Tag: Editorial

The fact that it took five days before the crashed helicopter which had the body of the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Dorjee Khandu, and his entourage could be found and retrieved from a place close to the Chinese border is a telling evidence how backward and uncharted much of the Northeast states, in particular Arunachal Pradesh, is. As if to provide a fitting contrast, while this was happening, the USA, conducted a raid inside Pakistan from across the border in Afghanistan and successfully completed an audacious mission of killing America’s enemy number one, Osama Bin Laden. The entire operation lasted just 40 minutes. While much has been written of the high profile American raid, and how it stunned the whole world though leaving the Pakistan government red-faced, the death of the chief minister and the hunt thereafter for the wreckage, received much less media attention than warranted. But leaving this lack of media attention aside, the story of the Northeast as illustrated is quite a repeat of what has been chanted thousands of times by politicians and so called concerned citizens of all hues of the country – the Northeast is scant in the Indian national psyche, and this is where the mindset of alienation germinates, leading to other more serious consequences, including the festering insurgency in the region. Yet, nothing very much continues to be done. What the establishment has come used to is not to think of resolving the causes of this alienation but of fighting and eliminating the consequences through tough measures, among which are draconian and democratically unacceptable laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, AFSPA-1958.The tragedy is, things are likely not to change yet, partly because the interest of the nation, as demonstrated by the airtime the helicopter crash was given, has not altered. Except perhaps for a little show of bewilderment at the death of a less than high profile chief minister, nobody seemed worried enough to focus attention on the state of neglect of the Northeast. So Arunachal Pradesh will continue to be a vast territory whose districts are not interconnected within the state and have to be accessed by first entering Assam and then re-entering the state at different points, depending on which district was to be reached. Its importance will continue to be only on account of China’s claim to a large chunk of its territory and the vast forest and hydro electric potential it possesses. The human story from the state, which tells above all of isolation, backwardness and difficulties faced by ordinary folks, will continue to be unheard. It will also evoke inadequate interest of the Indian people by and large to move national policies towards a genuine uplift of the state and the Northeast region in general.Other states of the Northeast are better off, but not by too much. This is partly because apart from Assam, none of them can compare in geographical size with Arunachal Pradesh, hence much easier to keep vigil and manage. The other states are also comparatively much more thickly populated. Again, the other states not being as strategic militarily, they are more open to normal civilian vision of development and life. The development paradigm of Arunachal Pradesh continues to be much more deeply trapped in the military and so called national security outlook to development. This would have understandably skewed and mutated its normal development process. But then, as mentioned earlier in this editorial, the other states can hardly be said to be doing too much better. The military and national security outlooks to development are also very much pervasive in them although by comparison less than in Arunachal Pradesh. What again ends up neglected atrociously is what has now come to be referred to as human security, as opposed to national security. The recent news items in the local dailies in Manipur of how the state’s other important link to the rest of India, the National Highway-53, or the Imphal-Jiri road as it is more popularly known as in Manipur, remains unrepaired although the task had been given to a Central government agency, is evidence. The importance of this highway needs not be spelled out again, considering its services is desperately missed whenever the other important national highway NH-39 becomes unusable either because of natural calamities such as landslides or else the street politics of bandhs and blockades, which are today a regular feature of the state’s calendar years.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/3jN0Rrs38EU/

Leader writer: Leivon Jimmy

Exploitation is becoming a part of life in Manipur or we can say that we are living with it everyday. It is around us and passes by un-noticed. What we have to do is just to observe carefully for there are many forms of exploitation taking place right before us. The nature of it is sometime in stealth mode and the other is quite opposite however both have its own adverse impact.

On the other hand, the perpetrator can be categories in two ways when observed in the context of Manipur. One is triggered out of desperation while the other makes complete sense of the very `exploitation` word, the selfish and vested interest lying beneath with due regard of ones feelings and sentiment.

The later is the factor that has triggered frustration and anger in the mind of the people and a close cousin of `corruption`, a root cause of the all prevailing unwanted mayhem in the state and as well as the entire country. This handy work can only be performed by those who have the influence and guts and who themselves is the guts or influence.

To give an example is the recent reports which came to the limelight of providing the old age pension to a 35 year old woman in Thoubal. It is quite an embarrassment for the state for we could be viewed by others as a state unable to define what an `old age`™ means. Moreover, it is the question of deprivation of right of a hapless, destitute section. Let us not be fast judging and see the positive side, and weigh whether it is fair for local adjustment if necessary?, an old lady, who could be a widow and on one hand a young woman at her mid 30, with husband?. God Knows. This is just an exceptional case that could hit the news stand and came to the notice of the public however there might be many such cases or worse than this unable to see the light and hidden underneath waiting to be unearthed.

Coming to the other form of exploitation referring to is `Exploitation of resource and things around us`™, a common site and might view as usual an ineffective one. However it is very much threatening. Extinction, endangered and climate change are few words that are the outcome of it.

One of the most concerning of these is the deforestation. It has become an issue that needs a serious attention from the government side as well as the NGOs. The demand for end product of trees is growing with the growing of the population. Minimising the scope of elaboration, charcoal vendors only in some of the Imphal East area is evident of the degree of demands. The shops store charcoal in bulk, a sign of fallen trees.

At the same time, many fish species, animals have become extinct and some on the verge of extinction. The reason I should say is excessiveness. There are no limits for everything in our state. It won`™t be wrong to say that Fishermen fish in their own will, for even immature fish are put up for sale. Not only fish even vegetable vendors or grower are doing the same.

