Manipur News

By Chitra Ahanthem

Just the other day, a young parent on a social networking site remarked about an incident wherein during a pre-flight spell, a 7 year old local boy spouted in Hindi a commentary about the flight being ready to take off and how one should be ready with set belts et el. She was concerned that the young boy’s outburst was in cartoon speak mode and made the note that her own young daughter spoke like that. As is the norm with such sites, many have joined in the conversation pointing out how parenting is a challenge while quite a lot of parents have joined in saying how their own children were in cartoon speak mode. Considering how the TV remote often ends up being in the hands of children (in almost every household) and the fact that channel packs have 24 hour cartoon channels, it is almost a given that they would be hooked. But to go back to the friend who made the post: she went to add that the lingua franca of the young children would get corrupted.

In the wake of the outrage over the nudge to Hindi being the official language for communication in Government machineries (now being toned down to ‘where Hindi is the pre-dominant language only’), this parental anxiety lays bare a political and cultural paradox: where the world is opening up and influences have worked into the lives of the younger generation while the older generation frets over ‘roots’ and the purity of culture.

There have been many instances where various cultural vigilantes have frowned upon what they call the onslaught over ‘our culture and language’ with their varied actions centered around ensuring that non local words are not used in films and literature besides other such. But social scientists will point out that culture is not a limited entity but an ever growing process, that throws up certain aspects from time to time, some that endure and some that fade away. With language too, there is always a tendency for words to fade away and new ones to creep in, a global phenomenon that cuts across all cultures and all languages. We see this in the way the English language has swelled in terms of the range of its vocabulary strength starting from its early influence from Latin and Greek and now happily becoming a melting pot of numerous languages. Leave alone, the influence of other languages being absorbed into the English vocabulary, the trend now is for social media to throw up new words that are being added globally across any barriers of language or culture (case in point being words such as ‘selfie’) or for existing words to take on added meanings as in the case of the word ‘tweet’ which earlier used to be used to denote a bird sound but now means a 140 character limited status update on a very popular social networking site. The vocabulary range of the Manipuri language have for long absorbed many words that never existed earlier: cases in point being “tersing’ for ‘kerosene’, ‘laten’ from ‘lantern’ and many others.

With children, the interplay of what they see and hear around them in terms of everyday exposure is what shapes them. With cable TV that comes along with 24 hour cartoon channels being an integral part of their daily exposure, it is natural for them to be influenced in terms of their social interactions. In extreme cases, we have come across news reports of children imitating superheroes and in the process, sometimes falling to their deaths from heights or sustaining severe injuries (this has happened in other parts of the country). With nuclear families being the norm and career parents being busy with their work and the household and other social obligations, the TV becomes a very soft and available option for holding the attention of young children. One may well ask why is it that they are not taking up reading or other pursuits but the answer is an easy one: the peer pressure of being in the TV and by extension, the cartoon and TV advertisements of the latest toys or packed food products induces those who have started out not being into too much of TV watching.

End-point:
Are cartoon shows a bad influence? The answer to this is a yes and no. It is a ‘Yes’ when it becomes addictive and a ‘No’ because with parental guidance, cartoons are just another medium of entertainment. But between the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ also lies a grey area where young children are increasingly becoming confused with what they are seeing. As an example, I would cite the popular cartoon character ‘Chotta Bheem’ who lives in the fictional kingdom of Dholakpur. My 9 year old wanted to know where the rest of the Pandavas were since he thought that Chotta Bheem was the younger version of Bheem, the second of the Pandava brothers.

Like many young children, he too speaks in cartoon lingo and intonation but I prefer to look at the bright side of things: at least, he is picking up Hindi and at a much faster pace than I was at his age. With Hindi getting into the limelight, it’s good for him and his generation if cartoons are what it takes to aid their grasp over the language. My son has also picked up a smattering of Japanese from a Japanese cartoon show and recently asked me if he could change his name to that of one of the characters therein! And the other day when he was refusing to take his bath and I was at my wit’s end, I tried a cartoon voice. It worked, because he was totally kicked that his mother knew about the ‘kid stuff’ he watched!

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/childrens-culture-of-cartoon-language/

By Pradip Phanjoubam

Manipur remains deeply riven along ethnic lines. Not only do different communities not see eye to eye, but they continue to see and draw mutually contradictory conclusions from the same events, and memories. Nobody is willing to budge an inch from their original hostile stances, yet in the same breath continue to talk as if they were messengers of peace with no other interest than resolving the conflict situations destabilising the state. The picture of intellectual ennui is oppressive, and as in Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”, everybody at the drop of the hat with enthusiasm say “Let’s go” but none ever moves.

Elsewhere the organized looting of the state coffers by the officialdom continues, as if this was a natural service perk. On one side, from lowly government clerks to the top functionaries of the government, all have become part of an elaborate bribe extraction network, and the loot is shared across the hierarchy of the officialdom as if by long established consensual formulas. On the other side, from petty contractors to desperately insecure job seekers, too are part of this system corroding game. Everybody naturally also cover each other’s back to ensure this circle of corruption and its unholy dividends remain unbroken.

