Tropic of Cancer

IFP editorial, January 10, 2013: http://www.ifp.co.in/nws-11686-tropic-of-cancer/

Last year, the Million Death Study came out with its first findings on the nature of Cancer as a disease in the country. The main collaborators for the study, Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital and the Centre for Global Health Research mapped how it resulted in almost 6 lakh deaths annually.  Seven out of every 10 deaths, it said occurs among people who are in the 30-69 age group. Nearer home, it said that a youngster living in India's northeast is four times more likely to develop and succumb to cancer in his lifetime as compared to a youngster living in Bihar. Earlier on, cancer was thought to come calling to people who smoked incessantly or used tobacco but increasingly, it is becoming clear that more studies and scientific research needs to be initiated into looking at what really leads to cancer. Though there are no Manipur specific reports on Cancer cases, there is no denying that the disease has become common in our midst.
In much the same way that HIV/AIDS is termed a social leveler, Cancer afflicts people without much regard for class or caste distinctions, gender, race and ethnic lines or even age. The health seeking behavior of people in the state in terms of foregoing regular health check ups also leads to its detection at later stages which impedes treatment processes. The highly expensive costs for treatment is also a major deterrent when it comes to cancer patients seeking treatment, or continuing it further. Often treatment costs for a family member living with cancer means a major drain on the family resources. With low levels of seeking and getting health insurance or in cases where the insurance is in place but inadequate to cover costs, Cancer is today becoming a death knell for many in the state. The lack of price control of various medicine components used in different stages of cancer treatment also mean that international pharma companies get away with their pricing which is way beyond the capacity of middle class and low income groups.
The Health Ministry at both the Centre and the State have much to learn from the response to HIV/AIDS over the years. At one point of time, ART for people living with HIV/AIDS were available only at expensive rates, which people had to buy on their own. But efforts of civil society groups, NGOs working in the HIV/AIDS sector, networks of people living with HIV/AIDS, industry leaders along with political leadership led to generic drugs and prices came down and soon the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) could roll out its free ART program. HIV/AIDS can also be largely said to have contributed to scaling up basic health care systems in the country. The HIV/AIDS chapter needs to be revisited so that the lakhs of people who are getting stricken with cancer are able to get diagnosed and treated well in time with cheaper treatment measures.
One other area that people living with cancer or who have survived it can take from people living with HIV/AIDS is the manner in which affected and infected people come together to form support groups. The treatment process for cancer can be long and can drain not just the finances of a family but take away the emotional and mental ‘resources’ so to say. Support groups can be a health way of healing and coping for the person living with cancer and for the family members as well. A study conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) that started in 2006-2007 pegs the average cost across all cancer treatments at Rs.1,602 per week. This figure does not however, factor in radiation costs or expenses for seeking treatment outside of the state.
Along with price control for cancer medicines, the Government also needs to look at supporting treatment costs. At the National level, the Health Minister's Cancer Patient Fund was created within the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi Scheme proposing to establish a revolving fund in the Regional Cancer Centres (RCC) to speed up financial assistance to needy patients. Under this scheme, a sum of up to Rs.1 lakh would be provided as assistance to cancer patients in the BPL category but this is far too little, too less even if it is being implemented at all.

Decoding Highway 39: book review

This book review of Sudeep Chakravarti’s ‘Highway 39: journeys through a fractured land’ was published in June 2012 but thought would share it on my blog as well.


Sudeep Chakravarti’s ‘Highway 39: journeys through a fractured land’ published by Harper Collins (388 pages, Rs 450) was a much anticipated book after his earlier ‘Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country’. Sudeep’s style of narrative based on his travel and interactions with various stakeholders in the Maoist issue that marked Red Sun is used to put together ‘Highway 39’ that details his travel into contested spaces and issues in Manipur and Nagaland. The title alludes to the 436 kilometres stretch of the National Highway (now renamed) from NUmaligarh in Assam to Moreh in Manipur at the border with Myanmar.

Blame it on the complexities AND contradictions of the region for Sudeep’s attempt to ‘bring more stories out of the confines of the North East’ so that ‘people would understand more, misunderstand less’ fails on both counts with regard to the content on Manipur. In the first place, most of the stories detailed from Manipur have been told numerous times. Secondly, the author’s efforts of making other people to understand the region, its people and issues must follow his understanding which is unfortunately limited to what is told to him by his St Stephen Alumi or Delhi University links and the people his friends connect him to. Besides the Delhi related circle, Sudeep does talk with bureaucrats, Army officials and Human Rights activists who run NGOs to get more perspective. The author talks to the family of Sanjit (whose death in a fake encounter was captured on camera) and Rabina (who died in the shoot out leading to Sanjit’s fake encounter) and his lack of briefing on the incident shows when he puts it down that he had not seen any mention of Rabina’s two and a half year son, Russel being with his mother when she was shot. Background reading would have led to photographs of Russel being cared for by women vendors and accounts of the incident mentioning the presence of the child.

