Monday, September 24, 2007

Who will make us all equal?

By : Yumnam Chaoba Singh/IFP

The highest bliss of the human soul is love, and the noblest love is devotion to our fatherland”.- SCHELEGEL

The mechanical law says “action and reaction are equal.” Does it correspond to our mode of living? It may not exaggerate when we say that life is like a bubble. The Universe composed of infinite Sentient and insentient bodies-visible and invisible energies, good and wicked, moral and spiritual qualities and microcosmic and macro-cosmic objects is one and only one, ever-abiding “Life” also called Satya (Truth), Atma (Soul) and Paramatma (God). The different forms are only apparent and superficial coverings. God made us all equal whereas we are made of matter and under sheath of illusion (Maya), beyond the cosmic light, we made us ourselves unequal lest one may control over another. Illusion looms with an exaggerated importance only when we fix our attention exclusively upon it by reason of some infatuation, be it of love or of hate; whether in our passion we rush to embrace it, or attack it; whether we yearn for it or spurn it; it equally fills the whole field of our bloodshot vision.

Illusion is like the darkness. No steed, however swift can carry us beyond it; no amount of water can wash it away. Truth is like a lamp; even as it is lit, illusion vanishes. Our Shastras tells us that truth even it is small can rescue us from the terror which is great. Fear is the atheism of the heart. It cannot be overcome from the side of negation. If one of its heads be struck off, it breeds like the monster of the fable a hundred others. Truth is positive; it is the affirmation of the soul. If even a little of it be aroused, it attacks negation at the very heart and overpowers it wholly.

At the moment, we are living in an unremitting and bedraggled society spoliated by the stinted, dickiest and intrusive thoughts of the rulers. No doubt, all the times for want of transparent governance, our over fraught hearts are beating at a rate that would outstrip the fastest gallop of the fastest horse ever foaled. The frightful moral disorder born of unspeakable suffering, intolerable oppression, heartless indifference smote equally without distinction. The reason is not far to seek that the Government in power cannot maintain low and order (in all forms) while most of the administrators are scrambling on the funds doled out from the centre from time to time thereby besetting the common place people in trying circumstances in all walks of life. Rungs of judiciary becomes ineffective due to bungling of legislature and the executive sow the seed of rapacious licence and oppression lover again and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind. So living in limbo is like living in the smoke from a crater which is replete albatrosses.

Now, we may discuss how the four activists of AMADA (Lamlai area) were arrested and incarcerated in jail? Allegedly, one police personnel was assaulted by the members of AMADA at the precinet of a liquor shop somewhere in Lamlai village in connection with displacement of a seized quantum of wine. True, any member or organisation can arrest a wrongdoer and hand him over to the authority (police) as per laws of the land. However, if the 4 AMADA members really assaulted the policeman as per his report, they are punishable under section 352 of Indian penal code which reads “whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person otherwise than on grave and sudden provocation given by that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both”. However, the government in power taking into accounts the pains taking being rendered by AMADA activists against eradication of drugs and alcohol from the surface of Manipur, shown leniency to the call of protesters and reprieved and acquitted the 4 activists without any condition on 6th September. If the incident was in the case of a laymen would the Govt. react their gesture like this? But all is well that ends well. Amidst, to our great surprise, on 24th August, one Kh Kiran Singh of Lairinjam under Nambol P/s was shot to death for transportation of illicit liquor or on some grounds for which 6 (six) personnels of Keithelmanbi excise outpost were placed under suspension. They might want to show that they are still in service and getting monthly salaries without any assignmentor duties while the prohibition drive against drugs and alcohol are under the grip of AMADA, CADA, ANDO and Meira paibis, but draws attention of the people by killing Kh. Kiran of Lairenjam as if they are working for the welfare of the people ceaselessly. At present, is the presence of excise personnels at every checkpoints necessary? If not necessary it is a great monetary loss to the state on payment of their salaries and other contingent expenditure. In the meantime, apart from suspension from service, they are punishable under section 307 of Indian penal code- “Whoever does any act with such intention or knowledge and under such circumstances that, if he by that act caused death, he would be guilty of murder, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine and if hurt is caused to any person by such act, the offender shall be liable either to imprisonment for life or to such punishment as is herein before mentioned”. We have to wait and see reaction of the Government to the action of Excise personnel as reacted to the 4 (four) AMADA activists without skulduggery.

