembly complex Mantri Pukhri, the Convention Centre at Palace Gate, the Manipur Film Development Centre also at Palace Gate etc, which now majestically adorn the Imphal cityscape. There are also plans for a 5-Star Hotel, airport expansion, and many more. On one hand, all of these are being built with funds from the Union government hence in the literal sense they are unearned, so there is nothing to shout from rooftops and claim these as achievements. On another hand, in this postmodern and democratic age, these grand structures represent the re-emergence of the State as a disproportionately imposing institution once again, soaring and intimidating the ordinary citizens into virtual insignificance. These buildings obviously would be out of bounds of the ordinary public, zealously guarded by the state’s armed constabularies as they would be, clearly marking the dividing line between the State and the people. In this sense, the only architecturally democratic structures which have also been allowed in this city modernisation process are the new Keithels. While all these projects deserve appreciations, they should have been balanced off by a reciprocal push to develop other infrastructures which are truly for the public, such as parks, better water supply, roads, better public transport system, better traffic regulatory mechanisms, better government schools etc. This imbalance having not been addressed, the million rupees question that remains answered even if outside observers see visible development in the state is, whose development is it?

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/whose-development/

On an absolute scale, there can be no doubt whatsoever Manipur has developed. A former Governor of the state 15 years ago, who had recently visited the state said in private he is certain this is so. A lot many others, including people from the state who had been away for any significant length of time too concur with this observation. But even if this is so, there are certain questions that still beg answers before any verdict on governance in the state can be legitimately pronounced. One of these is very obvious. On a relative scale, can the thumbs up the former Governor and other non-resident citizens are willing to extend to the state administration still be an accurate assessment? That is to say, while it is true Manipur probably has grown in terms of new infrastructures that have come up in the last decade or so, could they have grown more given the quantum jump in the availability of development funds proportionate to the overall growth in the Indian economy? Again, while in terms of quantity things may have improved, can the same be said of the quality as well?

So many articles have been written on this by all hues of writers in the local dailies as to how even the newly renovated roads in Manipur fall vastly short in quality compared to roads even in neighbouring states of Nagaland and Assam. Even without going to the remote hill districts to make this comparison, take the best made roads in Imphal, say for instance the Airport Road stretch from Imphal or the one that runs around the Kangla Fort touching the Raj Bhavan, right in the heart of the capital city, or the short stretch that cuts through the administrative hub of the civil secretariat and the chief minister’s residential bungalow cum office complex. Why are even these roads substandard and uneven on the surface? They had been broadened and bitumen reinforced but the road surface still tells a different story. This difference would be missed as long as a comparison is not available, but somebody who travels out of the state and sees even roads in Assam and Meghalaya would suddenly realise how much has not been done. The old frustrating question remains, why is this being allowed to continue? Why are all those responsible for this so disrespectful about the work they do? Why have they ceased to take pride in the quality of workmanship they produce? If it is a question of scarce means, it would have been understandable, but it is everybody’s knowledge this is not at all the case. The shortfall in the quality on the other hand is on account of money meant for these projects not being spent fully on the projects. In a state bereft of industries worth the name, there are many as rich as any successful entrepreneur anywhere can be. The marble mansions spring up amidst the growing ghetto landscape of Imphal and other major townships bear testimony to this organized thievery. Yet the state remains remorseless.

There are of course many public buildings, grand by Manipur standard, such as the Assembly complex Mantri Pukhri, the Convention Centre at Palace Gate, the Manipur Film Development Centre also at Palace Gate etc, which now majestically adorn the Imphal cityscape. There are also plans for a 5-Star Hotel, airport expansion, and many more. On one hand, all of these are being built with funds from the Union government hence in the literal sense they are unearned, so there is nothing to shout from rooftops and claim these as achievements. On another hand, in this postmodern and democratic age, these grand structures represent the re-emergence of the State as a disproportionately imposing institution once again, soaring and intimidating the ordinary citizens into virtual insignificance. These buildings obviously would be out of bounds of the ordinary public, zealously guarded by the state’s armed constabularies as they would be, clearly marking the dividing line between the State and the people. In this sense, the only architecturally democratic structures which have also been allowed in this city modernisation process are the new Keithels. While all these projects deserve appreciations, they should have been balanced off by a reciprocal push to develop other infrastructures which are truly for the public, such as parks, better water supply, roads, better public transport system, better traffic regulatory mechanisms, better government schools etc. This imbalance having not been addressed, the million rupees question that remains answered even if outside observers see visible development in the state is, whose development is it?

