In the same vein, I would also like to appeal to the Security Forces irrespective of the types they are; not to draw a conclusion in haste when an incident of the above nature takes place. They should not simply pin down the blame on the Civilian – The Vehicle Owner, just because the latter's vehicle was used by those 'misguided youths' for whatever purpose.

Drawing a conclusion in haste based on very primary information would further only complicate an already brain wrecking situation for the poor civilian. And if action is initiated by the 'Men in Uniform' against the proprietor of the vehicle without considering the fact that the vehicle was forcibly snatched.

Then an Innocent Citizen of the Country would be facing charge and could even be punished for no fault of his/her. This would be really unfortunate. I would like to appeal once again to both the conflicting forces armed with guns to please not drag us civilians in their on going bloody war; a war which no one loses or wins. No Zeroes – No Heroes here.

Incidents like the one mentioned above are of a common occurrence in the town of Ccpur. Hence many people have disposed off their vehicle rather than be a victim or ' a puppet on a string' between the Forces legitimate and the illegitimate.

CCPUR A TOWN OF CHURCHES: Churachandpur is truly a town of Churches; Churches dotted the landscape of this town. There is a Church here; a Church there; Churches everywhere. The Churches are of various shapes and sizes, of design and made.

Christianity is the biggest religion here; though how true a Christian the people here are and how strong they adhere to their faith is altogether a different matter. Though the watch dogs of the Society may not like it – but the truth is that Christianity is more than a religion here it is also a very big business.

There is a complete commercialization of the Christian faith in this town. The Preachers and many of the so called Christian Leaders are more concerned about the amount of the U.S dollars that would flow into their bank account than saving lost souls.

No wonder Christianity as a religion has failed to unify the different dialect based communities of this town; for their loyalty lies first and foremost with their community and not to their religion.

Christianity here is worn like 'A Garment' by the Communalized Residents on Sundays and for the rest of the week it is kept locked up in their closets.

Jesus walked upon the face of this earth for 33 years and one of his strongest message was 'love and compassion' and loving they neighbor as thyself. But here in Churachandpur - the Sister Communities love each other with the AK-47s, 9mms, G-3s and M-16s. It's a fatal love; not the kind of love that Christ preached about.

A friend of mine who is an ardent follower of the Christian Faith once visited the town of Churachandpur; and the remark he gave about the town and its people have stayed with me all these years; embedded it has been on the pages of my mind.

He curtly remarked at the end of his visit ' You Lamkaites (Ccpurians) are too busy being a Christian, you all have become too Christianly that you have actually missed the true essence and ideals of the Christian faith'. I cannot help but agree with him though his very statement about my town its people jabbed the fiber of my being.

Yet! He was speaking the truth – and the truth is not always sweet, it's kind of bitter like a bitter wine and reality bites!! Whether we the Lamkaites like it or not the lives that we live is not at all a perfect demonstration of the Christian faith that we profess or propagate.

As far as I know Jesus Christ never preached violence; the underlying theme of His message was 'compassion for the suffering individual and meeting each individual at his or her point of need'. Sad but true – The Communalized Christians of this town and the district can carry the Cross on one shoulder and the A.K. 47 on the other without an ounce of guilt; and they still have the guts to talk about evangelizing the un-reached world.

KASAUTIZED: With the advent of the Cable Television and the invasion of the Satellite Television in the early 1990's. Television has taken off in a big way in this town; gone are the days when one has to be content with watching only the restricted telecast of the State owned Doordarshan (Prasar Bharati); the programmes aired were boring and dragging with the exception of 'Chitrahaar' which was aired every Wednesday night.

But times have change now and the viewer has more choices; the television is now flooded with so many channel that one can go 'Channel Cruising' all night long.

With the only two Cinema Halls in this god forsaken town closed down for more than a decade now; television is the only option left for the excitement starved populace of Ccpur. So, it is not all surprising that there is a Television Set now in almost every household. Sitting in front of the 'Idiot-Box' and whiling away the time is one of the favorite 'time-pass' for the people of town.

Every weekday's night as the Clock strikes the holy hour of 8:30 p.m. The Devotees of the popular television serial 'Kasauti Zindagi Kay' especially the women folks would leave all their important work as if summoned by a higher power and they would huddle around the Television Set, and for the next 30 minutes their eyes would be glued to the television screen; devouring their favorite soap - the Balaji Tele-films production 'Kasauti Zindagi Kay 'with ears and eyes all wide open.

Their devotion to this television serial is comparable to the devotion of a Student to His/Her Guru. I don't know how far it is true; but it is said that the simple women-folks in some locality of this town even went to the extent of requesting the members of their Church to pray for the speedy recovery of 'One of the main characters of the Soap 'Kasauti' who had met with an accident in the Serial'.

Such is the impact that this Serial has on the minds of its viewers that it has kind of blurred their ability to differentiate a reality from a non-reality. So much for Sense and Sensibility!!

Red and yellow, black and white, young and very old, lettered and unlettered, mothers & daughters, would all make it a point to watch this serial; it is as important as having their daily food.

When Mumbai was flooded with the rain, telecast of the above mentioned serial was disrupted for sometime. Believe me there were many in this town who could not bear the absence of 'Kasauti' on their television screen. Such is the popularity of this serial that the 'twist and turns' of the serial is often discussed and dissected with much fervor in the same manner as the Intellectuals would discuss the current events and the happening in and around the world.

Even Grandmas who don't even understand a single word of Hindi are hooked to 'Kasauti'; they just cannot do without this serial – which is nothing but an Indian Version of 'The Bold and the Beautiful' & Santa Barbara. The Kasauti Addicts of this town like their counterparts in Mizoram need their daily dose of this serial just like the drug addicts need their daily dose. The Women Folks of this town irrespective of their age are KASAUTIZED!