There are many reasons for the act of exploitations. To point out few includes the desperate situation due to poverty, lack of awareness, growing number of demands, unemployment and vested interest etc. It should be prevented for it can target one after another and until the target becomes everyone of us.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/zAfHpbh2wE8/

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 lessons 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://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/JlS1Ri8BzpM/

The drive to clean up Imphal after the initial fanfare has receded into the background once again. But even the little extra consciousness of the need for keeping the city clean seems to have left its mark. Thangal Bazar for instance looks a lot more orderly today. For long, this stretch of one of the oldest and busiest commercial streets of Imphal city was almost buried in its own waste. Moreover, the prolonged isolation caused by the construction of the BT Flyover and then the three modern Keithel complexes, had left it almost dead as a commercial centre, as it was increasingly becoming difficult for customers to enter the area. Now that these constructions are finally drawing to a completion and the virtual marooning of the Thangal Bazar finally over, the market is slowly but surely regaining its old vitality. Quite noticeable, for the moment at least, is a new effort to keep the place clean by all those who are doing business here. The place in short is now wearing a somewhat swept look and this is welcome. Whether this is only a salvo to cheer the end of the long isolation and business strangulation it was condemned to and that things would be back to its messy past sooner than later, or else there has been a dawn of a new found collective desire to live and trade in clean environment, remains to be seen.
Imphal would have been such a beautiful mid-sized city if it was clean and not as dusty as it is now. Its climate is amazingly temperate, with mild summers and not too bitter winters. It does not have too much noise pollution or for that matter motorcar fumes as in almost all other cities of the country. What it does have in abundance is dusts. In the dry season especially, it is next to impossible to be travelling on its roads in anything but a sealed, air-conditioned car. As not everybody can afford this luxury, it is imaginable how much this condition is responsible for respiratory tract ailments amongst numerous Imphal residents. It is not surprising that face masks and other air filter devices to breathe with have become such a hit in the city. Practically every two wheeler rider and pedestrian today wears such a device. Perhaps schools should also make it part of their school uniform for the safety of the children in their schools. Why is the government not thinking of combating this menace on a war footing? It once began with a campaign to make Imphal a plastic-free city, but abandoned it sooner than it started it. Why this lack of will power? Gangtok, the capital of the latest state to join the Northeast, Sikkim, managed it so well and today this small but exquisitely clean hill station can boast of being totally plastic bag free. It is also one of those Indian cities where outdoor, open restaurants are possible, because it is also virtually dust free.
Some MLAs, including the Yaiskul legislator, have begun using their local area funds to black-top all dirt lanes in their constituencies, and this is a good beginning, for most of the dust on the tarmac roads are brought on it from the muddy approach lanes to them. This is, we must say, one way of spending this public fund in the hands of MLAs and MPs meaningfully. Most of the time, it is not really known how this money is spent, and as it emerged during the last Assembly election, a lot of it ended up spent only on paper with little or nothing to show on the ground. The government should also hasten up its construction works in Imphal city. For whatever its reason, it has not taken up these works in batches, but virtually all in one go making Imphal all the more dusty, and not only this, inconveniencing commuters on these roads. It must realise, keeping Imphal clean is not just about beautification but more importantly of public health as well. For all these reasons, we are of the opinion the government must take up this issue on a priority basis. It must resolve that in the next one year, Imphal would be a dust free city. This would be a boon for all the residents of Imphal apart from making it much more attractive for tourists. Come to think of it, unlike say the question of bringing the insurgency situation under control, or boosting the economy of the state, this one is imminently achievable. For all we know, perhaps this is the trigger to start the chain reaction of problem solutions in the state, after all, what is needed for creativity to result is an all-round conducive atmosphere, and this cannot happen under the endless clouds of dust that Imphal today is shrouded in.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/jYZsI3nWhW4/

There is a very unfortunate misconception in Manipur about the duty of a citizen with regards to law keeping. This is about the act of reporting by ordinary citizens to law keeping authorities of unusual events they witness which may constitute a breach of law. Rather than consider this attitude as an obligation, ordinary citizens often treated this as sneaking. Perhaps this is a reflection of the respect the people by and large have of the law, all the same this must not result in what the popular adage says, throwing the baby away with the bath water. For the truth is, every citizen must realise the responsibility he or she has to shoulder in the enterprise of law keeping. What may be necessary is, as in countries like the USA, to make this responsibility obligatory by law. That is to say, not reporting a potential crime, especially those which will not result in personal safety compromised, should be made a cognizable offence under the law.
In a lawless and violence ridden place like Manipur, this argument would need some qualification. Ordinary citizens cannot be expected to report on the movement of armed combatants of the raging insurgency in the land. For one thing this would amount to putting their own lives in danger, and for another, insurgency is no ordinary crime and as so many have articulated in the past, it is in many ways a radical expression of dissent, and its solution would have to be nuanced, rather than the usual linear policing crime fighting approach. However leaving this issue for the government to tackle imaginatively but firmly, there are so many other cognizable breaches of law by ordinary citizens which other more conscientious citizens must take it upon themselves to prevent through the invocation of the law using the simple handles available to them. The simplest of these is reporting these matters to the police or other concerned authorities. To take just a few examples, in the past one month, the entire state has been somewhat shaken awake by the aggressive campaign of the government to clean up illegal power connections in the Imphal area. All these illegal activities were happening right under the noses of every citizen, in particular those who have been honestly paying the taxes for whatever amount of power they consume.
Yet in all this while, there has never been even a single report of putative breach of law from any citizen. This is despite the fact that these thefts are from the common pool of service resources and thereby robbing from it by anybody would amount to robbing from everybody, in particular the honest consumers. Thankfully, at least in the case of electricity, there has been a public interest litigation, PIL, which is in a way a last resort in the absence of a citizen vigil which should have been always present. The despairing fact about Manipur is, electricity is just one case of neglect of citizen duty, for there are plenty more. Water supply is another very prominent one. Today, if a survey were to be done, half of Imphal households would be tapping piped municipal water illegally, and in manners not prescribed, making siphon holes larger than allowed, thus depriving other consumers of their shares of potable water. Yet again, as in the case of electricity, everybody witnesses this but apart from a bitter frown here and there, nobody has thought it his duty to complain that he is being robbed in broad daylight.
Having said this, the blame for this confounding reluctance of the citizens to keep vigil of public utilities, and also against other similar crimes, must also go to the government, in particular the police. There have been far too complaints of policemen on duty refusing to take notice of complaints by citizens. Instead, such whistle blowers often end up more harangued for they are looked upon by the police with suspicion and the onus of proving their complaints thrown back at them. The time has come for a radical change of attitude both of the police as well as the citizens. If they must work hand in hand, they must both be sensitized as well as made to realise what wonders they can do by cooperating with each other towards improving everybody’s everyday quality of life.
 

