The candy crash saga of Manipur

Jamminlien Lhungdim *

An empty Shamu Makhong during a 'Bandh' in November 2014 :: Pix - Shankar Khangembam

Candy Crash needs no introduction for facebookers. Many facebookers would not hesitate to waste their five lives to get to the next level. But for the rest, getting frequent requests from Candy Crash players must be the most irritating thing about facebook.

When a player lost all his five lives, request is automatically send to all his candy friends. It also send an unwanted invitation to play Candy Crash to all his facebook friends. Not just once, but morethan once in a day. Imagine how much hated it should be for those not playing the game, but getting frequent flyers to play the game from all his Candy Crasher friends.

Interpreting the game into reality, Manipur suited the best to be an example of Candy Crash. Daily newspapers would report a news about some bad things happening in the state and the very next day, a bandh would be called somewhere.

The government would put up a policy under the pretext of development in the hills, but will be vehemently opposed. Chaoba might do something stupid in an inebriated state to his family, a bandh will immediately be imposed to opposed his deeds.

For each and every action, there is a reason to call a bandh and protest the action in a way that effects the citizens of Manipur. The reaction for every action landed with a heavy punch on the innocent people (atleast for this particular action). One might have a hunch if Newton has a Manipuri connection.

My instinct tells me that for every reason a bandh is called, the sentiments of the people must be stimulated. Say, for instance, who should not feel bad about a wife being murdered by her inebriated husband? Do you think anyone should laugh and feel happy with an innocent civilians killed or hurt in a bomb blast?

Who in their good mind would applause the government for not repairing the roads in the hills? What about the NREGS fund being the diverted to a single person’s account? The bridge that collapsed, the roads that were forgotten except by the shaktiman drivers, mis-allocation of government funds, do you think anyone would be happy?

Nobody appreciates the evils that come in different avatar in our Sanaleibak. But imposing bandhs and blockades for every evil is what everyone hates. Forcefully asking someone to go back home mid-way amounts to lose of support for the cause. Have you ever imagined how a daily waged labourers would be affected by imposing bandhs?

What about the education of our childrens? The loss incurred due to bandhs and blockades is best known to us. However we cannot just abstain from it. Because it had been already so deeply rooted in our society. It is now a way of expressing our attitudes towards the government in particular and the public in general.

However reasonable be the cause, nobody supports the bandh. Do you think people stayed away from the roads in solidarity? I don’t think so.

The most probable reason must be the fear of their vehicle being stoned. Or the fear of getting into trouble with the bandh supporters. Many other different reason must exists, but definitely not because they support the bandh. Bandh is a way of torturing and harassing the general public in an attempt to attract the government’s attention.

However the public hated it, there seems to be no other way of protesting. I am not against the bandh supporters or anyone or any organisation calling a bandh, in the past, present or in the days to come. Things would have been much better if we resort to some other forms of protesting peacefully rather than the present system of protest.

Here comes the candy crash saga. It doesn’t matter how irritating our protest is for the others if it satisfies our own needs. It doesn’t matter how those affected by our protest gets hit, we don’t seem to bother to look around and at least consider how our interests affects the others.

At least here, unlike candy crash, those who hates bandhs and strikes very much also becomes bandh supporters when they have their own reasons to attract the government attention.