In this regard powers in all forms is irrational and it is like the horse that drags the carriage blindfolded. The moral element in it is only represented in the man who drives the horse. Abraham Lincoln remarked “There is an important sense in which the government is distinct from the administration; one is perpetual; the other is temporary and changeable. A man may be loyal to the government and yet oppose to the peculiar principles and methods of administration.” Again reproduced herein a sentence from the famous manifesto by Marx “A political power, properly so called, is merely the organised power of one class for oppressing another.” In democracies men judge not personalities but their actions. Therefore there is even more need of nobility.

Generally, even a layman has the basic knowledge of laws that prevails in a human environment through conscience or common sense. As and when an individual/organisation commits faux pas against the usage of a family/society, he is to risk any unforeseen or perceived consequences. Sometimes, men face conflicts(mental/physical) as an artificial or natural phenomenon. Man is self-dependent as interdependent; when dependence becomes necessary in order to keep society in good order, it is no longer dependance becomes necessary in order to keep society in good order, it is no longer dependence but becomes cooperation. Sir Daniel said “Without character there is no cooperation.”

What is the significance of an individual in the society? If the individual ceases to count, what is left for the society? Individual freedom alone can make a man voluntarily surrender himself completely to the service of society. If it is wrested from him, he becomes an automation and the society is ruined. No society can be built on a denial of individual freedom. However, unrestricted individualism is the law of the beast of the jungle. We have to strike the mean between the individual freedom and social restraint. Willing submission to social restraint for the sake of the well being of the whole society, enriches both the individual and the society of which one is a member. Individual liberty and interdependence are both essential for life in society. It may also be noted voluntariness should not be an option but an imperative. Random voluntarism will spoil in achieving a target as there lacks alacrity and self-judgement on a given issue.

As anger has no eyes, generally invites conflicts against someone as if one was right and assumingly the another was in the wrong. As for instance, if a cyclist collides with a pedestrian, both the cyclist and pedestrian will invariably would get into a brawl with each other, each one pointing out that invariably would get into a brawl with each other, each one pointing out that the other was in the wrong and at times, the altercation ends in bodily injuries to both, unless, of course, some sensible person intervenes and separates them, thus averting even an uglier incident of rough and touch and consequential graver injuries. So, there is no wrong when we say that “Anger is the worst enemy of human mind” as it reacts lawless and irresponsible utterances or even injuries or death.

If we look back history of mankind recounting from the primordial period to the present at hand, gradual transformation of laws are on the lines from the most barbaric and irrational concepts to the modern civilized and rational ideas but men of today, sometimes retrogrades to the most uncultured stage of animalism wherein a person had used to protect his life and property by killing his assailants eg. the rule of the days- an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth and life for life. Therefore, when recidivism or homicide occurs in a society, man turns into a bi-footed animal as he lacks rationality and humanness thereby causing tailspin in the society.

We ought to know the direction in which our environment disposes our instincts and also to know that we (great/small) are not in every way masters of our own life. There are minutes of conditions outside of us to which we have to adjust ourselves. Life is full of struggles- struggle for existence, struggle for power, fame, wealth, struggle for war and peace. War means a state of armed conflict between different nations, states or armed groups (oxford Directionary). Then can we call conflicts among armed groups in Manipur an internal war? As our society has been sustaining painful attrition for the last many decades from the armed conflicts for one cause or another, it can be treated as an internal war in one sense herein people has been always at the edge of receiving ends. Is it a revolutionary or evolutionary phenomenon? One may answer to it very logically but pragmatic panacea of the problems lies in depth oblivion as it is like holding a hot potato unless each of the parties reach an agreement/Settlement. Is the reaction of one party equal to the action of the another? It is a known fact that in a war it is not the largest numbers or the hardiest soldiers that wins but the side with the ablest generals and the best strategy though its soldiers may be fewer or less hardly. If peace come after war then what kind of peace do we get? Is another war left? After how many wars will peace shine in our society? Did the killings among armed groups show machismo of one group over another or nitpicking rather than compromising symbiotic relationship?