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/nQZHqndoNFk/

Leader writer: S. Haobam
In recent years, threat of water scarcity has been a frequently discussed topic. Public Health Engineering Department had announced that there would be scarcity of drinking water which is an alarm bell for residents in and around Imphal. Reason behind as proved by the department is the low level of water at the treatment plants at Kangchup and Singda which supplies drinking water to many parts of Imphal and its surrounding satellite villages. Water scarcity in this part of the state would make life miserable, statistically to about 40 percent of the state’s population which reside in Imphal and its adjoining areas.

There are many reasons for the lack of water availability and if the government does not take proper measures right away, the future will be literally ‘dry’ not only in dry seasons which falls around March-April every year. The problem in Manipur is that fresh drinking water is being used for everything which in the past was not done as there were ponds for each household. Another fact is that the elite and middle classes have given up on piped drinking water as water pipelines in Imphal are in a mess and moreover unhygienic. People in the past have witnessed on several occasions about seepages to the drinking water pipelines.

Moreover the department does not control the usage of water by consumers and does not bother to check wastage of water. Safe drinking water is amongst the most basic essentials of life and crucial for good health and continued productivity. The state must do better in terms of its efforts to rehabilitate the areas facing scarcity in drinking water and rebuild structures and infrastructures. These efforts should be multi-pronged and not a short sighted scheme.
Our water supply systems are under great stress; piping networks are old and need to be upgraded. Due to lack of money, not to talk about inefficiency, the so-called fresh drinking water is fast turning into a disease-inducing factor. Let us not forget that about 80 per cent of all diseases and more than one-third of all deaths in developing countries are caused by contaminated water.

Water scarcity is a more relative concept describing the relationship between demand and supply which the PHE department has been not paying attention since the past few years. If policies of the government do not change, water scarcity will not only exacerbate existing situation. This may even lead bigger threat than the problems that the state is facing at present if not solved in the earliest and there might even be no way in bailing out water scarcity situation if it ever occurs.

Monsoons may sooner or later arrive but what is required is the attentiveness of the PHE department if in case monsoon fails to arrive and how the situation would be tackled. It is time for serious action because the debate on water will certainly trigger unanticipated alarm. One of the great contradictions in human nature is that we value things only when they are scarce. All life depends on water and ensuring uninterrupted supply of drinking water as well as management by the department in not wasting precious water is all that citizens need. If scarcity becomes the norm, there is a possibility of conflicts over water in the near future. A government is elected to help the people, not to ignore their needs.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/WXNrGq4m_Qg/

It took a Public Interest Litigation, PIL, to have the government pull up its socks in matters of tightening up its power supply system to control power thefts by numerous consumers in connivance with electricity department officials. So far however, while bill defaulting consumers and those tapping electricity illegally are being penalised, sometimes humiliatingly, what everybody is yet to see is any move to haul up electricity department officials who had allowed these theft all the while, often in collaboration. The principle compromised is the vital understanding in democratic jurisprudence that everybody is equal before the law, and that nobody is above the law. If the government is serious about ensuring this widespread electricity theft racket to end, it must also apply the rod to its own officials responsible either of neglect of duty or complicity in power theft, beginning from petty ground staff to those who these personnel are answerable to. If need be this responsibility fixing must go right up to the very top, including the minister in charge.
On the electricity front it is encouraging that there is some semblance of action and thereby a great deal of consciousness of the issue among the public. This is the kind of atmosphere needed to bring any change for the better. On and off, we have also been hearing how some bill defaulters are complaining this campaign of disconnecting defaulting power subscribers should stop until the government is able provide power supply uninterrupted. This is farcical, but the message should perhaps be read more leniently. Because the government electricity department has not been alert or else neglecting its duty of collecting power taxes, many defaulting subscribers have accumulated huge bills which may not be easy to pay in a single down payment. For these subscribers, the government should offer easy instalment facilities and perhaps a package to write off certain amount if the defaulting subscribers pay up a prescribed percentage within a specified time frame.However, the problem of theft of public utilities and services is not restricted to electricity alone. It is very much happening in the municipal water supply as well with the result that thieves and dishonest consumers who illegally tap government water pipelines not only in manner designed to siphon more water than consumers are allowed to, but also often with no official records hence without tax, get all the benefits, while honest consumers are left with hardly a trickle in their taps. Most of those who would not resort to thieving have no option than to buy water from private water tanker services, a growing enterprise which are now doing brisk businesses in the Imphal area precisely because of the failure of the government to avail them this vital and indispensible commodity. It is time for the government to take a proactive stance and begin the cleaning up act in this vital service too before it is caught on the wrong foot and in extreme embarrassment, and forced to do so by the court as in the case of electricity. Indeed, it is only a matter of days before a PIL comes up on this matter too.
Apart from the failure of the government in not policing well enough to keep these important services from thieves, what is also worrisome is the fact of what seems to be a widespread lack of civic sense amongst the people of the state. The general attitude cannot but remind of the cynical outlook to public psychology which says public property is nobody’s property. This total disregard of the altruistic sense of a progressive society which lays an unwritten moral premium on “the larger common good”, does not reflect civilised behaviour or even a civilised history which so many in Manipur claim at the drop of a hat. Nobody seems to think what he or she unfairly steals from the pool of public services or public properties would deprive a fellow citizen of his or her entitlements. Not only are the putative thieves insensitive, but even the victims of these acts of the thieving consumers have become numb and fail to be outraged at the deprivation of their right. This is to say, it is the duty of those whose entitlement are diminished by these thefts to complain to the authorities, and if the authorities are part and parcel of these thieving ways, to the court or law through mechanisms such as the PIL.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/K8E4gMqVpwY/