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/whose-development/

Elections to the state Assembly have been announced. There is just about a month left to the appointed day on January 28. Although the campaign pitch has still not climbed to familiar cacophony, one can sense already the election mood heating up. The usual rumours of back-stabbing politicians currently in positions of power, trying to eliminate potential rivals within the same party are doing the rounds. The stories of these political intrigues, though some are far-fetched, would have to have some basis. After all, as the old saying goes, there cannot be smoke without fire? As part of this game of intrigues, marked so far by shadow boxing and of course air dashes to New Delhi to attend the durbars of the high commands of various national parties, many supposedly proxy candidates are being foisted by powerful interests as either independents or else as candidates of other recognized parties, to demoralise and if possible defeat party colleagues. In the days ahead, these games should come to the fore, and in all likelihood even turn bitterly violent. It is unfortunate that such insidious games have come to be a prominent character of politics in the state.

If this is what dampens the spirit of those who still espouse positive faith in politics, there are more disappointments ahead which should become open soon too. Candidates in Manipur’s politics virtually go out, haggle and buy voters, as if the latter were mere commodities. This being the case, the profile of those who contest elections in Manipur have radically changed over the past few decades. As a rule, only the filthily rich enter the fray. The adjective “filthy” is important. There are people rich from their healthy instincts for entrepreneurship or else valuable skills. Though rich, because each rupee they won is measured against their own sweats, they respect money. In direct contrast, the “filthy” rich class became rich not for the possession of any respectable or socially accepted talent, but because of their lack scruples in looting public money. Most of the times they are government contractors but often also former bureaucrats and indeed politicians who willingly made themselves part of the client-patron nexus with government contractors and together looted the public exchequer. Almost always, they have no respect for money, for they have not earned it. They would for instance not understand the import of timeless statements on the value of work such as the one by Abraham Lincoln in his letter to the teacher of his son, pleading with the latter that his son be taught to imbibe the wisdom that a dollar earned is worth far more than five found. It would thus be interesting to take note how many of those who come out to contest this elections fit into this new “filth rich” contractor profile.

One more thing is predictable. Nearly all of the putative candidates now would be running after the party tickets of the ruling Congress. Among these would be prominent MLAs in important leadership positions in their respective parties. Thus, in a few days from now, all the talks of the beauty of multiparty democracy would be reduced to a huge farce. In effect there would remain just one party – the ruling Congress, and practically every candidate would be angling for its ticket. In an extension of this farcical game, those who do not manage to get the Congress ticket would then shamelessly turn coats and proclaim themselves as die-hard Congress nemeses. To heighten the sense of tragicomic, they would also suddenly begin harping on the virtue the multiparty democracy and the checks and balances this system provides to governance. But wait, there are bigger tragedies ahead. The most profound of these is, the electorate would see nothing wrong in this. They too would happily become part of this game too, and without even batting an eye, pledge to vote for the candidate who doles them a few hundred rupees more than the other. A lot of this has to do with poverty, but not to all extent. For today a new culture of Mammon worship which has dawned on Manipur, thanks to our so called leaders who have been so selfishly shaping and nurturing it in the hope of ensuring their longevity in politics. Hence, not just the poor, but practically everybody would partake in this five yearly unholy and wild electoral orgy, never bothering they only put more nails in their own coffins each time they fail to exercise scruples in elections. They should pinch themselves awake that the “filthy” money that would buy their votes is proportional to the substandard roads and other decaying important infrastructures which have become their collective destiny today.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/election-carnival/

Elections to the state Assembly have been announced. There is just about a month left to the appointed day on January 28. Although the campaign pitch has still not climbed to familiar cacophony, one can sense already the election mood heating up. The usual rumours of back-stabbing politicians currently in positions of power, trying to eliminate potential rivals within the same party are doing the rounds. The stories of these political intrigues, though some are far-fetched, would have to have some basis. After all, as the old saying goes, there cannot be smoke without fire? As part of this game of intrigues, marked so far by shadow boxing and of course air dashes to New Delhi to attend the durbars of the high commands of various national parties, many supposedly proxy candidates are being foisted by powerful interests as either independents or else as candidates of other recognized parties, to demoralise and if possible defeat party colleagues. In the days ahead, these games should come to the fore, and in all likelihood even turn bitterly violent. It is unfortunate that such insidious games have come to be a prominent character of politics in the state.

