Will Manipur survive? To me, this seems to be the most important question at the moment. Perhaps the landmass of Manipur will survive. The physical Manipur will last. But what will happen to the soul of Manipur? What is the soul of Manipur? The soul of Manipur is a composite whole. It is the essence and identity of Manipur. It was formed over the centuries through a process of evolutionary metamorphosis.
The scenic beauty, the life and culture, the attire, the dance and songs of the valley and hills form the essence and identity of Manipur. The recent events of the last few months have posed a serious challenge to the soul of Manipur. The soul of Manipur is in deep crisis now. That is why the question is whether the soul of Manipur will survive this onslaught.
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In the beginning, let us clearly say certain things. Or put certain things straight. Many people are saying that we shouldn’t politicise the situation in Manipur. What does that mean? Does that mean that we shouldn’t question the role of the state government and central government in the present crisis? If that is what they mean, I disagree with them. The state is in turmoil. And there is a government which is presiding over the turmoil.
How could it happen? Why should we not question the government about its role in containing the turmoil? If it is not the responsibility of the state government whose responsibility is it? And when the state is in such a statelessness what the central government is doing? Has it done anything so far to stop the violence and the disturbance? The answer is a big no. The state and the central government have done nothing to curb the violence and disturbance in the state. Forget about controlling the violence, this government is not even willing to discuss Manipur in the ongoing session of the parliament.
The opposition is demanding a statement from the prime minister on the floor of the house in Manipur and a subsequent comprehensive discussion on it. The government is not conceding that which has caused a stalemate in the house. It is really strange. When a state is burning for almost three months and the centre is not even willing to discuss that in the parliament. Why do we need a parliament if such serious issues affecting the life of the people cannot be discussed there? Is it not a shame for our democracy? But as the no-confidence motion against the government is accepted, there is no way the government can duck the issue in the parliament. The prime minister is now bound to discuss the issue in the House.
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But, there is a positive connotation to the sentence ‘no one should politicise the situation in Manipur’. The positive thing is no one should try to get a political advantage from the prevailing situation in Manipur. But just the opposite is happening. The ruling party and the so-called double-engine government are not doing anything to stop the violence because they want to take political advantage of it. They want to sharpen the polarisation among the communities so that they could get the votes of the majority community in the elections. It is as simple as that.
Let us stop here and take an inward look at the people and citizens of Manipur. Are there some sovereign citizens in Manipur who think beyond their ethnic identity and put their humanity first and ethnicity second? What does the incident of two women being paraded naked, raped and physically assaulted mean? Please remember that the other day the chief minister of Manipur said that numerous such incidents have occurred in the past few months. They haven’t come to public knowledge because there was no internet.
See the audacity and shamelessness of the chief minister! Let us again go to the question of citizens and community. The other day someone put it very pertinently. It was said that in such circumstances the rape of a woman is not only an act of sexual violence but also an act of political revenge. Now my question is if a society accepts such brutality in the name of ethnic or whatever identity the community becomes a degraded community. What is the value and meaning of an identity where humanity and the modesty of women have no place? I think in Manipur, Meitei and Kuki both communities must do some soul-searching on this.
One can try to understand the meaning of a militant movement in a community against the state. But the moment the ire of the militant movement is turned against the common man of another community, it becomes degraded and inhuman. The alleged complicity of the ruling party in the disturbance of Manipur is most disturbing. But the failure of the both Meitei and Kuki communities has also precipitated the violence and disturbance in Manipur. That is why the need of the hour is to protect the soul of Manipur.