Tag: Amar Yumnam’s Corner

New Wind in Governance: From cyclical to structural

By Amar Yumnam We had reacted earlier that the faces in the new cabinet in… more »

By Amar Yumnam
We had reacted earlier that the faces in the new cabinet in the government after the elections in last February do arouse greater expectation, goodwill and trustworthiness in the resultant governance that would arise. This seems to have been proved right. While three young ministers have now attracted large public attention in the positive sense in a State long used to negative synergies of development administration, I would take up two areas of two of them as massively significant in the light of emerging international, national and regional development scenarios.

Highways and Education: I would consider the recent interest, enthusiasm and pronouncements in connection with the road infrastructure and the education sectors by the concerned Ministers as timely, imperative and consequential if taken to their logical conclusions. We have had government after government and ipso facto Minister after Minister in Manipur who were looking after the problems surrounding these two sectors. The land and her people have also experienced the quality of governance or rather the lack of it, and have also borne heavy costs because of it. We have never had during the last two decades or so a kind of sustained governance commitment to improving these two sectors. Any response to any problem in these two areas by the government has been at best cyclical or knee-jerk so far, but the two new Ministers do give a kind of fresh air. It is exactly here that the present two decision-leaders in these two sectors seem to be aiming for bringing about a kind of structural approach to the issues involved rather than being just cyclical; this is exactly the need of the hour as well.

It is now established that inequality is rising in India. It has risen in Manipur as well. The time is now for us to move beyond the utilitarian concept of just per capita income to a more ethical dimension of opportunities. This is urgent and important. The emerging Asian development initiatives do demand of us to be fully prepared so that we too participate and reap benefits of the unfolding scenario. While the resultant inequality may have something to do with the efforts an individual puts in for survival, there is another aspect of opportunity and circumstances where an individual can hardly do anything about. It is in these two areas where the state should play an important role in order to provide an atmosphere of equal opportunities and circumstances. This is exactly where I find the two new faces in the ministry of Ibobi very appealing.

We often say that the people just maintain calm even after months of blockade in the national highways connecting Manipur with the rest of India. We do not realise that the main explanation for this is to be found in the general well-being of Manipur having disconnected with what happens on the highways. In other words, we have observed no sign of Manipur’s growth coupling the country’s growth trajectory. We also complain of the fact that the highways are subject to repeated blockades. Now the explanation for this phenomenon is to be found in two realities. First, the Imphal city has failed to serve as the centre of attraction for employment and other opportunities. This being the case, those settling on the national highways do not incur any tangible cost while imposing the blockades while a deep political point is made. Secondly, it also speaks of the absence of development policy encompassing the entire Manipur. The attention the blockades have drawn is because of the adverse impact it has had on the vocal and articulate sections of the population rather than the adverse effects on the general populace.

Now that the new Minister looking after road linkages has shown needed interest on the condition of the highways, he must now prove that he means business and is looking for structural changes rather than just cyclical enthusiasm. As stated above, Manipur does not yet have a kind of development perspective encompassing the total geographical space. Now that the highways are going to witness improvement and Asian Highways too are emerging, the Minister should apply his mind on how to evolve a kind of network which leaves no village untouched by modern transport facilities. The highways, national and international, would have meaning only when the people in every corner of the land have a stake in them directly or indirectly. When this is ensured, blockades in the highways would be a thing of the past and naturally at that. People would now be more involved in undertaking new productive activities.

The Minister for education too has shown commitment and enthusiasm for bringing about change in this sector. The challenge before him is larger and responsibility bigger than under any other minister. While he has put a time frame of six months, we would be happy if he could put some reforms in place within this period. It is a sector where reforms take time to take effect and bear fruit. But we are encouraged that the minister is talking of structural changes rather than just cyclical outpours. Education in Manipur is today characterised by some very disturbing features. First, we know that there is a large exodus of both students and funds for school and college education. Secondly, the remaining education sector functioning in the State is very expensive, involving a high public expenditure without any commensurate return in terms of service. Third, the first two features generally cause a kind of unexplained remorse, reinforced by the prevailing political-economic scenario, as exemplified by the huge problem of drug addiction. Fourth, the poverty of performance in this sector has also led to the collapse of the collective vision and ethical attitude among the population. In these circumstances, the sector is in urgent need of purge for removing the influence of rogue elements, governance lethargy for reforms in this sector and lack of application of mind of the responsible persons in this sector. We need to make the government the chief, core and effective functionary in this sector.

The Challenge: The two ministers have already aroused the imagination of the people and have given hope for the emergence of new governance in Manipur. We understand that there would certainly be resistance from the forces which have taken advantage of the prevailing scenario. This would arise both from within the government and from without. But Manipur’s future as a land where hope and facilities are equalised and prepared for joining the rise of Asia depends on what happens in the two sectors of education and infrastructure linkages today.

