Posers and more posers for Delhi What have been done so far ?
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What steps has Delhi taken up to resettle the people at the places they once called home ? Has Delhi and by extension Raj Bhavan reached out to make the return of the displaced persons possible ? And this should cut both ways, that is the Kuki-Zo people who have had to leave their homes at Imphal and the other valley districts and the Meiteis who were driven out from their homes at Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Moreh, Torbung etc. Or will they be condemned to continue existing in the relief centres till such time a conducive atmosphere returns or is ‘allowed to return’ ? How long will Delhi continue to ‘pretend’ that the absence of gunfire and direct conflict is akin to normalcy ? And this pretension should be clear by taking just a cursory look at the reality. It was under the false notion of normalcy or under a bigger political gameplan that a web of lies and deceit was sought to be weaved in going ahead with the Sangai Festival but Manipur is not blind to such gameplan and Raj Bhavan should acknowledge that Manipur cannot be taken for a ride for too long. Important to question too whether Delhi is ready to accept that free movement on the National Highways exists only on paper and if one looks at the situation closer, it sends out the unmistakable message that political mandarins at Delhi are more than ready to swallow the line, ‘The highways were never closed but we cannot guarantee the safety of the Meiteis who travel along the highways.’ A line weaved so beautifully to fit into the false narratives that have been spun out from day 1 of the conflict. Remember the victim card that was played to the hilt as well as the religious interpretations given to the clash, that it even figured in the European Parliament in the earlier days of the conflict. The biggest worry is, Delhi seems hellbent on toeing the lines that have come out from the assembly plant of the lie manufacturing units of the Kuki-Zo Council, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) and the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU). And it does not need a genius to work out that the lie manufacturing units are kept well oiled and polished by the armed groups that come under the KNO and the UPF. The non-SoO group, the United Kuki National Army (UKNA), has also strongly pitched in for the demand of a Separate Administration and hence leading from the front in engineering the clash from Day I. These facts could not have blown over the head of Delhi and by extension its men in the PR administration in Imphal but the fact is, nothing seems to have improved, despite the fact that the popular Government was dismissed on February 13, 2025. Not that the popular Government was anywhere near resolving the issue. So what is the way forward ?
No easy answer here, but this should be no reason for Delhi to push the posers raised earlier aside. Political leaders too need to chip in with ideas and suggestions that may help in taking the place nearer to the understanding of normalcy. So far not much is heard of any efforts being taken up to chip in with ideas and suggestions, while at the same time, the demand that a popular Government be reinstalled is very much there. Manipur would not have forgotten the days before February 13, 2025 and the natural question is how Manipur should proceed. A change in guard should mean a change at the ground reality. So far, it is a case of only the guns going silent with no instances of direct confrontations between the two communities ‘at war’ and herein lies the significance of the question, ‘Is the absence of violence akin to normalcy ?’ It was sometime back that one heard of Delhi hosting talks with CSOs of either side but what has been the development after that ? Are more such meetings in the pipeline or will be it another case of just hosting the few rounds of talks ? Only Delhi can answer this question, but something has to give. Raj Bhavan too should acknowledge that the lack of participation in this year’s Sangai Festival is a reminder that projecting ‘normalcy in Manipur’ at this stage would be nothing but just lies and more lies and will have no takers.
No easy answer here, but this should be no reason for Delhi to push the posers raised earlier aside. Political leaders too need to chip in with ideas and suggestions that may help in taking the place nearer to the understanding of normalcy. So far not much is heard of any efforts being taken up to chip in with ideas and suggestions, while at the same time, the demand that a popular Government be reinstalled is very much there. Manipur would not have forgotten the days before February 13, 2025 and the natural question is how Manipur should proceed. A change in guard should mean a change at the ground reality. So far, it is a case of only the guns going silent with no instances of direct confrontations between the two communities ‘at war’ and herein lies the significance of the question, ‘Is the absence of violence akin to normalcy ?’ It was sometime back that one heard of Delhi hosting talks with CSOs of either side but what has been the development after that ? Are more such meetings in the pipeline or will be it another case of just hosting the few rounds of talks ? Only Delhi can answer this question, but something has to give. Raj Bhavan too should acknowledge that the lack of participation in this year’s Sangai Festival is a reminder that projecting ‘normalcy in Manipur’ at this stage would be nothing but just lies and more lies and will have no takers.