Traffic light signal system has been reintroduced in Imphal after years of its first experimentation about a decade and half ago. It is good time to do so too for it had become a pain to see traffic signal policemen and policewomen watching haplessly as vehicles refuse to obey their commands or even to look at them to wait for the okay signal from them. Now the lights are handling these signals and the traffic police personnel can to do the much needed hauling up of traffic violators. There is plenty to smooth out still, in particular vehicle users have to be disciplined into the traffic routines so that these norms become internalised and therefore automatic responses of all vehicle users. For this to happen, at the initial stages, the traffic police personnel would have to be stern on anybody who deviates from norms. Unless and until everybody falls into line, the chaos on the roads would not mitigate. In the absence of a controlling mechanism, this chaos can be only be predicted to rise as the years go by. As was indicated in a news report in this daily two weeks ago, during the last year alone, the number of registered motor vehicles increased by 40,000. This will give an indication of the continual incremental pressure on our roads and traffic management system. Hence, along with an expansion of the volume and width of our roads, there must also be a constant up-gradation to the latest and state-of-the-art traffic management techniques and technologies. Everybody must be made to realise that each and everybody sacrificing a little freedom on their driving habits is essential for everybody to enjoy and aggregated traffic freedom together. Let everybody drive in their lanes, overtake as per norm, turn only where they are permitted to etc, so that frustrating traffic jams are avoided to the extent possible.

It is necessary here to point out one simple addition to the traffic regulatory mechanism which can further improve the smooth flow of traffic, and equally importantly the convenience of pedestrians. We need some overhead walkways along the main streets of Imphal. This is particularly so along the BT Road at the foot of the BT Road flyover. This road has been vertically partitioned, as it should be, so that the southern and northern sides of the roads are separated completely by a concrete wall as well as moveable barricades. But as anybody who has driven along this stretch of the road would have noticed, pedestrians still climb over these barricades, or else climb the flyover base till where the barricades end, and then cross the road. This is another reason for a huge congestion at this point. At least on this count, the pedestrians cannot be blamed. What are they supposed to do if they needed to go the other side of the road? For every trifle they cannot be expected to walk down the road 200 meters and cross, only to walk back the same distance and cross back. It is plain logic that they would try to cross the road without taking this unreasonable trouble. One simple walkway bridge over the road connecting its two banks would solve the problem. If this was done, pedestrians would not be harangued by irritated horns of motor vehicles, dangers of mishaps contained, and not the least driving would lose much of the stress associated with it in today`™s Imphal.

There is one more thing to be noted. The principle that everybody is equal before the law must apply even to traffic rules. As of today, this is hardly the case. At least those in position of power ensure that the law is not interpreted this way. It is therefore painful to watch certain categories of vehicles blatantly flouting traffic regulations, as if is their right to do so. These vehicles in particular are those belonging to VIPs and their escorts as well as those of security forces. Unless in cases of emergency, why must anybody be allowed this? Moreover, exceptions are a dangerous thing always. Today it is the VIP vehicles, sooner than later it would be VIP wives and children, followed by government official vehicles etc, until finally the floodgates have been thrown open again and nobody respects the traffic norms. Instead, we are of the opinion that VIP and security vehicles should set the example that they too follow the same norms, and if this becomes the practice, we are more than certain, everybody would be not only under pressure but actually happy to do only as per the rule of law.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/lK1fb4AodrA/

A perfectly innocent man was shot dead in front of his family inside his own house and yet Manipur fails to be outraged. Or to put it more accurately all the outrage that seemed to have been building up, simply frittered away after the murderers owned up to the killing. Quite atrociously, all that everybody is seemingly willing to risk doing, including those who had decided to come out on the streets to protest (that is before the murderers came open), is to appeal to the murderers to furnish reasons for the execution. Implicit in this tame demand is nothing but an all round cowardice induced by decades of intimidation and violence perpetrated on them, but also by an inherent inward looking and selfish side of the character of the place`™s elite. The metaphoric Manipuri Lion of the folklores is suffering from a terrible sore throat and can do nothing more than let out the mew of a house kitten even when threatened. What a tragedy this is. We can only hope this condition is not permanent. To ensure this is not so however, the brave sons and daughters of the land would have to gather courage and come forward to stand up to oppression of any kind.

Implicit also in the same tame appeal is that summary execution even without the semblance of a trial in a hopping court is permissible, as long as the executioners have an excuse to furnish for the killing. This would further mean giving moral legitimacy to posthumous award of penalties to already executed victims. Or maybe nobody, especially those who form the supposed enlightened crust of the citizenry, believe in what they are saying anymore. One is reminded of W.B. Yeats`™ description of what Ireland had once gone through because of similar violence as we are witnessing in Manipur. He had described it in a poem `The Second Coming` as a hopeless situation in which `The best lack all conviction, while the worst./ Are full of passionate intensity.` Yeats however was not a pessimist and added in the next line with a wishful thought: `Surely some revelation is hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand.` Manipur`™s morale today has hit the nadir. Hence, its enlightened citizens must step out of their cocoons to make Yeats`™ `second coming` happen in the state. The madness must be put to an end and everybody must shoulder the responsibility together. Everybody must step out to claim their right to dignity and dignified living. In this, to draw inspiration from a cliche, there is no fear bigger than fear itself and it must be shed.

The vocal section of our society who makes so much noise on atrocities by the establishment must also speak in one voice. There can be absolutely no difference between the way summary executions are carried out by many who profess to be revolutionaries and those killed by government forces. The BT Road daylight custodial killing that shook the nation`™s conscience was unpardonable, but so should be the killing of a mobile tower caretaker by militants inside his house in front of his family. The fabled lion in the soul of the place must be restored. Only this can be the salvation. But while this is very much a fight of the people by and large, the government cannot be silent spectator. It cannot forget that the most important reason for its existence is to provide security to life and property of the ordinary citizenry. It has been miserably failing in this duty all the while, resorting to controversial terror tactics itself in the name of counter insurgency measures, adding thereby to the aggregate of the all round sense of terror.
Meanwhile, the ideology driven resistance movements must also rethink on the road ahead. Fifty years down the road, the situation has not remained the same. The aspiration of the people have changed radically, as is natural everywhere in the world, and moreover, as argued earlier in this editorial, the people have been intimidated into abject cowardice, and they live in fear of atrocities, not necessarily perpetrated by the supposedly oppressive establishment, but equally, if not more by many who claim to be fighting the established order. They must come together and thrash the issue out among themselves, and if a sincere and threadbare dialectical engagement reveals that the way forward points towards a reconciliation process, they must be courageous enough to be ready to change course and pursue what is the obvious zeitgeist of modern Manipur and its people.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/jlYhAv5O6cc/