 

 

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Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/new-wind-in-governance-from-cyclical-to-structural/

Manipur and The Development Demands: Media, knowledge and all that

  By Amar Yumnam T.S. Eliot once said: “What is actual is actual only for… more »

 

By Amar Yumnam
T.S. Eliot once said: “What is actual is actual only for one time. And only for one place.” Let us apply this to contemporary situation to our land. Manipur’s development challenge today is unique, and the development scenario cannot afford and will not remain the same. If we ever wish to see Manipur sustain as Manipur, things have to change and change massively. Here I would like to recall two recent analyses of economists working on African and Asian-Pacific issues. One issue relates to the role of media (read press in the context of Manipur), and the other to use of knowledge for development. It would be interesting to appreciate the dynamics on these two aspects in the case of Manipur too.

Media Research: Economists now emphasise the fundamental role of media in causing governance improvements and fighting the menace of corruption. In Africa as well as the rest of the world, studies have established that deepening of democratic norms does help the emergence of responsible media. Once the media has emerged in a democratic framework, the primary responsibility of the media to evolve as an effective social tool for moving forward is critical. They have to rise to the challenge and play the role expected of them. But this is easier said than done. It necessarily demands a committed team in the media working persistently for a positive change in the society they function. This point has been considered significant particularly because in societies of critical development challenges, there are many forces working to influence the media. The latter should be able to hold their ground under pressure. We need to examine how our press in Manipur has been in recent times.

Knowledge and Development: Knowledge is now being appreciated as a key input while endeavouring for development. A new dimension to this understanding has now been added by incorporating management aspects into the development designing, development interventions and development administration. For a decade or so, the invisible hand as the ultimate framework of development has swayed the economists by relegating the state to the background. Now this has been subjected to heavy revisions consequent upon the global meltdown. While not asking for return of the state in the development arena as in the past, it is now emphasised that regulation is needed for ensuring the desired outcomes.

Development intervention cannot just be left at that. Development interventions are to be managed in such a way the manifest outcomes tally with the desired goals. While the desired goals are the long term objectives, the manifest outcomes are the results of short period completion stages of development interventions. Now this management of development interventions is not an easy task. It has to be based on a deep understanding of the social context where the intervention is being put in place and robust analysis of the contextual pros and cons. This understanding and analysis have to be applied without being swayed by contemporary personal biases and selfish errors. We need to examine if this is a characteristic of Manipur as well.

Media in Manipur: Media in Manipur today are no longer the same as they were two decades back or so. They now show signs of vibrancy. But courage and objectivity are still question marks. As stated above, media for development have to relentlessly stress and fight for truth and objectivity. They should be performing the task of change for development protagonists. The forces of corruption and rogue elements forming pseudo social change workers have definitely emerged as strong negative agent in contemporary Manipur. They have been working hard to subject all the media, institutions, organisations and the state under their thumb. It is the primary onus of the media to rise to the occasion and resist the pressure from this front. But it is exactly here that I feel the contemporary media in Manipur find themselves weakest. Even supposedly widely circulated newspaper allows herself to be nothing more than a notice board where any Tom, Dick and Harry can post any. In the process, the media allow themselves to be used as a strong channel for character assassination of people without in any way endeavouring to indulge in the primary task of news confirmation and truth enquiry. This has made our media in Manipur fail to perform the task of a change agent for development.

Knowledge In Manipur: The fundamentality of knowledge is now a most widely emphasised element in development analysis anywhere in the world. The Asian Development Bank is a major institution in Asia to apply this element on a large scale in order to ensure sustainable development in this continent. Now this application of knowledge for management of development entails three things. First, it appreciates the problems and weaknesses (including biases, whims and prevailing errors) in any society. Secondly, the first understanding should never be used as opportunity for personal aggrandisement either by the knowledge agents or any social group or individuals. Third, while applying the knowledge to management of development (read projects) attention has to be given as to how far any short-term result dovetails or conflicts with the long term objective.

Here Manipur today suffers from three critical weaknesses. First, the endeavour to understand the social context and apply knowledge in the way to ensure development is minimal at best in so far as the development intervention is concerned. It is true both for the state agents and those working presumably on behalf of the state. Second, the forces of corruption and the rogue elements have joined hands in working for development. This definitely is a very wrong use of knowledge and a very contemporary error of social functioning in Manipur. Here we can imagine the recent emergence of contractors as architects in many executions of development projects. Third, the resultant outcome of development intervention naturally moves far away from the desired goals.

Upshot: In fine, I have tried to look at the prevailing atmosphere of development administration and development thinking in the context of Manipur from the angle of emerging lessons from countries in Asia and Africa. In order to give proper context and direction to the whole issue of development in Manipur, there is an imperative for the press in Manipur to rise to the occasion and move beyond the medium for character assassination by behaving as bill-boards. There is also a primary need to push the significance of knowledge for development in a way much more genuinely significant than the forces of rogue elements and corrupt forces.

 

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Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/manipur-and-the-development-demands-media-knowledge-and-all-that/

Manipur`s Time: Our turn to catch

By Amar Yumnam Time is of the essence. This is more so in in the… more »

By Amar Yumnam
Time is of the essence. This is more so in in the case of development trajectory of a society. A society does not enjoy opportunities (economists call them shocks) all the time and in every phase. These do not come plenty but only rarely do they present themselves. In most of the instances, they present themselves in a very covert way, and the people really have to work hard to explore the shocks and use them for societal progression. Sometimes, absolutely sometimes, they do come in a very open framework. The fact of development, however, remains that the shocks themselves do not cause it; it is only conversions of the shocks into real phenomena for advancement that would lead to development of land and people.  It is here that self becomes much more significant than others in pushing ahead in the race for transformation. I feel strongly that Manipur is now standing at that very moment of shock which we could convert into an opportunity for moving forward.