A chapter titled ‘The day ‘Caman-do- took away a little girl and other stories’ tells the story of Bidyarani, a class VIth student who was picked up by state security forces so that her parents alleged to have links with an underground group, would surrender. Read in between the lines and the chapter tells you exactly how NGOs and human rights groups operate in the state in their zeal to expose the government: without much concern for people who have undergone the trauma that they as human rights groups take upon themselves to expose. The book redeems itself in part with its focus on the Naga issue and the author’s probing into the minds and thoughts of people in Nagaland. He succeeds in bringing together various groups, throwing in his analysis and questioning and in one interview with a leader of a breakaway group from the NSCN (IM) who later joins the rival NSCN (Khaplang) faction manages to get him to examine with startling honesty the quagmire of the Nagalim cause vis a vis the Government of India on one side, the Meities opposed to the idea of Nagalim since it clashes with their own territorial boundaries, on one side and different Naga factional groups, each claiming moral authority of the cause as a third party.

      Sudeep’s writing bristles with anger (mainly in Manipur!) but also throws in dry wit. His thoughts and descriptions of the Tourism gambit for the state are hilarious and full of irony. Making a note of the glossy photographs and good print material of brochures produced by the Tourism Department, he asks why “these hapless promoters of tourism say that NH 53 ‘links Imphal’ with the ‘railhead at Jiribam 225 km in the southwest without telling us we would require the service of a chiropractor; that the journey takes one day in good times; three days if it rains and cannot be completed if it rains hard?” The chapters on Manipur certainly has interesting chapter names but are filled with spelling mistakes of names of people and places. In his interactions with various stakeholders, the probing is missing. The ‘what if’ question over Nagalim could have well been lobbed to the people he talked to in Imphal: what if Manipur secedes from India? The how it would work out would have been fascinating given the assorted range of Meitei based underground groups. No rebel leaders (of Meitei armed groups) are interviewed but again it’s understandable: just too many groups and too many factions. But having the question unaddressed by civil society representatives leaves a gaping hole in the narrative.

                  Manipur’s theatre of conflict is a triangle of complexities between three major ethnic communities: the Meiteis, the Naga and the Kukis. Sudeep admits that his inability to give space to the multi ethnic aspirations of different groups in the state but the argument falls flat for his chapter on traveling into Moreh gives him the context of bringing in the Kukis to the picture. The alleged killing of a 21 year Kuki youth at Bongjang village under Moreh Police Station in 1992 by suspected armed Nagas in the backdrop of Naga millitants collecting ‘house tax’ from four Kuki inhabitated hill districts of Manipur sowed the seeds for the most violent ethnic clash that left both Kukis and Nagas killed and scarred. It eventually led to the armed Kuki struggle. The chapter on Moreh mentions that a Naga will not travel into Moreh, a Kuki area but does not mention this major incident and how it triggered off ethnic armed conflict.


              While there is definitely a dearth of non-academic books on Manipur, ‘Highway 39: journeys through a fractured land’ will be disappointing overall for people looking at understanding Manipur. The overt pricing does not help though the book jacket colour and design makes up for the lack of joy in contents. With a name like ‘Highway 39: journeys through a fractured land’; one can only imagine how the narrative of the drivers on the highway would have shaped up with their stories of hold ups, of being caught in blockades and illegal taxation by both state and non state forces and their take on conflict in the region.

Reins to young people

IFP editorial, January 8, 2013: http://www.ifp.co.in/nws-11669-reins-to-young-people/

