By – Amar Yumnam
Manipur is under a destruction process. There is a design coupled by a dedicated agency to see effectiveness. The present moment has no sign of presence of a Governance meaning effective application of mind to ignite enough for evolution of policy for social advancement and alive to the contextual realities. The costliest thing is the non-concern with the characteristics of the social time passing through now. The issue of time is a very critical one for all and particularly for Manipur. The criticality of time is very differentially significant from that of any other factor – living as well as non-living. For the living, the criticality of time is such that time passes and moves on non-stop for all. A person with no feeling to act on any action can never think of stopping the flow of time. In the same way, a very busy person with no time to count time would have the flow of time in the same way for the non-working one. Further again, time would not flow slower for the person fighting against time to complete a task.
Without going into this issue of time, there arises the issues of relevance and significance of the government. Any society can now exist and sustain only with the presence of a government. We need not discuss in detail on this need of government, but let us admit on the need for this government. The quality of governance of this government would decide on the capability behaviour of individuals and the comparative sustenance of this society.
The issues of capabilities are of signifying importance for Manipur. Manipur has been sustaining her civilisation with notable properties of pride. It should be emphasised that no civilisation possesses all the positive social properties of advancement. In order to sustain the civilisation, it is of core importance to keep rethinking and adding the missing properties of further advancement. This requirement is all the more in a demographically as well as spatially variant small kingdom; there is diversity in both despite in addition to the smallness. It has been one weakness of Manipur but the administrative endeavours to address these have been of a different character in Manipur. This is where I have mentioned the absence of application of mind contextually relevant above.
The historical process and creation of a history of civilisation of Manipur are not based on the richness of industrial raw materials, but are based on the capabilities and coordination of the people residing in the land. These people have had a coordinated and shared evolution of a society committed to the cause and future of it. There have been administrative failures to evolve a shared path for evolution of the capabilities, and this has naturally caused repentance across the diversity. The “efficiency” and “commitment” of governance to address this issue is proven beyond doubt by the ongoing process of one day’s work of cutting down the poppies being extended into still unlimited time; the government does not give time when it plans to complete.
Without getting into the definition of capabilities, let me put in plain language that the civilisation and sustenance of it have been founded on the skill and intelligence of the people. It is exactly this where the governance is playing games instead of ensuring a shared path for enhancing skill and intelligence.
The contents and the orientation of education are undergoing in an unprecedented manner during the last ten years with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence as almost like a human agency in functioning. In these circumstances, the education of the youths and the job aspirations today and preparations for future can never be the same as they were yesterday. It is in these circumstances that the Governance keeps playing diversionary games and enjoy the continuations of social tensions in Manipur. These naturally affect the establishment and skill capabilities of the youths, while the kids are incapacitated without education. It is a sure way to destroy Manipur.
While the world is busy with the evolution of policies for the skills and intelligence the youths of their place should possess to make themselves capable and relevant to the time in the next five years or so, here people of many localities are allowed to stay in unfacilitated relief camps and without appropriately addressing the ethnic issues. What Manipur needs today is the evolution of social sector policies contextually relevant to the various groups. A high-power committee should be constituted to evolve such a policy and the committee should have Members (not bureaucrats) conversant with contextual social issues. Time is moving ever faster relating to technology and skill, and Manipur should not be forced to escape joining the race.