Nothing can be more depressing than to helplessly watch democracy degenerate into a show of lungs power as in today’s Manipur. Increasingly, the understanding seems to be, justice arbitration is a matter of who shouts longer and louder on any issue. And so, in the name of democratic protest, everybody takes to the streets to lobby, often with the use of coercive means, to have their interests, vested, sectarian or otherwise, translated into government policies. The end result is, the government is effectively rendered immobile. Whichever way it moves, it is opposed. In this context, it is interesting to reflect on how much wisdom there is to imbibe from nursery rhymes and school moral science books. Sadly though, very little of these values have a bearing on the moral judgment of adults today. We are particularly reminded of the story of the farmer and his son who go to the market with their donkey. The two of them ride the donkey and they become the object of scorn of what might be the equivalents of today’s animal rights activists. The son gets down and the father gets the scorn for being unfeeling towards his son. The father gets down and the son rides, and the son gets the scorn. Nobody rides, and both get the scorn for being fools. In the end the two decide to carry the donkey but this was more reason for them to become the laughing stock. The parallel is obvious in the case of the Manipur government. Its indecision and lack of firmness is precisely what has taken the state to its sorry present. The remedy is simple – think before acting. Take the people into confidence while arriving at major decisions which are likely to have a bearing on public life. The corporate philosophy of Lee Iaccocca, the former president of the US automobile giant, Chrysler – “listen to everybody, but take your own decision,” – is a prudent piece of guideline even on matters of governance. But for the government to be able to take its own decision and implement it, it has to have the authority, moral and physical, over the governed. In turn, this authority can come about only if the government governs. In the case of Manipur, many links in this chain are extremely weak.

Democracy empowers the hoi polloi. But this power must be harnessed and given direction by the system’s own internal mechanism. Otherwise anarchy will be inevitable. To avoid this fate, first the Assembly must deserve the mandate and respect of the people. The debates in it by the people’s representatives must reflect the will of the people, and then only its decisions can command the authority it must have over the people. What is happening before us is precisely the opposite. Assembly decisions have become subservient to the mobs outside, each pulling the cart of governance in different directions. Conflict situations also multiply.

Transparency is another important agenda in any strategy to win the people’s confidence.  There is much to be appreciated in broadcasting live the proceedings of the Assembly session, although not to all extent as we argued earlier, but it must not end here, lest the move is reduced to a gimmick. What happen in the other rooms of the Assembly must also be given the same transparency. So far, there have been too much happening behind closed doors. Hence, while the chances are the sensitive digital cameras in the Assembly hall may pick up and relay live some flatulent ministers and MLAs breaking wind, the whole truth behind many of the issues probed other than at the well of the Assembly may never become public. Some issues may not be so worthwhile as to attract the attention of the road blockader, or loud enough to frighten, and thus those at the receiving end may be left to simply lick their wounds in helpless despair. This is not only unfair but hardly likely to solve any problem in the long run. This is why we insist that the government not be too contented with how it overcomes an immediate crisis, but also look for ways to put issues behind issues to rest before saying with any measure of satisfaction that a story of conflict resolution well told is a problem well tackled as well.