Refugees in their own homeland Of Sangai Fest and IDPs
|
In just another 61 days, Manipur, like the rest of the world, will be stepping into a new year and inching more close towards the three year mark of the violence that erupted in all its ugliness in the evening of May 3, 2023. Two years is a long time, more so when one is talking about a violence, a violence that has forced people on either side of the clash divide to live in gated communes. Writ large on the prolonged state of violence is the utter failure of the Government to bring a resolution and this applies to both the Governments at Imphal and Delhi. True, incidents of violence has seen a sharp drop after Manipur came under President’s Rule on February 13, 2025 but the absence of violence cannot exactly be equated to a state of normalcy. So even as Manipur inches closer towards the three year mark, no Kuki-Zo man and woman would feel safe to come to Imphal and take a flight from Bir Tikendrajit Airport. Likewise no Meitei would feel safe to travel by road to Senapati, Dimapur and further to Mao, Dimapur, Guwahati and Shillong. Destinations which were usually reached by bus in the days before May 3, 2023 and the unacceptable part is, the seeming absence of any work being taken up at the ground level to open the highways as well as open the airport to everyone. For the people of Churachandpur it is a case of going all the way to Aizawl to fly out to either Dimapur or Guwahati while for the people of Kangpokpi it is about going all the way to Dimapur or Guwahati by road to catch a flight and proceed onward. For the people of Imphal and the other valley districts, the only way is to take a flight to Guwahati or Dimapur or Shillong or Kolkata or Delhi depending on one’s final destination. This is the reality and it is amid this reality that to talk about peace having returned to Manipur would amount to nothing but insulting the intelligence of the people. A facade of peace and normalcy and it is this which has been called out by the people taking refuge in different relief centres in the face of the Government’s intention to hold the Sangai Festival this year after a two year break. The voice of concern and opposition raised by the people who have been surviving in relief centres and depending on the aid doled out by the Government and other well meaning people should be respected and studied with the merit it deserves. Holding the Sangai Festival at this point of time when thousands of displaced people are still living in relief centres would definitely send the wrong message that everything is fine in Manipur. But is everything fine ? Maybe the men and women at the helm can answer but this is not the time for any PR stunt and the Government should focus on the steps taken up to ensure that the displaced folks can go back to the place they once called home. And this cuts either way for remember a large number of Kuki-Zo people too have been driven out of their homes in Imphal and from the other valley districts.
What steps need to be taken up ? A question which has been raised numerous times but apparent that the Government too has no answer. However the more important point is whether any efforts are being made to study what steps ought to be taken up. From what one sees and from what can be discerned, it is not clear whether the different political parties in Manipur have seriously considered the thought of sitting down together to study what ought to be taken up. It is however clear that the big two, the Congress and the BJP, are more than keen to outshout and outdo the other, each from their own podium. As the Opposition it is expected of the Congress to raise questions, however uncomfortable the questions may be, but as the party with the majority and under whose term the present conflict erupted, it is not expected of the BJP to act like it is in the Opposition. The recent war of words and on whose board loyalists of either side have jumped onto, is certainly not what the situation warrants. As the party with the majority and which is in a position to return to power anytime, once a popular Government is restored, one expects something more from the BJP. Not the time to score brownie points and if there are any charges levelled by the Congress that need to be neutralised, then do it in a manner befitting a party which returned the highest number of MLAs after the 2022 Assembly polls. For starters let the Congress and the BJP spell their stand out on the decision to hold the Sangai Festival and the voice of opposition raised by the IDPs.
What steps need to be taken up ? A question which has been raised numerous times but apparent that the Government too has no answer. However the more important point is whether any efforts are being made to study what steps ought to be taken up. From what one sees and from what can be discerned, it is not clear whether the different political parties in Manipur have seriously considered the thought of sitting down together to study what ought to be taken up. It is however clear that the big two, the Congress and the BJP, are more than keen to outshout and outdo the other, each from their own podium. As the Opposition it is expected of the Congress to raise questions, however uncomfortable the questions may be, but as the party with the majority and under whose term the present conflict erupted, it is not expected of the BJP to act like it is in the Opposition. The recent war of words and on whose board loyalists of either side have jumped onto, is certainly not what the situation warrants. As the party with the majority and which is in a position to return to power anytime, once a popular Government is restored, one expects something more from the BJP. Not the time to score brownie points and if there are any charges levelled by the Congress that need to be neutralised, then do it in a manner befitting a party which returned the highest number of MLAs after the 2022 Assembly polls. For starters let the Congress and the BJP spell their stand out on the decision to hold the Sangai Festival and the voice of opposition raised by the IDPs.