An epitome of statesmanship : Our present Government

Rojendrakar Nongthomba *

Some time back some people have claimed that Manipur is replete with complex socio-politico problems and if not controlled in time then this wonderful creative race called Manipuris will disappear from the surface of the earth forever. I wonder how some people could think to this extent. Are the problems that Manipur have witnessed, especially in recent times, myriad enough to exterminate this intelligent and creative tribe? I do not think such enormous and myriad problems have taken place in Manipur. Rather to me all the problems seem to be quite normal and similar structurally. In social relationships of all kinds problems are bound to crop up and we are helpless about it! It is true that some amount of socio-political conflicts has been taking place in Manipur and this has produced some good results rather than bad ones. I guess in the absence of these problems our people would have not become more intelligent and conscious about their rights.

Thus, problems cannot be looked at cynically all the time. Moreover we cannot even imagine a society without problems. Only when the problems are out of hand and when the State or the society exhausts all its energy in overcoming the problems at hand one can argue that problems are impediments to the development/progress of the society. Until this stage is reached problems are in fact indispensable engines for pushing a society to move forward. I feel that so many social organizations and intellectuals and cultural practices would have not appeared on the soils of the State had so called problems not happened. It is also to be remembered that there will not be any society where every member fully conforms to the norms and established laws of the State. Having said so, it is also wrong on the part of the authorities if they shirk their responsibilities of solving problems that are being faced by the people.

Riding on the high sounding idea of 'no absolute wrongs' in the social life some individuals or groups use their own peculiar discourses and through them they try to rationalize their actions even though these people know very well that such actions would hurt or affect other people's lives. Whatever be the context in which they situate their actions and justify their actions my strong contention is that no human actions should be at the expense of the 'common good' of the State. Fortunately, the present government of this democratic State has been really capitalizing on the opportunities thrown by the various problems that inflict our State and trying to improve its performances and serve the people better each day that pass by. It knows well that there are in-built solutions in every problem/s and tries to ferret out the solutions tirelessly rather than wasting time and energy on playing blame or 'passing the buck' games.

Humans are emotional so are the participating members of the government. But despite of many practical difficulties the leadership of this government, in many earlier occasions, had tackled many sensitive socio-political issues/problems satisfactorily. We have seen that the leadership of this government has never jumped into any hasty or irresponsible decisions. It never allows itself to be swept away or carried away by the quixotic emotional outbursts of other non-state stakeholders. Instead the government tries to find or has found out solutions which are based on legal-rational principles, and are acceptable to all the parties. It steadfastly sticks to the moral and legitimate principle of democratic governance believing that the government is not for gratifying particular groups at the cost of welfare of some other. Some may fret and fume about the existing State of affairs and fire barrage of diatribes inexorably against the handling of certain socio-political problems and the way the development programmes are being undertaken. But my logical question is how many of them have seen any better government than the earlier two coalition governments under the present leadership. I know that I may not be politically correct to say this but I am saying this without any political leanings to any parties.

At the development front I do not see any inadequacy in the policies and programmes being pursued by the government. So, let us learn to call a spade a spade and appreciate the hard works put in by the government. I also do not find any inadequacy or serious shortcomings in the measures contemplated or taken up by the leadership to address many of the gnawing socio-political problems that our society faces today. It is important for us to remember that many of the socio-political problems we witness today do not come into existence in a day. This means that we cannot afford to have quick fix solutions. Rather we need to find out the lasting solutions. This fact, it seems, is very much known to the leadership of the government. Democratic government is a body of leaders (peoples' representatives). For its all sorts of action it is answerable to the people. And as we all know that in any democratic set up the people are sovereign and in the regularly held elections people can deny their elected leaders a chance to become their representatives again if they feel that he or she does not live up to their expectations.

