The Salaried Beggars of Modern Manipur

When power is misused, chaos becomes the norm of a society. In our society, sad but true, power is misused in each and every sector. It is too obvious to come across many incidents that testify this bitter truth in Manipur. The oppressors enjoy oppressing the oppressed; and those who are luckily out of the league of the oppressed, enjoy the show as mute spectators.

For long we have stopped questioning ourselves, implying our society is getting defunct. Our logic has ceased to work. Isn’t it bitterer than power being misused?

Among the oppressing lots, those who are supposed to protect us from lawbreakers are the scariest ones. I am, of course, referring to the security personnel a.k.a as the ‘Salaried beggars of modern Manipur’, because many a time they are on the other side of the law. They have a job in hand, alright. But all they need is an excuse to beg money from civilians and they are shameless about it. Admit it.

It is quite ridiculous for the sake of earning a ‘side income’, they are ready to cross any limit. We feel pity for the beggars and urchins in metropolitan cities. I feel pity for these well-dressed, authorised personnel licensed to beg money on the street. All in all, I feel sorrier for these personnel who have to do so despite having a job in hand and earning a monthly income. Possibly there are reasons better known to them.

The jokes are on them. Annoyingly some would say, ‘Thabak changbada pijakhiba paisa hanjinaba tourini’. I am amused by this plain joke in which the ugly truth is always brushed under the carpet. I have also come across many funny incidents and cases of security personnel adding more glory to their democratic power.

In one of the incidents, one of my cousins was halted and checked, all for twenty rupees by a VDF cop, on the way to Wangkhei from Porompat. My cousin was guilty as charged when he was stopped for frisking at a traffic-less location because he had no helmet and so his punishment was to shell out 20 rupees.

When have the VDFs replaced the role of traffic policemen? It has been going around for sometime. I know not yet it is also a newly implemented rule to carry at least 20 rupees when you are driving around the shanty Imphal town. Otherwise, you could get a slap or an unasked threat from the commando or VDFs who loiter around the streets. Forget that traffic police exists. Mind you everything is possible in Manipur. All you need is to believe in the motto: Might is right.

If you have this false notion that they are supposed to maintain law and order in our society, feel sorry for yourself. The absurd reality is that they need to be educated about what exactly is law and order. They need to be officially tutored on what are the roles of security personnel in a society. They need to be acknowledged that ‘khonda waoba’, ‘mee usitaba’, ‘paisa neeba’ etc. are not a part of their duties; and their discipline needs not be compromised to call themselves cops.

I know they do not understand the meaning of discipline or politeness. They should at least try to spell it correctly if not follow it. I envy, however, two traits about them — their enduring capability and gutsy mannerism. They know that most of us hate and curse them; still they sure can tolerate to overcome our judgment about them and theirs about us. Quite courageous.

I don’t understand what the heck they consider themselves. Away from the familiar streets, stray dogs who loiter around the keithel do not even bark at the ema-eben but these trained, human-looking creatures can cross their limit, any time of the day.

I am also quite confused about their origin. I feel sorry especially for their families who have to share a kind of relationship with them. They are the licensed law offenders. They do no have any civic sense. They are supposed to protect us but on the contrary, their presence around our leikai or leirak khulak is synonymous with fear and anxiety.

Ladies and gentlemen, look forward to come across them anywhere in the valley. If there is a long queue at the ATM, they have every right to break the queue and offer themselves the privilege because they are the cops. People have to spend long hours in a queue for every commodity — from ATM to petrol pumps — but they don’t belong to the people and can have their own way. They can scare you and do and finish whatever they want.

Needless to say it will be hard to admit that these semi-educated men of law and order are serving the state. But it is unsurprising from the first day of their honourable career; because they would start with an offering of 10 to 20 lakh and more to their contacts. Bribe? No, it’s just returning a favour. The biggest lesson we can learn from them is to pay an amount and get ourselves what we want.

Much to our dismay, they have the license to bend the law and oppress the civilians, who are already bugged down by a fear psychosis that runs in the vein of every Manipuri. But as mentioned earlier, without money or contacts, we would find ourselves behind the bars. If we have a bit of them, well, life goes on.

All the crimes have a price in Manipur, just like there is a cost for every available job. Those arrested for Gooli or from a liquor vendor means 500 or 1,000 rupees, while for naharol case, it’s a bigger amount of some 50 thousand or more. Money talks. All said and done, I cannot understand why they have to act like moral police frisking at the vendors or leirak khulak, besides being a multitasking traffic controller. Is it the so called norm, ‘Sabina mama noknaba?’ Despite this, I know not how they can smell and endure their own craps.

