Failure of Clinical Psychology Dept Means Failure of RIMS Authority

The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.
-- C. S. Lewis

There's not a single person who does not face mental stress as mental health problems are continuously rising owing to mounting pressure in personal/occupational or social domains across various sections of the society. Herein, the Clinical Psychologists play an important role for optimizing health care delivery system. Various techniques and methods derived from several branches of psychology are used in promotion of mental health, and in prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of mental and physical disorders or problems where psychological factors play a major role. Different methods and forms of psychological techniques are also used to ease an individual's emotional distress or any other forms of dysfunction or disability.

Mention may be made about the importance of the subject in context to Manipur's crisis torn situation, where most of the people face trauma of one mishap or the other. So in 2003, the Rehabilitation Council of India opened the M. Phil course in Clinical Psychology in collaboration with the Psychiatric Dept of RIMS to meet the demand for clinical psychologist for treatment and rehabilitation of mental and physical disorders. Not only is the dept one among the only 9 institutes offering M Phil course in India, it is also the sole institute in the whole of north east catering students from neighbouring states too.

On an average, the Clinical Psychology Dept delivers health service to a thousand annually, who are suffering from mental stress and victims of drug abuse. Most of these are from the labour class who cannot afford to go to rehab centres. The Dept also works in close coordination with the psychiatric dept from time to time as and when required providing assistance to each other. Apart from this, the dept also handle cases referred from other NGOs that deal with health issues.

And when there is an urgent need to train more number of professional clinical psychologists, speculation of closing down the dept has surfaced up just because there is no one to head the Dept. Earlier, RIMS had clarified against the said speculations saying that they have no intention to close it. But the fate of the Clinical Psychology Dept still hangs in mid air.

Unless the entrance test for the new batch is taken, how can the Dept continue to offer service to the people? Unless students are enrolled for the next session how do you think the Dept can produce more clinical psychologists? Unless RIMS takes up the necessary steps to recruit a new HOD for the Dept, how will it continue to exist?

The three-months verbal extension of retirement period for the current HOD certainly does not wipe out the speculations of closing the dept. Rather, it raises more questions making me think whether the extension is just to hush the students' and public's voice. The concerned authority may say that the exam for the present batch is over now and there is no need to worry but how genuine is the exam if the Chairman of the examiners is officially retired. And who will guarantee that the students will get license on passing the exam, going by the RCI protocols that the examination can be considered invalid if the HOD's extension is not on paper.

Meanwhile, the ISTV news reported that the intake of students for the current session 2010 has been placed in complete halt as none of the faculty members appointed are in regular basis. But isn't it the concerned authority's responsibility to look after the dept's needs so that it can enroll students for next session? Isn't it the duty of RIMS to recruit the required talents and let the dept continue to exist? Instead, the concerned authority is trying to get away from the main issues and blamed the dept by saying that it's sabotaging the students' career. The RIMS authority should blame itself for not being able to run the course in its truest sense and more productively, if it thinks the clinical psychology dept is lacking behind. The very blame on the dept shows how irresponsible and negligent the institute is towards the education of clinical psychology.

In the said news report, the concerned authority went to the extent of saying that the fate of the students remained at stake after the authority of the department failed to convince the union ministry for appointment of regular faculties. But that is not a reason good enough to close down the dept so abruptly. If the RCI has allowed and approved the Dept to offer M Phil course, why can't the concerned authority in RIMS work a little harder to appoint a new HOD.

As per the RCI requirements, the clinical psychology dept needs one Associate Professor or above and one Lecturer or above in fulltime basis to make the faculty regular. This is not too much for the concerned authority if it really wants the dept to continue.

I wonder what our Education Minister is doing till now. Why is he a silent spectator here? What is the use of having an education minister if he is least bothered about education? And what stake does he gain if the dept closes down?

And where has the State Health Dept gone? According to the Manpower Development report, out of a requirement of 260 clinical specialists, only 107 are available with the organization to cater to the needs of the people. There is an acute need to train more professional clinical psychologists in order to meet the increasing demands in the new area. And yet, the Department of Health, does not care a fig whether the clinical psychology dept closes down or continue to exist.

When all the medical fraternity is supposed to work together to develop the dept, the fraternity itself is turning its back. Some of the professors of RIMS blamed the former director Prof. L. Fimate and former head of department of Clinical psychology for creating the problem in the department. They also said at present the course survived for name shake only as there were no effective teaching and training programme during the 2 years M. Phil Course except for the three month training programme in NIMHANS Bangalore.

Our intellectuals and intelligent professors should think twice before blaming the clinical psychology dept. If they cannot lend any help in saving the dept, they must not throw stones to justify their statement.

Besides the poor and weak, I’m sure members from the fraternity must have also taken the help of the clinical psychologist at one point or the other to overcome their constant worry relating to kids and kins. Who does not face mental stress; everyone faces it, be it doctors or patients.

And instead of producing more clinical psychologists to meet the rising demand, the concerned authority is too happy to put and end to the service and get rid of the dept. If the concerned authority thinks that the clinical psychology dept has failed, it is because the authority has failed in making it a better dept. The dept is not an autonomous institute; it has been serving only under the guidance of RIMS. So, it is the failure of the concerned authority and not the failure of the dept.

