By: K Zou*
Manipur is a beautiful place where different ethnic Mongoloid brothers with highly sensitive egos, mixed with the shortest temper and almost one intelligible language divided into several dialects living in the hills and the plains. They are people who lost their origin and confused like a group of blind men describing an Elephant in their own way and not willing to listen to each other.
The people of Manipur are pricey lots with every community claiming to be the most advanced and indigenous sons of the soil in their respective settlement areas and neither trust nor fear each others. The only idea we have in common is the “doctrine of swallowing each other” and looting the common people without any regrets. With the egos intact, we never deal issues of any matter without hurting each other’s sentiment.
We say that no part of Manipur can be disintegrated and being the majority, we must dominate the entire region whereas the other group says that they are tired of being deprived and dominated for ages. And the third group claims that they are also an indigenous settler and hence, demand no interference in their internal affairs. There are also ethnic groups who complaints of being suppressed intimidated too much by the stronger ethnic tribes in their district and at village levels.
The people of Manipur are hypocrite lots. They loot, enjoy, eat, drink in unison and play dangerous game at the expenses of the public yet, blame each others for crisis arising out of their own action. The people are misguided and taken for a ride by the few politicians for their individual benefits. They implant the feelings of “Ism” in their minds of the common public and make them sail into the deep sea in a communal Boat.
Is it not a matter of great concern for the Nationalist groups, Intellectuals, Educated youth leaders and the common men that, despite the totally dilapidated governance in the state, we are blindly inventing problems after problems at the expense of the public for achieving our individual benefits. How many of us are really serious about accepting the reality and promote the proximity of our traditions, customs, cultures, social habits and the common blood groups.
It is a matter of shame that we never accept our closeness in Manipur soil whereas our deep feelings of oneness automatically sprout the moment we cross Mao gate, and come closer the more we get deeper into the Indian mainland and ultimately live together like Romeos and Juliet’s or inseparable orphans in a rented house in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Chennai, etc. as cousins, relatives and couples sharing beef, Pork and even Monkeys, rats and dogs, etc without any inhibition in a true tribal way.
Don’t you think we are lucky enough to have an acceptable lingua franca despite our hollow egos, bring us closer than the rest of the northeast states rather than speaking a broken Sanskrit version of Bengalis, Assamese or Nagamese?. We abuse each other by taking the name of our mother and involve the rest of the community that he/she is a Meitei, Hao (Hao macha), Lois, Moirangs, Sekmais as Lawais and Bamons mayang, etc., yet we are still bonded by our emotions and cannot deny each other in reality.
I can see the boys are so possessive of any girls from Manipur irrespective of their ethnic background and cannot tolerate them going around with the Indians, even if they don’t know them. A Meitei lady constable and her Hao macha sister who is an Asst. Commandant and married to a Haryani share ironba (chutney) secretly despite being against her family tradition and the rules of the battalion. In Rajashan, their Hao macha brother who is posted as SP in the district have been protecting all the naughty boys from Manipur.
A Meitei journalist keeps helping the so called tribal students and a meitei social activist running around helping people irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds. Similarly, there are thousands of examples to prove that we are emotionally attached not only to our people from Manipur but also the thousands of mongoloid brothers. Here comes the big question, WHY DO WE CHANGE OUR ATTITUDE THE MOMENT WE REACH MANIPUR? ARE WE HYPOCRITES? We start calling each other as Meiteis, Haos, Lois, Andro or Lawais or in our different ethnic names etc. and never wanted to come closer and admit what we ate and how we lived with them far away from home.
Is it because of the economic background or we succumb to the Hindu diktaks or get convinced by the narrow tribalism. The Meiteis of Imphal areas will neither stop claiming to be the privilege bloods and categorize the Kakchings, Sekmais, Moirangs, Chairens, etc. in a lower grade nor the Tangkhuls will stop claiming themselves to be the pioneers of the Nagas and never the Chin-kukis stop intimidating their minor brothers and fight amongst themselves.
