The human zeal to achieve what they feel they deserve is, beyond measure, intense. Securing at least the pace and process will set the mood in such a way that objects of dreams and fantasies appeared to be at arm’s length. Political ambitions, in recent times, have become excessively hazardous, owing to the fact that these ambitions physically and mentally contradict the status quo of certain group of people, or a section of a society. Such ambitions were prevalent during those infamous historical moments where decisions were made denigrating the very foundations of humanity. But if such ambitions are repeated in the 21st century, then what could be the remedy?
The satirical dispositions in the form of dialogues, discourses, aesthetic objects, etc. has been continually motivating the masses in the form of indirect education in order to glorify humanism. The global fraternity who believes in humanism, have spent the last seven decades to pacify the humanistic approach in all types of decisions. Following these initiatives, the masses, more or less, are aware of the intended objectives displayed during the course of promotions. These awarenesses further becomes expedient for other ends involving trade and commerce, and more appropriately in piling up of capitals.
That being said, we also witness the unending cases and complaints surfacing within the close circle of intra-community on the matter of land demarcations, property distribution, etc. We almost felt that Manipur dailies should reserve some columns for such matters. We have seen our own grandfathers/mothers distressed upon the matter of land, or an inch of land, lost to the neighbours. We have also heard hypocritic lines that one should not be greedy on the matter of lands, for no gold shall ever accompany one in his/her journey that one begets after one dies. But we are never short of the swords that swings against the encroachers. This attitude comes from both sides.
However, when such tussles escalate in the larger scale, for instance, in the level of community, many things emerge out of the situation. In other words, to hold fast on a hundred square foot piece of land by a particular community against another, the horizon expands in multiple dimensions. There is a popular Manipuri saying ‘mee yamlaga thi yammi’ (the more man you gather, the more faeces you pile up). We are not talking about the quantity of man involved, but the quantity of problems generated when the matter is on the level of the masses. When that piece of land becomes a bone of contention between the two communities, one cannot ignore the politics that was necessitated by the conflict. Again, one cannot ignore the dimensions of identity reciprocated by culture, traditions, language, geography, race, sex, etc. When these dimensions are involved, or being dragged, as a banner representing them in their conflict, the grudge transmuted itself into something which remains eternally without a solution. Because, for more than two millennia, first class intellectuals across time have spent and exhausted their intellectual capability in debating those dimensions. Our readings will enlighten us that one among the dimensions mentioned above is eligible and sufficient enough to cause headaches among the elites.
That being the case, what we see ahead is nothing but aggravated debates, forming a chain reaction involving multiple arguments, valid in its own rights, exhibiting a close affinity to Indian traffics. Now relocating the humanistic approach in between the rush, afternoon traffic, is a chimera. What we see, is that, these emerging chaos – ideological chaos – is a product of pseudo reasoning. Man’s reasoning across any disciplines, for instance, in the domain of politics, economics, society, etc. should universalize the essences extracted from these varied domains. This universalisation is one solid example of reconciliation, solution, negotiation, etc. If one attempts to reason on the basis of one’s basic instincts, then we simply called it pseudo reasoning, because here no pure reasoning happens apart from the multiple manifestations of one’s desire or appetite.
Hence the necessity of socio-political rationality becomes the need of the hour. But again, the bitter picture is, this demand and necessity is being hindered by the same pseudo reason, putting it, and further categorising it as simply one among other points of view which is in need of an opposition to repel it. Ancient civilisation, assuming that they are more advance than the current one in multiple aspects, had been writing history, when such contention arises, in the form of simple wars. These wars were fought, indubitably, without hatred among the soldiers. Those were kings’ grudges. Tales were heard of moral dilemmas that troubled the fighting soldiers. At least we see the presence of moral senses in the battlefield. This does not glorify war, nor these arguments are postulated in favour of the inevitability of war. All we say is that these pseudo reasoning is causing more wars, more futile than the past wars, more inhuman than the infamous events of genocides and slavery that took place beyond all human measures. And these pseudo reasoning is a sheer product of egotistic and narcissistic elements dominating the modern man.
The writer is Assistant Professor, Imphal College