The initiative taken up by the Manipur Horse Riding and Polo Association (MHRPA) in engaging with young people, but specifically students at its Pony Breeding Farm at Lamphelpat through its Ride the Pony School Project is a welcome step. For long, there has been a lament that the Manipuri Pony is on its last legs with fewer people taking to playing Polo leading to its diminishing numbers. Fewer still, are people who rear Manipuri Ponies as there are no financial incentives in doing so. The recently concluded ‘Ride the Pony School Project’ taken up by the MHRPA along with an educational institution in the state may well be a beginning towards engaging young people towards conserving and protecting this fine animal. Though there may well be areas of confusion whether Polo as a game originated from Manipur or elsewhere, one area of clarity is that the Manipuri Pony needs to be protected.
During the course of the 6th International Polo tournament held as part of the Sangai Tourism Festival in 2012, the foreign Polo team players had only words of appreciation for the Manipuri Pony and left after showing their keenness in taking a few specimens of the animal to Europe and other parts of the world along with horsemen and Polo players of the state. It is this nature of innovative methods that the concerned authorities in the state need to imbibe to make Polo popular and bridging the gap between the people and the Manipuri Pony. For long, the animal has been left to the hands of a few avid Pony lovers and taken out as showpieces during the few Polo tournaments that are organized during a year. In between Polo tournaments, the animals are left around to wander on the streets of Imphal and graze in garbage dumps. To begin with, the game of Polo is associated with the elite all over the world. It is limited to what is called the jet set crowd or in former royalty circles and outside of this, is popular only in the armed forces. The MHRPA has been doing its part admirably by promoting Polo tournaments in the state and even holding International tournaments to put the spotlight on Manipur being the place of origin of the modern Polo game. But the MHRPA alone cannot shoulder the entire responsibility of ensuring that the Manipuri Pony and Polo as a game continue to thrive.
In Manipur, the earlier royal patronage of the game and the animal no longer exists while the ‘elite class’ has no inclination towards encouraging the game or has the time to pursue Polo. In this scheme of things, it is only but natural that the game would suffer and the animal grow lesser in numbers. Considering the historical and cultural context of Polo and the Manipuri Pony in the state, a major share of responsibility must be taken up by the Government to ensure that steps are taken to make people empathize with the game and the animal. This responsibility does not have to be confined only to matters of funding but to come up with concrete action plans that can be implemented. A small beginning is already in the making with a school and the MHRPA joining hands to draw students towards the Manipuri Pony, but this needs to be taken up in every educational institution of the state.
The children of today are the pillars of the future generation. Once the children and the young people of the state get a closer exposure to the beauty of Polo as a game and the cultural and historical legacy of the Manipuri Pony, there will be no stopping them given the gene-pool of sporting ability and talent that the state has. Young people in the state may well end up becoming the game’s brand ambassadors by getting pro-active and pledging to ‘adopt’ Manipuri Ponies. In their hands will be the reins of the Manipuri Pony heading towards a glorious run.

A lot of garbage

IFP editorial: January 7, 2013: http://www.ifp.co.in/nws-11656-a-lot-of-garbage/

The scenes of garbage piling up on the streets of Imphal have become a common feature no matter how many declarations of keeping Imphal clean are made. A host of programs and projects have been launched with fanfare and hoopla but the stench of rotting garbage in Imphal tells its own story. On the few days that waste disposal pick up vehicles come by to pick up garbage from households, the streets of Imphal may well look a bit clean but such days then mean it is the turn for people living around the Lamphel and Langol foothills have to live with stench and filth, thanks to the accumulated garbage that gets dumped in their vicinity. IFP’s piece yesterday on how the cease work strike by employees of the Imphal Municipality Council points the sorry state of affairs where Government apathy towards employees on one hand and the lack of responsibility and ownership amongst IMC employees on the other, is taking its toll on the civic appearance and hygiene and sanitation of Imphal areas.
The IMC employees getting short shift from the Government in terms of not getting their pay is getting repetitive and mirrors the travails of the now defunct Manipur State Road & Transport Corporation. Given the fast urban growth in and around Imphal and the lack of proper drainage and dumping ground for garbage and wastage, the idea of doing without an agency to take care and responsibility of waste care and its management will do nothing for the ‘development’ that Manipur is attempting to seek. The IMC and other agencies come into the picture at the stage of waste collection and disposal but it is necessary also to address ways of preventing garbage accumulation as well. The latest vehicles on the street also have people who throw waste right in the middle of roads to start with and there must be a way of naming and shaming this section of people so that the habit does not become a legitimate common activity.
One other way of not contributing to waste build up is by not using polythene bags, which is incidentally banned. But, the manner and degree in which polythene bags are being used throughout the state dispels any notion of the ban being implemented. Compare this with states where Government takes strict action against the use of plastic bag use by making that shopping establishments use paper bags. Elsewhere in the country, walk into any major store, and customers who opt for plastic and polythene bags are charged extra thereby indirectly leading the common man to start thinking about using jute, paper or cloth bags. In Manipur, apart from the cement structured dumping areas in residential areas, the roads do not have public dustbins while plastic/polythene bags have become a much-needed commodity. There is no reason why we in Manipur cannot curtail their use when other states have been able to do the same. It just takes some effort on our parts and a bit of the authorities being serious with its intent of limiting plastic and polythene use.
In terms of waste disposal and dumping, once plastic use is limited, bio-degradable waste materials no longer need to be burnt but can be utilized to make compost organic manure or be recycled. While the Government needs to decide what it wants the IMC to be doing as a stakeholder in the civic and sanitation sector and address the grievances of its employees, it should also be noted that apart from Imphal, there are semi urban areas developing in the districts without any agency in place to look into waste disposal and management. It is only a matter of time for the spectacle of waste piles that we see in the streets of Imphal to be seen in these semi urban areas and there is an urgent need for a systematic approach to be put in place. If steps are not taken to address the filth and the stench that we are beginning to regard as ‘normal’ and acceptable, we will soon come to a stage where Manipur may well be known only for its garbage.