Like written in the Bible – The Lust of the Eyes craves for more and more; the eyes are insatiable. The immense popularity of this Serial also reflects the decaying moral values in the society. Sexual Promiscuity – Yeah that is the name of the Game. Maybe the Preachers are too busy counting their dollar notes to ever care about this.

THE Z.S.F AGITATION: The Z.S.F (The Zomi Students Federation) launched an almost violent agitation; when the Government turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to their democratically stated list of demands. In the din and fury of the agitation as we all were aware; the Police Station was gheraoed and Police Vehicle burnt down.

The Police Officers could not control the unruly mob; frustration was apparent on their faces as they wave their arms about in frustration.'Chei Puro –Chei Puro' echoed through the Police Station as the Crowd gets wilder but No Chei Came.

The Central Security Forces acted as 'the Water Boys' by running helter-skelter for a bucket of water to douse the engulfing fire set by the raging mob. There was mayhem and chaos everywhere; the students went on a rampage like a wild raging storm destroying everything in their wake.

Unfortunately, the only Sanitary Truck of the almost non existent Municipal (District) Council was also burnt by the agitating students. Now the second largest town in Manipur is without a Sanitary Truck to collect and clear its garbage.

No wonder the Garbage dump near the Police Station and the New Bazaar was over-flowing with the waste disposed and the Cows and their four legged kind were having a field day chewing away to glory and to their stomach content; the Stench emanating from the garbage dump was becoming so strong (it could rival world best's perfume albeit in a different category) until the Philanthropic Organizations like the Y.P.A , the Y.V.A and others got together and cleared the pile of garbage that had accumulated.

The Authorities concern should take a serious note of this matter and should do something about it at the earliest. We don't want our town to smell like a 'Factory waste disposal area' or a Leather Tannery.

The Z.S.F was on their part compelled to launch such an agitation; for they had no choice. The Government of Manipur ear will be pierced only when situation go completely out of hand; and when things are headed for the worse, only then they would do something about it.

One is always forced to adopt 'A brinkmanship policy' in order to get your grievances redressed by the Government. When was the Government ever responsive to the public demands and the people needs? The Last time I checked up Our Country was still under a Democratic Rule.

Well! Is Democracy really the rule of the people or the rule of the 'Ministers and Egoistic Politicians?' It has lost its true essence and ideals; the development and the welfare of the people is the last thing in the minds of those who formed the Government.

A CHANGE OF GUARD: The D.C. Mr. A. Ibocha Singh and the SDPO were subsequently transferred in the aftermath of the Z.S.F. agitation. I must mention here that our previous Deputy Commissioner Mr. A. Ibocha Singh was a really nice and humble man; arrogance or being haughty is not at all in his vocabulary.

Mr. A. Ibocha Singh was unlike other bureaucrat, he was never the one to throw his weight around always ready and willing to lend a helping hand. Never behaved or acted like 'A King without a Crown' as the District Collector/ Deputy Commissioner are referred to – He was a 'Cham Chamba'. Though his exit was kind of ungraceful; I hope he will carry back with him many fond memories of Churachandpur /Lamka

The S.P. another Ibocha Singh was spared. No one knows whether the above two mentioned officials were transferred or they themselves wanted to be transferred. Ccpur has seen some changes in personnel who man the district in this year of 2005.

In the earlier part of this year 2005 – The Extremely Popular S.P. Mr. Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo was transferred out of Churachandpur District in the 'regular reshuffling of the Police Officers'. Mr. Lhatoo had generated a lot of good will among the people of the town; and it came as no surprise when a majority of the public wanted him to stay back; for he had been here for only a year or so.

Organizations submitted petition to the Government imploring the State Government not to move him out of Churachandpur District. Yet! The Government was unmoved and the public pleas were of no avail. When do the Government ever pay heed to the pleas and demand of the public? And we call ourselves a democratic state and a country.

Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo had turned the Police Force around in this town during his short tenure. He helped regained the lost Credibility of the men in the khaki uniform; never arrogant and never the one to throw his weight around; he was committed and sincere to his work and carried out his responsibilities without any fear or favor.

Lhatoo infused the lost sense of security in the fear gripped people of this town; he standing with his posse of Police men in front of the Police Station was such a re-assuring sight; he had a towering presence and was truly ' The Guardian of Peace' during his tenure here as the Superintendent of Police.

There had been one or two occasions when Churachandpur stood on the verge of another ethnic clash or when there was complete break down of the Law and Order (with tension running really high between one community and the other) after the departure of Mr. Lhatoo. And his absence really felt; and presence truly missed by the public.

I have often heard people say 'The Nepali S.P. should have been here still' – This only goes to show his acceptance and popularity by and among the local populace of the town. As far as I know the previous S.P. Lhari Dorjee Lhatoo was not a Nepali – Nepali or not Nepali he definitely belongs to that group of 'A Very Few Good Men' and is without a doubt 'A man of honor'.

I on behalf of the people of this town salute Lhari Sir for all excellent service he rendered during his stay here; and we wish him all that he wishes for himself in the year to come. May the guidance and the blessings of the Father; the Son; and the Holy Ghost be upon him forevermore.

The Churachandpur District has a new Deputy Commissioner in Mr. A.K Sinha. Let us hope he will do something for this town of ours; soothe some ruffled feather, learn how to walk the tight-rope and do the balancing act of the communalized communities here.

Like a noted Conductor, He would have to skillfully conduct and orchestrate the very communal tunes of the various tribes here into a wonderful symphony of love and brotherhood – from the symphony of destruction to a Symphony of Humanity.

Read Part I | Part III