HOW LONG SO LONG

Eventually the economic blockade implemented on the National Highway 53 of Manipur has been ceased, even though the consequences linger on. And at the same time, it isn't guaranteed when such kind of unlawful activities would cause to start anew as these operations are performed by the acolytes of the so-called insurgent group – NSCN (IM) whenever they wish to. In fact, it's same as rolling a fluffy dice which always results unpredictable outcomes. For the people of North-East, it is needless to make an introduction of NSCN (IM) as we have been dealing with the consequences of their illicit activities since long time. Primarily NSCN was formed to establish a Greater Nagaland, encompassing parts of Manipur, Nagaland and some part of Assam. This is what they have asserted. As of now, they are in ceasefire with the Indian government. However, they continue to be actively involved in illegal activities including extortion, kidnapping, inter-factional clashes, bootlegging among many other insane activities. These are the known facts which do not need any sort of explanation of the crimes they have conceded. And it is also a known fact that Manipur is the only region which has been afflicted calamitously by the illicit activities of NSCN (IM). Many Naga civil and student organisation such as NMA, NSF, ANSAM to mention a few are substantially strengthening their activities. Blockade of National Highways is a common observance for these groups to bring their household issues into public notice. In the mean time it's shameful for the Govt of Manipur and Govt of India not to intervene or oppose these unlawful acts and take up needful actions. NH-39 is not the only highway which connects Manipur to the rest of India. Manipur has been banking on this particular highway as the only highway. The other two highways namely NH-150 and NH-53 have been neglected. Come on, we are living in the 21st century where in many theories are postulated stating the possibilities of life in other planets and even invading other planets is no more a mystery. In this era of advancement in all fields, Manipur is yet to witness a railway track. Indeed it's shameful for the Govt of Manipur which comprises a bunch of corrupted, harebrained politicians who are only designated to make money. These men chosen by the people for the people have cultivated the most venomous weed i.e. corruption in our land. The people are infected perilously and everything has become hopeless. Corruption is almost legalised in our land simply because the authority is implementing it without the consent of the people and we, the people are acting as the conditioners for this weed. Our land will sooner be synonymised as “the land of illegalities and irregularities”. Honestly speaking none of us ever like the things turning up here in our land, still we never try to counterbalance these issues. How long it would take to uproot these weeds? It’s been so long so long that our land has become unsuitable for tilling. We are mentally burdened for so long. We have numberless issues which could be solved but kept unsolved.


Recently the Govt. Of India has announced hikes in fuel prices - Rs 5 a litre increase in petrol, Rs 3 on diesel and Rs 50 per LPG cylinder to be precise. And consequently the Opposition party led by BJP imposed a nationwide bandh on July 5 which paralysed the normal life in the country. All streets seemed deserted throughout the country and the general people stayed indoor indicating mass reluctance to the Govt’s decision. In the meantime, it is of no surprise that Manipur seemed quite normal on that very day simply because a hike of Rs 5 or Rs 10 or Rs 100 sounded nothing to the people who already have been experiencing a rise in multiples of 3 or 4 of the price of the same commodities and others. For instance petrol is being sold in Manipur at the price of Rs 140-160 a litre and LPG at Rs 1200-1600 a cylinder. Yet no one has made any complaints to the authority or shown any sort of hesitation. What does this indicate? How long do we need to wake up and make a call? It’s been so long so long that we have been subjugated by the authorities whom we have elected.

ENDURANCE

As per 2001 census, Manipur's literacy rate is recorded to be 68.87 which is ahead of other states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh where in high-tech cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad exist. The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has drafted a definition of literacy as the "ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society." Are we the Manipuris (all ethnic groups living together) actually literate enough to identify or understand the issues which sooner or later would emphatically make us unworthy of living with laughters? It would be a dubious claim that we, the Manipuris are ahead of other states which register lower literacy rates considering the facts that unlike us they are adept in judging the issues and compensate the options available to move ahead. It's true that literacy alone does not determine a state's growth and development but it won't be wrong to affirm that literacy makes other factors drag in line for growth and development of the state or nation.

I ain't proficient in current or political affairs however I ain't afraid to claim that no man has seen a place where economic blockade has been implemented without any acceptable reasons for more than a couple of months yet people still stay calm and silent as if things are going heavenly well. There are numberless junctures where we all have been wedged to act aggressively but wittingly we have been acquitted ourselves with dignity. Earnestly speaking there always exists limit for everything. Probably we are conformed to all these issues. Ohh could this be considered endurance? Ummmm endurance wow amazing trait!

If the neighbours intrude our own home, would we ever not defend intrepidly.
If someone thrusts you causelessly, would vengeance ever not be an upshot.
If your assets are plundered, would you ever relinquish tardily.
If we are left to starve for days without any valid reasons, would we ever not react sensibly.
Could this still be considered endurance?

Though the price of daily commodities are sky-high and severe shortage of every goods continues.
Though the educational institutes are halted for numerous weeks.
Though the hospitals and clinics are crippled due to acute shortage of drugs and other essentials.
Though we are facing piercing consequences of the ongoing economic blockade.
Though these issues are the focus of the talk since long time.
We still stay calm and silent. It smells like we are waiting to see these issues resolved naturally.
Dont we have any other options than to wait?
Or Are we enormously ineffectual to remunerate the options available ?
Or Are we really content with what is happening ?
Or Ain't we yet frazzled seeing all these for so long ?

WALK THE WALK, TALK THE TALK

For everything, there always tends to exist a limit. Everywhere now and then catastrophes (natural or artificial) bump into and lay waste to the natives of the neck of the woods. No matter how destructive the catastrophes may turn out to be, the natives find the way out to resconstruct the harmony of their existence and learn to avoid or defend such cataclysms to happen subsequently. If we let things happen as they are taking place, aehhh how long back we the humans could have already been extincted.

