Manipur caught in a time warp

The state of affairs in Manipur leaves me deeply saddened because it is otherwise such a beautiful place with even more beautiful people who have golden hearts.

Manipur is trapped in what can be called a perpetual state of war.

There is an elected government that in difficult situations appears to be at its wits’ end.

I am particularly concerned over the indefinite shutdown of educational institutions following student unions’ demand for action in the wake of alleged killings of a former militant and a woman passerby in a fake encounter.

Worse, those who called for class boycott have now reportedly started torching schools.

Where will all this lead to?

It is true that a chief minister cannot resign at the drop of a hat, but the government too has not sent out signals strong enough to suggest that corrective steps will be taken to prevent repetition of such incidents.

There appears to be a complete lack of faith in the government and unless it takes the initiative, Manipur will continue to see turbulent times.

Such a pity, really!

Animesh Talukdar

Ganeshguri, Guwahati

Is it fair?

In many a metropolitan city where I have worked, I have seen people travelling long distances daily to reach offices or schools. In those cities I had seen the people’s enthusiasm to participate in various events that were not exactly next door.

I say this in the context of the brouhaha over the venue of book fairs — an annual feature in Guwahati that many of us look forward to.

Pardon me if I am wrong, but I detect an element of selfishness in those who want book fairs to be held right in the middle of this increasingly congested city so that they can probably just walk over for a browse at least.

But what about the others to whom the government’s proposed venue at Maniram Dewan Trade Centre would have come as a godsend for its proximity to their places? They have done all the travelling over all these years to reach the book fair venues in the heart of the city. Now, let us give them a chance to just stroll into the book fair.

Arati Barthakur

Rehabari, Guwahati