Editorial

Playing the SA card well Camouflaged under SoO pact

The Kukis have laid their cards on the table-Separate Administration. An aspiration well hidden under the cover of the Suspension of Operation pact and under which they have been receiving the needed ‘patronage’ of some Central security forces..

Refusing to furnish detailsSkeletons to hide ?

If there is nothing to hide then there is absolutely no reason for the Kuki Chiefs’ Association, Manipur to come out so strongly against the order of the State Government to give detailed accounts of the villages from 1964 to the present. Or is it a..

In pursuit of ST tag for Meiteis Think of the future

Are the Meiteis more advanced than the Meena tribe of Rajasthan or the aboriginal Tripuris ? Are the Meiteis more advanced than the six communities of Assam, for whom the nod has been given for including them in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitutio..

Clash over boundary line Mindless violence

Four dead. Over forty injured. 20 guns looted. 18 looted guns recovered. This is how the story has panned out so far following the clash between Ukhrul (Hunphun) and Hundung (Hungpung) on October 2. Total madness and even as efforts seem to be on to make ..

The stupidity Manipur has to suffer Yet another dolt saved

Something, somewhere is seriously wrong. On the day two youths held in captivity by Kuki militants were freed after six days, another youth was prevented from proceeding towards Leimakhong, another Kuki dominated area, late in the night by the people of M..

No red carpet welcome for freed youths A case of stupidity ?

Freed after 6 days in captivity but no red carpet welcome. Far from it, it was derision and anger that greeted the two youths who  have been in the captivity of Kuki militants since the evening of September 27. All is well, one may say, but to many t..

Why not task the two Kuki Ministers ? End the hostage crisis

This is a hostage crisis and it is only terrorists or those who believe in terrorism who go to the extent of holding anyone captive and lay down terms in exchange for the release of the hostage/s. Sounds like something straight out of a Hollywood flick wh..

From Sadar Hills to now Kangpokpi Heeding the call of UNC

Back on December 8, 2016, the then Congress Government dropped a sort of a bombshell in announcing the creation of seven new districts, notably, Kangpokpi, repeat notably Kangpokpi district late in the night. A small recap is in line here. The Sangai Expr..

Sounding Union Home Minister Time to make Delhi act

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been sounded on the abduction and ’still being held in captivity’ of two youths by Kuki armed militants-A statement given to the media by the president of Manipur Pradesh Congress Committee K Meghachandra quot..

Scripting the tragedy of Sept 28 Losing the plot completely

The predicted large scale attack from well trained 900 Kuki militants, grouped into units of 30 members each, never came on September 28, in line with the roll back of the false alarm raised by the Security Advisor, but Manipur did wake up to the disturbi..

Price the ongoing clash has exacted Task before the people

The task before the people should be clear. It is not only about fighting to keep intact the idea of Manipur, in the face of the Separate Administration call raised by the Kuki-Zo folks under the aegis of the Kuki Inpi, Manipur (KIM), the Indigenous Triba..

Scripting a farce of a story Pressing false alarm !

It is scary. Is this the Government which the people should trust with their lives and properties ? Forget about the Manipur from May 3, 2023 to September 26, 2024, but take a look at the place from September 17, 2024 to September 20, 2024  and from ..

NPP lining up crucial meeting Looking beyond

With 7 MLAs in its kitty, the decision on whether it will continue to sup with the BJP in the Government or otherwise will not have much impact on the standing of the BJP led Government, which is comfortably placed in the House of 60 with just the Congres..

A cap on the number of students Safety, wellbeing of tiny tots

The move of the Government is noted but at the same time one cannot help but wonder why it took such a long time to wake up to the reality. It was as long back as 2013 that The Sangai Express had expressed deep concern over the manner in which school vans..

Not diluting one’s ethnicity Pressing call of the hour

Conversion should not dilute one’s ethnic identity, a call raised by the Mao-Poumai Baptist Church and this could not have come at a more opportune time than now, especially with the Kuki-Zo group going out of their way to give a religious tinge to ..

Intelligent inputs from Intelligence But who is guarding the border ?

One has to give it to them. The Intelligence Department or Intelligence Agencies of the Government has proven itself to be really intelligent and this observation is made on the premise that Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh has gone on record to announce th..

Surviving from day to day A look at the reality

Manipur continues to survive from day to day and it has been like this for over 500 days on the trot now. The guns have fallen silent for the time being, but as repeatedly said, the absence of gun shots and direct confrontations between the two warring et..

