Our guest for today’s episode is Mr. Phungzathang Tonsing, Health Minister of Manipur. He was born in Bungpilon village in Churachandpur district, Manipur in 1937. He shares with us about how he grew up in the village and how he was taught valuable life lessons by his parents to become a hardworking and responsible person. He passed his matriculate exam from Churachandpur Government High School in 1960. He then served as a teacher at Bungpilon Government Junior High School from 1961 till 1971.

After retiring as a teacher from the school, he joined politics and contested in the District Council elections for Thanlon constituency, where was elected unopposed in 1972. Mr. Tonsing worked as a district council member upto 1976 and later on became chairman in 1977. Later on, he contested in the Assembly elections and won three times in a row from 1980 to 1990. He was however defeated in the elections of 1995 and 2000, but again got elected in 2002, where he became a minister.

We ask Mr. Phungzathang Tonsing why he became a politician and what changes he has brought about for the people. Manipur has become a place where there are frequent bandhs, blockades and strikes and this situation has made the state unable to function like any other state in the country. In this

context, Mr. Tonsing says that citizens should take up their issues with

the Government in a democratic manner. He says that even if bandhs or blockades are called, there should be a limitation; they should not be called indefinitely. We also talk about the advantages of social media and the lack of transparency from the side of the Government to the public in Manipur.