If this is what dampens the spirit of those who still espouse positive faith in politics, there are more disappointments ahead which should become open soon too. Candidates in Manipur’s politics virtually go out, haggle and buy voters, as if the latter were mere commodities. This being the case, the profile of those who contest elections in Manipur have radically changed over the past few decades. As a rule, only the filthily rich enter the fray. The adjective “filthy” is important. There are people rich from their healthy instincts for entrepreneurship or else valuable skills. Though rich, because each rupee they won is measured against their own sweats, they respect money. In direct contrast, the “filthy” rich class became rich not for the possession of any respectable or socially accepted talent, but because of their lack scruples in looting public money. Most of the times they are government contractors but often also former bureaucrats and indeed politicians who willingly made themselves part of the client-patron nexus with government contractors and together looted the public exchequer. Almost always, they have no respect for money, for they have not earned it. They would for instance not understand the import of timeless statements on the value of work such as the one by Abraham Lincoln in his letter to the teacher of his son, pleading with the latter that his son be taught to imbibe the wisdom that a dollar earned is worth far more than five found. It would thus be interesting to take note how many of those who come out to contest this elections fit into this new “filth rich” contractor profile.

One more thing is predictable. Nearly all of the putative candidates now would be running after the party tickets of the ruling Congress. Among these would be prominent MLAs in important leadership positions in their respective parties. Thus, in a few days from now, all the talks of the beauty of multiparty democracy would be reduced to a huge farce. In effect there would remain just one party – the ruling Congress, and practically every candidate would be angling for its ticket. In an extension of this farcical game, those who do not manage to get the Congress ticket would then shamelessly turn coats and proclaim themselves as die-hard Congress nemeses. To heighten the sense of tragicomic, they would also suddenly begin harping on the virtue the multiparty democracy and the checks and balances this system provides to governance. But wait, there are bigger tragedies ahead. The most profound of these is, the electorate would see nothing wrong in this. They too would happily become part of this game too, and without even batting an eye, pledge to vote for the candidate who doles them a few hundred rupees more than the other. A lot of this has to do with poverty, but not to all extent. For today a new culture of Mammon worship which has dawned on Manipur, thanks to our so called leaders who have been so selfishly shaping and nurturing it in the hope of ensuring their longevity in politics. Hence, not just the poor, but practically everybody would partake in this five yearly unholy and wild electoral orgy, never bothering they only put more nails in their own coffins each time they fail to exercise scruples in elections. They should pinch themselves awake that the “filthy” money that would buy their votes is proportional to the substandard roads and other decaying important infrastructures which have become their collective destiny today.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/election-carnival/

The trouble with Manipur is, nothing sounds the alarm bell loud enough for it to remain awake long enough. Nothing, not even the worst crisis, it seems can shake it out of its complacency. And crisis is one thing the state has never ever been scarce of. It has been almost by rule a crisis a week recipe for the state, some not so severe while others were nothing less than nightmares. Regardless of the fact that these crises had either faded on their own with the passing time or stemmed by public resentment, one thing is clear, given the circumstance Manipur is caught in today, nobody can promise the last word has been said on the matter. Turmoil and upheavals, many of them extremely violent, seem to be an inalienable destiny of the state. The worrying thing is not so much these crises are extremely stressful, but that nobody ever seems to learn from them. Not even those who consider themselves as storm-troopers, both amongst those in the driver’s seat of the establishment as well as the vast human landscape outside it that is rather ambiguously referred to as civil society. The state and its people have come to learn superbly to live out crises and even to fight them, but no crisis, however awesome have been able to teach them the lesson that would make them think in terms of putting the roots of these crises safely to bed forever, incapable of accumulating harm potential again.

Crises explode like several kilotons of dynamite periodically, and during these crises semblance of masterstrokes of collective resolves emerge. However, once the dusts from these crises settle, the downward pulls of mediocrity once again neutralize and level out everything to square one. During economic blockades along its major mountain passes, especially National Highway-39, war cries to have the NH-53 developed, often work up to a mass frenzy. Once these storms pass by, nobody bothers what condition this uncared for highway is in. Similarly, the talk of cutting a third highway, so desperate and passionate once, has relegated to not much more than idle academic discussions. In many ways this is also a show of how resilient the Manipur society is. It does not lose its composure easily. But the line dividing resilience and complacent inaction although thin, can become glaring, as indeed it is in Manipur today, and we are sure at some point counterproductive too. The fact of the matter is, a resilient society must not only have the capacity to absorb adversities without detriment to the overall mental and physical composure of the society, but also the will and commitment to be proactive in looking for lasting resolutions to the vexing issues at hand so that the grave challenges they pose to the health of the society do not periodically repeat and threaten. Resilient as any society may be, if the challenges are incessant and incrementally severe as the case seems to be, there will have to come about when the thread that holds its sanity together snaps.