A free zone for education

IFP editorial: January 4, 2013 - http://www.ifp.co.in/nws-11620-a-free-zone-for-education/

It is common to see students holding placards with “keep education/schools a free zone” when there are violence related cases in the state. It would bode well to examine what a ‘free zone’ means in the first place. If one is to look at whether schools in the state are kept free from playing to the whims of either the Government or non-Government bodies, then the answer is a big no. To begin with, transfers of school authorities and teachers take place not because of a systematic practice but mostly as a fall out over department heads, area MLAs, the coterie of contractors and their ilk. Club this with the lack of infrastructure in Government schools, the tendency of teachers to play truant and what we get is a heavy cocktail that spells ‘failure’. Private schools on the other hand employ teachers at lesser salaries and other employment benefits and not only end up turn out better success rates in terms of performance in examinations but also students who are more confident and competitive.  Starting out only with a focus on exam performance, private schools end up creating a demand for student admissions and in the process gets to decide how much fees and other charges they will put up before an ever growing demand. In the process, they get the capital needed for putting in that extra bit to their institutions that are not available in Government schools: music classes, adventure courses, exposure trips etc.
To come back to the question of just what constitutes a ‘free zone’ in educational institutions: it goes without saying that schools and colleges and even the University in Manipur is largely impacted by the very nature of the unpredictable forces of social and political winds in the state. Bandhs, strikes and curfews have time and again impacted academic schedules and one has only to rewind back to 2009-2010 when educational institutions were shut down for over four months. If Education was left free from social and political turmoil in the state, we would perhaps have gotten around to seeing a different face altogether. The major rot in the Education system comes from not looking at merit and qualification at recruitment and then ensuring the latest pay packages notwithstanding performances. Teachers and other officials stay comfortable knowing that their pay is guaranteed no matter what their input.
The introduction of various schemes under Central Government funding including programs and projects like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) have come with opportunities to plug in the gaps of infrastructure in Government educational institutions but have unfortunately only ended in bringing in the contractor culture where the fund supply has been tapped in for the benefit of a few pockets. The failure of the State Government to ensure the implementation of the Right to Education Act (RTE) has also meant that private educational institutions in the state can well afford to dictate terms and conditions regarding school fee structures in total violation of the stipulations of the Act. No wonder then, that private organizations step in as parallel voices and are taking upon themselves the task of ‘supervising, monitoring’ and being authority. Just how free are schools to decide for its students can be seen from the calls for dress codes that external agencies impose upon though they do come ‘dressed’ in the garb of ‘appeals’.
The fact that external agencies and organizations can decide what happens to educational institutions in case their diktats are not followed also speaks volumes of the failure of the Education Department in recognizing just what ails the system. It would bode well for the welfare of students to ensure that appropriate stakeholders are identified and partnerships forged to work on a road map or else the education sector may well become a crowded space with too many people calling the shots and very little happening in the real sphere.

Artiste safety

IFP editorial which got delayed while uploading on the site (for January 3, 2012):
http://www.ifp.co.in/nws-11584-artiste-safety/

In our society, there are certain norms of etiquette that is followed from one generation to the other and sometimes so true to form that it becomes a cultural norm. The practice of showing respect for performers or artistes who take centre stage while performing on occasions of death, marriage and other social events center around showing respect. Audience members who want to show their appreciation must first of all give their benediction to the artiste, which is done by bowing to them and then followed by the act of offering money. The process of showing appreciation is almost ritual in nature with a bow to the platform or rather, the area where the performance is being held and the nature of performance is deemed to be the one where the maximum spotlight that in earlier times, the entry of women in these domains were not encouraged.