The Shocks:

I have two shocks in mind as very critical to Manipur’s moment of history.

One is the unfortunate death of Richard Loitam. Though he is no more with us, the fall-out of his death has certainly caused a shock which could serve the cause of Manipur in a very lasting way. He definitely must be a boy who had Manipur in his mind and heart so closely that even his death has played such a wonderful role to shake up the Indian psyche as never before. The moves of the people of Manipur from all over have helped in making the shock of his death to bring Manipur to centre of Indian attention.  Vir Sanghvi writes in the Hindustan Times thus: “The days when north-easterners were seen as foreigners or as exotic people are now over. In many sectors – hospitality, beauty, etc. – north-easterners are the employees of choice. Ask any beauty salon who it would hire, all other things being equal, between an Andhraite and a Manipuri, and the chances are that nine times out of ten, the Manipuri will be preferred. So it is with restaurants and airlines. Most employers will take someone from the north-east over somebody from, say, Bihar.” The death of our boy has even caused addition of a phrase in the Indian lexicon of social concepts. Indrajit Hazra has coined a term called Loitam’s Law, following the surname of Richard: “So, if you`re unlucky enough to be a victim of murder, violence, rape or general thievery, ensure that you`re well-to-do. If you can`t be well-to-do, try and be visible enough for the mainstream polity and media to ensure you get attention. That`s Loitam`s Law.” Hazra continues: “The truth is that the law is like a busted radiator that sometimes works, sometimes doesn`t. But it also specifically comes in the way or turns its back with certain `kinds` of people…….The fact that the authorities initially suspected death caused by drug overdose was one sign that regional-racial stereotypes were at play. `North-east boys take drugs; North-eastern girls are loose,` is a standard `Indian` trope. The initial autopsy found no traces of any drug in Richard`s bloodstream except for small doses of the painkiller he had been prescribed after his accident……The truth is that the law is like a busted radiator that sometimes works, sometimes doesn`t. But it also specifically comes in the way or turns its back with certain `kinds` of people….The case of Richard Loitam is the story of a bias embedded in an existing creaky law enforcement structure. Richard may have indeed died because of injuries received by his scooter accident. He may have succumbed to injuries after a hostel brawl. But the inaction of the authorities point to something else: the lack of importance given by them to certain `types` of people. Law-enforcers pre-suppose certain traits about the victims – whether it`s regarding Aarushi Talwar`s `character` or Hemraj`s `background` or Richard Loitam`s `ethnicity`.” Any death has not caused the purpose of causing social rethink among the Indians like the lost of life of our boy in Bangalore. It is so wonderful of Richard that his leaving this world has also served the cause of putting Manipur in the centre of Indian attention; he has shaken right from the microfoundations to the macro structure. But the moment is for us to catch for causing long term policies to emerge for our land to move ahead faster.

The second shock I have in mind is of the global changes around us. It was only in October 2010 that the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) brought forward their Comprehensive Asia Development Plan wherein they had defined East Asia as including South Asia as well. In this document, they had identified projects for further enhancing the development of East Asia for regions even in Southern India. It was in the middle of 2011 that the core experts who had prepared the plan were here in Imphal for discussions on the missing component of their plan. We did have a thorough discussion on the core development issues of Manipur in particular and North East in general. Now the ASEAN has come out with a second component of the Comprehensive Asia Development Plan by incorporating the projects for linking Manipur and North East in the whole connectivity framework. One of the key experts was here recently along with other experts from the neighbouring South East Asian nations. We did have long discussions on further strategies for taking Manipur along in the development designs of South East and East Asia. Now it is pretty clear that the countries in the South East and East Asia are pushing hard for their global agenda, whether India and Manipur prepare for it or not.

 

One of the Justice for Richard Loitam, Protest Rally Held at Chennai which is held over the various parts of the globe.

Catch the Moment:

The above two shocks have thrown up a moment for Manipur to catch and catch for causing a sustainable development happen. The globalisation and development plans of the South East and East Asian nations are going to touch us. We cannot afford to be just plain spectators unless we are prepared to perish as society and community. The emerging connectivity frameworks and comprehensive development plans need to be supplemented by our own connectivity framework and comprehensive development plans in order that we have genuine development happening here. It is exactly at this moment that we should utilise the shock of Richard Loitam serve the ultimate cause of development plans for the land and people here to emerge. The government of Manipur should now push for evolving a comprehensive development plan and ensure that proper funding is affected for these. The moment is for the people and government to catch and move beyond the mind-set of petty contractors.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2012/05/manipurs-time-our-turn-to-catch/

Giving Ibobi the Credit: Reappreciating the Issue

By Amar Yumnam It is good that Ibobi has come back from Tokyo,  without further proceeding to Europe and others. It is a case of good sense prevailing upon our… Read more »

By Amar Yumnam
It is good that Ibobi has come back from Tokyo,  without further proceeding to Europe and others. It is a case of good sense prevailing upon our leader. So we should give him the credit for that.