Apparently the present leaders of the government know these democratic processes/values quite well and have outperformed their predecessors in their duties of serving the people of State. Here, I do not intend to extol any particular leader of the present government selectively but cannot help eulogizing the present Chief Minister for his political acumen and statesmanship. Under his leadership and guidance the present government has pulled off unprecedented developmental activities and is, relentlessly, endeavouring to lift the State to the status of one of the most developed States in the country. Take my hats off to the honourable Chief Minister of the State. Like any other leader he may also be fallible. But one may not be doing any justice on one's part if he or she is hell bent on critiquing his shortfalls unmindful of or forgetting about all the invaluable services that he has rendered so far inspite of the various constraints/limitations that he confronts with while governing this complex multi-ethnic society with their divergent vested interests. It can also be sensed that he is very much familiar with the concept of 'micro power politics'.

As this element is present in all spheres of politics, this may not be less prominent among the elected actors within and without the government. And to my observation and belief he is well aware of the fact that until and unless the differences that arise out of the power politics at the micro level (i.e. among his elected colleagues of his party or otherwise) are resolved first no solutions could be found out to the problems at the macro level (of State level). He has dealt with all the problems that exists at the governmental level successfully and is able to steer the last two coalition governments for two complete terms. Being a seasoned statesman rising above the petty politics he shepherds the transition of the State towards the pinnacle of development. His mind boggling personal charisma and aura reach far beyond the boundaries of the State. His many bold decisions against the odds and his 'never-buckle-under pressure-tactics' quality least bothering about such actions may make more political foes than friends endear himself to the thousands of citizens of the state. He is a 'cult figure' in the hearts of many of his admirers in the state.

Whether one accepts or not it is a fact that there are mainly two classes of people–one that rules and the other that is ruled. The first class, even though few in numbers, performs the political functions and exercises its authority over the numerous second class. But in democracy the door to ruling class is open to everyone. The first class is the representative of the second class and has the mandate of the second class to look after the welfare of the masses. And our honourable chief minister is well aware of the fact that in democracy there is no place for those power elites (people's representatives) who try to monopolize the power and the state machineries to their own personal aggrandizement. He makes his colleagues realize that in democracy none of them could remain in power if they do not go in tandem with aspirations of the people. That is the one obvious reason why the present ruling party could win a thumping majority in the last general election and form a government in its own.

We humans are different from other animals because we are blessed with so many faculties and capabilities to deal with problems. Problems may be basically categorized into two –1) that arises out of humans' actions (cultural, social, political, economic, environmental etc). 2) that arises out of natural activities and realms which are totally out of the control of the humans. As mentioned above, problems are bound to be there and by nature not all the humans would be into the problems to find out solutions. Heroes are those extraordinary humans who fight not only the evils but also who always try to solve the problems or hardships that people face. And to me our present honourable Chief Minister is a hero. The leadership of the present government had shown in earlier occasions that it believed in the 'virtues of adversity”. It knows well that if it could not meet the adversities (challenges) with responsible responses it shall perish.

Therefore the leadership of the present government has, time and time again, shown the grit, sagacity, skills and other bold decisions as responses to deal with the situations or challenges (socio-political problems that arise from time to time) which rear its ugly head just like phoenix rising from the ashes. In earlier occasions the government might have faced some difficulties as to how to deal with such situations. It must have really racked its head over the solutions. But as time passes by it is able to have explored really well thought out responsible responses to deal with all the challenges. (I am not citing any particular example of challenges as we have seen galore). Extraordinary people are those who face the challenges and adversities with extraordinary ingenuity and with the only available resources boldly rather than meekly surrender.

The last two governments, under the able and extraordinary leadership of the honourable chief minister, have met with all the challenges (all the turbulent phases) daringly and fearlessly and on every occasion it came out victorious and triumphant. The main reason of the success of the leadership of this government, I believe, is that it has faith in the core values of democracy and always capitalizes on the 'virtues of adversities'. Our present government is an epitome of statesmanship and democratic values. At the end I have to confess that this small write-up is not an insider's comment on the workings of the government. It is just a common man's observation. And we look forward to more people-welfare-oriented policies and programmes in the future.