Arunkumar Thangjam is someone who steadily, resolutely, without stopping on the way, heads towards his chosen goal. Starting off as a legal practitioner, Arunkumar left this coveted profession to start his own enterprises with the noble aim of providing jobs to his unemployed compatriots. Informed by his own lived experience he has one piece of advice, “don’t always seek government’s job”, for he believes, hankering for government jobs is one of the main enablers of corruption in our society.
Whether his assertion is true or false is for the public to decide, but there is an undeniable acceptance that most people value government jobs as the ‘real job’, no matter how well educated or how much they earn for a living. It’s also a fact that government officers in India enjoy considerable power without corresponding accountability. They can easily (mis)use their power for their personal benefits and action is hardly taken against them.
Does Arunkumar have a solution to this unemployment problem? Yes. We, the government, need to explore more avenues to create jobs, he said. The more we seek government jobs, the more corruption it produces. Because the government cannot provide jobs to every citizen which means that there is active competition among the job seekers.
An intending candidate from Wangkhei Assembly constituency in the 12th Manipur Legislative Assembly election 2022, which is scheduled to be held on February 27, 2022, Arunkumar said his first priority as an elected representative is to try to provide tap water connections to every household in his constituency. The second priority, he said, is to improve the road condition in Wangkhei A/C. Although a part of the Great Imphal area, Wangkhei Assembly constituency has one of the worst and deplorable road connectivity in the state. With narrow lanes and improper drainage systems, Wangkhei areas have suffered the worst whenever there is little rain in the hills, he lamented.
Without mentioning the government’s ‘School Fagathansi Mission’, Arunkumar said that all the government schools in this constituency are almost dead. Reviving them once he is elected in this election, is another of his priorities. Developing more recreational parks for senior citizens and playgrounds for school-going children are some of the programmes he plans to take up, Arunkumar disclosed to The North East Affairs.
Despite the best efforts of ‘War Against Drugs’ by the state government and state police forces, the consumption of drugs, cases of drug smuggling and trafficking are increasing in every nook and corner of the state, Arunkumar observed. “Safeguarding our youth of Manipur from this terrible disease” is something Arunkumar is seriously concerned about this. He feels there is a need to wean them away from drugs. One of the best ways, according to Arunkumar, is to encourage them to take up sports and other extracurricular activities by providing them all the facilities, sports fields, among others. This can motivate them and indirectly contribute towards a positive society.
Born to Late Thangjam Birachandra Singh and Thangjam Ongbi Maipakpi on 14th September 1967, Arunkumar is the youngest among ten siblings. He did his schooling at Tiny Tot’s Unique School and passed his Class XII from DM College in 1985. After he received his LLB degree from the Indian Law Society, Pune, he started practicing law under Late N Surjamani Singh, renowned lawyer and retired Judge of the Gauhati High Court. However, God had a different plan for him. After practicing law for two years, he left the profession and started an event management business under the name and style of ‘Arun Enterprises’ with a meagre budget of Rs 70,000 only. His dedication and hard work saw his firm increasing its worth to Rs 10 crore and employing around 300 staff today.
Among his siblings, late Th Prafulo was a retired Deputy Commandant, BSF; Dr Thangjam Nabachandra Singh (Child Specialist); Th Lata Devi; Th Shyamo Singh, retired Civil Engineer; Dr Dhabali Singh, Managing Director, Classic Grande, Classic (Imphal) Hotel, Babina Diagnostics Centre); Th Pramodini Devi; Th Joykumar Singh (Promotor & Managing Director Thangjam Agro Industries Pvt Ltd., Likla Brand; JJ Montessori School); Th Brojen Singh (IPS, currently working with the United Nations as Chief Security Advisor, Present posting Iraq; and Dr Th Premita Devi (Associate Professor, Manipur College). His cousin brother Miren Thangjam is an entrepreneur and proprietor of LG Shoppe.
Since childhood, Arunkumar has been a sports enthusiast. He was Manager, Secretary and Treasurer of the NEROCA, a premier football club of Manipur. He not only holds the post of the President of NEROCA FC, he is also the working president of the All Manipur Mukna Association. He is also a patron, founding member of various clubs and associations across Manipur.
Arunkumar is happily married to Irengbam Purnimashi Devi and the couple is blessed with three children – Loyalembi, Abothoi and Sanarik.