The first day of the month of Sajibu is here again. On the Meitei lunar calendar, this is the beginning of another New Year. It is interesting that there are so many different dates on which the New Year is celebrated in different parts of the year. The one with the most following is of course January 1 on what has come to be known as the Christian calendar, although there is nothing to signify this has anything to do with Christianity. In fact as is evident from numerous articles, the celebration of New Year was once forbidden by the Church deeming it to be a heathen practice. Whatever the case may be, whichever date is celebrated as New Year by anybody, the notion of a year getting renewed on an annual basis cannot go away. And nobody is wrong for celebrating at different dates either, as long as the cycle is maintained, after all, the earth’s revolution around the sun is on a circular path and this being the case, any point on this circle can be marked as the beginning and by that virtue the end as well. Indeed, in any circular trajectory, the end and the beginning are coterminous.It may be convenient to have a fixed and universal New Year on January 1, but this is with a serious flaw too. Even those of us with just elementary knowledge of school geography knows that between the north and south hemisphere, the seasons are directly the reverse, so that a fixed New Year would amount to very different seasons being celebrated as New Year at the same time in the two hemispheres. The northern and southern hemisphere difference is just the most radical, but seasons vary from place to place, mostly on account of the latitude differences. Other factors include topography and degree of monsoon severity etc. This being the case, if New Year is not to be any arbitrary date but one that coincides with a major landmark in the cycle of season, it is only but expected that it should be celebrated at different times in different parts of the globe. What can be a more appropriate time for this celebration than the onset of the Spring season? Needless to serve the reminder again that Spring comes at different times for different places.
For Manipur and other lands in this latitude and topography, Spring somewhat coincides with April. It is the time the foliage begins to sprout and the sowing season is flagged off and ploughing of paddy fields begins after being allowed to lay fallow for nearly six months. Indeed, the first day of the new moon in the Meitei lunar calendar of Sajibu, is celebrated as New Year or Sajibu Cheiraoba traditionally, and this day is today. Meitei homes will see Spring cleaning followed by a special lunch, and then in the afternoon, a family outing to the Cheirao Ching for a climb to the summit and prayer there. It is a great day for children and parents alike, and indeed for everybody. We wish all our readers a very happy and prosperous Sajibu Cheiraoba. In the spirit of the tradition it is celebrated, we also wish for a good crop and all round peace and progress in the entire state.
But one gets the sense of being caught in a cliché making these too often parroted wishes. What then would we also wish besides these routine and thereby soulless ones? This is something everybody who takes part in this celebration should sit down and ponder through the day. We for one think that the focus on this day should gravitate around the all important question as to what are the most vexing problems besetting the state? What are the problems which have a profound bearing on not just the lives of everybody, but also have been a barrier on everybody’s prospect of a dignified life? What are our leaders doing about this? What are we as enlightened and empowered citizens doing about it? It would be unrealistic to expect the answer to these question to be found immediately just because everybody wish it on Sajibu Cheiraoba. But it would be extremely good and to the purpose if we all at least resolve to begin the soul search on these issues on such an auspicious day. Sometimes, it just needs a single spark to start the engine to a great new project. Our prayer is, a collective resolve on Sajibu Cheiraoba this time would be able to provide this magical spark to kick off a new beginning for the entire people of the state.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/hxJBo9jpxCU/

The first day of the month of Sajibu is here again. On the Meitei lunar calendar, this is the beginning of another New Year. It is interesting that there are so many different dates on which the New Year is celebrated in different parts of the year. The one with the most following is of course January 1 on what has come to be known as the Christian calendar, although there is nothing to signify this has anything to do with Christianity. In fact as is evident from numerous articles, the celebration of New Year was once forbidden by the Church deeming it to be a heathen practice. Whatever the case may be, whichever date is celebrated as New Year by anybody, the notion of a year getting renewed on an annual basis cannot go away. And nobody is wrong for celebrating at different dates either, as long as the cycle is maintained, after all, the earth’s revolution around the sun is on a circular path and this being the case, any point on this circle can be marked as the beginning and by that virtue the end as well. Indeed, in any circular trajectory, the end and the beginning are coterminous.It may be convenient to have a fixed and universal New Year on January 1, but this is with a serious flaw too. Even those of us with just elementary knowledge of school geography knows that between the north and south hemisphere, the seasons are directly the reverse, so that a fixed New Year would amount to very different seasons being celebrated as New Year at the same time in the two hemispheres. The northern and southern hemisphere difference is just the most radical, but seasons vary from place to place, mostly on account of the latitude differences. Other factors include topography and degree of monsoon severity etc. This being the case, if New Year is not to be any arbitrary date but one that coincides with a major landmark in the cycle of season, it is only but expected that it should be celebrated at different times in different parts of the globe. What can be a more appropriate time for this celebration than the onset of the Spring season? Needless to serve the reminder again that Spring comes at different times for different places.
For Manipur and other lands in this latitude and topography, Spring somewhat coincides with April. It is the time the foliage begins to sprout and the sowing season is flagged off and ploughing of paddy fields begins after being allowed to lay fallow for nearly six months. Indeed, the first day of the new moon in the Meitei lunar calendar of Sajibu, is celebrated as New Year or Sajibu Cheiraoba traditionally, and this day is today. Meitei homes will see Spring cleaning followed by a special lunch, and then in the afternoon, a family outing to the Cheirao Ching for a climb to the summit and prayer there. It is a great day for children and parents alike, and indeed for everybody. We wish all our readers a very happy and prosperous Sajibu Cheiraoba. In the spirit of the tradition it is celebrated, we also wish for a good crop and all round peace and progress in the entire state.
But one gets the sense of being caught in a cliché making these too often parroted wishes. What then would we also wish besides these routine and thereby soulless ones? This is something everybody who takes part in this celebration should sit down and ponder through the day. We for one think that the focus on this day should gravitate around the all important question as to what are the most vexing problems besetting the state? What are the problems which have a profound bearing on not just the lives of everybody, but also have been a barrier on everybody’s prospect of a dignified life? What are our leaders doing about this? What are we as enlightened and empowered citizens doing about it? It would be unrealistic to expect the answer to these question to be found immediately just because everybody wish it on Sajibu Cheiraoba. But it would be extremely good and to the purpose if we all at least resolve to begin the soul search on these issues on such an auspicious day. Sometimes, it just needs a single spark to start the engine to a great new project. Our prayer is, a collective resolve on Sajibu Cheiraoba this time would be able to provide this magical spark to kick off a new beginning for the entire people of the state.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/hxJBo9jpxCU/

