For the sake of love

Free Thinker
If one can die for true love, there is nothing like that; it is the most beautiful thing one may do in life. Further if your sacrifice for love can unite two families or communities – your death is a blessed one. The extremists might feel that they have won in dividing the people once again on ethnic lines by killing an innocent lover who came all the way from Nepal to  Churachandpur for his beloved.
On the contrary, people’s hearts in both the communities grow fonder for the loving gesture of the young Meitei youth. Hearts melted more on the bride’s side. The boy took a risk to meet his lover. It is reliably learnt that he and his spouse took permission from the Kuki elders or leaders for his visit and stay.
The elders who assured his safety may be so embarrassed by the violent act of their brethrens who still thrive on hatred. Meitei community mothers grumble in remorse that the boy was so innocent and blinded by love. At the end of the day common people on both sides lie shattered in gloom and despair.
The Meitei radicals may like to react and respond. In my humble opinion - an eye for an eye is a futile Hammurabi code – no need to follow it. The best path shall be to follow the path of Enlightened Buddha – who believed in love and non-violence. I understand if we talk of peace when our own brother has fallen – people may spit on us – but for a larger cause we may stay calm. Let us not be manipulated by a few delinquents who hate harmony.
After the heinous mass madness post May 3, 2023, we are limping back to normalcy. The speed of normalization and disarmament became faster in the last 11 months or so, with the change of guards. In fact the Bhalla Raj has been a blessing for the masses. Some power-mongers and radical elements may not like the way Lok Bhawan behaves. What to do ? He knows better than anyone else because of his long exposure in Raisina Hills; since then he has been listening to all sides.
Mind you the Lok Bhawan occupant is more of a politician than a seasoned bureaucrat. He knows the story of both sides; he listens to the Kukis and Meiteis more than anyone else.
One young leader once said to Karan Thapar in his interview that we cannot live together now but we can still be good neighbors. That is the level of anger and abhorrence – the ethnic groups carry;  citizens can feel it. But, there is a big ‘but’ dividing the Manipur landscape into Kuki land, or Meitei land or the Naga land (Manipur part) is unthinkable.
Personally I have nothing against having clear cut autonomous regions within Manipur. Breaking the State means breaking the hearts of the people who love Manipur as their motherland. Dismemberment of Manipur means tearing their mother. Not done.
Mind you, Manipur is not for Meiteis only, it belongs to all the 34 ethnic groups including outsiders who joined us 5 decades ago. Because of our own follies, bad politics, power struggle and external influence we are trapped in the matrix of hatred and violence. Sane persons from all communities must come forward and save Manipur.
I have made my observation earlier too that Manipur is unbreakable; if we have to do some adjustment within, let us do it together and find a way out. In course of time even a joint family becomes divided into nuclear families. We are looking forward to a very pragmatic long lasting solution so as to accommodate all the ethnic aspirations. Despite instigation from vested interests and hidden hands, we still protect the integrity of the State but increasingly difficult.   I firmly believe in peaceful co-existence. So, I still talk about the UK model just to save Manipur. Majority hardliners may spurn me for promoting this idea; but what to do; we want to save Manipur at any cost.
Because of humongous human tragedies due to our own blunders and follies we can’t keep our new generation in limbo. Let us think about the future. Shall we continue like the Middle East for many years to come ? Or shall we move on with some compromises here and there.
The Government of India knows that Meiteis are extremely hard people and that is why North Block (now shifted) is trying to disarm them till they are left only with stones and sticks. They are just 5 million but their pride is of international standard – Britishers had learnt about it in 1891. But ‘pride’ should be commensurate with pragmatism.