Lessons from the days after May 3, 2023 Consistent narrative needed
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Has Manipur learnt any lesson from the days that followed May 3, 2023 ? If so, what are the lessons that have been learnt ? There will be no easy answer here and this is where it is important to ask whether Manipur is ready to learn. And to be ready to learn, it is important for the people to look back, be courageous enough to admit the errors of the past and look to the future with the resolve that the mistakes of the past would not be repeated. Rewind to the days that followed May 3 in 2023. As stated many times in this column, the violence that erupted in Imphal was in retaliation to what happened at Churachandpur and Torbung, during and after the Tribal Solidarity March organised by the All Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur. The rally was ostensibly staged against the directive of the High Court of Manipur to the Government of Manipur to send the ethnographic and socio-economic report of the Meiteis in the backdrop of the demand that the Meiteis be included in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution. A report which the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs had asked the State Government back in 2013. One does not need to be a professional engaged in law or be a Constitutional expert to understand that it is not the job of the Judiciary to decide which community fits the bill to be tagged a Scheduled Tribe or not, but Parliament. ATSUM knew this, ITLF knew this, CoTU knew this and so too Kuki Inpi, Manipur. The truth for staging the Tribal Solidarity March was something else and as things have turned out, it was something very sinister. Or even if one sticks by the observation of Union Home Minister that the violence started due to the ruling of the High Court, why should a community be targeted for the ruling ? Any protest then should have been directed against the ruling of the High Court and not the Meiteis at Churachandpur and later at Torbung. The Meiteis have in the past protested against the rulings of the Government and so too have the Nagas, but not once have these protests been turned against any community. A question which The Sangai Express has raised on more than one occasion, but down the months or years, this poser has been pushed aside by one development or the other. It also stands that from day one of the conflict, the narrative spelt out by the ITLF, CoTU and now the Kuki-Zo Council has been one of portraying the Meiteis as the aggressor while conveniently sidestepping the fact that violence first erupted at Churachandpur and quickly spread to Moreh and Kangpokpi. These are points which should have been raised with the consistency that was required, but the reality says otherwise. It was also clear from Day 1 that the Kuki-Zos had gone out of their way to spin narratives that would suit their agenda while Manipur seemed to be more interested in merely letting their voice be heard via the Imphal based media houses. Remember how the yarn spun out by the Kuki-Zo elements made their way even to the floor of the European Parliament !
It should also be obvious that Manipur needs friends and if at all there is anything to be learnt from the ongoing situation here, then it is the need to cultivate friends in the right places. This is where Manipur would need to look back at the days gone by and come to the realisation that big talk in the confines of one’s own ‘territory’ will no longer work. Not the time to rub anyone the wrong way and one just has to look around and come to the realisation that the importance that one attaches to oneself will exactly not find any takers. Rather it may just about push others away. And even as the reality is a wake up call to the people of Manipur, the focus of everyone seems to be on the return of the popular Government. Democracy demands that there should be a people’s Government in place, and while the focus of the people is understandable, it would help for all to ponder whether the return of the popular Government would help take Manipur on the path of normalcy. Or more importantly whether the elected leaders or representatives have learnt any lessons from the days that followed May 3, 2023. For nearly two years the popular Government was in place, but did that help Manipur in any way ? Have the elected representatives discussed ways through which Manipur can get on the track of normalcy ? These are questions which the people should be asking and it is only when constructive inquiries are raised can one expect the Government to be more responsive to the voice of the people.
It should also be obvious that Manipur needs friends and if at all there is anything to be learnt from the ongoing situation here, then it is the need to cultivate friends in the right places. This is where Manipur would need to look back at the days gone by and come to the realisation that big talk in the confines of one’s own ‘territory’ will no longer work. Not the time to rub anyone the wrong way and one just has to look around and come to the realisation that the importance that one attaches to oneself will exactly not find any takers. Rather it may just about push others away. And even as the reality is a wake up call to the people of Manipur, the focus of everyone seems to be on the return of the popular Government. Democracy demands that there should be a people’s Government in place, and while the focus of the people is understandable, it would help for all to ponder whether the return of the popular Government would help take Manipur on the path of normalcy. Or more importantly whether the elected leaders or representatives have learnt any lessons from the days that followed May 3, 2023. For nearly two years the popular Government was in place, but did that help Manipur in any way ? Have the elected representatives discussed ways through which Manipur can get on the track of normalcy ? These are questions which the people should be asking and it is only when constructive inquiries are raised can one expect the Government to be more responsive to the voice of the people.