Kukis in after 60 years of India's independence

Joel Mangboi Haokip *

It was the night of August 15, 1947. As the drums rolled and the conches blew the midnight hour in, the world slept peacefully through and awoke to a new day, a new beginning, a new tomorrow. But in the dark hours that had gone past, voices that were resounding God's glory had been overflowing with peace, serenity and contentment of heart as India proclaimed its independence from the British clutches.

India awoke to a new life after a slumber of ages. It marked the end of colonialism, which had engulfed much of the globe. On 15th august, 2008 India will be celebrating 62nd year of its independence.

If we look at the performance of India during the last 61 years, we find a sea change how the country has become a global player. It is a fact that in the last six decades since India attained independence no other country has captured the imagination of the world and dominated the conversation as India.

The country, especially in the last two decades has come out of the global scene as the second fastest growing nation in the world next only to china with an above eight percent growth rate in its economy. And the way it is projecting above eight percent growth rate is possible by the end of 2008.

It is estimated that in the decade to come India's economy will be larger than Italy, in 15 years it will overtake the United Kingdom. By 2040, it will be the world third largest economy. And by 2050, keeping the present trend of growth it will be five times the size of Japan's and its per capita income will rise to 35 times its current level.

While India is leveling ahead to overtake others developed countries in a few years to come, the condition of Kukis is still bleak. As far as Kukis are concerned, there are little or no changes to be seen economically despite the fact that India's economic is booming.

During one of my traveling into the interior part of churachandpur district in 2007, I was in deep pain to see the precarious living condition of the poverty-stricken villages. Not to talk about the broad or black topped road, there was even no proper road connection between each village. The small dilapidated lanes each of leading to another village were of nightmarish experience.

One has to trudge the entire sandy and mud-spattered narrow lane to reach the other village. As I cross each villages one after another, it was a startling moment to witness no schools or children's going to schools. All I would find was everyone, whether young or old alike, doing a harsh job of manual work.

Children even as young as 5 years old would help their parents by accumulating firewood or working on the field. These were all one would observe in this remote area when the government intensified its campaign for compulsory education to every children up to the age of 14.

There is no electricity connection and no lawn or playing field. It looks as the entire region is totally disconnected from the other world. Looking at their faces, one can easily figure out the dark and gloomy outlook written on their face. Their facial expressions reflect all of their grimace situations.

As I reached the village where I was supposed to visit at around 7 pm, I was made to camp in a hut cover with old thatch roof. The hut is so sparse that when it rains, there would be no spot in the ceiling that will not leak.

As I enter the door, there was a small child preparing the meal as their parents were yet to arrive from their jhumming field. There was no electricity in the house except a dimly lit traditional lamp. The little girl, after finishing her household chores turns to the floor mat to study under the dimly lit lamp.

She was the only one whom her father affords her schooling among five siblings in the family. The nearest school from this village where she studied is 10kms. She used to undauntedly trudge all the ways to her school alone daily. "During rainy season the road to my school is terribly slushy and the gorge on my way used to flood but I don't want to miss my classes due to this" said the little girl diffidently.

She continues that, "I want to become an officer someday and brings proud to my family. I'm poor at mathematics but no one to teach me in this village. Can you please teach me U-U (a courtesy address to an elder)??" Her willingness to excel and her grit and determination to carry on her studies despite the odds have truly astounds me.

After spending a brief time with a little girl, I had a short exclusive chats with her father. While enquiring about the various developmental issues related to this village, he persistently narrates his part and the long neglected stories of his village as following:

"Our village has been neglected by any of the politicians and other concerned authorities who promise us during election but nothing to be done. They were only after our votes and even when any funds meant for the village is disbursed, it never reach us and it diverted into the pockets of corrupt officials. See who cares for us? Even the scheme or fund meant for the poor use to siphon off unflinchingly.

We are poor and illiterate and mainly make our ends meet through selling charcoal and from the meager produces from our field. Even we couldn't afford to purchase the seeds and fertilizers for the field and mostly we depend on forest produces. But this day, there hardly is any forest produce to make ends meet. Almost all the trees were deliberately cut down for charcoal and for jhumming cultivation and now most of the land becomes barren due to excessive deforestation.

What to do now? Where would we get money to afford our children's education when we couldn't make two square meals a day? Sometimes we didn't get anything to eat and have to work even on Sunday. A day rest means a day without food. We need our children to help us in earning for our livelihood.

Everyday we have to trudged all through 20kms long to Lamka town to sell our items and buy household needs. Our hands and legs are bleeding and blister all over the body but who cares for us? There are no medical facilities available around and we have to go to the town for any treatment. Are we a second class citizen? Who will save our soul? Let God decides our fate...."

This is still the condition of the remote villages in Manipur and according to the estimated data; there are two-third of Kukis still living in below poverty line. Even the prosperous town like Lamka is no exception. We can find people gripped with poverty ranging from daily bread-winner like charcoal sellers, pavement hawkers, beggar, children subjected to labor work, daily wagers and continuous load shedding etc. All these have haunted the Kukis till today when India is venturing a step ahead to nuclear deal and despite its economic booming.

To fight against poverty is a great challenges and it is time to eradicate poverty at every strata of our society. Poverty is a complex multidimensional problem. It is far more than an economic condition.

Though traditionally measured in terms of income, poverty embraces a whole range of circumstances including lack of access to information and to basic services such as minimum nutritionally adequate diet, primary health care and education; lack of control over resources; subordination to higher social and economic classes, loss of cultural identity; distinction of tradition ways and knowledge; and better insecurity in the face of changing circumstances. Poor people become marginalized and suffer from exploitation and the loss of human dignity. No one solution will apply nationally or globally; regional-specific programmes are crucial.

Child labour cannot be totally eradicated unless it is supplemented by comprehensive socio-economic programmes and educational uplift of the under privileged sections of the society and a total change in the attitude of the society towards child labour. In short, the general improvement in socio-economic conditions of people will result in gradual elimination of child labour.

Unless proper steps are taken to ensure a proper and just distribution of the fruits of economic progress, there is bound to be conflict and violence in society. History is witness to the fact that all wars and revolutions the world over are linked to economic causes-be it the European war for colonies, the second world war, the French revolution, the Marxist revolution or the more recent gulf war.

Closer home too, Naxalism, trade union unrest, caste wars, the tensions in Punjab and north-east and the growing crime rates are all linked the lack of distributive justice and the fact of economic deprivation. Economic growth on its own does ensure prosperity and peace to a limited extend.

But without a just distribution, conflicts are bound to arise sooner or later as one class of people feels exploit by the other. In his addressing in Delhi in 1947, Jawarharlal Nehru had said, "Distribution will not look after itself if there is no proper distribution, no proper social justice; there will be conflicts on an enormous scale."