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| Vote for nobody? |
Calcutta, Jan. 27: The stage is set in the 60 constituencies of Manipur for another celebration of the largest democracy in the world. The mikes, the leaflets and every other medium known has been used by parties in the fray to make their promises for Assembly election 2012 reach the people.
Several thousand Manipuris, though, have moved too far away. They are those who for years had hoped for a better future, for employment, for a life without fear and then left home to become a part of the diaspora. The election does not matter to them anymore and to go back to vote is out of the question.
Chongtham Gunnamani, a research scholar in JNU and an adviser to the Manipur Students’ Association Delhi — which is the largest association of Manipuri diaspora in the country — sketches a picture of indifference.
“In cultural programmes, we have had an attendance of over 4,000 people but when it comes to discussion or activity on some social issue the number comes down to a few hundred. To discuss elections I think you can hardly find anyone. To go home to vote is out of the question,” he said.
Gunnamani attributes the disinterest to decades of false promises by the parties in Manipur, coupled with a sense of freedom and diversions that the goodies of free market economy in the metropolitan cities of the country.
“It is not that the people here do not feel for what is happening back home. Almost every Manipuri is opposed to the Armed Forces (special powers) Act. We have relatives back home whom we are concerned about. However, it’s just that the promises of the parties do not mean anything to us. Moreover, when people move from a land where life is cheap to a world where every luxury of the world is awaiting your consumption, a diversion is obvious,” he added.
For Bimolchandra, a 34-year-old auto driver, the journey from Thoubal to Mumbai has not been one from adversity to luxury. With great difficulty he has managed to pick up Hindi and manages to make a living. For the promises blaring from microphones in Imphal now, he has deep set mistrust and anger.
“What will happen if I go and vote? I have barely enough to make ends meet. I have not seen my family for a long time and do not even have enough money to go and meet them. So I just don’t bother to listen to the blaring lies. I want to build a home here,” he said.
Thongam Bipin, the cultural coordinator of the Hyderabad Manipuri Society, puts the anger into perspective.
“Things that are unacceptable in a modern society are a norm in Manipur. We have a law like AFSPA in our state which makes us live in a state of terror. When I came to study outside Manipur, I was scared of soldiers or police. Later, I realised that my fear was pointless here. Such a stark contrast in the same country makes us angry. Unfortunately, our anger is strong enough to disturb us but not enough to stop the vicious cycle our state is in,” he said.
Elections, the tool of social change for the naive, do not provide any hope to him either.
“The issues in Manipur are too complex and it cannot be sorted by just voting for the Congress or the party that next comes to power. The demand for an autonomous district council in Sadar Hills has led to major economic blockades over the years choking life in the state but no party can take a clear stand on this issue caught between loss of votes in the 20 hill seats or losing base in the plains. The parties also treat the army act in carefully worded speeches, which in a nutshell don’t mean anything,” Bipin said.
But hope, as they say, springs eternal.
Kalpana Laishram, 28, from Imphal West who works as an IT professional in Bangalore, is not too enthusiastic about the electoral promises either. But on dreaming for a better tomorrow for her land she picks no medium.
“Home is after all home, I miss my friends and hangouts. I would support any government which can actually make it a better place,” she said.
And yet, home beckons them too.
“Every time I call her my mother asks me to come and work from home. I wish one day there are jobs in Manipur and I can tell my mother I am coming home,” said Bipin, who is pursuing PhD in Hyderabad University.
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