By – Amar Yumnam
The last day of October 2026 is a very significant date not only for Manipur but also for the world too. Before I talked about the significance of the Rally Manipur has given the world, let me just mentionthe context I was in while watching the Rally. A. The previous three days I had been watching the video of the recent lectures by Jeffrey Sachs, including one in the European Parliament. Sachs is one of the top Development Economists of the world today. His key argument is that the “arrogance” of any supposedly powerful country would not only lead to the collapse of the civilisation itself but would cause chaos all around. This has happened right from the time of Athens to Britain which thought of herself as the Empire and behaved accordingly. Though the British Empire collapsed itself and unfortunately coupled by war of the world as a whole. Sach emphasises that this British arrogance has been inherited by the United States of America. From about the 1960s particularly till the 1990s the US imposed her intentions and likings to many countries. Ukraine was a country which wanted to remain neutral, but the US imposed closeness to her and opposing Russia. Today Ukraine is paying a heavy price for standing against Russia and the US has no capacity to protect her. Sachs states that the distance to the Doomsday Midnight hour was 17 minutes in 1991 and it is now reduced to just 1 to 1½ seconds; he calls Trump a “fool”. B. I have been reading the recently published book by Daron Acemoglu, another top Development Economist, titled What Happened to Liberal Democracy? Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity. This book provides strong articulations of the weaknesses of the Social Contract Theory in ensuring social peace, participation and shared prosperity to all. “The root problem is that social contract theories, interpreted as the basis for general ethical rules, go against self-government. They don’t seek the actual consent of individuals and communities to public choices by a process of deliberation, communication, and debate. Rather, they attempt to circumvent any opposition by invoking higher level precepts without broad buy-in from the population.” In the beginning of the book, Acemoglu cites the beauty of the widespread social discourses which preceded the removal of the Law Banning Abortion in Ireland. Thus, he raises the question: “Does liberalism need a social contract? Might there be a more grounded version of such a contract that does not invoke general principles that people are presumed to have agreed to? Could we have an agreement that people actually consent to via a process of deliberation – and without needing to be cloaked behind a philosophical veil?” C. I have been watching the various discussions in the Manipur television channels. I was feeling very disturbed by one thing. While most of the Discussants mention of events aplenty, there is hardly little of analysis. Events and information are not something which fell from the sky. There definitely must be a background, and the time of the circumstantial events; timing and events do go together. Further the present consequential feelings and reactions would certainly have future implications. Thepovertyof analyses itself has meanings of the generalised lack of study of the global experiences and the classics which have helped the international thinking to evolve in more social and people-friendly orientations.
It is in this context that viewing the massive rally and with an absolutely healthy slogan has been so encouraging and heart-warming. After the rally, I saw a discussion in one channelwhere Meizon Phaomei, President of ZUCM, was present. The plain, straight and meaningful interpretation given by Phaomei made the whole affair clear to all the listeners – something we have been missing. The design and goal of Proxy War are something people have been experiencing for four years. I have called this Indian geopolitics which is being played within the country unlike the ones played out between or amongst nations. Simultaneously, my old friend Senior Journalist, Yambem Laba, reminded us in his FB post of how the Assam Rifles was moved out when our mothers opened their clothes and inviting the security personnel to come and rape if they can. The ink of the order of the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, was not yet dry when they moved out of the Kangla.. But the sensibility of Dr Manmohan Singh – as educated as he is – cannot be expected from the present one.
As Meizon Phaomei put it so clearly: the unprecedented inclusive rally for Peace and shared prosperity of all the Indigenous Population should be respected and valued by the Powers That Be In the Centre. Let me conclude with Acemoglu does his latest book: “To expose illiberal hypocrisy is not enough. To wait for antidemocratic movements to exhaust themselves is folly. If liberalism is to endure, it must be rebuilt. That rebirth will not come from elite debates or technocratic fixes. It will definitely not come fromsocial engineering. It can come only from returning liberalism to its foundational values– freedom of expression, community, and a firm commitment to shared prosperity. In short, it must come from working class liberalism.” Here arises the importance of the forthcoming elections and it is not a taekwondo time.