But the reality is that we all help each other when we are outside Manipur no matter what he/she is and where from. Be it a Hao or a Meitei politician, nobody is least bothered about the welfare of the people and only think about emptying the state treasury for him or herself. How long should we support such leaders on communal lines and ethnicity and pay the price? What difference do a Meitei, a Kuki or a Naga Members of Parliament (MP) make in their tenure? They are leaders who neither bother their duties nor help their people in distress.
Had there been a community belonging to higher caste in Manipur, I am sure they will make a difference. But now we are all equals and do the same in action and thoughts. Whom do you think suffered the most? the Imphal wallas/ the Kakchings/ the Sekmais /Andro/ Nagas/ Kukis/ Meiteis/ Haos when our parents cannot draw their monthly salary in time, when corrupted officers and clerks demand money for doing their duties, when there is no basic equipments available in the government hospitals, when government teachers do not perform their duties, when we could not get employment and compelled to find our own means with guns, when you are under the mercy of a few group of Malwaris indirectly controlling the business of the entire state, when our so called Nationalists organizations are easily purchased by money and capture your right of franchise in the election, when a minister fail to give you a job and yet refused to return the money you paid to him by mortgaging your family’s paddy field, plot or house.
Surprisingly, most of the communities are only concern about the survival of their respective ethnic groups. Meiteis for meiteis only, Nagas for only nagas, Chin Kukis for chin-Kukis only and so is the same with our undergrounds and the so called over ground intellectual groups and young educated students’ organizations claiming themselves filled with ideas and visions germinating every academic year.
If they can make people shout for days to promote their interest, why don’t they shout for Justice and fight against corruption at a war footing for our common cause after all the Government of the people is for the people and by the people. Save Kangleipak and save all the People!
To be continued on readers demand.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The writer is a social activist in New Delhi and can be reached at kzou@rediffmail.com
Manipur is a beautiful place where different ethnic Mongoloid brothers with highly sensitive egos, mixed with the shortest temper and almost one intelligible language divided into several dialects living in the hills and the plains. They are people who lost their origin and confused like a group of blind men describing an Elephant in their own way and not willing to listen to each other.
The people of Manipur are pricey lots with every community claiming to be the most advanced and indigenous sons of the soil in their respective settlement areas and neither trust nor fear each others. The only idea we have in common is the “doctrine of swallowing each other” and looting the common people without any regrets. With the egos intact, we never deal issues of any matter without hurting each other’s sentiment.
We say that no part of Manipur can be disintegrated and being the majority, we must dominate the entire region whereas the other group says that they are tired of being deprived and dominated for ages. And the third group claims that they are also an indigenous settler and hence, demand no interference in their internal affairs. There are also ethnic groups who complaints of being suppressed intimidated too much by the stronger ethnic tribes in their district and at village levels.
The people of Manipur are hypocrite lots. They loot, enjoy, eat, drink in unison and play dangerous game at the expenses of the public yet, blame each others for crisis arising out of their own action. The people are misguided and taken for a ride by the few politicians for their individual benefits. They implant the feelings of “Ism” in their minds of the common public and make them sail into the deep sea in a communal Boat.
Is it not a matter of great concern for the Nationalist groups, Intellectuals, Educated youth leaders and the common men that, despite the totally dilapidated governance in the state, we are blindly inventing problems after problems at the expense of the public for achieving our individual benefits. How many of us are really serious about accepting the reality and promote the proximity of our traditions, customs, cultures, social habits and the common blood groups.
It is a matter of shame that we never accept our closeness in Manipur soil whereas our deep feelings of oneness automatically sprout the moment we cross Mao gate, and come closer the more we get deeper into the Indian mainland and ultimately live together like Romeos and Juliet’s or inseparable orphans in a rented house in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Chennai, etc. as cousins, relatives and couples sharing beef, Pork and even Monkeys, rats and dogs, etc without any inhibition in a true tribal way.
