Now the debate seems to have gone beyond the question of whether the controversial audio tapes serially aired by The Wire in its reports are genuine or not, which could be established by a forensic analysis of the said audio tapes. Nowadays, there are several private parties or individuals who have the technical competence to conduct such forensic analysis as we have seen among the fact-checkers who usually exhibit their skills with regard to social media content.
The Wire would have surely vetted the controversial audio tapes through such unofficial channels before bringing out the reports. The reports say that the said audio tapes are similar to the ones submitted to the Inquiry Committee instituted by the Supreme Court to enquire into the Manipur crisis. Although The Wire report did not categorically say the voice in the audio tapes are of Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren, there were enough implications to it.
Well, whether the audio tapes are authentic or doctored has to be determined by a forensic analysis conducted by an official agency mandated with such inquiry or by a court. So far, we are still in the dark as to whether such an official forensic analysis had been sought or not. The Supreme Court and the committee had its own procedures and channels for the same as it sees fit. The state government claiming that the audio tapes are doctored had also filed an FIR in this regard, but the part about seeking forensic analysis has not been made public.
For the record, it was not The Wire which first broke the story about the controversial tapes. About a week before the reports came out, a chatter directly insinuating the Chief Minister from known Kuki handles along with an accompanying audio tape came out on social media to which the state government reacted swiftly with a denial and FIR. And then, The Wire reports came out. Yet, The Wire is yet to lay all its cards on the table or of the reports directly asserting the voice in the audio tapes as that of the Chief Minister.
In short, the initial chatter on social media and the serialised reports smacks of an exploratory probe into the allegations as apparent in the follow-up reports. And it seems to have succeeded to some extent. While Chief Minister N Biren Singh through state government channels had claimed the controversial audio tapes as ‘doctored’ with the intention to create further tension in the state, many handles have taken to glorifying N Biren as the ‘hero’ or champion of the Meitei community while also questioning the real intent of The Wire and the Kuki handles with regard to the controversial tapes.
Whatever be the ‘real’ feelings or inclinations of N Biren Singh in the present ethnic strife, many of his so-called supporters seem to have forgotten that he is the chief minister of a state called Manipur inhabited by different communities and not of the Meiteis.
And this reflects poorly on his character and standing. Right from the beginning, the Kuki lobby had been trying hard to project him as a ‘communal’ Chief Minister interested only in the welfare of his own community. Sadly, many of his so-called supporters and admirers seem oblivious to this design. Yet one is surprised by the recent political developments considering N Biren Singh’s skill in political manoeuvring in the recent past. These days, he has become a mere shadow to his past record as a skilled operator. Perhaps, the ethnic conflict has finally taken a toll on his political acumen and he has lost his ability to outwit his political rivals in the present crisis.
As it turned out, the present conflict became a ‘Agni Pariksha’ of sorts to his political career. Can he salvage it? We are at a loss to give a definitive answer to it. However, we pray he at least has the wits to realise the reality that, the day he surrendered his command of the Unified Command to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his stooge Kuldeip Singh he had already lost the plot among the Meitei population he belongs to.
