My open letter to the politicians of Manipur
- Part 3 -

Shanta Nahakpam *

The sarcasm of being a politician in Manipur is that we all know you have been lying since you step foot in politics but we are still with you since we are trapped for our daily bread and butter at your sympathy. You would say democracy gives the liberty to choose your leader why look at me look for someone better if you think so. Again the common man does not have an option because you don't give them the chance to rule them self.

Let us look at the earning source of the people of Manipur, more than 70% of the earning comes from Government salary, you try to create as much as job as you can through vacancies in the Government Departments but you never look at the earning of these departments or say the performance of such departments. I would like you to know that we understand the pleasure of inaugurating a multispecialty hospital or a school and also the pleasure and pride of sitting in a function with successful business personalities from the state.

But how do you explain the many words you speak while in any function that such kind of schools and facilities are needed in the state aren't you harnessing the hard work of some entrepreneur and instead of learning from him you simply say that we need more of this and leave the stage and never give more of such things to come up until and until someone puts his or her hard work and invites you for the very inauguration or the foundation day. I would say you don't play any role in the development of the common man as far as I know you only take the credit of the common mans achievement.

As some of you (Politicians) would argue that you are not amongst the people you calculate to be, you would claim to be honest enough for the common man to trust you for the future of the State and that you have sacrificed your carrier to serve the people of the state be it of any community.

I would again want you to understand that the so called democratic process of election involves a large amount of power, black/white money to get elected. To the common man it is impossible that they elect a representative of their choice since more than 70% of the earning of the people is dependent on Salary and Govt funds. They are not able to fund elections and promote leader of their choice.

Small entrepreneur like me do not play any role in choosing our elected representative we as a common man only vote in sympathy of our friends who ask us to help in the process and progress of their liked ones. Another issue I would like you to understand is that since you have not done anything for the common man in the state the state is being run by the donations done by the Union Govt of India and 70% of the earning population belongs to your party (The Govt Employee) it makes it easier for you to cross any issue since maximum of the population do not protest at all for any grievances. I wonder why the people of the State Manipur do not protest when the prices of essential commodities are soaring high and why we do not protest the many unreasonable bund and blockade which are not related to us at any point of time.

This is the time I realised most of the people get benefit of Bund and Blockade without any labour for instance a Govt employee will get his salary without attending office even though he gets it late, an officer's D A and T A will still be released even if he never went in field etc,

On the other side none of the Government employee will participate in any of the issues even if it is genuine as they fear you would take action with them for their disloyalty(as per your understanding). As in the case of common man the whole earning process is hampered and we are again left to the unorganised money launders for our bread and butter. To repay them we have to work EXTRA shift and once we repay them another bund and blockade is ready to test our limit of hard work. This way the rich is getting richer and the common man remains in his little world.

Again you don't have the solution for such problem I even doubt you ever tried to understand what is the future of the students who are studying in other states and cities? Did you ever think of what do you offer when they return home with the knowledge they have earned. In your campaign never ever have you mentioned how you plan to bring back the major human resource which is being utilized by different states that belong to your state? But you still give us a dream that you will create jobs from whose earning the people can send their children to better schools and colleges outside the state.

It seems you do not wish to have a plan layout which will attract the very smart and intelligent population of human resource to come back to their home state and help in improving the economy of the common man. I know while reading this letter you must be thinking that much of the ideas and thoughts are a truth and you would like to plan as soon as you get elected but I also know that you will do nothing after you get elected. To conclude with us as a common man who do not have much help and contacts. We need to have a mechanism as to understand the importance of a leader who will represent us who will at least put points related to the common people and how they can get developed.

To do so we need to participate in the process of choosing a leader for that we have to finance these elections which are not an easy task.

I would conclude by putting up that there is a need for MSME and various entrepreneurs to start financing elections at various levels so that we can change the politicians/Government when they are not performing as per their promise. Today's election is being financed by the many under the table funds received by high profile Govt employee and the funds coming from New Delhi.

Since we are just voting it is not bringing any change we want in our society. To be very precise we are not able to influence any of the decisions made by our government at any level. Except that we use the mechanism of Bund and Blockade as the tool for our interest.

It is the call of time that we should team up and utilize our skills and knowledge at least to out-throw the politicians who do not work in the interest of the people. I do not know if I have made the point in this letter and you would be reading this letter but I feel I have expressed my concern over the issues we face today and what we want our politicians to understand. I also hope after reading this letter you will at least try to formulate a vision in yourself as to how these issues impact the common man which you are not bearing in mind.

The time is for our parents to realise the importance of small business and the significance of our politicians to create small business sectors are equally important in nature. Our politicians should have a look at the study of major business stake in the state today and many of the business are not controlled by local people which are also a major reason for prise rise. The unregulated form of finance which we look at for help in various jobs is the reason for the gap we have today with the earnings and the savings.

I just wish you to read this letter of mine and at least try to streamline the issues we have today and present us with a vision as to how you will create job without trapping us into the net of non regulated jobs and money launders? How you intend to improve the regular earnings of various small scale businesses by making Manipur Bund and Blockade free?

How you intend to punish those engaged in corruption which is actually financing your political carrier? I look forward to a reply to all my questions until than I have decided not participate in any political party's campaign and also not vote for any candidate.

Concluded