However at the same time,
There is a place in this so called Global Village,
where everyone seems to be comfortable in conciliating with the issues and consequences,
where the price of daily consumable commodities rise up thrice,
where electricity blinks two hours in a day or sometimes in a week,
where even the dogs feel afraid to bark at night,
where everyone is content with what is happening,
where uncertainties are certain,
where irregularities are regular,
where no one is willing to stand up and utter that We Need A Change.

Nonetheless this is the land where we are born,
where the sun shines and the moon gleams too,
where the wind blows too and the rain drizzles,
where plants grow and hills too exist,
where verdancy has been showered.

Now it has become the stagnant land.


So now to whom  do we need to approach. Our palms are greased at the time of balloting and in exchange, the aftereffects are evident. Seriously we have none to be heard of regardless of the scale we raise our voices up to and we have none to reckon to what extent we stretch. To be precise, we are into the Vicious circle where in the loop seems to iterate infinitely. No one needs to be inculpated. We just keep charging one another instead of finding a solution or at least an algorithm to breakthrough. We must not sit idle and stay tedious. It's time to wake up and make a call. Its now upto we the youngsters wholly to make the change and to extirpate the irregularities. We must have to be wise . We need a change. We need to praise the leaders who walk the walk as they talk the talk. We can now ascertain of the consequences of being slept for long and letting things happen as they are taking place. Things do not change; we must have to make things change. Let us stand united and move forward.

ON THE VERGE OF WIPEOUT

Politics is the one of the most talked about topic of our time. In its brief lexical meaning, it is described or defined as a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. It's what we are taught or what we had learnt or what is written in text books. There are various other definitions which are not covered here. In due course of time, what we, the general people, have seen or realised is that Politics is "The Ugly Game of Power." And it's apparent that The game of power is bound to be a dirty game.

We are adhered to presume that Leaders constitute Politics. (these days it's not leaders who constitute politics but diametrically it's Politicians who constitute Politics. There seems to be lots of differences between these two entities, i.e. Leaders and Politicians though one would literally assume that they are all exactly the same. Here we are concerned about leaders not politicians. It's a general accepted notion that "A leader is a person who influences a group of people towards the achievement of a goal." In fact the great leaders do things in the best interest of the people. It is a common perception that leaders are born, not made. This may be true to some extent because many people display some intrinsic traits right from birth, which put them in the position where they are looked up as leaders. A person’s authoritativeness, confidence in speech and action and the ability to handle crisis without panic are considered some of the most effective leadership qualities, which sets people apart from the crowd.

These are all things written in books or megazines or aired in the radio or television which need to be addressed wisely. Now let us get back to where we belong and where we come from. Let us get ready to confront the truth that we all are on the verge of time when we would definitely feel disgraceful to acclaim that we are born in Manipur - a place acknowledged for its ethinicity, culture, tranquillity and the discipline of the people . We the people are the dupes and we the people are the perpetrators as we chose or elected our leaders by the very virtue of democracy.

But what we basically keep ignoring in the process is indeed the rudimentary question which we need to ask ourselves And that is "What attributes need to be possessed by a leader". Henceforth in this write-up, I would like to abstract a few attributes that need to be taken into account while we opt or praise a leader.

*The listed below are the parameters that a good leader should have.

Correct Team
Leaders are not supposed to do all the work all alone. Having the right people around the leader will help the leader set the right priorities. And having the right priorities will help the leader choose the right people.

Common Sense
A leader has to possess common sense – the willingness to listen to the voice of reason when it might not make sense.
Now we might call this discernment because leaders read the situation before they lead the people.

Competency
A competent leader is one whose life is built on a process! Competence rarely happens overnight!

Charisma
Leaders who think of others and their concerns before thinking of themselves quickly develop charisma. It will get the leader an audience – but only character will keep the audience.
Charisma has been defined as a magnetic personal attraction that draws others to the leader. Charisma is the quality that makes people want to listen to you and support you. It is the ability to inspire one to be and do more than they thought possible.

Conviction
Leaders always act from their principles; empowering others even when it is hard. Leaders of conviction work out of grace.

Courage
Courage is the commitment to do the right thing in the face of possible criticism.Leaders initiate and take a stand even when no one else is traveling with them. Courage is taking a position even when you know it might cost you something.

Credibility
“Leadership is a combination of strategy and character – if you must be without one, drop the strategy.” - Colin Powell
Character + Competence = Credibility.
For a leader to lead, he/she must have followers. And to have followers, a leader must have credibility.

Communication
As we look for leaders, one feature we must look for is their ability to communicate. Being able to communicate the truth of the situation so the people can understand the problem and the solution is what we the people expect from a leader. He should be able to reach the people around him/her effectively.

Creativity
There is no question that we live in a complex world with complex issues. The world is changing daily and leaders have to be able to adapt to the changing times with creativity.
Many times a leader has to go out on a limb and be willing to try something different to solve a problem or meet a need. Leaders should always think out of the box because leadership is all about managing change.

Connectability
It is always the leader’s responsibility to connect to the people, not the people with the leader. In order to connect, the leader has to be a good listener; listening to where the people are and find the connection point, then move the people forward.

* Adapted / Excerpts from various sources.

In the past couple of decades or then , have we particularly ,the people of Manipur heard of or seen or experienced any leader who possesses any of these features. It's high time that we learn to anticipate what would our land become subsequently if we keep ignoring . Let us not compromise any more ! Are we left with no more options !