We also know that he left Manipur for a tour abroad at a very wrong time. But on his return he has related to the people once again the evergreen intentions for Manipur of the Japanese. What is of interest in this and with positive implications at that is the Chief Minister of Manipur taking initiatives on his own to visit a foreign country for economic reasons. All along we have been used to the feature of our political leaders flocking only to Delhi and request for funds. Even worse, one mind-set of these have been to ask for the funds and look for possibilities for extraction of maximum personal share from the “utilisation” of these.  If what Ibobi says of the purpose and achievement of his trip to the East Asian country, it signifies a paradigmatic change in the approach of our political leaders to development interventions for Manipur.

Wish Were True: We indeed certainly wish all the rationale and claims of the leader of the people of Manipur about his recent trip to Japan were true. Besides paradigmatic change it signifies, it also buttresses two other very important issues. It conveys to the government at the centre that the State is ready and capable of mobilising international investment. Secondly, it displays in real sense of the term an understanding of the compulsions of Manipur to link to the growth dynamics of the countries in the East and South East Asia. Given the geography, institutional affinities, cultural closeness and manifestations of important ethos, the land and people of Manipur have necessarily to look at these countries for a long term and sustainable solution to the economic problems of the State.

In fact, with the globalisation forces pushing from the direction of these countries and India being increasingly compelled to link to these economies to cater to her developmental needs, Manipur should now apply her mind in how to take advantage of the challenges going to be thrown up by these processes. We should now be seriously revisiting our social sector and infrastructural policies in order to convert the oncoming challenges into opportunities. We have already spent a long time too far without ever applying our mind to the contextual needs of dovetailing the policies and programmes emanating from the Centre to our needs. The recent unilateral trip by Ibobi signifies a fresh start to review this tradition.

Three More:  Now that Ibobi has shown his willingness and even action to go for steps which genuinely address the developmental needs of Manipur by going beyond the schemes of Delhi, there is need for taking his initiative to further logical steps forward. First, he must now initiate steps without further delay for linking the economy of Manipur to the economies of South East Asia. We cannot have a meaningful economic relationship with countries of the East Asia by bypassing South East Asia. The economists in these countries find the North East, and more significantly at that Manipur, the “missing link” in their grand designs for a dynamic Asia. Ibobi should now be the pioneer political leader from the region who really attends to and initiates steps for converting this missing link to a vibrant link.

Secondly, there is the approach of the government of India who thinks anyone from the North East, who talks of East Asia and South East Asia, as anti-national or at best as suspicious character. Ibobi should now be able to lead his people to make the Centre to “revisit” their outlook to the people of Manipur. 

Third, there is the case of the Bangladesh. Our linking up with the South East and East Asia would not bear the expected fruit if the linkages do not get extended to Bangladesh and beyond to the “mainland” India. In this Ibobi can play an active role as a catalyst for altering the mind-set of India and look at Bangladesh as a potent economic partner. If this could be achieved, the region would not only emerge as a vibrant economic zone, but would also be a politically stable one.

The ultimate question however remains if Ibobi can rise to the occasion and take his recent manoeuvres to their logical conclusions. Or would he also go down in history as just one of those who just ruled but did not achieve? The choice is his. 

Camp: Sikkim University Guest House,Gangtok.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/giving-ibobi-the-credit-reappreciating-the-issue/

Nero Fiddled when Rome Burned: It is for real

  By Amar Yumnam Nero was an Emperor of the Roman Empire in the beginning of Christian era. He is considered by history as one of the most irresponsible, irresponsive,… Read more »

 

By Amar Yumnam
Nero was an Emperor of the Roman Empire in the beginning of Christian era. He is considered by history as one of the most irresponsible, irresponsive, non-transparent and gory ruler. In fact, he symbolises any ruler who rocks and rolls when his empire is in danger.  We never imagined that Nero would ever be a reality in our part of the world. We have had, not very distant in the past, a ruler who sacrificed and risked everything to protect the image, prestige and glory of our kingdom in King Gambhir. It goes beyond our farthest imaginations that in this land of Gambhir and people who still cherish the legacy of him, we would be experiencing a situation similar to the era of Nero. While the people have been longing for a return of the Gambhir era of pride and progression, they have instead been presented with a Nero treatment.

Fire Upon Fire: We have been living, we have been experiencing and we know for sure that the last few decades have not been an era of progression for Manipur, state or non-state. We also know that these years of negative experiences coupled with the lack of responsive and responsible governance have taken a heavy toll on the body polity as well as body society of Manipur. The last few years have been particularly damaging in this respect. Although we still encounter the problem of contestation of state, we now have to face what I have repeatedly called the fractionalisation of the society of Manipur along ethnic lines. So the society and polity of Manipur now faces the biggest challenge of remaining intact and coherent. Manipur is no doubt burning. This longer run burning is now manifested in the most acute crisis of availability of essentials for modern life and livelihood. This being the situation facing the land today, the question naturally arises as to whether Nero should be indulging in rock and roll. Should Nero be leaving his kingdom behind at all at this historically critical juncture of acute multiple crises?

