June of 2002 and the reality of today The stark difference
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Bangkok Declaration of June 14, 2002. Manipur erupts in protest on June 18, 2002. A general strike was imposed from June 15 to June 17 and when the strike was lifted, Imphal erupted in violence on a scale never seen before. Back then the BJP was in power at Delhi while Manipur was under President’s Rule. Protesters marched towards the official residence of the Chief Minister which then housed the two Advisors to the Governor, offices of different political parties were targeted, the Old Assembly building was torched and all the major roads in Imphal were strewn with shards of broken glasses, remains of bottles which were thrown and broken into pieces on all the major roads of Imphal to deter movement of security forces. Schools and colleges remained shut. Offices were closed and Imphal resembled a besieged town, the deserted places that one gets to see in WWII movies of the 1980s. In short a ghost town and this continued until the Centre finally decided to delete the line, ‘ceasefire without territorial limits’ from the Bangkok Declaration of June 14, 2002. This was late in July, after one full month of Manipur going up in flames. Looking back one is immediately reminded of the anguished look of the then Union Home Minister LK Advani on a TV news. June 18 is once again upon Manipur and this is perhaps the best time to recollect that during the more than 30 days of protest and deaths of 18 people, the anger of the people was against the decision of the Government of India and not against any community. The anguished look of LK Advani today stands in stark contrast to the smug explanation given by some Central leaders that ethnic turmoil or ethnic clash is not something new in Manipur, while pointing to the Naga-Kuki clash from 1992 to 1997. Back then Imphal burnt, but there was no question of targeting anybody from any community, something very different from what happened at Churachandpur and Torbung on May 3, 2023--The first match stick that was struck and which lit the inferno, an inferno which is yet to be extinguished with all efforts to douse the flame being neutralised by the false narratives that have been floated around and sold to the rest of the country. June 18, 2002 the anger was against the ruling of the Government and May 3, 2023, the Tribal Solidarity March was ostensibly against the ruling of the High Court of Manipur but ended up targeting the Meitei localities at Churachandpur and Meitei settlements at Torbung. 24 years after June 18, 2002 and the difference in the two cases is stark.
Policies and programmes of the Government. Decisions of the Government. Democracy demands that all these be studied, discussed and if needed protested against. This was what happened in 2002 when Imphal and the valley districts rose as one to protest the decision of Delhi to extend the ceasefire pact signed between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India to the soil of Manipur. No community was targeted and the protest of 2002 was not against any community. Likewise, the Nagas too have protested the policies and programmes of the Government of Manipur, but not once did the protest target any community. When the Government of Manipur decided to create Kangpokpi district out of Senapati district back in December of 2016, the Nagas rose as one to protest but not once was any community targeted. It was a protest against the decision of the Government and a tripartite talk on the districts creation is still underway. Protesting the policies and programmes of the Government is a given and this is precisely the reason why The Sangai Express has not given much importance to the days of protest and violence, including the targeting of Government offices at Chura- chandpur on the immediate days before May 3, 2023. The question therefore still stands why Meiteis were targeted at Churachandpur and Torbung on May 3, 2023, if the people there had any grievances against the policies and programmes of the Government. No answer has been forthcoming.
Policies and programmes of the Government. Decisions of the Government. Democracy demands that all these be studied, discussed and if needed protested against. This was what happened in 2002 when Imphal and the valley districts rose as one to protest the decision of Delhi to extend the ceasefire pact signed between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India to the soil of Manipur. No community was targeted and the protest of 2002 was not against any community. Likewise, the Nagas too have protested the policies and programmes of the Government of Manipur, but not once did the protest target any community. When the Government of Manipur decided to create Kangpokpi district out of Senapati district back in December of 2016, the Nagas rose as one to protest but not once was any community targeted. It was a protest against the decision of the Government and a tripartite talk on the districts creation is still underway. Protesting the policies and programmes of the Government is a given and this is precisely the reason why The Sangai Express has not given much importance to the days of protest and violence, including the targeting of Government offices at Chura- chandpur on the immediate days before May 3, 2023. The question therefore still stands why Meiteis were targeted at Churachandpur and Torbung on May 3, 2023, if the people there had any grievances against the policies and programmes of the Government. No answer has been forthcoming.