Curbing Hostility
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: May 15 2015 -
In recent times Manipur, particularly in areas between the hills and the valley have witnessed certain discomforting incidents which have led to widespread condemnations.
The two most recent incidents being the shooting at Laiharaoba devotees by some miscreants and criminal minded individuals on May 5 in which one succumbed to bullet injuries and the most recent one, the killing of two labourers by cadres of an armed outfit under Suspension of Operation (SoO) on May 10.
Though these two incidents have been widely condemned by people from all walks of life, the most painful impact has been the widening of the gap between valley inhabitants and those who live in the surrounding hills.
At least the two incidents this month have hammered a wedge between different communities for many reasons.
The majority community in the valley have every reason to believe that these two incidents have been masterminded by individuals keen on further rupturing age-old valley-hill relationship.
Such incidents also indirectly sabotage certain efforts being made by individuals from all communities to recover the best of historical bonds while burying the uncomfortable pasts.
What groups or individuals irrespective of ethnic moorings indulging in such acts should note is the imperative to recover harmonious relationship collectively and desist from fragmenting hard earned unity however fragile the platform is.
Once the demon of ethnic enmity is awakened, a State like Manipur will go in flames.
If the symptoms of dreadful designs are not curbed, one can only imagine bloodshed based on regrouping of the majority versus the minorities.
This scenario does not bode well for a collective polity.
Timely intervention by progressive elements from each of the communities is of utmost importance now.
Manipur has seen enough bloodshed in the past while trying to prove individual points in the guise of collective endeavour.
Shared history is what the people should be recovering instead of harping on the power of the majority or overplaying the psyche of a perpetual victim.
While reminding ourselves of the necessity of collectively finding a way out of the mess, all communities should desist from reserving special space for diabolical machinations from elements outside.
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