Towards sustainable self-reliance
- Imphal Times Editorial :: March 28 2017 -

The unmitigated fixation of the public over the ‘Framework Agreement’ or rather its contents has been hogging the limelight as well as the collective imagination of the people of the state.

While the resulting aura of secrecy and imagined indignation is understandable, it is time to move on and make pragmatic decisions that should influence and steer the future of the state towards positive development and tangible progress.

Just a week after the 139-days long economic siege over the state by the UNC, things are back to square one and from the looks of it, the abject difficulties and hardships which was forced upon have already began to fade from the public memory.

The undying optimism of the people can be applauded, but such an outlook, if not given a reality check, could very well overlook the ground reality and be made to repent later for opportunities missed and precautions ignored.

At the core of every struggle or confrontation, besides the issues of right versus wrong which by itself is relative and subject to arbitration, there always is an underlying economic aspect.

When the ideological mask has been pulled off and all bets are off, the economics of any conflict will rear its ugly head with unfailing certainty, and it is for us to read the signs and weight the efforts and the outcome.

There never has been an exception to the situations faced in the state thus far. If anything, the present condition of the state is more a manifestation of the failure to read the signs and take up corrective measures accordingly.

The latest 139-days of trials and tribulations should serve as the best reminder of the need to mobilize the people towards self-reliance and develop a work-oriented culture that could prove to be the difference between survival and doom for the state as a separate and distinct entity.

Ignoring the fact will be to our own disadvantage, and seeking handouts from the centre for every minor governmental hiccups have reduced the state to a mere statistical entity.

Till date, no public development schemes and projects have really taken off or are exactly benefitting the poor and the needy as intended.

The abject lack of sustainability or practicality of such schemes and efforts has raised more questions than they endeavor to answer.

The real truth?- accountability and integrity in implementation, or more precisely the lack thereof.

Having gone through the incessant turmoil and turbulence of social and communal tensions and conflicts, the people of the state have reason to believe that the new Biren-led regime would take away precious lessons from the failures and shortcomings from the previous government and use them to turn things around for the better.

Until the state becomes economically developed and self reliant with the various defunct production units and opportunities being utilized, we could not hope for real change.

A radical approach towards inclusive development needs to be drawn up and implemented in right earnest to negate all and every disturbances both from within and without.

The present calm may very well prove to be the one before the storm.