Connectivity and its narratives vis a vis Manipur
- Part 1 -

Chitra Ahanthem *

The dirt track road branching from the main road towards Kangathei, leading to Mary Kom's house

When work takes me to places beyond my home state Manipur, the remoteness of the region I come from is what strikes me the most. With the state yet to be on the country's rail network, the only cities that are well connected to Manipur by flight on a daily basis happen to be Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati and travel to any other city or place would mean taking additional flights or over-night stays before the final destination.

And yet, every time I walk through the Tulihal airport in Imphal, I am struck with how things have changed a bit and for the better for there was a time when flights out of Imphal were not on a daily, but weekly basis and with only two airlines operating flights at the most. Now of course, there are multiple airlines operating in the entire region making lives easier and taking thousands of young people to cities and towns across the country and abroad, in search of a better future, an education or a job, mirroring the aspirations of countless other people across the country seeking better opportunities in bigger towns, cities and metros.

Also, the law and order situation in the region impacting the academic atmosphere and the lack of major private sectors creating spaces for job openings, contributes to more and more people seeking their sights beyond. This would explain the presence of faces from the region in cities and towns across the country cutting across different service sectors.

A promotional advertisement of the popular quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) in its latest Season, while making a point of the disconnect between the north east region and the rest of the country would have one believe that people from the region work mostly as cooks and security guards, but the reality is that people from the region are making their presence felt in various fields ranging from hospitality to beauty and wellness, BPOs to the IT sector.

Ashok Phairembam based in Delhi as a Telecom Industry Consultant with IBM is one such individual who set out from Moirang, a small town in Manipur to study after his 10th Board examinations. Recalling his journey over a flurry of E- mails, Ashok writes how his education in a private school gave him a grasp over the English language but how his small town life left him unprepared in his interactions with his peers at an International residential school in Chennai.

"I was intimidated seeing their confident nature and I had no clue when they spoke of the internet or about E-mails! My friends made fun of every word I uttered but instead of taking it as an offense, I took the criticism positively and aimed for excellence. But even today, young people living in towns and villages have no exposure to the internet or the bigger world around them."

Ashok's hometown Moirang, situated 45 km south from the state capital Imphal, is interestingly intertwined with the history of India's freedom struggle though it is a narrative that has not been acknowledged in the manner that it should be: it is where the then Indian tri-color flag with the emblem of the Indian National Army (INA) was raised after British forces were driven off by the INA and the Japanese Imperial forces during the Second World War.

5 time boxing World champion and Olympic Bronze medalist Mary Kom, arguably the most well known name and face from the North Eastern region has a Moirang connection as well. It is where she did part of her schooling, running the distance from her village Kangathei to her school. Tracing the distance between Mary Kom's modest parental home till the school in a hired vehicle, one cannot help but notice that the only signs of movement on the narrow track that exists in the name of a road does not see much vehicular movement.

Only a few shared passenger autos and some people riding bicycles dot the landscape that is otherwise deserted. The boxer not only traversed the long winding road on foot between her home and school, at times carrying her younger brother on her back but would later cycle early morning all the way to Imphal for her boxing practice at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) premises.

At Mary Kom's house, I find her youngest brother Khupreng Kom (23) cleaning up farming implements. He tells me that he is taking a break from his studies at Moirang College and is satisfied with the pace of life he is leading. "I have a wife and a son and studies are the least of my concern right now. But I will make sure that my son is well educated when he grows up," he says softly. When I ask him where his wife delivered their son, he is surprised that I missed the 'obvious': that Kangathei does not have a working Primary Health Centre. "We hired a vehicle and went to the district hospital," he adds.

In the towns and villages of Manipur, a 'good education' is what most people aspire for as it then becomes the foundation of a job. Mary Kom had her sports achievements taking her to new heights and is an oft-repeated case with other people in the state who take up various sports disciplines as a means to get the security of a Government job or professional engagements elsewhere in the country. 20 yr old Phairembam Bidyachand who scaled Mt Everest as part of an NCC (National Cadet Corps) Expedition team in May 2013 agrees that excellence in sports or education is what will take people ahead in life.

"In my case, I would have been far better off if I had a higher educational qualification," he says referring to the announcement of a Government job in the Education Department of the Manipur Government. Currently studying in Moirang College, Bidyachand is yet to complete his Graduation, a degree that will ensure him a better job profile and better pay. Pointing around his college, Bidyachand tells me that the first choice of people who have the financial resources that he and others like him do not have, is to go to a private convent school and then opt for higher education outside the state.

"Those who do not have enough money or contacts will end up going to Imphal to study and the ones who do not have any other means study here at this college", he says recalling how the death of his father left his family shattered. Bidyachand's other siblings all dropped out of their studies before reaching High school while he was able to continue further with the support of a relative.

Entering the college premises earlier, I had seen a few students milling around chatting away till a teaching staff co-ordinated classes for them and asked the students to stay in their class-rooms. Moirangthem Jugindro, Associate Professor (History) informs me, "This college gave IAS officers and former Ministers in its hey day but Government apathy and the charm of better colleges in Imphal means it's the last choice". He adds that the college gives a strong impetus on NCC activities and career counseling as most students end up taking up sports disciplines or as security guards and in the lower rungs of the defense service at the state or central level.

Before wrapping up my time in Moirang, I called upon Sophia Laishom (28) who studied with Mary Kom. She adds the gender perspective to the narratives that has emerged out of this sleepy little town. "I did my Graduation studies at Himachal Pradesh University and later my Masters degree in Delhi, following which I took up various projects as a Junior Research Fellow," Sophia explains, adding that she had to come back on account of an illness in the family.

"I was supposed to stay here for only a few months but it just got difficult for me to get out of here," she adds. Sophia is now married and accepts that she will never be able to continue her aspiration of completing her Phd. "I have my house-hold responsibilities in between my teaching job and do not have enough time to stay in touch with my friends now," she adds ruefully, pointing out that before marriage she was able to stay in touch with her friends and colleagues from her time in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.

To be continued...

* Footnote: The Marathi version of this story has been carried by the Lokmat magazine earlier.