Slaves Spotted

A brief impression from the invertebrate people of my hometown: If anyone wants to know why Manipur is so underdeveloped, look at the people revelling in a circus called the election of a bloody democracy 

I’d love to believe that the Manipuris are one hell of a resilient people. The current blockade by a frontal organisation of the NSCN IM has crossed a record three-figure mark but life goes on as usual—and it doesn’t matter, for one group/community  that the price of essential commodities are skyrocketing or there are shortages in medical supplies, while another group is having an epiphany of crappy ideals like those of nationalism.

Then I found this is no resilience but some other manifestations that are uniquely Manipuri. The term ‘resilience’ connotes a sense of recovery while in our case it is less about resurgence but more about exhibiting the sick mentality of a condemned society created by communities of spineless people. There is no question of recovery when we are suffering from chronic ailments.

Humans are called a political animal and other animals as simply natural for a reason but behaving like a political animal is the last thing on our minds. Let Aristotle rot in his grave for making such a gross statement that we are ‘a social creature with the power of speech and moral reasoning’.

The celebration of decadence

Look at the supporters of the representatives who usually come out of their hibernation only around election time. We simply do not see how life has been made hopeless by the indifference of our representatives. Right in front of us, the blockade is underway and countless issues—from unresolved cases of indigenous rights to armed conflicts—are making our collective life nothing less than scum. But, no. Instead we are so nonchalant that we would attend the flag hoisting ceremonies and street processions in droves with ‘slaves’ tattooed invisibly on our ugly foreheads.

Decades after decades, we have seen the parasites eating into our collective brain. Simultaneously we have also seen the lethargy of the most selfish leaders; in fact, we would even set the Assembly building on fire to air our grievances; yet, amnesia, which is perhaps caused by our own stupidity, is making us stumble at every short turn. This also reminds of the ancient civilisations which had vanished into thin air and the joke will be on us if we start talking about civilisation.

What are we supposed to do now?