Opinion Piece
Rule of law collapses in Manipur:
The deterioration of the rule of law in Manipur and its near total collapse today is not unpredictable. To say that governance in Manipur has failed completely is also no exaggeration. The mere presence of government machinery with all the trappings of power does not mean anything if it fails to deliver.
In Manipur, the government simply exists to carry out perfunctory duties. It has lost the drive to govern because its preoccupation is not unlike that of the non-state actors, which is to make money. Here is a state where you see a happy co-existence and a convergence of interests between state and non-state actors.
However, the proliferation of non-state groups to the point where you lose count of the numbers also means that the share of the pie gets smaller everyday.
In that case, government funds alone do not suffice to meets the needs of these groups. They encroach into other semi-state and non-state establishments. The commercial space is inflicted with extortion demands.
Unfortunately, this commercial space also includes pharmacies and private health service delivery systems and sometimes even educational institutions. In such a situation, what normally happens is that victims of extortion do not resist until they reach the saturation point.
For a business establishment, profit is the driving agenda. When profit is no longer possible and the establishment begins make losses, then the only sensible thing to do is to close shop.
In states like Assam and Nagaland where industry is bled by militants who go by the euphemism of “national workers”, industrialists and traders have had to strike a bargain with militants whereby both survive and operate within a clearly defined sphere. Each one knows that if they overstep their limits they stand to lose. So both have created a win-win situation.
Both survive and each party conducts itself with a degree of responsibility towards the other. Since the number of militant groups in Nagaland and Assam are not in the same league as those of Manipur, things are pretty much in control.
The state looks the other way even as business and militancy continue with their symbiotic relationship.
Once in a while you have the Unified Command in Assam flexing its muscles in an ostensible drive against extortion but we all know it means nothing.
Extortion not only continues; it also thrives under the nose of law enforcing authorities, because, sometimes the nexus can also take a triangular form.
This messy affair is difficult for anyone from outside to decipher. It can only be compared to the mafia rule of Italy and to some extent the underworld of Mumbai.
The only difference is that the Italian mafia and the Mumbai underworld do not spout out noble claptrap about sovereignty or patriotism or sacrifice. The mafia is dead serious about its business and lays no claim to fame about being saviours of their nation or people.
Here, we are used to living with pretentious jingoism. Sadly, some of our learned scholars also subscribe to these notions because it has becomes necessary for them to continue their existence in the “academic comfort zone”.
Full Story:
The deterioration of the rule of law in Manipur and its near total collapse today is not unpredictable. To say that governance in Manipur has failed completely is also no exaggeration. The mere presence of government machinery with all the trappings of power does not mean anything if it fails to deliver.
In Manipur, the government simply exists to carry out perfunctory duties. It has lost the drive to govern because its preoccupation is not unlike that of the non-state actors, which is to make money. Here is a state where you see a happy co-existence and a convergence of interests between state and non-state actors.
However, the proliferation of non-state groups to the point where you lose count of the numbers also means that the share of the pie gets smaller everyday.
In that case, government funds alone do not suffice to meets the needs of these groups. They encroach into other semi-state and non-state establishments. The commercial space is inflicted with extortion demands.
Unfortunately, this commercial space also includes pharmacies and private health service delivery systems and sometimes even educational institutions. In such a situation, what normally happens is that victims of extortion do not resist until they reach the saturation point.
For a business establishment, profit is the driving agenda. When profit is no longer possible and the establishment begins make losses, then the only sensible thing to do is to close shop.
In states like Assam and Nagaland where industry is bled by militants who go by the euphemism of “national workers”, industrialists and traders have had to strike a bargain with militants whereby both survive and operate within a clearly defined sphere. Each one knows that if they overstep their limits they stand to lose. So both have created a win-win situation.
Both survive and each party conducts itself with a degree of responsibility towards the other. Since the number of militant groups in Nagaland and Assam are not in the same league as those of Manipur, things are pretty much in control.
The state looks the other way even as business and militancy continue with their symbiotic relationship.
Once in a while you have the Unified Command in Assam flexing its muscles in an ostensible drive against extortion but we all know it means nothing.
Extortion not only continues; it also thrives under the nose of law enforcing authorities, because, sometimes the nexus can also take a triangular form.
This messy affair is difficult for anyone from outside to decipher. It can only be compared to the mafia rule of Italy and to some extent the underworld of Mumbai.
The only difference is that the Italian mafia and the Mumbai underworld do not spout out noble claptrap about sovereignty or patriotism or sacrifice. The mafia is dead serious about its business and lays no claim to fame about being saviours of their nation or people.
Here, we are used to living with pretentious jingoism. Sadly, some of our learned scholars also subscribe to these notions because it has becomes necessary for them to continue their existence in the “academic comfort zone”.
Full Story:
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