H. Thangtungnung
Theological study is a branch of academic education and knowledge similarly to other disciplines which aim at earning a

degree. It is also based on certification like other academic streams to mould and shape one future career so as to enable

him/her to pursue a higher study of education. It is not therefore, a different application or system of education away

from academic parlance. It is thus likely and necessary that a theological student from S.T/S.C background who is pursuing

a degree gets the Post-Matric Scholarship of S.T/S.C, funded by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Social

Justice and Empowerment without any hindrance unless, he/she is availing other scholarships like the Post-Matric minority

scholarship, funded by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The tribal theological students should be allowed to apply the

scholarship smoothly so as to enable them to continue their course of study and to pursue a higher learning without any

financial constraints by availing the scholarship.

The theological students, like the students of  other academic courses like B.A., B.Sc or B.Com, etc are paying full

admission fees, tuition fees, examination fees, academic and other necessary fees. They need to manage themselves like

those students from secular studies and as such, they need maintenance allowances as well in the form of a full

scholarship. Like many secular colleges of learning, most of these theological or Bible Colleges are also affiliated to a

centrally recognized University and alike and are full fledge institutes as per rules and norms laid down in the

educational policy of the Country. 

In fact, the rules and regulations of the Post-Matric Scholarship for S.T/S.C formulated by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs,

Government of India and implemented by the concerned State Governments do not mention anything which would exclude non-

secular studies under the purview of the scholarship. It does not disallow the theological students from benefiting this

scholarship. So, the concerned State Government and its Department which is monitoring and implementing the said

scholarship cannot just simply deny the right of theological students from getting the scholarship.

The theological students of Manipur availed the PMS till the financial year, 2006-2007 continuously but hereafter, from

2007-2008, the same students were denied the Scholarship even though they applied for it, and in the succeeding year, i.e.

for 2008-09, they were not even allow to apply the said scholarship. The only reason expressed by the concerned authority

as to why the scholarship is debarred to these students is that, it is because their course of studies is non-secular!

However, our adjacent states like Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya sanctioned and paid full scholarship to their theological

students. Except in Manipur, that is also recently, no demarcation is drawn between secular and spiritual studies in

respect to giving the Post Matric Scholarship to the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste students.

Taking into account the above points critically, the Trulock Theological Seminary, Imphal was visited within the first week

of March, 2009. The purpose of the visit was to interview the students and staffs of the Institute and to get first hand

information about their views and to take note of their plights with regard to the Post-Matric Scholarship so that factual

knowledge and understanding could be acquired. A conclusion can then be drawn after analyzing and studying the details of

what has been found out from the information obtained there.

Seiminchon,1 the General Secretary of TTSSF (Trulock Theological Seminary Students’ Fellowship) was the first person to be

interviewed. In his interview, he mentioned that the previous theological students availed the scholarship till the year

2006-07 but since then, scholarship was revoked to theological students by the Directorate of Development of Tribals and

SC, Manipur without assigning any reason. There after, i.e., from the academic session of 2007-08, no more scholarship is

granted to them. They were the first students who were debarred from the scholarship. He further stated that there is no

other scholarship or stipend he received from any other source. He also maintained that no one from the institute has

applied the scholarship again since they have been informed that, even if they applied, they will not been awarded the

scholarship. He raised a question as to why they should not also be granted the PMS since the Trulock Theological Seminary

(TTS) is affiliated to the Senate of Serampore, Calcutta, duly recognized by the UGC (University Grants Commission). As the

institute is also directly under the purview of a recognized Institute, the tribal students must be, as per rules, entitled

to benefit the scholarship as long as they fulfill the norms and standard laid down by the Regulations of the Scheme. He

even pointed out that the TTS and MTC at Kangpokpi are full fledged institutes of the Senate of Serampore, Calcutta,

recognized by the UGC while many other theological institutes are affiliated to ATA (Asian Theological Association).

When asked whether there was any measure taken to relieve their cause, he explained that they themselves had brought up the

matter to the concerned authority, but when every step failed on their part, the MUTSU (Manipur University Tribal Students

Union), AMSU (All Manipur Students Union), KSO ( Kuki Students’ Organisation) and the HAC (Hill Area Committee) were

approached. The Director and Deputy Director for Tribal Welfare had been urged, the concerned Secretary was petitioned, but

all these requests vanished in the thick air unsolved.

 Themneimawi, 2 another B.D II Year Student was asked about her reaction on this regard, and she said that she was quite

disheartened and unhappy. She maintained that since they were the first batch being denied the scholarship, she felt

morally neglected and degrading. According to her own statement, no definite reason was given to them for this withdrawal.

She stated that they did not apply for any other scholarship and as such, they were learning without a single scholarship

though most of them hailed from a very poor family background. ‘No one is there to see and understand our plight and to

take necessary measures on this regard,’ she added.

Neingneihoi, 3 another interviewee, said that she came here for her B.D. (Bachelor of Divinity) from Nagaland, where she

resided and completed her B.Th (Bachelor of Theology). She availed the Post Matric Scholarship during her B.Th course. She

said that she was shock to learn that the theological students of Manipur were debarred from the Post-Matric Scholarship

since the past two years. She raised a question why these students should not avail the Scholarship when the same students

of Nagaland and other States were being awarded? She argued that she was pursuing her course of studies not because of the

sole aim of scholarship, but she felt unsatisfactory when she would be denied of what she ought to get as she had no other

source of income to relieve her financial problem. It is true that many poor students, coming from remote areas are in the

hope of getting scholarship to relieve themselves from financial burden. But this expectation and hope is turned into a

mere day dream.

