Post-Chakkouba Offer: Manipur Map on Sale!


Chakkouba is over but a couple of offers are not, even a week after the feast. Hope nobody has the sale at a loss. One of them is the great political offer, which concerns Manipur Masala.  As a Post-Chakkouba offer, the Non-existing Ministry attached to the Pumchai-chairaba State of Internal and External Affairs has decided to put the map of Manipur on sale.

A tender notice on the local dailies has confirmed the map of Manipur is really on sale. Vendors have also reportedly got the green signal from Non-existing Ministry. They are hopeful that this sale will benefit many bidders across the state. The map-makers are targeting, if reports are to be believed, the hill dwellers.

The ministry is expected to announce the date of sale through its publicity wing, probably by next week. Bidders are requested to submit their proposal letters for the bidding on or before this coming 30th.

This tender will primarily benefit our brethrens from the hills. They can claim their own districts and start redrawing the erased part with a darker ink, or rather afresh from the beginning. It is however a confusing deliberation on where they are going to start afresh.

A gala night is on the way once the tender is passed in favour of the hill brethrens, who are heading for this historical political crusade. A fiesta will be held across hill district headquarters. As a part of the celebration, many roads that connect Imphal to other districts will be blocked. Blockade will find a brand new meaning this time. But we should not worry.

If this is the means of earning easy income just like in the valley through ‘Diwali Lagao’—which was rampant until Chakkouba—nothing seems wrong. Like the plain people, like the security personnel, our brethrens in the hills are putting up an effort to have the same opportunity. For example, impose tax on everyone who passes through the blocked roads. Sounds real legit.

Inspired by Diwali Lagao and the beggarness of the security personnel of Manipur Mr. John, the president of All Manipur Blockade Association tells us, ‘This is a step towards the welfare of our community. This has nothing to do with any feeling of enmity or animosity with other communities in the state.’

He continues, “This is one important strategy to support various developmental processes of our community. Our people have been neglected for a long time. This time they will be taken good care of. Once we win the bidding, we will form a ‘United Districts of The Hills’. This body will look after the social, political and economical grievances of our people.”

In an unofficial notice of the Non-existing Ministry, it has been stated that one representative will be allotted one district each. Those who want to occupy more than one district have to bring a bag of fish to the head of each concerned department. Though this bidding is primarily about the hill districts, unofficial delegates are discussing on whether either of the Imphal East and West district should also be included in this sale or not.

So if Imphal East or the West district is included in this tender, the experts speculate the rate will be triple times that of the other districts for obvious reasons. The valley being the more populated area in the state, many bidders are already allured by the probable tender.

Every action has its reaction. As for this historical sale of Manipur map, it would be quite interesting to see the reaction of those who oppose it.  Unsurprisingly, the Associations of Manipur Frontal Organisations (AMFO) have pulled their socks up. Twenty JACs will be formed in each district and protest rallies are in the offing.

Members of the AMFO have also rehearsed the slogan: ‘Manipur gi ngamkhei kaiba yaroi’; and countless placards have been made ready in undisclosed locations. For the essential commodities—for petrol, cooking gas and other daily needs, nobody is sure about.

One of the not-so-famous educationists explains, ‘It is high time we replace the redundant B for Boy with B for Blockade or Bandh for the kindergarten kids. They will understand it better this way. I extend my best regards to the crusaders of this economic blockade for revamping the educational curriculum.

‘And the flag—is there any discount on it?’ Uninformed, he concluded.

This article was published on 18 Nov 2012

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