Militants slap, Maoist slaps, Govt claps?

Sending threat to the non-manipuris to leave the state is certainly not the solution.

I’m a true meitei in heart and soul but I cannot agree with our fellow brethrens in chasing away the non-locals from our state or sending them the threat to leave the land by terming them as “illegal immigrants” just because we don’t like to be part of India. I don’t mean or intend to overlook our history but the present scenario demands a more practical and attainable solution.

If the militants were outside Manipur fighting against all odds for a decent space in this mad world, they would have understood how tough it is for us to pursue higher studies or make a living. Staying far away from our beloved home and working day and night is not easy. Yet, we have managed to find a space for a living just like the non-locals do in Manipur. Imagine what will happen to us who are living outside the state if we are told to pack up our bags and leave behind our jobs and studies. Any threat against the non-locals in Manipur can put the lives of other manipuris living outside the state under similar threat.

The most likely consequence could be the major political controversy with the CPI (Maoist). According to the news report published in Hindustan Times dated April 21, 2010, the Bihar Maoists’ plan to come out with a counter ultimatum in support of the Bihari and Jharkhand labourers. The report further stated that CPI (Maoist) would also issue an ultimatum to the students of Manipur enrolled in different educational institutes in Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to leave these places by June 30. Even the people working in other organizations in the four states would not be spared. And the end result would be both the militants and the Maoist, being the Centre’s pain in the neck, will make the show more pleasurable for the Govt of India. This has to be kept in mind before taking up any further steps.

And what were our state leaders doing when the ultimatum was sent to the migrant workers? Were they waiting for the Maoist counter ultimatum? It is really disappointing to see our Chief Minister is least concerned about manipuris living outside the state by saying that our safety and protection is not under his jurisdiction. If Mr Ibobi had made it clear that the threat to migrant workers is unacceptable and illogical, such question regarding our protection would not have come up. The government watching silently all this time proves its inefficiency in ruling the state and providing security of his own people and non-locals under his umbrella.

Have our fellow brethrens ever thought what the common people want? No. Unfortunately, they raise their own voice and not the voice of the people. The militants should not forget that they are not the legal body of the sate and they cannot anytime impose or issue any barbaric statement or rule in the name of the people’s welfare. If they think that guns can rule us then there are hundreds of lives who stand in between the guns of freedom and bullets of democracy. But eventually, it’s our own blood that will be shed.

The militants must also understand that it’s neither possible to make the non-manipuris leave the place nor sending them away by force is the right solution. Rather it would create chaos in the state not only economically but politically too. All of us know that our economy is so fragile and depends on India for survival. We have seen this many times whenever there are blockades in national highways. Even for a pinch of salt, we need to import from other states. Currently we are facing shortage of essential commodities and transport fuel supply because of the week-long blockades along the Imphal-Dimapur and Imphal-Jiribam national highways, the two lifelines of the state. Prices of vital items are rising much higher than the normal rates across the state. In such a situation, do not be under the illusion that we can meet both ends by cutting ourselves from the rest.

Today, you feel insecure because the non-locals started to control the commercial market but have you ever questioned yourself why they can make money in the heart of Imphal market while our own people continue to depend on them. Instead of sending them threat, why don’t you ban all Indian goods, stop buying Indian products, stop eating Indian foodstuffs, stop wearing Indian cloths and stop chasing Indian money? If you do so, no mayangs will ever dare to survive in Manipur but this you cannot do because the state will not be able to survive in its own. Then how do you think it can subsist by stopping the traders from entering Manipur? So why don’t we work a little harder and replace the mayang rag-picker by a meitei rag-picker, a mayang trader by a meitei trader.

The militants have banned hindi films in protest against the illegal domination by India. They even went to the extent of burning hindi books but was it successful? No. Today you can see Imphal market flooded with pirated hindi movies. The successful launch of Tata Sky and Dish TV via satellite channels which offers hundreds of hindi channels is unstoppable. On the one hand, they banned wearing skirts in schools adding unnecessary nuisance to the students but on the other hand the market is swamped with Indian and western dresses. Where has all the spirit of preserving our tradition gone? Was it limited to school uniforms only?

Not a single major industry, much less an important establishment has ever been established in Manipur partly because of the colonial regime and political and military subjugation of the people and partly because of the illegal taxation imposed by several insurgent groups. So much of talking has been happening about threats posing to the local people of Manipur by the unchecked increasing influx of non-locals but what about the insiders who are also equally responsible for it.

If they cannot work as hard as their counterparts, at least learn something constructive from the Maoist. Founded on 21 September, 2004 with the aim to overthrow the government of India, the Maoist has been fighting for the rights of the tribals in the forest belt in and around central India. Their principle source of funding has been abduction, extortions, looting and poppy cultivation but they serve its own people by building roads and running schools. It is unfortunate that our brethrens only know how to extort money from the poor people, not even sparing the small retailers like the pan-dukans. The worst scenario is they have grade politics above education.

