Is this the future folks want for their kids ? Gun shots and exams
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 07, 2023 -

Life has to go on however volatile the situation may be and it was on this plane that thousands of young candidates proceeded towards their respective examination centre for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test examination conducted by the National Testing Agency on June 6.

To the keen observers, the sense of tragedy that was palpable in the eyes and faces of the anxious parents to drop their children at the centres would not have gone missing, for among the thousands who appeared for the exam were young students coming from far away places such as Ukhrul, Chandel and Senapati.

NEET Exam accompanied by the descriptive words such as Tangkhul Naga from Ukhrul or Poumai Naga from Senapati, or Zeliangrong Naga from Chandel/ Tamenglong etc were the words that one could see pasted on the cars or any other vehicle that came to drop their child or ward at the centre to sit for the exam that may open the door for the young students to be referred to as Doctor, five or six years down the line.

What was missing were the stickers with the words, NEET exam along with the descriptive words such as Kuki or Paite or Hmar from Churachandpur or Kangpokpi.

In a way heart breaking it was and what is more, statistics say that out of the 8751 candidates from Manipur who applied for NEET, 1914 candidates opted for a change in examination centre.

This is a brief story of the tragedy that has been scripted on the soil of Manipur and the world still has not produced an erasure to rub out the horror, sense of loss and the deep distrust that has developed between the two communities which are at war.

A war in which there will be no winner.

So even as thousands of young students, who had toiled for months and even years to prepare for NEET sat for one of the most competitive examinations, an equal number of anxious parents braved the hot sun and the on and off downpour waiting for their children outside the examination centres spread across Imphal.

Wait not because they have the time to spare, but wait they had to, taking into consideration the reality that anything could erupt any moment, a reality that has been the norm ever since Manipur went up in flames in the evening of May 3.

Apparent that this is the ground for the children that has been prepared by the so called adults of society, adults who are otherwise deemed to be the guardians and there can be nothing more tragic than this.

In short it was amid 'war' that thousands of young students had to take their exam so that the successful ones can go on to become life savers of mankind when they don the whites after 5/6 years.

As Union Home Minister Amit Shah said some time back, it will take time for normalcy to return and it is more than obvious that some elements are determined to make this prediction come true.

Even as the young candidates were sitting inside the examination hall and attempting the questions set by the NTA, came the information that one more BSF jawan had been killed and two Assam Rifles men were injured in yet another case of gunmen training their guns on their perceived 'enemy'.

Reports of stand offs at different places at the foothills of the State continue to pour in and this is where all right thinking citizens should question how the gun wielding desperadoes never seem to run out of ammunition.

Forget where they got the guns from, where did the ammunition come from ? These are basic questions which should be natural follow ups.

A point which should not miss the eyes and ears of the Judicial inquiry team which has already been named.

No easy answer on how the present conflict can and should be resolved, but it stands that for normalcy and peace to return, the process should start from amongst the people and for this to happen such an effort should sincerely come from the people without being pushed or dictated by the elements standing behind.