The Issue: Nero leaving his homeland behind in the mercy of an engulfing fire is no problem if he were just a commoner. But here the reality is that he is the ruler. Now this ruler has much larger implications than the original Nero of the first century in the sense that the former is Nero under democracy. Being so, he is head of the people. The moment we talk about the head of the people, the implications get multiplied. Being head of the people and in his capacity as head of the governance machinery, he represents the state and the state speaks through him. This is where the issue begins when Nero leaves his kingdom behind.

The state, which is represented by Nero in socio-politico-economic manifestations, is the highest form of institution evolved by human beings. But the state as prevailing in Manipur yet has not reached the stage of ensuring participation, inclusiveness, stability and growth. While it has yet to attain the stage of naturalness and stability with the masses, it is not even the “composite reality and a mythicized abstraction” of Foucault. Manipur is now at the stage of political evolution and political economic dynamics where the state should rather be seen as “a practice….inseparable from the set of practices by which the state actually became a way of governing, a way of doing things.”  We are now at that very stage where we need to revisit the state again and again in order that it acquires an innate capability to evolve practices of governance adequate enough to ensure participation, inclusiveness and social stability.

This requirement is all the more significant in the case of Manipur and given the post-World War II experiences of civil war. The prevalence of mountainous regions, the existence of multiple ethnic groups and fractionalization among them, and the lack of growth have been given prominence among the most prominent factors facilitating the onset of civil war. The heart shudders to imagine of Manipur in this context of global experience and the messages the fractionalized population might deduce from the absence of Nero at this point in time.

International Dimension: Now let us see if we can somehow justify the leaving behind of his kingdom by Nero. International relations do no doubt constitute a very important element of modern governance. So let us grant our Nero a provisional space of being contemporary in his approach, and endeavouring to attract investment to his kingdom. Well, here we have three reservations. Japan is a country which now symbolises “years of stagnation”. In this age of active pursuance of integration in Asia by both ASEAN and Asian Development Bank, can we justifiably think of leapfrogging over South East Asian brothers and closing on the East Asian ones.

Further, attracting investment is no joke. In other words, it necessarily involves arousing the “animal spirits” of the investors (a phrase coined by the indomitable twentieth century economist, Jon Maynard Keynes). In this something like the birds of the same feather flock together prevails. Once a set of investors enjoy the spell of animal spirits in Manipur context, other investors would as well follow. But here arises the critical reality. No burning Rome can arouse the animal spirits of investors anywhere. Indeed, the Roman civilisation declined.

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Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/09/nero-fiddled-when-rome-burned-it-is-for-real/

Steal, My Countrymen, Steal: A Survival Kit in Contemporary India

By: Amar Yumnam The fundamental drive for human beings is survival, Darwin or no Darwin. Now this survival has meanings only when we can afford what we feel like possessing… Read more »

By: Amar Yumnam
The fundamental drive for human beings is survival, Darwin or no Darwin. Now this survival has meanings only when we can afford what we feel like possessing and still have something (better if we have much more)  to satisfy our greed.  This is because human beings are not absolutists but are always comparatives.  It is always better if we have things which others do not, and even if others have, we should have more than the others. Otherwise how are we going to enjoy a meaningful life? Remember we live life only once. So it is either you have it now or you do not have it forever.
Universal Limits: The “Queen of Social Sciences” (read Economics) teaches you that the resources of a society or the world are limited at any moment of time as compared to the collective needs and desires. Juxtapose this to reality that you live life only once. So it is an absolutely logical that you follow the nature of things by indulging in efforts to possess things at others’ cost for otherwise it is impossible to satisfy your relativist principles. Here you may recall Einstein if you like, but better if you do not.  Possessing things at the cost of others can mean either direct looting or misusing (includes abusing) your organisational or official position to ensure flows of resources to your kitty which otherwise would not occur in the normal process. One can excel in this game if newer means of dispossessing office and others can forever be innovated.

Stars and Luck: At this point, you may wonder as to what would happen if you are not lucky enough. If you are not successful, you need not be successful for you are just a fool. While so many have been successful, you are not able to prove your mettle.  So you do not deserve anything, and you should forthwith stop worrying about a happy life.

Here you may think of consulting the astrologers and other fortune tellers as to how you can have a turn for better fortune. You may resort to this, at most, only once in your life. This would be just at the beginning of your journey for adventure and conquer, or if you continuously look towards it, you are not a worldly-wise person. Once you are able to strike a little bit of initial success in your venture of possessing for self even if it means dispossessing others or abusing official position, you should garner more energy and be increasingly aggressive in your pursuits forever. Forget the stars and luck, you should be able to buy through the stars and own the luck with the sheer strength of your “ill-acquired” (this is a term the poor jealous masses use, but you should never allow yourself to be distracted by such silly comments) riches; you should flaunt your riches or how would the others become aware of your success, and thus become respectful of you.