There are more sinister examples of these challenges than the ones discussed. Take the case of official corruption at high places. It is not a question of excusing corruption at the lower echelons of the officialdom, but its needs no elaboration to convince anybody that the whole enterprise of dismantling the corruption edifice has to begin from the top. After all, if the generals are corrupt, how can corruption be prevented from contaminating the foot soldiers. The generals can discipline the foot soldiers but the reverse can never be a reality. Would we then need any more proofs to convince anybody that organized robberies of public coffers still are rampant? It is everybody’s knowledge that huge percentages are still being siphoned off from development funds and shared between contractors and contract awarders? It is another story that many insurgent groups have joined this unholy league, but this can be no excuse for those mandated by the people to captain the state to be corrupt. Unless and until the establishment becomes a credible institution of governance upon which the people can repose faith in, there will always be the legitimacy of alternates, even if they are subversive, in some corner of the masses’ heart. Herein is the space upon which the foundation of any insurrection is laid. And this space cannot be destroyed physically, but won over spiritually. This is why the search for an answer to insurgency is not so much a physical war but by necessity have to be a moral one. At the cerebral level, everybody who can make the difference understands this very well. The trouble is, this cerebral understanding has never been allowed to be internalized to become a matter of the heart and soul. An often heard question amongst the masses is, what would have been the status of justice and equality if insurgency never happened? The implication is, regardless of the mutation it has undergone, the phenomenon has been and is still an anguished voice on the corrupt and unjust ways of the establishment. The Robin Hood image is not altogether unjustified, even if it is by the establishment abdicating a vital moral space. An honest and satisfactory answer to this question will, we are sure, provide a blueprint to victory in this moral war.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/abdicated-moral-space/

Leader Writer: Sukham Nanda
For better or worse the state congress led Secular Progressive Front had recently taken a bold steps by introducing ‘the Manipur Lok Ayukta Bill, 2011on the last day of  three days long 12th Session winter session which could be the last session of the 9th Manipur Legislative Assembly.

The chief minister who was the leader of the house had introduced the said ‘the Manipur Lok Ayukta Bill, 2011 in the house on the first day of the session on December 20 which aims at rooting out corruption in the state after submitting its report by the Select Committee of the Manipur Legislative Assembly and further recommended for consideration of the said Bill to the house.

The Manipur Lok Ayukta Bill, 2011will authorities competent authorities to investigate any corruption case right from Chief Minister, Councils of minister, MLAs, bureaucrats officials to four grade employees under the state government departments.

In the meantime, as everyone in the state have well aware of the fact that state of Manipur have been suffering from corruption, and it will be very hard to find the departments under the state government which are free from corruption and bribery.

It has became a fashion of modern Manipur giving and taking of huge money as bribes during the time of appointment of any government jobs and even in private firms and most unfortunate is taking bribes from the parents during the time admission of their children to some of the reputed educational institutions in the state

On the other hand it is also known that corruption cannot be totally rooted out from the state even after promulgation of the strict laws in the state, but framing of law for preventing wide scale existing corruption to some extend is very much required while considering the present degree of corruption in the state.

It was very encourage to heard the deliberations of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the recent sitting of the house during the discussion on passing of the said bill, during which he admitted that corrupt practices are on rise throughout the country and state of Manipur and stressed the need to implement a stern law to fight the corruption, and he also mentioned the house that the state is suffering from corruption and hence the Manipur Lok Ayukta Bill, 2011 need to be passed in the interest of the people.

It was very fortunate for that chief minister of the state has given his official remarks in the house acknowledging the immediate need of the promulgation of the an effective law to prevent the corruption practices in the state during the recent sitting of the state Assembly.

Now the question is whether the state government is able to uphold and maintain the proposed act into the state in the future administration to come, as the state government has introduced the bill for possessing in the house considering the spirit and importance for maintaining a strict law to eradicate the corruptions practices in every affairs of the state administrations.

It is upto the state government for the implementation the law of the newly introduced law to prevent corrupt practices which the common people of the state are waiting for a true justice be made after the persons involved in corrupt practices are found convicted under the newly introduced law and is has become the law enforcing bodies of the state to maintain their activeness in penal provisions without discriminating the category under the newly imposed act so that the newly imposed act to the state could be imposed in the state positively and satisfactorily by the common people of the state.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/let-it-be-the-vaccination-to-eradicate-corruption-in-the-state-through-the-manipur-lok-ayukta-act/

Leader Writer: Sukham Nanda
For better or worse the state congress led Secular Progressive Front had recently taken a bold steps by introducing ‘the Manipur Lok Ayukta Bill, 2011on the last day of  three days long 12th Session winter session which could be the last session of the 9th Manipur Legislative Assembly.

The chief minister who was the leader of the house had introduced the said ‘the Manipur Lok Ayukta Bill, 2011 in the house on the first day of the session on December 20 which aims at rooting out corruption in the state after submitting its report by the Select Committee of the Manipur Legislative Assembly and further recommended for consideration of the said Bill to the house.

