Communal politics in social media targeting minority community of Manipur
02 April 2018
On 30th March, Manipur’s youth - studying in and outside of Manipur – came together to collectively critique and condemn the shameful speech given by Manipur CM Nongthongbam Biren on 28th March at Madhavpur Fair held in Porbandar, Gujarat. They released a statement online in which Manipur students and youths called out Nongthongbam Biren for being a puppet mouthpiece of India’s Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an imported mainland Caste-Hindu religious fanatic organization.
The said statement condemned him for selling out the independent historical, political and cultural identity of Manipur to India’s fascist Hindutva ideology to keep his CM seat warm. It further critiqued him for slavishly merging (like 1949 when Manipur was forcibly annexed by the Indian state) the indigenous identity of Manipur into the Indian colonial (supremacist Hindu) discourse.
It demanded an apology from him and reminded him that he – as Manipur CM and as a responsible Manipur citizen - must hold himself accountable for threatening the identity of Manipur.
The collective statement was shared by a large number of Manipuri youths and students online on facebook and other social media platforms. As soon as it was circulated widely, MSAD started noticing a disturbing – though not surprising – combined attack from Manipur’s BJP supporters as well as trolls.
Students from different ethnic backgrounds of Manipur have shared the statement online but the BJP online thugs singularly attacked pangal students with vile communal comments. We are sharing the screenshots as evidence. In these screenshots, Pangal students protesting the threat on Manipur’s identity are being called thieves, drug dealers, ISI agents, Congress agents etc; and their indigenous identity is being questioned.
A screenshot from FB posting
*** e-pao's Note : There were many more screenshots, we have not shown those..
The government must not harp hatred and aim at subjugating and annihilating the people of Manipur. Manipur CM Nongthongbam Biren has a moral responsibility to the people of Manipur and he must be strongly reminded that he cannot play wretched communal politics.
The social media platforms of the CM office are being handled in an irresponsible manner and to flare up hatred and distrust amongst the indigenous population.
MSAD, with a deep concerned of the aforementioned emerging political turn in Manipur, demands that the CM and its social media platforms stop their hate mongering politics at the earliest.
* This Press Release was sent to e-pao.net by Manipur Students' Association Delhi who can be contacted at msad(DOT)manipur(AT)gmail(DOT)com
This Press Release was posted on April 03 2018
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.