By – Amar Yumnam
After a gap of about five years, I was recently in my home province, Manipur, for a week. Whatever I saw starting from the view of the mountains from the aircraft on the day of arrival on 14 September till the day I left on September 20 made me recall some well-known books I had read more than forty years back in the beginning of my career in Economics. The first one which comes to mind is the Production Of Commodities By Means Of Commodities: Prelude To A Critique Of Economic Theory by Piero Sraffa. The second one is the Economic Philosophy of Joan Robinson. As the technicalities of the first one is not for common consumption, let me quote some lines from the second one: “Reason will not help. The ethical system implanted in each of us by our upbringing (even a rebel is influenced by what he rebels against) was not derived from any reasonable principles; those who conveyed it to us were rarely able to give any rational account of it, or indeed to formulate it explicitly at all” – “was not derived from reasonable principles” is the critical phrase.
Skipping the large literature on institutions, I mean character by the term norm. Given the gap, the eagerness to observe everything was very intense. As the flight entered Manipur territory, we looked out to the mountains. This showed the first instance of marauding the geography of Manipur. We saw richness in poverty of trees and forests. Whatever the geopolitics, we cannot afford to ignore the warning of the Atomic Scientists on 2026 Doomsday Declaration issued on 27 January 2027. “Founded in 1945 by Albert Einstein, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and University of Chicago scientists who helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists created the Doomsday Clock two years later, using the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero) to convey threats to humanity and the planet. The Doomsday Clock is set every year by the Bulletin’s Science and Security Board in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes eight Nobel laureates. The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world’s vulnerability to global catastrophe caused by man-made technologies.”. In June of 1947, it was 7 minutes to midnight but today it is “85 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to catastrophe.”But poverty of trees and forests is Manipur’s norm.
The second instance of marauding was seen right on the arrival at the Imphal Airport. The moment we got down and started moving towards the exit, there was a large number of Indian army personnel fully covered by black from top to toe except the eyes, but armed with killing weapons. It was as if a flight was bringing a group of enemies to be shot down in the first instance. The Airport (it was Tulihal Airport in the beginning)is by any definition a CIVILIAN AIRPORT. The sight aroused all kinds of feelings – fear of uncontrolled targeting on us with the automatic guns the invisibles had, utmost anger inside, and what not. When out of the terminal building, the first person of the Traffic Police became the target of my anger. I asked him what was all this nonsense. He appreciated my anger and stated the armed personnel were indulging in something with no potential for positive result.
The third marauding is seen in the city. Agglomeration is definitely happening but there is no quality control mechanism in place.
The fourth and most painful of marauding was seen again at the airport. After checking in and awaiting the announcement for boarding, I went for urination. There I discovered that a handicapped person was pouring water with a plastic cup every time a person urinates at any of the points. He takes the water from the basin for hand washing. Since he is incapable of speaking properly, he just nodded his head when enquired if he was asked to perform that duty. I immediately rushed to the security personnel there that I need to talk to an officer of the Airport Authority. She looked out and spotted a lady and called her to come. She said any complaint could be put through her. I told her back that I don’t want to talk through her and I need to talk directly to a responsible officer. She looked around and identified a person. I scolded the person, what was being seen was the extreme form of inhumanity. They were trying to explain that the pipe linking that room was out of order, and I scolded back that it is their responsibility to make alternative arrangements and definitely not posting a handicapped person to pour water every time a person urinates at any of the points; it amounts to keeping a prisoner in a toilet.