The Manipur Lok Ayukta Bill, 2011will authorities competent authorities to investigate any corruption case right from Chief Minister, Councils of minister, MLAs, bureaucrats officials to four grade employees under the state government departments.

In the meantime, as everyone in the state have well aware of the fact that state of Manipur have been suffering from corruption, and it will be very hard to find the departments under the state government which are free from corruption and bribery.

It has became a fashion of modern Manipur giving and taking of huge money as bribes during the time of appointment of any government jobs and even in private firms and most unfortunate is taking bribes from the parents during the time admission of their children to some of the reputed educational institutions in the state

On the other hand it is also known that corruption cannot be totally rooted out from the state even after promulgation of the strict laws in the state, but framing of law for preventing wide scale existing corruption to some extend is very much required while considering the present degree of corruption in the state.

It was very encourage to heard the deliberations of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh in the recent sitting of the house during the discussion on passing of the said bill, during which he admitted that corrupt practices are on rise throughout the country and state of Manipur and stressed the need to implement a stern law to fight the corruption, and he also mentioned the house that the state is suffering from corruption and hence the Manipur Lok Ayukta Bill, 2011 need to be passed in the interest of the people.

It was very fortunate for that chief minister of the state has given his official remarks in the house acknowledging the immediate need of the promulgation of the an effective law to prevent the corruption practices in the state during the recent sitting of the state Assembly.

Now the question is whether the state government is able to uphold and maintain the proposed act into the state in the future administration to come, as the state government has introduced the bill for possessing in the house considering the spirit and importance for maintaining a strict law to eradicate the corruptions practices in every affairs of the state administrations.

It is upto the state government for the implementation the law of the newly introduced law to prevent corrupt practices which the common people of the state are waiting for a true justice be made after the persons involved in corrupt practices are found convicted under the newly introduced law and is has become the law enforcing bodies of the state to maintain their activeness in penal provisions without discriminating the category under the newly imposed act so that the newly imposed act to the state could be imposed in the state positively and satisfactorily by the common people of the state.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/let-it-be-the-vaccination-to-eradicate-corruption-in-the-state-through-the-manipur-lok-ayukta-act/

Of all the proposal made by the state government in recent times, the one two days ago in the current state Assembly session to legislate a new law to not only ban bandh and blockades but to introduce deterrents including imprisonment of frontrunners of these disruptive agitations up to three months, is welcome. Nobody in Manipur today would disagree that the need of the hour is for such a legislation, having had to live with the hardships and damages to the state’s as well as household economy caused by these protests, which are in many ways a victimisation of the ordinary men and women, holding them as hostages so as to pressurise the powers that be to bend to their wishes. Daily wage earners and small enterprises which do not have the capacity to absorb the squeeze in market liquidity have been the worst sufferers, and they more than anybody else would be the ones to rejoice this new government intent. Ironically, most of these bandh and blockades have been imposed on behalf of the section of the population which would almost always end up as the worst victims of these very agitations. It has been long overdue to call this spade a spade, but better late than never.

It is very well for workers or sections of the society to call a strike when they perceive they are being subjected to unwarranted injustice by their employers or the administration. This is also a fundamental right guaranteed even by the UN Charter of Human Rights. However, to strike and to impose bandh and blockades are two radically different things. While strikes imply voluntary and non-violent participation in a protest against perceived injustice, bandh and blockades are about coercion of neutral and uninvolved sections of the society into either joining the protest or else suffering its consequences. In Manipur, at least this would need no explanation. Here in essence, even so called boycotts are coercive, and leaves the ordinary men and women on the streets facing the now very well known challenge of former US President, George W. Bush, epitomising brutal coercion like none other: “you are either with us or against us.” Anybody who does not boycott the event the boycott callers want to be boycotted are labelled traitors and made liable to face consequences, and sometimes these are extremely violent ones as well. So in Manipur’s violent environment today, boycotts are actually diktats which inspire the fear of death and are meant to be obeyed unconditionally. There is nothing in these which suggest they are voluntary expressions of dissidence by the public. It is a surprise boycott callers are not aware of the fact that they surrender the credibility of their claims of public support using the response to these so called boycotts as alibi precise because they have ensured there is nothing voluntary or spontaneous about these boycotts. Even the call for a plebiscite to settle Manipur’s long standing issues with the Indian Union suffers from this same stigma.