Don’t you think we are lucky enough to have an acceptable lingua franca despite our hollow egos, bring us closer than the rest of the northeast states rather than speaking a broken Sanskrit version of Bengalis, Assamese or Nagamese?. We abuse each other by taking the name of our mother and involve the rest of the community that he/she is a Meitei, Hao (Hao macha), Lois, Moirangs, Sekmais as Lawais and Bamons mayang, etc., yet we are still bonded by our emotions and cannot deny each other in reality.
I can see the boys are so possessive of any girls from Manipur irrespective of their ethnic background and cannot tolerate them going around with the Indians, even if they don’t know them. A Meitei lady constable and her Hao macha sister who is an Asst. Commandant and married to a Haryani share ironba (chutney) secretly despite being against her family tradition and the rules of the battalion. In Rajashan, their Hao macha brother who is posted as SP in the district have been protecting all the naughty boys from Manipur.
A Meitei journalist keeps helping the so called tribal students and a meitei social activist running around helping people irrespective of their ethnic backgrounds. Similarly, there are thousands of examples to prove that we are emotionally attached not only to our people from Manipur but also the thousands of mongoloid brothers. Here comes the big question, WHY DO WE CHANGE OUR ATTITUDE THE MOMENT WE REACH MANIPUR? ARE WE HYPOCRITES? We start calling each other as Meiteis, Haos, Lois, Andro or Lawais or in our different ethnic names etc. and never wanted to come closer and admit what we ate and how we lived with them far away from home.
Is it because of the economic background or we succumb to the Hindu diktaks or get convinced by the narrow tribalism. The Meiteis of Imphal areas will neither stop claiming to be the privilege bloods and categorize the Kakchings, Sekmais, Moirangs, Chairens, etc. in a lower grade nor the Tangkhuls will stop claiming themselves to be the pioneers of the Nagas and never the Chin-kukis stop intimidating their minor brothers and fight amongst themselves.
But the reality is that we all help each other when we are outside Manipur no matter what he/she is and where from. Be it a Hao or a Meitei politician, nobody is least bothered about the welfare of the people and only think about emptying the state treasury for him or herself. How long should we support such leaders on communal lines and ethnicity and pay the price? What difference do a Meitei, a Kuki or a Naga Members of Parliament (MP) make in their tenure? They are leaders who neither bother their duties nor help their people in distress.
Had there been a community belonging to higher caste in Manipur, I am sure they will make a difference. But now we are all equals and do the same in action and thoughts. Whom do you think suffered the most? the Imphal wallas/ the Kakchings/ the Sekmais /Andro/ Nagas/ Kukis/ Meiteis/ Haos when our parents cannot draw their monthly salary in time, when corrupted officers and clerks demand money for doing their duties, when there is no basic equipments available in the government hospitals, when government teachers do not perform their duties, when we could not get employment and compelled to find our own means with guns, when you are under the mercy of a few group of Malwaris indirectly controlling the business of the entire state, when our so called Nationalists organizations are easily purchased by money and capture your right of franchise in the election, when a minister fail to give you a job and yet refused to return the money you paid to him by mortgaging your family’s paddy field, plot or house.
Surprisingly, most of the communities are only concern about the survival of their respective ethnic groups. Meiteis for meiteis only, Nagas for only nagas, Chin Kukis for chin-Kukis only and so is the same with our undergrounds and the so called over ground intellectual groups and young educated students’ organizations claiming themselves filled with ideas and visions germinating every academic year.
If they can make people shout for days to promote their interest, why don’t they shout for Justice and fight against corruption at a war footing for our common cause after all the Government of the people is for the people and by the people. Save Kangleipak and save all the People!
To be continued on readers demand.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The writer is a social activist in New Delhi and can be reached at kzou@rediffmail.com