Case of a story pulled downThe why and more whys

Nothing short of a double blow accompanied by a good dose of ‘mystery’. Even as Manipur came to grips with the story that border fencing work has been put on halt at Kuki dominated areas, the same said news item was found to have been pulled d..

Manipur needs to keep her focus straight What is the way forward ?

What is the way forward ? Not the first time this poser is being raised and the very fact that the need to repeat this has arisen should tell its own story. For 16 months, since the evening of May 3, 2023 Manipur has literally been in a state of ‘wa..

Making CM the fall guy Delhi’s brand of politics

September 1, September 2, September 6, September 7 and the offensives from the Kuki militants continue unabated and it was against this backdrop that Chief Minister N Biren convened one meeting after the other of the MLAs belonging to the ruling bloc and ..

The buck should stop with the PM Offensives from the sky

If one goes by what Chief Minister N Biren has had to say, then the buck should stop with the Prime Minister. It was as recent as July 11 this year that the Chief Minister dished out yet another show of utter ‘loyalty’ to Narendra Modi when he..

Delhi searching for a solution ? What has it done so far ?

On September 5, with the dateline given as Imphal, September 4, The Sangai Express ran two exclusive stories, one dealing with how Delhi may effect a change in leadership and the other on how Chief Minister N Biren was convinced not to visit Koutruk with ..

Clipping the wings of the CM ? Games that Delhi plays

Delhi has a lot to answer for. For starters it may well elaborate on what Union Home Minister Amit Shah meant when he gave the directive, ‘You look after the valley, I will look after the hills’ to Chief Minister N Biren Singh sometime last ye..

Nothing more than an open and shut case One step up from the probe

How to effectively counter such weaponised drones is one of the stated objectives of the five member high level committee set up under the seal and order of DGP Rajiv Singh and while such a measure is welcome and expected of a Govern- ment, the answer doe..

Reducing Meiteis to sitting ducks People will not forget easily

Manipur has every reason to be angry. From the day violence erupted on May 3, 2023 to September 2, 2024 and for over 15 months the place has been in a state of war while an indifferent Delhi looks on. To many the indifference has become more than a case o..

Drone attacks after Nationwide rally Pattern in the offensives

A well thought out strategy and in the process one gets the distinct feeling that the Kuki militants have managed to send out the message that they have planned everything right down to the minutest of details. This cannot be a coincidence. One day after ..

What story should Manipur present ? Roadmap to normalcy

The roadmap to peace and normalcy. This is what is required and one wonders whether such a roadmap has been drafted or not, but if one goes by what Chief Minister N Biren has stated then Manipur may well have started taking the first step towards peace an..

Of potholed roads and others Roads to cemetery

Cemetery youningladi Lamphelgi Tangkhul Baptist Church Manakki Sorokta Gari Thoudou on the way to Shija Hospitals (If you want to reach the Cemetery take the road by the side of Tangkhul Baptist Church at Lamphel towards Shija Hospital, is the rough trans..

Why is Delhi so smitten with the SoO pact ? Meaningful questions

Everyone, including Imphal, is confused over the status of the Suspension of Operation pact, which has been in force since 2008, but this does not mean that certain questions, however uncomfortable they may be, need not be raised. There is a reason why Ma..

Confusing folks over status of fuel stock Artificial scarcity line

Artificial scarcity. This is the line maintained by CAF and PD Minister L Susindro while referring to the state of fuel stock, particularly petrol and while on the very day (August 26) the Minister said this, the Directorate of CAF and PD issued a notific..

Delhi’s brand of politics being played out ‘CM is co-operating’ line

The question still stands and that is whether Imphal has the spunk and the conviction to question why the Centre has still now not bothered to inform the State Government on the status of the SoO pact ? And this question has come not from any exercise of ..

Soaring prices of essential commodities Acute shortage of essentials

One month back, Manipur made it to the news for reasons which did not have a direct link with the ongoing ethnic violence, but to which a common link can be easily discerned. Just 32 days back, Outlook India, reported that rural Manipur recorded the highe..

Does Imphal have the spunk to state its stand ? On and off stand on SoO pact

The game that Delhi plays and the crucial question is whether Imphal has the spunk and the conviction to state its mind before the Delhi mandarins who lord over everything that has anything to do with Manipur.  Look back to two very crucial steps tak..