Pity their lives. I extremely feel sorry for the many curses that people are used to swear on their name. Dear God, please grant them the wisdom and inner peace. They badly need them. Dear you, ‘Get well soon’. You have the key for the destiny of a group of people and your sickness is adding salt to the wounds. How true: power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!

This article was published on 4 Nov 2012

Guard(s) of Dishonour

Of late, a new breed of dogs has taken birth in our home State, which has taken up a noble undertaking to guard Imphal City. What is unique about these Dogs is that they cannot bark, but rather ‘meow’. Before their unblessed birth, the vicious Jackals used to loiter in the streets, roads and lanes, guarding their owners, and were ever ready to attack anyone on their way. They so far seem to have either fed up or pissed off with their unwanted presence amongst us. It also seems that the Jackals have been tamed by the Animal-Ministry and its trained arm of doctors not to howl, indulge or yelp and yip. So much of their barbaric or unruly acts or deeds are less heard during the last few years. The meitaan-coloured Jackals used to scare us like hell then. Their presence, in the town or village or anywhere, was a curse.

All the way, we have been glad to miss the Jackal’s presence around us but have been sad to see that they have passed on their legacy to the new breed of meowing dogs. The most shocking revelation is that these ‘meowing dogs’ are not foreign-bred or unfamiliar ones, but those with whom we have grown up together, shared plates of rice during childhood days, stood by us through thick and thin. From Leikai thaabal chongba to nupi program chatpa, they have been with us for all these years. We have shared bitter and better moments of life with them all these years, counted on them for anything.

Back to this horrible time of our civilisation, weren’t we happy the day we heard about them joining the system and that they would help clean some of the filth and trashes? Weren’t we hopeful, wishing them heartily on their new venture of being a meaningful part of the State’s machinery? All wishes and hopes in vain, they have turned hostile in their attitude and so far reduced to mere ‘meowing dogs’ who simply follow invincible masters’ orders. If their masters tell them to ‘meow’ they are shameless to meow anywhere, when their masters ask them to meddle up, they know no bounds to irritate or disturb the innocents. A shameless breed of creatures who can even yell out to aging ladies at the keithel or Leirak Khulak—the same aging ladies who might have once fed them with love plates of rice and scrumptious insaangs with their sons, the same old ladies who have treated them equals to their own sons or daughters. Another shameless deed they have mastered so far is eve-teasing. They have crossed the limits too far.

It is annoying to see these meowing dogs all around us. They got a damn good justification from their part when it comes to misusing power. Yes, misusing power is another art they have impeccably mastered so far, in as much as they have in being so loyal to their masters. The moment their masters shoo them away, they start meowing like anything. Cantankerous though it sounds for us, they are the masters’ favourites, the pampered-pedigreed lots, in a nutshell, the inglorious bragging breed. Akin to their attribute and attitude with the jackals, they represent themselves as the law-keepers of Modern Manipur. They are equally responsible for the bloody state of affairs that’s happening in Manipur.

It’s disturbing, it’s scary, it’s alarming to have them around us when we are supposed to feel safe and protected with their very presence. They have changed their colours like chameleons, they have been trained as otherwise-not mere police personnel with duties and responsibilities, they cannot think and act logical. All they react at is fallacious ‘orders and commands’. In short, they are owned by the lousiest possessors under the sun. Instructed and insinuated to indulge in blatant acts, trained for misconducts, well-versed in eve-teasing, they think they are performing their duties dedicatedly, baah!

It is not going to matter how much we despise them because they are simply insensible creatures. Their minds are boggled, their conscience does not work anymore, they cannot figure out wrongs from the rights. In short, they have been promoted to a new breed of unruly buggers and gundas instead of mere law and order keepers of the State. The local-bred dogs (REAL ONES) have so far been shamed to death seeing these meowing dogs.

There are rumours that most of the local-bred REAL DOGS have sought for retirement plans and have been relocated at the far country sides much aloof from the vicinity of the town. They have perhaps done the right thing. Someday, I would love to pay them a humble visit and share a sumptuous feast together. Let them enjoy their solidarity away from the hustle-bustles of city life. To Hell with the Meowing Dogs!

This article was published on 22 Oct 2011