Leaving aside bandh and boycotts called by underground organisations, for they are outside the purview of the law, the government must ensure the law it intends to make on the matter is enforced strictly on those within the law by the application of the rule of law. The law must not be allowed to be diluted because extra legal concessions are allowed. Equally, it must also not be allowed to become a draconian tool to victimise opponents of the government. This can be only by strict adherence to the procedures laid down by the law while it is being formulated. This entails a lot of thoughts and discussions must go into its making. There is one clause the law could look into. Bandh callers have today come to use the media as their propaganda vehicles. Even organisations with only a handful of supporters have been made paper tigers by the media by force multiplying their actual strength in publishing their bandh announcements without the application of editorial freedom to decide the veracity of the claims. Perhaps the new law could also include a clause to make the media organisations more discerning so as not to give unwarranted publicity to habitual bandh and boycott callers. While it must be acknowledged there are dangers involved in imposing such restrictive measures on the functioning of the media, it must also be equally acknowledged that a great section of the media often jump their briefs of public responsibility. This responsibility to the public, in the present context must also be about lending support to the effort to make the protest culture in the state more sensible and sane.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/need-of-the-hour/

Regardless of how much has been said against bandhs and blockades, there is no dearth of people who would resort to these disruptive forms of agitations at the drop of a hat. So despite the bruises the entire population received on account of the recently concluded 121-day economic blockade along the national highways connecting the state to the rest of the country, thereby cutting off its lifelines, nobody seems to have learnt the lesson. The series of bandhs currently being called in the wake of the atrocious, cold blooded double murder of two perfectly innocent men, a father and son, by a splinter group of an underground organisation, is a demonstration of this. There can be no argument about it that the murders deserved the strongest condemnation but this does not mean those who empathise with the victims must resort to not only shooting themselves in the foot but also heaping more misery on the ordinary people. However, this is precisely the scenario. With a strike by the employees of the Public Health Engineering Department, PHED, the department to which one of the men killed – the father – was associated as a caretaker at one of the department’s facilities at Irilbung, the state is today forced to do without treated piped municipal water. Not only are the difficulties imaginable but the prospect of water borne diseases breaking out is immense too. This is to be dovetailed by a three day bandh by another faction of an underground group. Yet, it does seem the government would once again simply wait and watch. Though this strategy does wear out agitators, the injuries caused both psychologically and physically to the population is nothing trivial. If the government was willing to place its ears close enough to the ground, it would sooner realise that the morale of the people at this moment is at a nadir. Few, if not nobody, see a bright future for themselves or for the state anymore. The problem is, the government does not seem to think this is too heavy a price to pay for the tactics of inaction it has been so deliberately and consistently following.

The other truth is, the habitual callers of these disruptive strikes are of two kinds. One class belong to government services and whose job and livelihood securities are guaranteed regardless of whether they perform or simply sit on their haunches doing nothing. The second more often than not belong to a class who do not earn out of their own sweat, but live on other people’s earnings. Very often they call themselves social workers. If a survey were to be taken today amongst ordinary folks who live by their labour, both in the hills as well as in the valley, there would be few if any who support these strikes. Sure, they too would be outraged by many of the issues over which these strikes are called, but in no way would they condone these self-inflicted injuries in retaliation, after all they are the ones who are left to bear the brunt always. Why are these habitual strike callers not sensitive enough to understand the plight of ordinary vegetable vendors, day labourers, rickshaw drivers etc. A day without work is a huge blow on them and their families’ nutrition standards. Many less fortunate may even have to go hungry. What about the small time entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, motor mechanics etc, who do their small businesses out of rented spaces. Surely the days without work on account of these strikes are not going to be accounted for in the rents they have to pay at the end of the month.

When will these demagogues ever listen to the pulse of the people instead of decreeing what the pulse of the people should be and then enforcing it on the people? When will the government ever put its foot down and say no more of this? This lawlessness has been allowed to go on for far too long making the state and its people suffer inordinately. The inevitable consequence is, the state is lagging behind in so many spheres today. In particular, quality of life has plummeted so much that all with the means are virtually running away to settle elsewhere. The young population also do not anymore have their eyes on the state, and would not only prefer studying outside but also working and ultimately settling at the places of their work. If nothing is done to reverse the trend, Manipur in the near future is going to become a land of geriatrics and untalented, for the young and talented would all go away. It is a tragedy that the government which takes every opportunity to boast of achievements and blame others for failures, do not measure their deeds in terms of their contribution to this bleak future before the state.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/future-made-bleak/

The state cabinet last seek resolved to extend the Disturbed Area Act in the state for another year. With it the promulgation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, AFSPA, has been given yet another leash of one year. All this is happening amidst the growing clamour for the repeal of the AFSPA by human rights activists as well as various civil society organisations throughout the country. The implication, not the least, is also of the blow to Irom Sharmila’s 11 year old fast for its repeal. It does seem Sharmila’s protest is falling on deaf ears of the establishment. It is difficult to imagine what her future would be under the circumstance. Is she destined to spend the rest of her life in this torturous condition? Will her protest ever bear fruit? Gandhi could overthrow an empire with his Satyagraha struggle, but quite by contrast and very unfortunately, Sharmila’s 11 years and continuing struggle by the same method is not making the establishment budge even an inch.