Against standing order of SC Demolished houses at CCpur

Not likely that Imphal will take up any action against the utter indifference or disregard to the standing instruction of the Supreme Court of India to protect the properties of internally displaced people but the fact stands that localities, which were e..

Stand against move to fence border Encouraging illegal immigration

It was more than just a protest against the decision of the Centre to fence the highly porous Indo-Myanmar border, but must be understood in the context of the strong stand taken against illegal immigration from across the border. This reality should be u..

In the grip of yet another spell of flood 3rd case in a span of 3 months

2023 was bad, in fact very bad. 2024 has been no better so far and apart from the ethnic conflict, for which no compromise formula has been worked out, mother nature has pummelled Manipur on different occasions and while the end of May and early days of J..

Can Manipur afford to go on like this ? Wanted : A Govt that works

Something has to give. Manipur cannot go on like this forever and even as there is nothing to suggest that a solution to the ethnic conflict is anywhere in sight, the people continue to bleed from wounds inflicted by those very set of people who have come..

Adapting to the reality of the timeSurviving Manipur

Surviving Manipur. Adapting to the new reality of the time and this is the condition under which the people of Manipur have had to live for over 15 months now. Normalcy is still a far cry away and the absence of gun shots and confrontations cannot come an..

Talking of peace and normalcy Sanctity of the place

Several measures, some of which can be disclosed, others which cannot be disclosed at this point of time, have been taken up to restore peace in the State. This was Chief Minister N Biren Singh while flagging off a Har Ghar Tiranga campaign one day ahead ..

Of piling garbages and potholed roads Defacing Imphal

The four column picture of a huge mound of garbage piled up by the roadside at Nagamapal and which appeared on page 1 of the English edition of The Sangai Express on the August 12, 2024 edition should tell its own story. A story which many in Manipur will..

Harping on the core issues Imphal should be coherent

In a way it is baffling and one is left wondering whether there is a design in the abject failure to address what steps Manipur should first take to start walking the road to normalcy. The validity of this question should be clear in the backdrop of the f..

What is the Security Advisor doing ? Delhi should answer

Delhi and Imphal should be answerable. And when one says Delhi, it should be understood via the Security Advisor, who has been named the Chairperson of the Unified Command, the DGP, who was hand picked by the Centre and the Assam Rifles, particularly the ..

Leishiyo : Man of the moment Incursion from across

Phungyar Assembly Constituency MLA Leishiyo Keishing is undoubtedly the man of the moment and if at all the Budget session of the ongoing Assembly is remembered, it will be for the manner in which he has managed to draw the attention of the House to the i..

Babina Hospital : Health destination Other face of Manipur

The other face of Manipur and perhaps this is what gives hope to the place and her people. If nothing associated with the Government seems to be working, Manipur at least have the comfort of knowing that there are some folks who are ready to think out of ..

The push and pull factor at play Numbers detected so far

The push and pull factor at play here and one can see this in the number of immigrants from across the border which has been put at 10,590. This is the official record and note the stress on the official part for none can write off the distinct possibilit..

Dialogue : First step towards normalcy Time for Delhi to act

Dialogue. This is obviously the first step towards resolving the current impasse and put Manipur on the track of normalcy. And it is along this line that Chief Minister N Biren reportedly approached Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma to initiate a dialogue ..

Pressures of pulls and pushes from within Wake up to the reality

Manipur needs to wake up to the reality. The present more than says that it is not only the ethnic clash that people have to contend with but also the pressure of pulls and pushes from within and perhaps nothing illustrates this better than the series of ..

Creating more and more confusion Toeing the false narratives

It is getting more and more confusing and in such a scenario talking about putting Manipur on the track of peace and normalcy sounds like a pipe dream. It was just the other day that fingers were pointed at illegal migrants, poppy plantations-in short the..

Talk of normalcy gaining ground Reach out to the Nagas

It has taken more than 14 months but in a way it is assuring to hear talk of peace and normalcy gaining ground of late. On July 27, The Indian Express in a report from New Delhi quoted an unnamed BJP leader as stating, ‘bringing peace is the only mi..

Notable performances from two MPs Manipur’s time in LS

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and the people of Manipur lived up to this in sending the right people to represent them in Parliament and nothing illustrates this better than the performance of the first time two MPs in the Lok Sabha,..