Side-effect of free salary
Enjoying is good, but requires care

Dr. Gunadhor S Okram *

Someone never ever gets attracted by the eye-catching and probably mouth-watering pomegranate in the markets of Delhi or Mumbai sometimes initially for at least seven years since he gets exposed there as he was repulsive with the highly citric nature of this fruit grown in Manipur. Similar is the case for Manipur apple as well in terms of its taste; compare it with the ones commonly known such as Kashmir apple. The first incidence reminds someone as how much he is hateful of eating it as he tasted first compared with that of Manipur. But he was shocked to know that these Delhi pomegranates are marvelously tasty compared to those in Manipur. Now the questions come: so what?

The reasons are that as Manipuris eat such fruits or food items like this, are their style of thinking and actions directly related to something peculiar to ours? Say, they are so casual, idle, proud and habitual in blaming others and want to get everything without doing anything. All these itself is corruption. Everybody thinks that he is great and should compete anything for no reason. However, when it comes to reasons, there are no takers. They blame the system. However, what is system?

Let us consider this. Casual: Once upon a time, a cow ate the well-protected attractive pea plants as its cow-boy did not take care of it. The cow-boy did not care of it because his lunch was not ready as a consequence of the firewood to cook the meal got wet and unburnable. The firewood was wet because of the rain due to the frog singing loud to cause rain as it is its breeding season.

Idle and proud: Once a frog was blowing so much so that he got bursted to death to compete with a bull visiting his colonial canal to quench his thirst even when everyone of his friend and relative ran away to save their lives and the bull even did not notice that the proud frog was showing his strength to the bull.

Habitual in blaming others and want to get everything without doing anything: In a religious event, the members decided to contribute milk without necessarily displaying to a caretaker as to how much he has to offer for the festival. When the supposed to be milk was taken out, only water was found, as everybody was thinking that somebody or the other would pour milk. So, why not he poured water instead then? But everybody was right; they pour water only, not milk.

Are these attitudes related to our content of food, say in apple? Let us take the case for employees in general and teachers in particular. Is it then justified to a day’s approximate salary of Rs 500 to 5000 without doing (almost) anything. So what? In 1974, when someone, through his brother, attempted to take a transfer certificate from a nearby high school after sixth standard, every teacher looked to be against this even when the teachers ignore to the request/ complaint of the students for a regular class even though the latter wrote this on a blackboard very big letters so that the teachers can see what was written from a distance of 70 meters whereat they were taking comfort of the winter sunlight carelessly laughing and gossiping. Whatsoever, he took transfer with a bunch of curses.

What happened then? This supposed to be once a fledging high school of the locality is only building now (forty years later) with all the supposed to be honorable teachers and other staffs clubbed together with such other (girl’s) high school with their number of students less than half of the strength of the teachers together. This situation is now a rule, not an exception, in Manipur today, provided in particular if it is a government lower primary/ high/ higher secondary school. That is, a school in Manipur has a life expectancy of fifty years! Why should one so worry about this?

The reason is that it is cancerous phenomenon. It seems, as experts opine, everybody has got cancer cell. However, it is unable to detect when the number of such cells are less in number, which occurs in healthy people whose immune system can prevent the cancer cells from raising its number. This is why, physicians advised, cancer is curable if treated at early stage. The point in this context is that the problem Manipur is facing today could perhaps be diagnosed as a bit late stage of cancer patient for which survival chance is very/ quite poor. However, for a person, his relatives feel never disappointed as they are so worried and consequently ready for using all their resources to pump in for its treatment and set the life further to normal one as far as or if possible.

What is the problem? The problem now is that these cancer cells of dying schools have already been crossed over to colleges with the fact that arguably only DM College and Imphal college are fledging almost as usual as the brand name goes on while all the remaining tens of colleges are already showing the sign of dying, whereat no student in general is ready to attend classes but not stopping from appearing and passing exams.

What will these students know or do even if they are passed as usual (without knowledge)? While university(s) in Manipur might survive for sometime due particularly to the students from these colleges but how long and hence university(s) also ought to disappear. What will happen with these kinds of situations? Will it not be a right time for every Manipuri to think seriously to stop this menace and save Manipur from further decay?

Else, how long should we continue to do this, in 21st century, to unintentionally converting our state to the same state as that of pre-1885 at which our first (Johnstone (higher secondary)) school was established? Otherwise, should the modern Englishmen be invited again to rejuvenate our institutions? Sizable number of Manipuri employees, inside and outside the state, and all who eat/ started with eating Manipuri foods may not agree this proposal. Then, it is never late to start any good thing.

It seems therefore imperative that all teachers from lower primary schools to university level and all to find out a solution so that our education becomes better as we go by and accordingly create a harmonious society with realization through proper education and value of life. Outside education (at the cost of about Rs 500 crore annually), if it is, is just selling cheap our pride sports and culture earned while our domestic expenditure on it and administration (from central government?) is (almost) going as a waste!