Immediate Need for Two White-Papers
By Angomcha Bimol Akoijam
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and morning were the first day.’
And it seems His words weren’t followed in the ‘little paradise’, laigi leipak-ni hainaba Manipur!
After all, as the festival of light lifts up the spirit of hope and happiness, one is reminded of the darkness due to the decade old deprivation of a modicum of electricity in the state. And on the other hand, those who ostensibly follow His words seem to say that their destiny cannot be the same, here on earth as well as in heaven, as those of the non-believers — the pagan, the gentiles, the idolaters!
It is, perhaps, because human being makes choices in accordance with her/his ‘fallen nature’! Or it could be because even after ‘born again’, ‘the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick’.
Indeed, theological or secular, whichever way we look, there is one undeniable fact: something wrong with us in Manipur. For the lights of Diwali, we have days and nights with miserably inadequate electricity for years on; and for the celebrating sounds of crackers, we have the cacophony of development rhetoric without electricity punctuating the intermittently consistent bomb blasts and gunfire. And for the ‘love thy neighbors’, we have scheming and preaching mistrust and hatred for the same.
As the spirit of festive season of the year begins to pick up (Diwali, Ningol Chakouba, Christmas etc), it might be useful to reflect on our state of affairs so that we can make choices to begin a truly happy New Year soon.
Some Thoughts on Electricity
Years after, the Government which came into place in Manipur this year seemed to have somehow noticed the dismal power situation in the state as it has stated that the issue shall be a top priority for the present Government. The Chief Minister has pronounced on more than one occasion that the Government is seeking to provide eight (8) hours of electricity as soon as possible and twenty (20) hours of electricity in twenty-four (24) hours a day in the near future. These pronouncements may sound uncanny to hear in the second decade of 21st century, nonetheless, these are welcome developments.
However, just as the Government must genuinely try to fulfill the promises, the public should also be on their toes so that they are no longer taken for granted. For this, specific datelines and ends and means to achieve the stated goals of ensuring a modicum of power supply in the state must be part of public knowledge. Rhetoric and hearsays cannot substitute informed engagement with the issue.
Towards this end, one of the first things that we must demand is a white paper on the what, how and wherefores of the hitherto existing power situation in the state. Institution and people who are responsible for their health have to be subjected to public accountability. Indeed, lack of institutional transparency and accountability has been one of the serious drawbacks of our collative life. And the same has also been critically implicated in producing the problem of decade old power situation in the state.
It’s worth reminding ourselves that for a decade, the Executive as well as the Legislature in the state have arguably failed to carry out their responsibility on this issue of power. Given such a situation, concerned citizens had come together in a public meeting in Imphal on 6th January, 2011 to discuss the situation. As it was felt that the other two arms of the state has not acted responsibly, judicial intervention was sought through a Public Interest Litigation which was taken up by the Gauhati High Court (Imphal Bench) on 20th January, 2011. The Honourable Court had then issued a motion returnable within four weeks. And fate of that PIL, which has sought institutional response to an issue of public interest, is still awaited, even though more than a year has gone by.
Incidentally, the judicial intervention on public issues can be seen in this country. For instance, recently the Supreme Court has responded to such issues, one being the issue of AFSPA and another on the increasing pollution in Delhi once again. We have lessons to learn as to how a healthy institutional accountability and public well-being can be taken care of. Indeed, every arm of the state and civil society has a huge responsibility in ensuring that we have a semblance of adequate electricity in the state.
Some Thoughts on the Fractured Polity
Need for an informed and purposive engagement is needed for the fractured polity, especially those which are marked by an estrangement of inter-community relations in the state. In this regard, there is a need to responses to the grievances of the people, particularly in the hills of Manipur. There have been consistent allegations of the Government of Manipur being discriminatory against the people in the hills of Manipur, over and above those which have been labeled against the Meitei community. It needs to be addressed in an informed manner. Otherwise, communal harangue, propaganda and misinformation shall, if not already, take over the public space to create schism amongst different communities and fracture the polity of the state.
In this regard, the Government of Manipur must produce a white paper so as to objectively deal with the grievances. Such a paper must come out with the facts on the political participation and representations as well as the status of human development indices of different communities in the state. How has been the representation of different communities in the state cabinet and bureaucracy (IAS/IPS/MCS/MPS, officers who have held the post of secretaries etc)? What are doctor-patient ratio, literacy rates, infant mortality, access to educational and health institutions and facilities, connectivity in different districts and sub-divisions as well as in terms of the communities of the state? Who have been the Chairmen of Hill Area Committees till date? What are the quantum and patterns of fund allocation (pal or non-plan) in different districts of the state? Such information, particularly since 1972, must be of public knowledge. Silence on this part is to nurture communal politics in the state by giving in to rhetoric, hyperbole and rumours as the medium of public engagement.
Along with this step, the government must not go in for appeasement of any section of the society but address the issues as a matter of social, civil and political rights of the citizens of the state. Indeed, it is high time that we look at the fractured polity and inter-community relations with such information and perspectives. Only then we can think of ensuring a life with well-being and dignity of the people in the state.
In short, there is a need to start a new journey. And the immediate steps to be taken must be in the form of the above two-white papers to throw lights on the dark moments of our collective life. These must be out and place in public domain to set up the parameters and terms of engagement on those critical issues that have afflicted Manipur for a long time. It goes without saying that sooner we take the steps, better it will be for all of us.