The BJP government led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh received a sharp rebuke from none other than the former Chief Minister and Congress leader Okram Ibobi Singh for indulging propaganda instead of performing the bounden duties of a government in power with regard to the turmoil in the state which had been going on for more than a year. Politics apart, Mr Ibobi has a point in reminding chief minister of his responsibilities as head of the government.
The Congress managed to clinch both Lok Sabha seats in the state not because it is very popular among the general population, but more because of the negativity towards BJP in dealing with the crisis. In the case of Inner Manipur, everyone knows that it was Prof Angomcha Bimol Akoijam which won the day and the Congress party was simply riding on the popularity of the outspoken intellectual who dared the powers that be and fought the anti-Meitei wave both in the national and international domain with a rare sense of bravado. His conviction and articulations won over the people, despite the negative vibes with regard to the Congress party and its questionable stances vis-à-vis the Manipur turmoil.
The Congress party at the local level, of course, was with the ethos and sentiments of the valley population. But, the utterances of its national leaders and positioning of its spokespersons and sympathetic various social media handles with regard to the Manipur crisis was one-sided. If the Congress candidate was someone from its ranks, the ruling BJP could have carried the day inspite of the widespread anger against the meek response of state leaders and indifferent attitude of the central leaders.
With regard to the Outer Manipur constituency, BJP sacrificed the seat in favour of the NPF candidate on the presumption that Nagas would vote in unison and the Meitei votes in Outer constituency would supplement the required numbers, as the Kuki-Zo coalition had chosen not to put any candidate in protest. Unexpectedly, there was a division in both Naga and Meitei votes while the Kuki-Zos particularly in Churachandpur chose to vote for the Congress candidate. It was Churachandpur which went solid for the Congress candidate, while most of Kangpokpi chose to abstain from voting. In short, BJP calculations went wrong and the Congress won. And, it would have been graceful for them to accept the defeat. But, they chose to paint the Congress as anti-Meitei or anti-Manipur instead of getting down to brass-tacks and trying to regain lost ground.
It is true, nobody can predict when will this unrest end. The whole state is earnestly praying for a kind of normalcy where the common people could lead at least a semblance of the normal life they once had, when internally displaced citizens could return to their original home and hearth and bury the hatchet for the sake of the future generation. Well, the present situation is not that rosy and conducive for peace efforts to work.
The outbreak of fresh violence in Jiribam district after announcement of Lok Sabha elections reveals the design of Kuki-Zo militants to control Manipur’s western gateway. The eastern gateway Moreh is practically surviving in a situation where a person endures through ‘life-saving drugs’. One must not forget that forces which threatens the fabric of the entity called Manipur had always been there. The ethos of a shared common historical experience and continuing experiments at cultural integration were rudely disturbed when British imperialists landed in Manipur.
The wedge driven by British between the hills and valley during colonial times had created an artificial barrier and further led to the rise of ethnic aspirations. That is Manipur, that the present generation had inherited. Even with the lapse of British paramountcy and subsequent ‘merger’ with the newly formed Indian Union, the remnants of British divisive policies continue to linger. So, to be befuddled by such divisive trends and ethnic aspirations would be like crying over spilt milk. Instead of lamenting our fate and predicament, we should be trying to overcome the hurdles before us and not to be easily disheartened. Once again, we must insist that divisive forces are not a recent phenomenon in the state and even after resolution of the present unrest the forces will still linger.