Law and You: At this point, you may feel like asking of me as to what we should go about the law of the land. Remember, the rule of law is a disease inherited by the human society from the Age of Enlightenment. The best would be if you have never heard of the Enlightenment and thus your mind remains unpolluted by the various legacies of it. But you definitely should be aware of the contemporary noise about governance. You need not bother about the nuances of it. I would, however, advise you that you be aware of one major component of the recent concerns for governance. It centres on establishing alternative forms of legalities, emphasise alternative. As a successful person, it demands of you that you are skilled enough (remember skill is better than intelligence for success) to project your way of functioning as a new form of governance – an alternative legality.

As regards the method for dealing with the existing laws, it is easier done than said. You should be able to buyout the enforcers and buy in their loyalty to your cause. A lesson from Economics would be relevant here. Exchange has been heralded as one of the fundamental pillars of modern civilisation. As a successful person, you should be adept in the practical application of this principle. Exchange some of your possessions for a larger protection.  In other words, you should be a good pragmatist as well as empiricist. Being pragmatic is enough if you are not comfortable with the term ‘empiricist’.

Moving Upward: As I said above, you live life only once. Further success implies being larger than others, whatever that means. It necessarily connotes moving upward hierarchically and spreading your wings horizontally.  Here you should dispossess yourself of the ideas of shame, ego and justice (or whatever idea you may have of right or wrong). All ideas are right if they are going to serve the cause of your moving upward. Any moving upward should be treated synonymously with moving forward. So you should not leave any stone unturned in order to see to it that you move upward, and situate yourself in a position to impose your whims and fancies as new forms of governance – the alternative legality.

Practice Where: Biharunder Nitish Kumar and Gujarat under Narendra  Modi are not favourable places for the practice of this survival tool-kit. But do not lose heart. By and large India remains your fertile ground. Above all, Manipur is the right place for your pragmatism in herself and more so in her federal manifestations.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/steal-my-countrymen-steal-a-survival-kit-in-contemporary-india/

Meecham Praja: The forgotten common men in Manipur

  By:  Amar Yumnam The basic purpose of having an administration and a governance system anywhere needs to be recalled and analysed at this moment of history when we are… Read more »

 

By:  Amar Yumnam
The basic purpose of having an administration and a governance system anywhere needs to be recalled and analysed at this moment of history when we are celebrating six and a half decades of independence from foreign rule. This is because, despite the recent more or less impressive track record of good growth performance, the meecham praja (common people) seem to be at the receiving end of every mechanism of governance.

Manipur Scenario: The situation is worse in Manipur than elsewhere in the country. Whereas the rest of the country has reaped the benefits of modernisation, although the dispersal of the benefits has been an issue, the case is different in Manipur. We have not had the kind of economic expansion experienced elsewhere whereas we have had more than our share of the inflationary trends and growth disturbances. Further, while in the case of other States in the country there are people in the administration who are alive to the fundamental purpose of governance as facilitating the access to administration and livelihood efforts of the common people, we are pained to observe the complete reversal of this principle in the case of Manipur.

We can have multiples of daily life exemplars to drive home this subjugation of the common people. First look at the daily dose of alertness they have to have at their command in order just to be in the business areas of Imphal and cross the streets. They have to bear all the costs of insensitivity of the official vehicles and arrogance of the private ones as well. What I would love to see is the kind of scenario where my senior-citizen “mother” and my aged “father” would feel at home and cared for whenever they set foot in any area of the Imphal city; well, a very unlikely and unrealistic expectation.

I would consider myself as someone who is fairly conversant with own rights and responsibilities. I am also fairly conscious of how to resist encroachments into my personal space and rights arena. But pretending and behaving as if like any of the common men in the street in daily dealings and assert when violated has taught me how hard the daily lives of the commoners are in Manipur. Let me start with an example from an office of the Central government. In a personal post-paid mobile connection for which I have been religious in paying the due bills every month, there occurred recently an interesting development. Even after payment of the dues as reflected in the latest bill, there used to be reminders for payment of dues for at least three to four times a day for about ten days. In the beginning, I had the impression that it must be just machine problems or routine issues. But within a few days, I found all out-going calls barred besides the STD and ISD. When I had sent one of my office assistants to enquire into the status and reasons for the barring of all outgoing calls, two things of great interest emerged. First, the daily multiple reminders for payment of dues stopped immediately after the enquiry for reasons best known to the staff of the department only. Second, the concerned officials sent back my boy with explanations which any reasonable person can immediately establish as nothing more than a bluff. Dissatisfied and angered by this, I did call up a higher ranking officer of the department as a prelude to going for full scale grievance correction complaint. On his intervention, I got the barring removed. But that was not the end. The ISD and STD were still blocked. I had to go for another round of telephonic contacts to get the ISD and STD barring removed.  Now the question that arises here is what might be happening in the case of a commoner who is not so conversant on the various recourses to actions to get his due services delivered.