In order to cover a wider range of study and to acquire more evidences, the Grace Bible College, New Lamka and Evangelical

College of Theology, Nehru Mark, both in Churachandpur were visited on June 16, 2009. But the visit coincided with the

summer vocation and there were no students to interview there. One of the main objects or purposes of visiting the two

institutes was to obtain information regarding the initiative that has been taken on this issue.

Rev. Dr. Sonna Langzakham Ph.D,4 the Principal of Grace Bible College was interviewed and it was learned that his students

received the Post-Matric Scholarship till the year 2006-2007, but thereafter, it was ceased. The students organized

themselves with a few other Bible colleges’ students who were being denied the same and urged the concerned authorities to

revoke the order but this went unheeded.  The only reason given to them was that theological studies were a non-secular

course and the Scheme excluded such a study. The students’ body met the Director of Tribal Welfare, Manipur, in 2008 and

urged for uninterrupted payment. To their dismay, they got a reply that final authority was with the Commissioner for

Scholarship/T.D., and he was not in a position to help them if no positive direction came from the higher authority. They

also approached the Deputy Director, Scholarship/T.D. and requested him to do something on this regard. The officer merely

replied that though he understood their (the students) grievances and would like helping them, the higher authorities

should be positive towards this matter in order to materialize something.

The students also approached P.C., Lawmkunga, the then Principal Secretary, (Hills/T.D.), and requested his kind approval

for the scholarship which he flatly turned down. The students actually laid much blame on him for non-payment of the

scholarship to theological students. The students argued that Shri T. Phungzathang, the then Minister for Tribal

Development and Shri O. Ibobi Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur, Government of Manipur, who held the finance portfolio

were in favour of granting the scholarship to the theological students. This was not well received by the concerned

Commissioner and Secretary. The Chief Minister had even given a direction along with an earmarked or budgetary statement

for scholarship payment to the Department but without any outcome. It appears that though the Ministry had allocated fund

for the said purpose, it was not effected by the lower authorities.

Though the scholarship was not granted to theological students in 2006-07, many of them were disheartened to apply in the

following year, i.e. for 2007-08, but their applications were rejected. The Principal of Grace Bible College stated that,

as a result of this, none of his students had applied further for 2008-09 academic session. Since then, the matter had been

left aside by the students’ community. 

When Rev. Kh. Khaizakham, B.A., Th.M, D.Miss,5 Principal, Evangelical College of  Theology, Churachandpur was interviewed,

it was ascertained that his students availed the Post-Matric Scholarship till the academic session, 2006-07 but they were

debarred from the next academic session though they applied for it. All the initiatives taken by the students having failed

already, none of the students applied again from the academic session of 2008-09. When asked what initiatives had been

taken up on their part, Khaizakham replied that initially, his students along with the students of Grace Bible College and

alike put a joint effort and their representatives met the higher authorities to convince them in their favour. The

representatives also approached ATSUM (All Tribal Students Union, Manipur) and the KSO (Kuki Students Organisation) to take

up the issue on their behalf but no positive results turned out. It was a common reaction that P.C. Lawmkunga was so much

oppose to granting a scholarship for Theological Courses. In response to why he was too adamant, it was generally held that

Lawmkunga considered theological courses as purely non-secular and therefore, these religious studies were excluded within

the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme.
When his personal view was taken, Khaizakham remarked that if it was true that religious courses were outside the

Scholarship Scheme, why Mizoram and Nagaland could grant the same scholarship for such courses! He pointed out that there

was a student from his Institute who used to seek his signature for applying this scholarship which he always got. So, his

general conclusion was that the theological students of Manipur should also be awarded the PMS as there is no other

scholarship or source of income for the students. They pursue their studies without any stipend, grant or scholarship.

The Grace Bible College and the Evangelical College of Theology are both, accredited Colleges of the Asian Theological

Association, India, attached with Andra University, duly recognized by the University Grants Commission (UGC). So, the main

questions which arises after critical evaluation of the above findings are—

1. On what specific ground the theological students are denied their Post-Matric scholarship?
2. If the reason for refutation is that such studies are non-secular and are excluded within the Scholarship Scheme, then

under which rules or regulations it is so?
3. If it is really true that theological study is outside the purview of scholarship scheme and the Rules and Regulations

of the Scheme do not naturally cover such studies, why then, the students were paid till the year 2006-07? Is there any

modification from that point of time?
4. If such a revised rule has become effective, why and how could other states still continue to pay the same to their

students for such courses?
5. If there was alteration of the Regulations of the Scheme, then why is it not notified
Officially through newspapers or intimated to the concerned institutes? And if the Implementing agency or the State

Government are not quite familiar with the
Regulation governing the award of Scholarship as specified by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Social Justice

and Empowerment, why is the matter not brought up to the notice of the sanctioning Ministry to seek their view, advice or

clarification?
Taking into account the above points, even if the Scheme has excluded the non secular courses from the purview of the

Scholarship, the concerned Ministry has to at least clarify and notify the same stating the reasons clearly.

Notes:
1. Seiminchon, (b. 15-11-1985) B.D. II Year, Kangpokpi, interviewed on the 2nd March, 2009 (Monday) at Trulock Theological

Seminary, Imphal.
2. Themneimawi (b. 09-03-1985), B.D. II Year, Moreh, interviewed on 2nd March, 2009 at Trulock Theological Seminary,

Imphal.
3. Niengneihoi (b. 28-08-1984), B.D. I Year, Saijang Village, Paren District, Nagaland, interviewed during 2008-09 at as

above.
4. Rev. Dr. Sonna Langzakham, Principal, Grace Bible College, interviewed on June 16, 2009, at his office.
5. Rev. Kh. Khaizakham, Principal, Evangelical College of Theology, interviewed on June 16, 2009, at his office.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/8NEk8IxS5GQ/

By Amar Yumnam
We have been very critical of the nature of the state as it manifests in Manipur. This critical attitude had at times shown

to have been a prevailing view among the masses as well. But very unfortunately for all of us, from both temporal and

posterity perspectives, the quality of the state not only continues to speedily decline, but the people of the land have as

well started performing the functions which would otherwise be the only domain of the state. We can no longer afford to

wait and watch for the reforms and changes to occur, but have to exercise our mind collectively in order to stop the

deceleration. We have to stop this deceleration not only for the collective interests but also for the benefits of

individual safety and welfare.

