Walk around the state of Manipur, you would find many young men –educated and uneducated; some may even belongs to an insurgent group and some could be a wrecked-out daily labourer; some walk with big dreams and empty pocket, and some are aimless wanderers. They all may speak different dialect; they may come from different background, tribes and upbringing. But one thing they have in common is that they don't know the roles, functions and duties of the Government towards them.
Go and ask them what they want the Government to do for them; most probably they won’t know how to answer, or what to say at all. But ask them about their lives, their families, and their backgrounds, you would most probably find hundred things that the Government can do for them.
Go and ask the old woman what sort of help she got from the Government, she would say nothing. Ask her what she wants from the Government; she would most probably have no idea. Ask her if she knew any welfare scheme for an old and poor woman like her, she won’t have a clue. Think of the amount the central and state governments have spent on all those welfare schemes.
Go and ask one young insurgent why he chose to be what he is, his answer, most probably would be he had nothing else to do at home. Then, ask yourself 'why' he had nothing at all to do at home and think of 'what' he can do and 'why' he can’t do what you think he can do, then, you will know who failed them.
For a lot of wronged youths, joining one or the other insurgent groups has become the sole viable option to vent their discontentment, and demand redressal because they feel they are being denied a fair treatment. They may never knew in which way they are being wronged, but at least they know how to compare their situation with youth their age of other states or countries, and they could clearly see the differences. They may never be able to tell you eloquently what they are deprived of, but you don’t need to be a social scientist to know what they are deprived of.
Their feelings of discontentment and humiliation make them become an easy fodder for insurgent group who had been waiting for this opportunity. It’s high time the government wake-up and perform the duties of a government.
It may be difficult to bring awareness to people who had resigned to their fate, and waking up a government that pretend to be as deaf as a statue and as mute as the Chief Minister himself. But then it has to be done, in one way or the other.
tags: zo, zomi, zogam, lamka