Further, once the barring has been removed, why does not there exist a system whereby the connection is restored to its full functionality instead of requiring further contacts? Still further, it needs to ponder why the indulgence in full blown bluffing when an innocent person was enquiring about the issue. Similar experiences are undergone daily by the common people while dealing with the offices of the State government as well. Now these suppressive features of governance are superimposed on the rising difficulty of the common people to eke out their living.  The rise in the prices of commodities of daily consumption in an atmosphere of shrinking livelihood opportunities is a reality everybody is living with.

Now the Resolve: Now in the celebration of the August 15, we need to be very sure of at least one resolve. There is no point in making many promises. The need of the hour is reminding ourselves the existence of a majority of the common people in circumstances un-conducive to their functionings. The administration would be doing a yeoman’s service if it at least resolves and ushers in a period where the facilitation of the survival of the common people is the yardstick of the success or otherwise of governance. We all should remember that not only do we all have a common beginning, but we also have a larger set of relatives among the commoners. Let us all try to facilitate each other’s existence, particularly of the commonest of the common people. Nobody would be a loser in this, and the society would be the gainer in terms of peace and stability.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/meecham-praja-the-forgotten-common-men-in-manipur/

Terrorism, One to Nine and Still to Count and Fractionalisation: Manipur today

By Amar Yumnam Two recent events have caught the attention of social analysts in the land of the jewels (people say, but we are yet to see any crown of… Read more »

By Amar Yumnam
Two recent events have caught the attention of social analysts in the land of the jewels (people say, but we are yet to see any crown of jewels). One is the bomb blast at Sangakpham where two young school-girls were killed among others. Another is the damages being suffered in the wake of the demand for another district in Manipur. While these two events need to be carefully analysed, we need to be aware of a social feature of the last two decades in Manipur, i.e., the increasing  fractionalisation of the society along ethnic lines in an otherwise a society traditionally rich in the social capital of personal networks.

The Sangakpham Incident: In private as well as public domains, people have characterised this blast as an act of terrorism. I am afraid that the perpetrators might not be fully convinced by this charge of terrorism on them, and instead might be under the false ego of having caused damages to score their points. So we need an understanding of what terrorism is and the components of a terrorist attack are. While doing so, I make the assumption that the perpetrators do read and understand the reactions of the people on their “acts of valour”. 

In order to save labour and time, I would rather quote Sandler and Enders (2008) to define terrorism: “Terrorism is the premeditated use or threat of use of violence by individuals or sub national groups to obtain a political or social objective through the intimidation of a large audience, beyond that of the immediate victim. Although the motives of terrorists may differ, their actions follow a standard pattern, with terrorist incidents assuming a variety of forms: airplane hijackings, kidnappings, assassinations, threats, bombings, and suicide attacks. Terrorist attacks are intended to apply sufficient pressures on a government so that it grants political concessions. If a besieged government views the anticipated costs of future terrorist actions as greater than the costs of conceding to terrorist demands, then the government will grant some accommodation. Thus, a rational terrorist organization can, in principle, achieve some of its goals more quickly if it is able to augment the consequences of its campaign. These consequences can assume many forms, including casualties, destroyed buildings, a heightened anxiety level, and myriad economic costs.” 

The general characteristics usually accompanying a terrorist act are (i) use of violence to make a point; (ii) selection of targets with maximum propaganda value through unprovoked attacks; (iii) selecting hardened targets and sudden attacks in order to rule out pre-emptive measures and counter moves; (iv) disrespecting age and sex while attacking, i.e., having no qualms in making children and women victims of the attacks; and (v) allegiance to the self or group members only.

Given this understanding of terrorism and terrorist attack, we can now indulge in an evaluation of the Sangakpham blast. First, we must say that the perpetrators need a lesson or two in Basic Economics. The act would have been true to their logic of action if there were any chances of causing a heavy casualty to the properties of the state or general population and in the process hasten the realisation of their objectives with less cost of time and money. But by any stretch of imagination, no group is going to move forward towards achieving its goals by the type and timing of Sangapkpham incidents. We must emphasise that the fundamental rationale for a terrorist blast is to score a point in their favour, irrespective of whether the cause is positive or negative, but the Sangakpham incident involved only costs on either side. The perpetrators have incurred the cost of the bombs and the exercise to plant them and the good will of the people. The victims too have lost their lives and property without yielding any benefit to the perpetrators. It is time the perpetrators know their Economics well.

Once again, let us try to evaluate the incident from the angle of characteristics any terrorist attack should possess. Here too, we must say that, except the disregard for women and children while attacking, the Sangakpham incident violates all the features mentioned above. Even more, the attack does not even satisfy the South East Asian tradition of insurgents where they have shown proficiency in selecting targets. The perpetrators of the Sangapkpham incident should understand their own acts.

One to Nine and More?:  Manipur was once a single district territory, but it now has nine. Recently the demands for more are becoming very vocal and furious, and the very administration seems to have added fuel to the fire. The time is now for us to determine as to whether the failure is in terms of lack of a separate district or lack of effective governance able to deliver development. Time is now for us to evaluate as to what we have achieved by having nine districts which would have been inconceivable with less number of divisions. We should also decide and identify if there is any which would be unachievable in the absence of a separate district. Well, we are for decentralisation but we must also realise that there is a limit to it as well. In other words, the costs of decentralisation should not be allowed to overrun the benefits of it.