Again, corruption in any forms has been a rumpus social vice mostly in official life and its gravellers which has been always a contrition of the general public. Recently people from various sections of the society raised dubitable assertions in the results of the MCS/MPSC examination-2007 conducted recently by the Manipur public service commission for inclusion of wild card candidates in the short-list through cronyism by way of poisoning limbic system of subaltern of MPSC. Did the expostulation of the bylines correspond to the glossed over of the functionaries of MPSC? In this regard, the top administrators remained silent about it for long knowingly thinking that let anything may happen in the natural course of things. We all of us know that corruption was so wide spread and deep-rooted beyond replenishment and unceasingly has been spreading its tentacks as a petty wonderments to those who chase after easy-money, power, fame etc.

Generally, we come to know to whom one did bribe or by whom one is bribed in all respects (open secret) but especially at the time of selection and appointment of candidates whether it may be to posts of MCS/MPSC or other inferior jobs. Particularly, as per hearsay, or in the normal procedure there were more meritorious candidates in the MPSC examination but from among those equals, one has been left and another has been lifted imbalancing the weightage of merits on some ground or the other abstrusely through venality. Despite many freckles on the part of the MPSC authority were given the finger by some social activists the melodrama of MPSC ended. How powerful the government made of the people was/is.

No doubt, ours is a noble-making society, as no one is bold enough or has not the intention to check or detect against anyone who is bribed knowingly or on suspicion. However, it does not totally mean that each of us is supporting in all forms of corruption. But bribery is a crime, “both the payer and the payee” and punishable under section 171 B(2) and (3) of Indian penal code-(2) A person who offers or agrees to give or offers or attempts to procure a gratification shall be deemed to give gratification and (3) A person who obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain gratification shall be deemed to accept a gratification and a person who accepts a gratification as a motive for doing what he does not intend to do or as a reward for doing he has not shall be deemed to have accepted the gratification as a reward.

Once again, a valuable lesson is that pride, bad government, luxurious living of the upper classes and disregard of the welfare of the common people are the inevitable downward steps to the down fall of any government or civilization, when the top rulers in the legislative wing addicted to subterfuge, how can the officials be honest, independent, impartial and efficient if protection from law is not guaranteed? Independence of judiciary, thus is an absolute necessity and least a choice. The judiciary which is an observatory and a cheek-post of executive and legislative trangressions often becomes the first victims of such overambitious rulers. The legislature and executive always try to make this organ (judiciary) subservient to them so that it poses no check to their unbridled march to power.

Whatever system of government one may follow, there is always the possibility of power hungry personalities coming at the top of the administration. They want to act in their own arbitrary way and are not shy to ruthlessly crash and obstacles that may lie therein. The judiciary can only itself thwart these threats keeping in mind the great ideal it sands for an gravity of the functions that it is to discharge. It has got to be ever alert and be on the guard against these immoral attempt and should keep itself sacrosanct. The judiciary should be guided by the age old maxim “However high you may be, the low is above you”. Our judges must realize that they should not function as inanimate agencies of law but on the other hand, as the living fountains of justice in absolute awareness of the felt necessities and emerging realities of the incidents.

Lastly, tagging to the above paraphrases, let me conclude with the legendary literature “Six feet of earth makes us all equal”.

Retd. Asstt. private secry (Edn/s)


The Imphal Free Press

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