In many ways this intransigence is also an indicator that the ant-AFSPA campaigners should begin thinking in terms of changing strategy. As to what this strategy should be is difficult to spell out yet, but they must take this act of reviewing their current approach as part of the challenge of the movement they are spearheading. Otherwise, the entire exercise would lose its meaning, and even the often heard allegation that the campaign itself is reducing to nothing more than a livelihood means for the NGO campaigners involved, would begin to stick. This is to say, these men and women involved in championing human rights and working for the repeal of the AFSPA are professionals like any other in any profession, making a career and money out of what they do, and are far from what voluntary work of activism which they often describe themselves to be, implies. Apart from the prospect of earning a bad name, the campaign itself would begin to lose its charm in the eyes of the public, after all, ultimately even if it is prolonged, people do want to see results. The old light-hearted lampooning remark about test cricket amongst those not too impressed by the game says a lot in this regard. The joke goes that test cricket is a game which drags on for five long days and the odds are it would end in a draw. The emphasis is on the draw at the end of five days and not so much the five days.

While a new strategy is being worked out, one other consideration has to be also taken into account seriously. This obviously has to do with Sharmila. What must she do now? She has been a towering figure all the while, but should she also be ready to be a martyr? Must this end with this brave young woman sacrificed on the altar of human rights? It is imaginable how depressing it must be for her to learn that her heroic sacrifice is showing no sign it is about to bear fruit. Despite this, she remains firm that she will not end her struggle till her objective is reached which today virtually is beginning to mean she is preparing for martyrdom. Is this an outcome everybody is ready for? Should there be an effort to save her from this predicament? Ideally it should have been for the AFSPA to be repealed so that she can end her indefinite fast, but since this is an unlikely outcome in the near future, should not there be a parallel effort to persuade her to end her fast without ending her struggle against this draconian act? Shouldn’t she be persuaded to live? After all, she has done enough for the cause and at this point it does seem she can do no more than die. Is this what everybody wants?

We are of the opinion that it is time to begin the process of seeing Sharmila and the anti-AFSPA campaign separately. She is a star flag-bearer but not the entirety of the campaign. It is good that she raised the pitch of the campaign to where it is now, and it is on her account that the campaign has made it to the front pages of newspapers around the world. But this outlook of not totally equating her with the campaign is not just with an eye to save her from ultimate martyrdom, but also to ensure the autonomy of the struggle from any ionic leader. Earlier this year it was witnessed how vulnerable the campaign had seemed when the iron lady was reported to be in love and may opt to end her struggle. In what was a hysterical reaction, the newspaper which front-paged her love affair was even banned in the state for months. Sharmila has given the campaign a steely nerve, her departure now rather than weaken should strengthen it further by the sense of independence that comes along – like the child being weaned away from the mother’s breast for its own ultimate good.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/afspa-and-sharmila/

The kidnap and murder of a caretaker of the government’s water supply facilities at Irilbung and his son by gunmen belonging to a splinter militant group was despicable and the outrage of the Irilbung public over it is understandable though their mode of protest cannot be condoned. Indeed any right thinking person would empathise with their outrage. The extent to which inhumanity has been pushed to in the state in the past few decades of insurgency and counter-insurgency is appalling if not frightening. Cold blooded murders are today sought to be justified in the name of either the cause of so called revolutions or else fighting so called anti-nationals. The outcomes have been remarkably disconcerting by their similarity – unspeakable, mindless cruelty and violence. The victims have also been more often than not ordinary men and women caught in the crossfire. The latest of the growing number innocent victims are the father and son. A part of Manipur undoubtedly is descending into madness and a bigger part of it into despicable and mute cowardice for their inability to put down their feet and say enough is enough.

What are also conspicuously visible from the sorry episode are a complete disappearance of law and order, and its related agenda of rule by law. The first requires little elaboration. There isn’t a single day today with no reports of violence and intimidation, both by the law enforcers as much as by law breakers. Disruptive strikes and bandhs are an everyday phenomenon, and in total disregards of the government’s decrees against these, there does not seem to be anyone who gives two hoots before declaring one. Practically everybody today have no qualms about taking the law into their own hands. The second is about the government’s lack of will, inclination or imagination to evolve means to counter these through the application of the law. This becomes most prominent when situation demands its having to resort to using all the resources in its hands, including the right vested in the state to use legitimate and proportionate violence to prevent bigger damage to the interest of the public. The case of the recently concluded 121 days blockade of the state with the government doing precious little and seemingly content simply waiting and hoping the storm clouds would clear on its own is the loudest example.