This absurd theatre would have evoked universal laughter had it not been so tragic. Indeed, whenever one spies a LandRover or Pajero SUV on the land’s potholed roads, the gut reaction is not of awe at the owners’ achievements. In this land so bereft of captains of industries (you can still actually count people who have made it big by talent and enterprise on the fingers), the only ones so obviously, openly and shamelessly opulent are those in the government contract cartels and government officials who moderate the allocation of these contract works.

Wealth here therefore is not a sign of economic growth. It also does not contribute to the state’s residue of economic dynamism. It would not be a factor in the multiplication of employment or build the regenerative capacity of the economy or add to the fund of life skills and competitive entrepreneurship of the place. It can only be spent to satiate avaricious consumerist passions, therefore the increasing surreal sightings of super expensive cars and marble palaces amidst the expanding slums and decaying infrastructures of Imphal and other townships in the state.

This is tragic because as many anthropologists and archaeologists studying the disappearances of civilizations have noted and warned, one of the biggest factors behind certain societies becoming unable to stand the incessant winds of changes of time are those which have been extremely inward looking and narcissistic, where the individuals have become unable to see beyond their selves and narrow self interests.

Consider these five factors identified as common to all peoples and societies which have failed to survive the onslaught of time. Anthropologist and author Jared Diamond lists these in “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fall or Survive”. One is climate change. This can be either external, such as the cycle of Ice Age of the cosmic storms on the sun’s surface which can radically alter earth’s climate. It can also be, and often is, brought by the people on themselves through irresponsible and short-sighted damages they cause to their own living environments.

Another factor is hostile neighbours. These scientists also note that often the society which fell to hostile neighbours did so because they had been weakened by other factors, among these is the economy becoming inadequate to support and sustain their population, therefore resulting in internal political and civic strifes.

The falls have also often been a cascading effect, in which the fall of one society leads to the fall of other interrelated societies. This is not difficult to imagine. Even the most rudimentary societies learn to exist in a symbiotic relationships, and therefore the prosperity of one, unacknowledged or acknowledged, is vitally dependent on the prosperity of the other neighbours. In Manipur’s case for instance, it should not be difficult to imagine how if the hills become unliveable because of environmental degradation the valley will not have it easy, and vice versa. The mantra is, only mutual prosperity can ensure continued prosperity of all. When the tide rises, all boats rise.

The last of the factors is, self absorbed, insensitive, narcissistic elite. Be it the fall of the Greeks, the Roman Empire, Mughals, Mayas, Incas, Khmers this factor has been common to all. The saying “Nero fiddled while Rome burned” encapsulates this scenario succinctly. Like Nero, the Maya priest kings were also busy throwing ever more grand feasts and accumulating wealth, while the Mayan society sank progressively into chaos and disorder, foreordaining the ultimate demise of all.

It is scary to think all these factors seem familiar to the Manipur scenario today. This generation may survive the damages, but what about the next? And this question is not just for the children of parents who have not made grade this generation, but even for those at the top rung? What would even the best skilled and educated amongst the next generation be left to do other than migrate to other parts of the country and world, or else join the bribe scramble in the state to garner the increasingly limited government jobs? Even if the coming generation manages somehow through inheritances form their “resourceful” parents, what about the generation after them? A society which wishes to, and has the resilience to, survive must be able to look at least that far, and much beyond too. Does Manipur look like it has this quality, is an honest introspection all need to do honestly before it becomes too late. At this moment, its elite seem unconcerned, and this thought is disturbing.

On June 18, in Imphal and other valley townships, the death of 18 on this day in 2001 was commemorated. The 18 died tragically in outraged rallies and riots at what had seem was a move to disintegrate the territorial integrity of Manipur by the then NDA government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, when it declared the formal extension of the ceasefire with the NSCN(IM) “without territorial limits”. The heavy price they paid with their deaths, won the day for Manipur, and the clause “without territorial limit” was removed from the ceasefire declaration to maintain status quo ante.

While their martyrdom cannot be forgotten, and the losses that their loved ones suffered must be shared by all with gratitude, it must not be forgotten that this alone is unlikely to heal the wounds of division in the state. It is not a coincidence that while preparations were being made for this solemn observation, the UNC called a bandh in the Naga areas. Obviously there are others who see the stakes differently, and no matter how painful, this must be acknowledged by all interested in the return of peace in this beleaguered land.

The truth is, Manipur continues to live in the past. This is true equally of those who believe Manipur has always had a united existence as “state bearing” peoples from “time immemorial”, as much as it is true of those who contend the hill-valley relationship has always been and still is marked by the valley exploiting the hills. Beyond all the power of emotive rhetoric, it is difficult to be convinced how Manipur is emotionally integrated at this moment. Beyond similarly emotionally charged rhetoric, it is equally difficult to imagine, or figure out, how the valley continues to exploit the hills. There are differences, but are these the result of anybody’s intent? Or is it impersonal forces such as those of geography? Even if these beliefs and grudges are found to have a basis, it is the challenge before all to work out amicable a solution which does not leave anybody with a sense of injustice.