While the practice of decorum for showing appreciation to performing artistes are still being followed for cultural and social functions, mostly because they are attended by elders; the nature of younger people towards artistes performing at entertainment programs has undergone a sea change. It is common for crowds now to heckle artistes on stage, passing lewd gestures and making rude gestures if the performers happen to be girls. Much before the storm broke out over the brutal attack on film actor Momoko Khangembam, there were many other cases where people in the audience have ended up getting all too familiar with performing artistes. There is at least one video clip on popular site Youtube where someone from the audience at a musical function, taking place in Imphal is shown being kicked by the singer. It is not clear what transpired between the singer and the person who went up on stage from the audience but suffice to say that if the singer in question did not have a valid reason for his action, he would have been booed down by the rest of the audience and been banned from singing ever again. On another occasion, a male audience member was seen getting too close to comfort to a female singer who kept stepping back from him. He said something to the artiste, which incensed one musician so much that he rushed from his performing spot with his guitar in tow and whacked the man who was pestering the singer.
Part of the problem comes from the fact that a majority of our society tends to look down on artistes who perform for a living. The lack of respect and the failure to associate dignity with the profession that artistes are in, lead to the tendency to misbehave with them. Added to this mentality, the use of alcohol and other drugs that gives people on a ‘high’ only aggravates the situation. Contrast this with how sportspersons are feted and valued in our society. Both sports and performing artistes stand on the basis of their talent and ability. The dedication and hard work that goes into making a sportsperson also applies for performing artistes but the regard that is kept for the former is still to be seen for artistes like singers, film actors, musicians, make up artistes and other technicians. In the confines of a small market made worse by the advances of technology that makes it possible for the latest songs or movies to be downloaded, film actors and other performing artistes have to resort to try other means like performing at musical functions and programs, sometimes at venues far away from Imphal. Most of the programs are decided and confirmed verbally or at most, a written invitation and do not include any terms or clauses regarding the protection of the artistes. The recent Chandel incident is a telling reflection of how things can and do go wrong for artistes and there is no guarantee that such an incident will not happen again. The extent and nature may vary but till the time artistes do not take a firm stand against being harassed by either security personnel or other anti social elements while en-route to their performances or during it, till the time they demand that organizers for their programs commit to ensuring their safety and protection, it will only be a matter of time till another gets roughed up somewhere.

New year, old worries.

IFP editorial yesterday for January 1, 2013 http://www.ifp.co.in/nws-11563-new-year-old-worries/

As we stand now at the beginning of yet another year, we inevitably end up taking a relook at what passed us by, what we achieved and lost. A few among us might begin to scoff at the romanticism of the fuss that is associated with the annual cycle saying that the beginning of another year will not change things, that they will remain the same. Yet, for all purposes when January 1 dawns on every ‘new year’, people all across the world will herald its advent with cheer and celebrations. Millions of people will peg on hope that there will be better times ahead, that there will be more progress and peace. What happens in real terms will only be reflected in a balance sheet that marks what has earlier happened in the 365 days that has gone by.
Manipur’s 2012 started on a subtle note after emerging from an extended economic blockade. Back when 2012 was about to start, we hoped that we would not see another economic blockade. We prayed that we would not have to see any more long lines at petrol pumps, that we would not have to pay exorbitant prices for the most basic requirement to run a kitchen, the LPG cylinder. We heaved a sigh of relief as the days, weeks and months passed by on the calendar without an economic blockade breathing down our necks but by December, the pace of life unstuck itself. First came a brief interlude with an economic blockade that thankfully resolved before it could bring in a sense of déjà vu. In the earlier part of the year, all the buzz over a shift on who would lead the government were laid to rest with the outmost conviction when the Congress romped home with the maximum number of seats in the history of democratic processes in the state. Though the Congress showed who was boss in the state terms of muscle power, the one positive takeaway from the elections were that there were a few first time elect representatives who crushed known names.
On a somber note, post mortem records from the state medical records show that out of 505 cases, the maximum number of deaths being pegged at 196 happened due to road accidents in the state cautioning each one of us on the perils of clogging the narrow roads of Imphal and other districts with more and more vehicles and less and less abiding of traffic rules. It tells the relevant authority to also pull up its socks and ensure that traffic rules are followed and not be left to be flouted by VIPs and security personnel who get the go ahead. The number of deaths by hanging is another somber reminder of the fragile nature of the state, society and family. There can be no joy in death and if the figure of deaths in the state is a toss up between road accidents, death by bullet injuries and suicides, it tells us that we need to have a look at what it is that we are missing.
A New Year set to begin should not only be confined to the solemn and the gloomy bit. Like Pandora’s box, which unleashed sickness and anger and unhappiness but also had hope, we should all have a glimmer of hope that we do have what it takes to bring out the best in our self and in the people around us. As we shake our heads and say the all too familiar, “things will never change”, let us resolve that each one will take the responsibility to change what we can. Trouble and strife is what fills our spaces in the newspaper and media sector but maybe, there will be a time when we can sit down and write about things working, about how life is changing for the better. Here is looking to that time.