Attack On The Assembly Complex
>-- a Choice Between Advancement & Destruction --

Rongreisek Yangsorang *

In the aftermath of a daring bomb-attack on the complex of the legislative assembly of Manipur on the 8th March,'08, we are to make a choice between advancement and destruction in life. When the law making institution of the state can easily be attacked even in broad- day-light, there is the need to deploy the most disciplined and well-trained alert security forces at the most strategic locations of Imphal city.

Now that a grievous blow has struck the assembly premises, swift measure for reserving active cops with finer backgrounds to supervise watchmen on guard to thwart any future calamity within the complex is required. The fact is, neither the security network nor the intelligent network had even the slightest suspicion that something worse would surely befall on the assembly complex someday in view of the severity of situation everywhere in the state, and knowing not what was really threatening them and the nature of the danger it would turn out to be.

In one's reading, the daily ritual of the Manipur Police Force must be to spend a greater part of the day at the major government establishments. In fact, they have encountered with various outfits, driving across the villages. The state police force is still to go extra-miles for prevention of any unpredictable crime in Manipur.

And they are to make sure that they exercise utmost restraint in dealing with the woes of the civilians, and take appropriate precautions at all times for a leap in urban policing so that no one is harassed or tortured on fake identification. It is to be remembered that one of the glories of the British heritage is the right to a fair trial.

With this observation, of course, I don't mean to underrate the efficiency of the force, but in Manipur, there are people, always more suffering, and always worse suffering, in times of arm-conflicts between the UGs and security forces, and between the outfits themselves. Of all the dare-devil actions and adventure stories so far in Manipur, the recent bomb attack on the assembly which happened within the tight-security-zone, risking lives of thousands of innocent people is more dreadful to imagine. What shape would have taken, had the attack succeeded in a bigger magnitude, or if a more advanced device was applied to penetrate into the assembly hall when the discussion was on?

The gruesome plan of any UG outfit possessing such an adventurous brain-wave cannot be ruled out for the future. The attack, in all probability, was not an attempt on the life of a certain big-wig or Mr. Smart. The action, it seems, was carried out to deter the unresponsive government that have failed to come up to the expectation of the people.

Another belief is that the outfit has no personal animosity with any of the state's law makers by storming the august house on a holiday. It was an act of regional assertion; the cadres were motivated by their patriotic feelings. It means that the state government should gear up for opening channels to start a political dialogue with the outfits operating in Manipur as no such talk had ever been held with the valley-based guerrillas.

Now-a-days, big bosses of the UGs have a strong hold on the local politics, and if a local leader decides to antagonize them, the simplest way is to silence him forever. It is all the more terrible to brood over it but the fact cannot be buried forever.

The terror created by weapons has never stopped man from employing them. For each new weapon a defence has been produced in time. But now we face a condition in which adequate defence does not exist. Science, which gave us this dreaded power, shows that it can be made a giant help to humanity, but it does not show us how to prevent its evil use.

Only in the will of people lies the answer. In this crisis, the representatives not only represent the government but, in a larger way, they represent the people of the state in the governance. We must remember that the people do not belong to the government, but the government belongs to the people. The government must answer the demands of the people: and it must answer the people's longing for peace and security. In that desire, the govt. must share ardently and hopefully.

In our success lies the promise of a new life, freed from the heart-stopping fears that now beset the state. Now, we must approach the fulfillment of the aspiration of 33 communities in Manipur. At the end of the road lies the fairer, better, surer life we desire and mean to have. Only by a lasting peace are liberties and democracies strengthened and depended.

Destruction in any form is our enemy. And it will not do to believe that any of us can escape devastation. Each of us carries his own mirror in which is reflected hope—or determined desperation—courage or cowardice. The state is in turmoil for long, and there is famine, almost throughout the hill districts of Manipur. It starves men's bodies.

But there is a greater famine—the hunger of men's spirit. That starvation can be cured by the conquest of fear, and the substitution of hope, from which springs faith—faith in each other, faith that we want to work together toward equality and unity.

The people of democracy have a particular programme with an answer from the government, for they want peace and development: they hate destruction which serves no purpose of worth. Public opinion supports a movement towards peace and security. If we read signs rightly, the people want an action plan, not composed merely of pious thoughts, but of enforceable sanction—a state law with real teeth in it.

The safety and prosperity of every community requires a new unity in Manipur, in which no community should be permanently outcast of the developmental programmes of the state. The impression acquired is from the disclosure that most of the hill villages have not known the existence of the department of the Tribal Development of Manipur.

How is that? The basis of sound policy for advancement of communities in this new age is that anything that happens, no matter where or how, which menaces the peace of the state or the region, or the economic stability of the region, concerns each and all of us. That, roughly, may be said to be the central theme of a united Manipur.

It is with that thought we will gain consideration of the most important subject that can engage us—life itself. Now, if ever, is the time to act for the common good, not towards destruction.