Revolting against the Indian army and its excessive usage of special powers under the Armed Forces Special Power Act is justified to the extent that it’s taking undue advantage over the common people. But chasing away the non-locals, who are like us earning a living, will not serve any purpose. It will rather deteriorate the economic condition of the state and only the common people will pay the price for such irrational act.

The heavy influx of non-locals is quite alarming and certainly needs to be checked by all means. At least we should not let outsiders buy or own property except for industrial purposes that can provide employment to the local people. This can solve half the problem as the demand would be quite reasonable. For example, outsiders are not allowed to buy land in some states of India because of various political and historical reasons. In Sikkim, outsiders cannot buy land, except to set up industrial units. Only Sikkimese residents can buy land there. Article 371F of the Constitution of India, which grants special provisions to Sikkim, prohibits sale and purchase of land or property involving outsiders. In addition to this, only tribals can purchase land and property in the tribal areas of the state, for instance, the north district of Sikkim.

In Arunachal Pradesh too, sale of land or property to outsiders (non-tribals) is prohibited. Arunachal falls under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and in all such areas; non-tribals cannot purchase land or property.

Fighting for self-determination is a greater cause and needs more realistic measures that are achievable. But before that we need to clean the mess among ourselves if we want to meet our goals. So we must first change our outlook and initiate steps to take up firm actions to bring industrial growth in the state.

Maisnam Mangijao gi Ene Punimashi - Part 6 (Aroiba)

Chiklaba ahing gi eenglaba thabalda
Leiraang rajnigandha na maka laamna shaatpagum
Thenglaba ahing gi thaaplaba lamdamda
Awa pothanari mangijaonss mayaam na
Naitom shaatchabi Ene Punimashigi leikol da

Ching da shaatpi engenlei chinnadana kenkhi doh
Maelei leisna noongjumpal kadaambadi leinungshi
Malangbagi shahum da kana khangbidana maangkhi doh
Henba natte sarga gi thongjinda shaatchabi siroy lily na
Thaasi-purnima khaidana leishaat tamlibi Ene Punimashi dagi

Lonthoktabi atiyagi purnima na kari hengani
hengani kari meechang-meekhai naibi mera gi purnima na
Kumbi-kaalen naidana, waakching gi oollen khangliba
Naaken tha na laakpada basanta ritu ngairiba
Thaa leibaak ta shaatliba thaaja maanbi Ene Punimashi da gi

Leiraang kayagi leinam da leikol kaya koirurabasu
Leinam chaobi kanagi leikhong kaya shomlurabasu
Chillurabasu naappada leiraang leichom singarei
Heklurabasu kallaktuna leiraang ador gulaab
Oijagey mapu Ene Punimashigi leikol gi


The End

Maisnam Mangijao gi Ene Punimashi – Part 5

Singju bora chaba laakpa thourani kaya na
Thawai tana loukhatli oaksha-sansha kaya
Kaokhrey numidang wairamgi dhoop-thangmei thaanba
Churup machei chamnaba hotnaringei
Ene Punimashi gi hoten da

Nupi chenba laakpa pakhang kaya
Nupi chen ni haiba kaonarey
Nupi chelluraba nupa singsu
Luhong gani ningshingdrey
Yourabada Ene Punimashi gi hoten

Angakpagi mafamni, maya gi sangsar ni
Nongma kangda changningee, nini suba ngaingamde
Ahing nungthil khaidana tumfam chafam khanghande
Kari yai bu chenbano, kari mantra paibano
Maisnam Mangijao gi Ene Punimashi du

National highway na chahi chuppa blocked tourasu
Inflation na ching muk waangasu
School college na matam kaktana thong lollasu
Mangijaonss mayaam leiri makhei di
Leikhigani Ene Punimashi gi hoten

............................to be continued

Maisnam Mangijao gi Ene Punimashi – Part 4

Ningtambagi artha di khangdana ningtamba taalliba
Nongmei paiba heiraga loirae khanjaba eechil eenao singna
Mahei gi mangaal gi kaanaba kadaida khang-gani
Taabigani kadaida makhoina Ene Punimashi gi yaifa paojel

Right to life fangdey haibagidamak right to education maanghanbadi
Khalli karamba awaangba thaak ki wakhallon no
Right to education bu leihandrabada right to freedom gi artha na karino
Hangli tattana Ene Punimashi na

Leibaak ki eerang na leppa kouba leitrabada
Kokckaobi kaaraba tai-bi na kharou gi saktam louduna
Marei tamla tamla duna khu-khu kaamli achat-aokta
Ene Punimashi gi hoten maigei tam na

Meisha fanglaba Maisnam Mangijao gi mahaprabhu mayaam na
Himaloy chingkhongda baashi khonglaga khaangbana khaangba
Yet ta whisky pai oida rum thamlaga khaangbana khaangba
Yaodaba natte khaangdaba Ene Punimashi gi singju table da

Leimaithakta kenkhiba kha romdagi pairakpa khoimudu
Oiramdrey kenba leiraang leika gi shahum da
Kenbani hairaklae khoimu marup ki kaina meisha da
Hanglubada machin Ene Punimashi na


............................to be continued