The people of the state, those who believe in preserving the integrity of Manipur as well as those who think this is preposterous, must sit down and put this question not to any others but themselves. The honesty with which these questions are answered, will be the beginning of a more permanent resolution to the conflict of interests which so frustratingly have stymieing this shared homeland of ours. This would be in the enlightened self interest of all.

I take the example of this particular friction, for it is currently blazing. But what is said of this scenario would be true of the other internal ethnic frictions as well. The Sadar Hills question for instance. Or the delimitation of new constituencies, to think of another case.

Take the latter case. Delimitation would not have been difficult technically and legally, had the hills and valley belonged to the same revenue system. For instance, there would be very little issue if Imphal West or Thoubal were to be divided into five districts each. Likewise, it would not be difficult to divide Ukhrul or Tamenglong into five districts each. But when the delimited territories overlap reserved and non-reserved districts, the trouble would begin, for if non-tribal populations get incorporated into reserved districts, intractable legal questions of citizenship rights would arise. But provided the parties are ready to sit down and thrash things out, place reasons above emotions, and above all, are willing to accommodate in the democratic spirit of give and take, there should not be any problem which cannot be resolved.

It is time for Manipur to exorcise itself of the ghosts from the past. Before it is too late, its people must begin looking for ways to shape a future of equitable justice for all. This vision of justice must however not be confined to just the immediate political economy, but encompass the larger living environment that takes into consideration issues of ecological conservation and relationship with all neighbouring communities and indeed the rest of the world

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/corrosive-narcissism-must-not-be-allowed-to-destroy-manipur/

By M.C. Linthoingambee

There has been huge discussions over and over again in determining an offfiial language of the country. A family in large numbers often have difficulties reaching to a conclusion and likely to most every day events we are just being families fighting over who gets the last candy. The National Democratic Alliance Government has kicked off with a proposal to give more prominence to Hindi with increasing effect through the social media.

It was announced that there were two official languages for India: Urdu and English but as time calls for new occasions the Prime Minister had made vehement remarks to make Hindi the official language that represents India. “Who better than Mr. Modi to promote Hindi as an official language of the country?”, this statement has been in the media highlights recently over the controversies in ascertaining that all states of India must uphold Hindi as its official language. There have been those who have come out in support of the proposal, not to mention the hefty oppositions that deeply intersect to negate the thought of making it a reality. Several leaders has called for the non-imposition of Hindi as the official language of communication like the Tamil Nadu CM and DMK Chief slamming the door shut on such an approach and claiming that such impositions should not be made on non-Hindi speaking sections of the country.

The Official Language Act, 1963 has its own perks of promoting the linguistic heritage that each people of every region holds and thus the Tamil Nadu CM has acclaimed the recent plan as being “against the letter and spirit” because in a global world where social media has reached more doorsteps than we can ever sought to enter in our lifetime if they cannot understand our words than how can we communicate. The people located in ‘Region C’ with whom the Government of India’s communication needs to be in English will not have access to any public information if it is not in English. In the words of several leaders that have been standing by their notion of non-acceptance of imposition, they acclaimed as to why should Hindi be given more priority over other languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. PMK founder S. Ramadoss said the BJP in its election 2014 manifesto, had promised to develop all languages with a rich history and culture. He also called for declaring all 22 languages in the VIII schedule of the Constitution, including Tamil, as official language and “thus put an end to the Hindi imposition controversy.” Another circular announced a prize money of Rs 2,000 to two employees who do their official work mostly in Hindi. Rs 1,200 and Rs 600 will be given to the second and third position holders respectively.

Truth to the matter is there is not a country like India with its rich cultural and linguistic diversity and yet, co-exist as one. It is also true that the features of one person in the north is different to that of the south and the feature of the person in the west differs to one in the east. This is something we cannot deny and over the years, the country has paid immensely in order to make its huge family function. It is true that for most people in the northeast or in the southern states of India, Hindi bears an unfamiliarity as we are not in use to it frequently. But when we travel to the northern states, our daily dose of work requires us to talk to vendors, rickshaw walas, etc and we eventually tend to learn the rudimentary basics, which is just enough to make small conversation but we cannot be calling ourselves a total genius over the command of the language. Truth be told, it is hard. Learning things do not come by usually in a day or two specially if it comes as an imposition. We exist in what we would like to call as a democratically sound country and not that of a dictatorial ground so it would be wrong in giving special benefits by making Hindi bias on people’s parts. In the words of every great leader, we are all children who has been raised well enough to abide by our own decisions and in knowing that we are given the expected freedom in making these choices.

The decisions of any person speaking and having a preference to any language should be left on them. It would be fundamentally incorrect to dictate a certain affiliation into making a person of non-Hindi speaking state grasp on the language. As citizens, it we should make it a duty to safeguard the listed and non-listed categories of language that is outspoken by the majority and those unknown minority. Let’s face it, it’s not everyday that language barriers are broken and yet, we can communicate and make it through signs even without vocabularies.

 

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2014/06/hindi-on-the-fast-lane/