Spare women and children, medical professionals
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: May 08, 2023 -

WITH 10,000-plus army, para-military and central police forces deployed in the state and intense patrolling conducted, incidents of rioting reported from different parts of Imphal and Greater Imphal areas for over two days since May 3 have sub-sided significantly bringing semblance of return to normalcy.

Apart from reports of shootouts between security forces and unknown armed persons in some hill areas adjoining the valley districts and wildfire-like spread of rumours and false propaganda, there has been no major unwanted incident across the state thereby in-dicating that deployment of additional central forces is indeed reaping the fruit.

As Manipur is a state where nearly 32 ethnic communities are settling, there is no guarantee that the mayhem which broke out on May 3 would be the last for the simple reason that not all the tribes as well as non-tribal population subscribe to the idea of living together and enjoying collec-tive prosperity.

With the Meeteis accounting for about 53 per cent of the population but restricted to dwell in the plains compared to 40 per cent of the tribal communities settling both in the hills and the valley, Imphal East and West districts in particular, it is but natural that the slightest act of provocation would trigger violent reaction as no community would want to be economically and politically suppressed by another or tolerate any act detrimental to sentiment and interest of the community con-cerned.

No doubt, efforts had been made by both civil societies and successive governments to bridge the chasm among the communities but with little success.

In Manipur, which has been facing ethnic strife sporadically and continuing to depend on Central assistance to run the economy, the importance of a stable and cohesive government as well as harmonious coexistence cannot be understated.

Such sanely aspiration and desire nevertheless seems infeasible as there are elements hell-bent on polarising the society on ethnic lines.

As such there is every reason to suspect that genesis of the present restive situation in the state could be due to the dia-bolic scheme of individuals or organisations to pit one community against another.

However, it is heartening to note that with exception of an unverified report about outraging modesty of some girl students in a newly established government-run medical college, almost all cases of sectarian violence have spared women and children.

Similar to keeping women and children away from the cauldron of violence it is desired that no harm be caused to the healthcare service providers as their role and service in saving precious innocent lives in such a dreadful situation need no reminding.

As there are hundreds of students belonging to other north-eastern states pursuing medical courses in Manipur any instance of intimida-tion would not only have unwanted repercus-sions and reprisals across the region but also dent the state's image in all aspects.

Under no circumstance should doctors, nurses and all personnel working in the healthcare sector be the target of the emotionally charged agitators for medical professionals are here to deliver humane service and they don't discriminate the patients on the basis of religious belief or community affiliation.