By RK Lakhi Kant
These days promises come from all quarters, but just what is it that these promises are leading everyone towards. What is this unknown goal that these promises try to take us to? Are promises enough to run our lives which are as if caught in a sticky web of extraneous factors, which we have hardly any control over? This is especially true for people who are poor or weak, in the sense that they may not possess some knowledge or money which puts them in a position of control. So what has changed in this world in a matter of around 500 years since the Dark Ages. Especially in a place like Manipur nothing much has changed. And this is not one bit surprising as the spirit of scientific discovery or challenge has been missing altogether in this place, when things are viewed from an objective western viewpoint. The fact is that one has accepted this viewpoint all over the world but while other places are more in tune with the goings-on today, it is difficult to fathom why Manipur still has not made a mark in education of the common people in a scientific way, since that is what everybody is doing everywhere to earn his or her bread at least, if not to excel. Everything has basically remained the same here in Manipur if we look at the world from an objective viewpoint, or what may be called a scientific temperament which is now very popular even in India. We may take the case of the Japanese people who are a very strong nation. But while the Japanese were more receptive of newer ideas and accepted change as a matter of the inevitable cycle of life, we here in Manipur have completely closed our doors to any possibility for change, thus keeping the scope of our lives very narrow and uninteresting. Although people do blame the government and such agencies for all the misdeeds, it may be sad to know that the Manipuri literati’s heart has not been able to make a place for anyone else apart from themselves. This has created a sense of Xenophobia in the common man’s mind, the traces of which are bound to remain for a long time to come, it seems.

We are talking about ‘extraneous factors’ and ‘promises’. So what exactly are these extraneous factors and promises which are so abundant today? A man cannot even walk out on the streets without being troubled by these ‘extraneous factors’ that make promises to everyone. So that the innocent and illiterate feel that such extraneous factors can actually give us something, like education for our children, or jobs for us, or some security in the neighborhood which we all crave for. But is this kind of dealing in which one has to prove his allegiance while walking on the streets, and that too to someone he doesn’t even know, a just and a sensible thing to do. This behavior puts a big question mark on the purpose of life and the manner of what we are doing in our daily lives. And a still bigger question mark is on whether we feel it is right to do what we are doing. Especially when we know that what we are doing is wrong. What then is the solution to this large scale delusion which has cast a spell on us? Is it possible to escape from this dull but lethal street force which tries to consume us every day? We feel we are going to achieve something by coordinating with those who make promises, and even fulfill them to a certain extent - though the means for fulfilling them remain dubious at best. Although it is right to expect some sort of help for ourselves from people who are able to give them, the tendency to overdo it is always there. So much so that we may go off the track, in trying to find the much needed spiritual or material solace. What then is the best behavior we can put forward, by which we can satisfy everyone. Is there such a behavior and is it possible in this mechanized world of machines and motors, to find a way of life which is harmless. Surely there must be a way since we are all here working hard to be hale and hearty. We feel there is a way. But it is certainly a much different proposition than the world we see now at this present moment.

The world in the eyes of a keen observer today is nothing more than a big pool of lustful living. We are just running here, there and everywhere to make this fire of depravation stronger and brighter. And the younger generation is now getting more and more adept in contributing to this fire so that the situation is turning more critical by the day because of this foolishness in everyone’s mind. Everyone is just trying to feed his or her personal ego. Good jobs, good education, good facilities mean nothing more than scratching each others backs to get them. A completely superficial atmosphere exists at all the institutions – whether for learning or for providing our services. However, this is not a big surprise at the same time. Because to get a good job, or even any other job, in Manipur means to grease someone’s palms. Consequently when such people do get a job the prime concern for the new entrant is only to recover the ‘cost’ of the job ‘bought’ by him or her. As of now this greed for more and more and still more seems to have put the whole social machinery in a jeopardy as it refuses to move unless more and more bribes, cuts etc. come from under the table. Keen observers would also agree that there are very hard days still to come for the state because we have idiotically already over-fed our youngsters and youth with a large portion of this kind of food, and now cannot retrace our steps although the symptoms of this social disease are quite evident now. We can however try to minimize the harm if we leave this path of lust for just about everything we can lay our hands on, by replacing it with a more moderate mindset which is compatible with the time as well as with a good culture.