But on this day, we are once again led to reflect on the state of affairs in Manipur. For it goes without saying that the situation in the state is at an extended nadir. Nothing about the social mechanism seems to be working at this moment. We are especially worried about the new disparity between the haves and have-nots. The contract culture have ensured that only money can make more money and those who do have money have no means or hope ever to be able to find a respectable place in society or make money. Some despair at this, others resort to shortcuts, and this is provided readily by the existing gun culture. Official corruption was once mostly about a few lakh rupees as bribes in job recruitments and other service related matters, which is in no way good, but the scale has transformed astronomically with this new culture of contractor-government nexus. In this nexus, a crore of rupees is small change. While this is happening on one side, there are also a growing number of people with no tangible income. This is not a good sign, not from any ethical point of view, but for harm it can and would ultimately do to the social mechanism. The old cycle of the have-nots being forced to resort means inimical to the law to keep abreast would become perpetrated.
This has also had other implications quite visible to everybody. Take the political scenario in the state for instance and the men who emerge as political leaders. Once upon a time, a bulk of the politicians on the leadership field constituted of school teachers and people from profession close to the people. This changed over time to include retired bureaucrats. In fact, there was once a time when politics in the state had looked like a retirement occupation for government officials. The change indicated not just which class was emerging as respected and influential but also who were the most resourceful. Bureaucrats, even retired ones, were emerging richer than teachers obviously. Then in the last 10 years or so, there has been a radical transformation prompted by the new government-contractor nexus, and today the political scenario is dominated by contractors. In the coming February elections, probably at least half of the candidates would be from contractor background. As it is, the current government is accused of being run by contractors, the next one probably would be even more so in this direction. This is happening because elections today have come to be determined by money alone. This is unfortunate for it will spell the doom for anybody who does not have the kind of money contractors have, and most people in the state`s intelligentsia do not have this, and would become excluded complete from the leadership field of the place. With a diminishing intellectual infusion in the politics of the state, it is only to be expected that the place would continue to spiral into the chaos and violence it is currently trapped in. The media needs to be vigilant of this unfolding social scenario and be watchdogs to try and have the society strike a balance. No mean job, considering that increasingly the media too gets lured into the same nexus.