A Recall and The Issues: In order to meaningfully discuss the issues as prevailing in Manipur, we can briefly recall as to

what we mean by state. In this the definition of Yoram Barzel, a contemporary theorist from the Washington University, is

of absolute quantitative relevance. He defines the state thus: “The state consists of (1) a set of individuals who are

subject to a single ultimate third party who uses violence for enforcement and (2) a territory where these individuals

reside, demarcated by the reach of the enforcer’s power.”  The beauty of this definition is its avoidance of jargons and

adoption of yardsticks easily understandable by a commoner while at the same time incorporating the attributes emphasised

by all the political economists.

By this definition, all those residing within the territorial boundaries of the province called Manipur are to be

considered subjects of the state of Manipur. Now the fundamental power of state to use violence is to be exercised solely

and effectively by the government administering the land on behalf of the state. The problem before us is that the

prevailing situation is in absolute contrast to what it should be. We now have more than our share of violence in every

sphere of social existence and community interactions. We have a nobleman’s son shooting to death a non-nobleman’s son. We

have umpteen number of instances where someone or a group would just do to death anyone not in agreement on something. We

would also have a group of people coming out in full retaliation and finishing the lives of a couple. Dismantling and

burning down of houses are a dime a dozen.

Causal and Facilitating Factors: As said above, the adoption of violence for enforcement has to be the option exercised

only by the state. Here we may ask as to why force should be used at all. The fundamental purpose of having a state is in

order to establish justice. Now this justice should be there as an outcome as well as a quality characterising the

endeavours to establish justice. Here it would be worth quoting extensively from the Leviathan of Thomas Hobbes: “….men

have no pleasure, (but on the contrary a great deal of griefe) in keeping company, where there is no power able to over-awe

them all. For every man looketh that his companion should value him, at the same rate he sets upon hemselfe. And upon all

signes of contempt, or undervaluing, naturally endeavours, as far as he dares (which amongst them that have no common power

to keep them in quiet, is far enough to make them destroy each other,) to extort a greater value from his contemners, by

dommage; and from others, by the example.

So that in the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrell. First, Competetion; Secondly, Diffidence; Thirdly

Glory.

The first maketh men invade for Gain; the second. For Safety; and the third, for Reputation. The first use Violence, to

make themselves Masters of other mens persons, wives, children and carttell; the second, to defend them; the third, for

trifles, as a word, a smile, a different opinion, and any other signe of undervalue, either direct in their Persons, or by

reflexion in their Kindred, their Friends, their Nation, their Profession, or their Name.

Hereby it is manifest, that during the time men live without a common Power to keep them all in awe, they are in that

condition which is called Warre; and such a warre, as is of every man, against every man”.

Rereading these paragraphs from Hobbes, I am sure, everyone would feel as an apt description of Manipur today. But the

question to be asked is why such a situation has arisen.

While attempting to answer the million lives question, I would certainly blame the existing state as well as the forces

challenging this for a new one. The powers that be in the existing state have increasingly converted their legitimate

powers into indiscriminate powers. Just a look at their street behaviour is enough to experience this. The culmination of

this is the recent case of a nobleman’s son shooting to death a non-nobleman’s son. Such an incident would not have

happened in an environment where legitimate powers are exercised only as such and never as indiscriminate powers. We should

be recalling here the dangers of such scenario explained by Rousseau long back.

Further, as stated above, the fundamental purpose of state is to establish justice. But the state as manifested in Manipur

has with rising frequency and terrifying intensity failed on this score. The individuals as subjects as well as groups have

simply stopped expecting delivery of justice from the machineries of the state. This is the reason why people as

individuals and groups have started taking law into their hands and deliver instant justice. The latest example is the

death of a husband and his wife in the hands of an angry mob.

At this point, we are reminded of the fast qualitative deterioration and decline in positive hold of the organisations

fighting against the existing state promising another state with greater self-respect. All these organisations have failed

the deterioration in terms of individuals executing self-indulgence in their name and claiming lives in the process. This

has left the public devoid of any agency, the state or the anti-state, from which to expect justice. The resultant outcome

for the people and land of Manipur has become one where delivery of justice has been let loose. What a frightening and

painful scenario it is!!

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/hcEQ-tupmEo/

IMPHAL, April 2: State Finance Department has accorded sanction of Rs 60,89,000 for the payment of honorarium to the Enumearators and Supervisors of the National Population Registerars (NPR), Manipur.
Accordng to an official source state Finance Department has made its accord to sanctioning the total of Rs.60,89,000 for the payment of honorarium to the Enumearators and Supervisors of the National Population Registerars (NPR), Manipur has been made in due response to the official submission from the  DC Imphal West through State Home Department seeking permission for a sum of Rs.60,89,000 from the Major Head 8449 Civil Deposits to withdraw the  amount and disburse the same to the  DCs of the state for payment of the honoraruim to the Enumerators and Supervisors for NPR, Manipur which includes total of Rs.8.45 lakhs for Senapati, Rs.3.54 lakhs for Tamenglong, Rs. 8 lakhs for Churachandpur,  Rs.5.26 lakhs for Bishnupur, Rs.8.21 lakhs for Thoubal, Rs.12.55 lakhs for Imphal West plus IMC, Rs.6.67 lakhs for Imphal East, Rs.4.26 lakhs for Ukhrul and Rs.3.86 lakhs for Chandel districts respectively the official order mentioned.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/4PCUNY1bLv0/