Written by Thangkhanlal Ngaihte
Last Sunday, I made a passing reference in these columns about one dilemma that the electorate faces every election: the problem of spurious choices. If there are four candidates contesting and you want none of them to be your representative, what do you do? Should it be the clean shaven guy or the one with a moustache? Or should it be the tallest of the lot? Or should you simply stay home and not vote?
This is a real problem especially in our region where people vote mainly on the basis of personalities and not on party lines. Many apathetic voters simply did not turn up to vote because they don’t know who to choose. They are thirsting for fresh water but are offered only Pepsis and Coca Colas. In the first-past-the-post system we have, though, the low voter turnouts hardly bothers the thick-skinned candidates and the parties. The one who got the largest number of votes (never mind if only 20 percent of the electorate voted for him) gets elected. Campaigns to introduce ‘none of the above’ option on the ballot paper are yet to be implemented. Isn’t there a way to register people’s disillusionment more robustly?
I am delighted to report, though, that this dilemma will not be there this time, at least in the constituency I came from.
In the Foreword I wrote for a tiny book on reforming education a friend of mine compiled last year, I said that the time is ripe for the new generation to take the mantle from the present, graying generation. And that education reforms will come about only when a new political culture–rooted in honesty and accountability– takes root. I am fascinated by the contest being witnessed in the Churachandpur constituency. It is nothing less than a test case–whether we are ready for the new generation to take over. And should it happen in Churachandpur, I believe there will be a cascading effect which will spread to other constituencies the next time.
I happen to know a little bit about Langkhanpau, the NPP candidate. I know what a hard life he lived while in school and college. I can vividly recall the times we passionately discuss the ills afflicting our society and how we tried, in our own small ways, to arrest unfair-means practices in College examinations in Lamka. If he is still the person I know him to be, he’s just the right guy who can initiate the process of reforming, nay, transforming the education system in particular and the society in general.
I don’t believe this is delusional thinking. After finishing his graduation from Churachandpur College, Langkhanpau joined the St. Paul’s Institute, one of the best schools in Lamka where he earned a name for himself as a disciplinarian and reformer. From there, he went to Rayburn High School as Headmaster. That’s where he really came to be noticed. In about three or four years flat, Rayburn was transformed into one of the most sought-after schools in the district. His capacities to discipline and influence are legendary. He never hesitates to innovate and improvise. When he left the school last year to contest this election, his students organize a mass-prayer service, beseeching on him not to leave.
All these while, and in the midst of all his social engagements, he pursues and finished his B. Ed and MA courses from IGNOU. That’s something for someone who works full time in a private school. I myself had some experience as a private school teacher and know what hard life it is.
Yes, he is a political green-horn. He exudes a kind of rustic charm so different from the kind of make-believe sophistication you see in typical politicians. He is something of an idealist. I believe his critics when they said he may not even know how the DRDA funds are distributed. But I don’t agree with them when they said he should learn all that before entering into active politics.
I believe we had had enough of sleek, cynical, too-clever-by-half politicians who buy up people during elections and squeeze them dry for the rest of the term. I am totally fed up of politicians who tell you lies straight under your nose and believe they can get away with it, all the time. It is time we elect someone we can relate to, and someone we can trust.
I put the question to him when I was home last Christmas. His answer was that there are officials like the DC whose job it is to do these works. And that, it was rather the undue interference of elected MLAs in these routine matters that creates problems.
Langkhanpau has a way of defying conventional wisdom. When he got married, he vowed that the expenses should not cross the Rs. 2000 mark. To that, his friends reportedly joked that he will have to add another ‘0’. Well, the man rented out the New Lamka YPA Hall for Rs 300 and bought Rs 600 worth of sweets for the celebrations!! The total expenses incurred on his part, he told me, amounted to all of Rs 18000. He is a guy who experience and know our society from the bottom up. He rightly believes that the first priority is to revitalize the defunct government-run schools. I am not sure how much he can do. But I know he believes he can.
His critics never tired of saying that he doesn’t know the trade of today’s politics, will be an embarrassment for a prestigious constituency like Lamka, and cuts a sorry figure when compared to senior ministers like Phungzathang Tonsing. There is no doubt that Phungzathang is a giant in Manipur politics. But, think? Can we say that we are better in a qualitative sense during the last five years under the Congress’s ‘stable’ rule? Do we remember the times we were braving bullets and tear gases asking for protection against landmines and underground menace? And how our powerful politicians did not care to bother with us or voice our anguish in the state assembly? Do we remember those boycotts we impose on them in exasperation and total helplessness?
If it is powerful and expert deal-makers that we need, why is it that we still cry out for the most basic services? I believe these people are really the problem. What we really needed is a new start. A fresh beginning. On a clean slate. A politics in which ideals of Christianity are not just the dress, but its core principle. We need not someone who can pull in lots of funds, but one who will make sure that whatever is available is utilized for the right purpose. We need someone who speaks the language we spoke and one amongst us. Not someone we have to look up to, all the time. Someone who have the credibility and determination to bridge the gaping hole between the public and the government.
My one lingering concern is on the general consensus that money rules and those who have lots of money will only get elected. Is he feeling intimidated? He answered me on a reflective note: ‘There is no doubt that money is a powerful force. But I wouldn’t be here if I believe in money power. Deep down, I feel a yearning to be rid of this level of politics among the people. People have matured. They want to be in control again. They want to own their representatives and not the other way round. And ultimately, it will not be money, but people’s votes that will decide the outcome.’
I am keeping my fingers crossed. The verdict will be passed only on February 23.
Source: zogam.com
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