Interestingly, the brutal murder of the father and son has demonstrated both these phenomena in one stroke. While the wanton kidnap and killing demonstrated the total failure of the law and order mechanism, the manner in which the Iribung public’s reaction of shutting down water supply scheme located in the area is simply being allowed to take its own course by the government shows its unwillingness to apply the principles of rule of law. The point is, if the first act is condemnable and at the same time shows the impotence of the government, the second is also equally outrageous. The public outrage is understandable but their demonstration of it is clearly an infringement of the law, yet the government does not have the moral courage or authority to act precisely by the application of the law so as to ensure this vital public service is not disrupted. Surely the government cannot be believing two wrongs can make a right.

The question as we see it is one of a depletion of moral authority of the government. If it had this, its assurance that the culprits of the crime would be brought to book should have been enough to pacify the public. But for this, it would have to mean what it says. It must be able to bring culprits in such crimes to book, or at least it must visibly make an earnest effort to do so. Past precedence being such, today if the government makes a promise it would fight these crimes, few would take it for its word. This is exactly what is happening at Irilbung. The public obviously do not trust the government would bring the case to a logical conclusion therefore they have resorted to the illegal means of sabotaging an important public service. The frustrating question in the minds of the public is imaginable. Is the government simply going to do nothing but watch the crisis to tire and fizzle out once again?

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/law-and-disorder/

Leader Writer: Paojel Chaoba
Violence has been closely associated with Manipur since it transformed itself from a kingdom in 1974 to merge as a constituent unit of India in 1949. It achieved independent statehood in 1972. The circumstances surrounding the merger and delay in granting statehood caused discontent among the people and later formed the basis for the emergence of insurgency in the state.

Today, Meiteis dominate the valley areas and the hills are occupied by more than 33 major and minor tribes. With numerous armed ethnic groups operating as well as the presence of state security forces in every nook and corner of the state, have created a situation of armed conflict in the state. Armed violence has become an inescapable norm, in fact an existential condition, and the defining characteristic of the Manipuri society.In such a situation, the innocent public have become the victims. Collateral damage, on account of the armed conflict, is borne by the public. The innocents continue to be maimed and killed. In other words,they are caught in the cross fire.

Manipur is at a critical juncture today. The innocentshave lost their voices, which a functioning democracy ensures and safeguards. Fear for reprisal and punitive actions by the armed actors have literally extinguished their voice and cut off their tongues. Or perhaps, the inability to muster support on issues impinging upon their livelihood and survival mechanism hasrendered even uttering of a feeble sound of angst and dissent impossible. Take for example, the extortion spree undertaken by various groups and endless strictures imposed upon the public by the state forces. The tactical and material need of the armed opposition groups and justifications rendered not only on the stated illustration but also on “familiar” issues may sound perplexing to the public. At the same time, restriction to mobility and access to natural resources and other facilities in the name of security by the state forces have rendered the public mute spectators, not even as agents and actors, of a spectacular opera on violence. The public seems to have arrived at a critical juncture where they have come to accept the unholy truth of not being able to reason out reason with reason. Here lies the end of liberty and tragic farewell to democracy.

If Manipur is at a critical juncture, what is equally true is also the inability to make sense of the absurd and deconstruct meaning the nonsensical. Killing is absurd. Violence does not make sense. However, the twin-like siblings (killing and violence) rains everywhere. The problem is “who’ll stop the rain?”The satanic wedlock between democracy and violence, as in democracy enshrined in the basic law and violence scripted through the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, and joyful celebration of the unholy tie through rains of bullets and bomb blasts, have only made the public a mute spectator. Immobilised and paralysed by a fear psychosis, the public have totally abandoned its basic instinct to survive or even to cry or weep or to question the absurd. Democracy is an empty vessel today without the voice or moan of the people. Literally, the voice of the public has been erased by waves of violence.

In the midst of uncertainty and caught in the crossfire, if the voices of the people have been rendered mute, if the “reasons” of public are blacked-out and if the physical entity of the people are erased, then what prevails in Manipur?A law and order problem? Definitely no !There are survivors who dictate and frame rules for the victims to follow. They are the ones who takes joy in reaping the benefits of confusions or of the absurdities lying around like garbage. Paradoxically, each group are different from one another and they are not the same or alike. Take for instance, are all the insurgent groups alike? In the absence of “reason” and the death toll of democracy the sort of regime that has emerged in Manipur is “demo-crazy”. Crazy people rule over the people. The state of confusion is conducive for unleashing violence: precisely that is what prevails in Manipur. Victory to power of the barrel is the motto. And where do you and I as the common people figure? As erasable numbers!

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/12/a-democrazy-state/