Fractionalisation: What is of utmost concern to us is the element of heightening fractionalisation along ethnic lines salient in both the Sangakpham blast (act and after) and the demands for separate districts. Well this is not a trend where the administration can remain a silent and non-thinking spectator.

In Fine: We can say for sure that the Sangakpham attack was a very bad one even by the standards of the perpetrators themselves; it was bad, stupid and poor terrorism. But the time is now for the governance of the land to rise to the occasion. This is because, given the spate of recent political developments, such attacks are likely to rise. Besides, the administration should now be fully alive to the fractionalisation challenges confronting the State and come forth with an implementable plan of action.

Read more / Original news source: http://kanglaonline.com/2011/08/terrorism-one-to-nine-and-still-to-count-and-fractionalisation-manipur-today/

`Playing for Change` and Bluffing for Change: Civilised behaviour vis-à-vis Manipur behaviour

By Amar Yumnam Thomas Hobbes said in his classic Leviathan thus: “All Laws need Interpretation”. We can think of paraphrasing him and assert thus: All individual behaviours need interpretation. We… Read more »

By Amar Yumnam
Thomas Hobbes said in his classic Leviathan thus: “All Laws need Interpretation”. We can think of paraphrasing him and assert thus: All individual behaviours need interpretation. We know that a society is much more than interaction and exchange between individuals. We also know that since a society has already been put in place, every individual’s behaviour has social and political implications inherent into it. Here it would be right to mention that Robert Bednarik, an Australian scholar, has powerfully challenged in his just published book, The Human Condition (Springer 2011), the African eve model of human evolution and its associated quantum leap theory of mental capacity and put in its place a multiregional and gradualist theory. It is now anticipated that the arguments in this book would constitute bones of contention for the next few years until a final authoritative interpretation emerges. But I must say that his arguments in this book are just powerful and difficult to refute.

Playing for Change: In this background, I cannot help wondering as to what has happened to the evolutionary process of individual behaviour of the Manipuris in a democracy. This introspection has been made even more pathetic by the reality of evolutionary social behaviour of the people now in places more advanced than ours. A Britisher friend sent me a link to the wonderful song, Stand By Me, of Roger Ridley a few months back. Now Roger had such a passion and soul in his voice that he could have been earning millions by following the path followed by singers like Michael Jackson. But he was fully satisfied by remaining a street singer for he was in the ‘joy business’ and he loved to be with the people. Roger sang this number, Stand By Me, for the cause and group called Playing for Change. A human would be attracted by the power of Roger’s voice and engagement of Grandpa Elliot. Further the Playing for Change is now a movement covering all the continents of the globe. This group is committed to the goal to “inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music”. It is looking for a united and peaceful world through music. In India, Tamil Nadu has shown its strong participation and presence in this movement. It is such a rewarding experience to watch any of the videos of the group online. One feels reassured, passionate, romantic, devotional, humane and all the conceivable positive feelings with every video of the group. I think it is because all the songs and music of the group reflect all the positive and civilised emotions and sentiments of human beings.

Bluffing for Change: But when we observe the most visible social behaviours of individuals today in Manipur, we are dismayed by the elements of pretensions, in sincerity and bluffs inherent in all these. This situation is getting aggravated as the election dates are drawing nearer. At best we are blessed with the condition of Albert Camus thus: “He who despairs of the human condition is a coward, but he who has hope for it is a fool.”

It is said that we do not need a revolution for a democracy but we need democracy for a revolution. The democratic process should necessarily bring forth the best foot, the best intentions and the sincerest display of behaviour of all the individuals in the society, particularly of those aspiring to represent the people in the exercise of powers of the state. But the intentions to represent the people in the exercise of state power are now being displayed increasingly by the aspirants in Manipur, witness the daily dose of photographs in the dailies depicting these people doing “something good”. But unfortunately for all of us and the democratic polity, none of the civilised behaviour and sincere display of emotions is visible in all these. Even more unfortunate is the trend towards this emerging as the accepted norm in the society we have and the polity we follow.

While the insincerity of the aspirants to represent a new or continue to represent the people in the exercise of state power is palpable in all these acts and photographs of doing “something good”, the covert behaviours are absolutely risky and dangerous for the society and polity if not for the aspirants themselves. The capacity to impose threats and to effect fear on others through threats and related impositions is evolving as the most important and non-substitutable ingredient for any aspirant to become a representative of the people. This is nothing short of killing democracy in its very name. My heart shivers imagining the social scenario one or two decades down the line if the trend continues.

We elect our representatives in order to facilitate our engagement with the larger realities of the world and thus take our collective society to a higher pedestal of social development without in anyway negatively and wrongfully hurting the interests of any individual. But just the opposite is becoming a reality in Manipur. It is a case of the non-truth getting precedent and emerging as the ultimate reality. While the individual aspirants are dubious, the political parties are no less at fault. Regional parties speak in exclusivist terms, the national parties lack contextual understanding. Shree Bhagwati Namah!!!.

Read more / Original news source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Kanglaonline/~3/jbnhvzbTVV8/