Debate on Art 371-C, 'missing Kuki militants' add new facets to Manipur violence story

Nirendra Dev *

A common grouse is the Congress always kept the problems 'postponing' for another day. The failures of pacts the Assam Accord and the Shillong Accord with Nagas are largely due to misplaced goals and impossible targets were promised just to buy votes and temporary peace.

Myths and maladies of the north east.

Following the Manipur crisis, a debate is on in the social media on the need to effectively understand the DNA of the northeast region. But what's the DNA of the region in its entirety? Can someone really define the region's DNA?

It all started long back. Even in the pre-British era and then at different intervals of historical timespace, things kept changing. The Manipur clashes should in effect offer lessons to policy makers to workout new formulae. During years of Congress rule both in the region -- across all seven states -- and also in the centre, former Nagaland Chief Secretary Late A M Gokhale used to say -- "New Delhi still thinks like Aurangzeb's Delhi".

The image of a tyrant certainly did not do justice. But the fact of the matter is the policy of 'Appeasement, adhocism and granting Statehoods' is no panacea for North East

The region and the seven states did not figure much in the Congress debate till the jungles started burning. Jawaharlal Nehru's remarks on people of Assam after the 1962 debacle is a big testimony. These left a far-reaching impact. 'New Delhi may not bother, but it fears violence'.

This became the general understanding about the government(s) in Delhi throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Hence, starting with Nagas, Mizos and now even groups like Kukis --- while none is fairly satisfied with the manner the Government(s) treat them, everyone believes that by violence and joining guerilla forces they can 'harm' India in their own 'native lands'. And thus also regain the respective 'rightful places and claims' of various tribal groups.

My understanding of various pros and cons about the northeast region is that the 'development role' of the state apparatus including the Central government ought to be re-engineered to get a better balance between plans and results. The outcome has consistently fallen short of promises and subsequent plans. Various Accords and Agreements too looked more like revolving around adhocism and appeasement.

A debate is on about the utility of the Article 371-C after Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, only Meitei Minister in the Modi government, penned a letter stating - "A psychological gap was being created (during British era). After Independence too, Article 371 C still made the barrier between the hills and the valley".

Importantly, the region needs legal and constitutional mechanisms to work as bridges between different sections. This did not happen. Even the patriotic sentiment was not encouraged. 'India-bashing' thus thrived and Delhi kept on pumping in money while no one bothered when Bengalis and Nepalis were hounded out of education hubs like Shillong. Parochialism thrived.

So what has happened in Manipur is not merely a creation of the era of N Biren Singh government and Congress leaders resorting to rhetoric about Double Engine governments of BJP are only too self-defeating.

It may not be erroneous to suggest easily that the governance machinery in most states have failed in a number of crucial areas. Instead of winning over the local population, since the 1960s and 1970s there was a faultline in trying with 'appeasement and adhocism'.

The problems were hardly grasped in their entirety.

The policy makers banked on old files and old practices. Ministers were busy with Babudom minting money in the 1980s and 1990s and now such practices are considered norms. Ministers in states like Nagaland thus do not mind spending in terms of Rs 20 crore and more to win assembly elections.

Corruption thrived during the 1970s and 1980s and now things have reached much finer and higher scale. There was no realisation between 1960 to 2014 that there is a need to 're-orient' the governance and political strategies.

In today's era, there is a need to understand that the governance system in all the seven states has to cope with the emerging world that is not only globalised but also has become tech-dependent and now deeply demanding in multi-disciplinary terms.

Violence as a habit has been encouraged by stakeholders and this prevented industrial growth. This in turn impacted the job scenario and instead of discussing 'recognition' to talent and hard work; people became more conscious of who gets how much share of the Quota.

The ST demand issue for Meiteis ought to be understood from this perspective although the recent killings and arson have something deep.

No one can say the outcome of recent violence has been the culmination of natural developments.

And if the administration has been caught napping, we must yet again come back to the old malady of effective intelligence inputs. If the allegations from Union Minister Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh about the influence of Kuki militants on '10 elected MLAs' is true; these should have come to light much earlier.

Worse, a more serious charge has come from the Coordinating Committee of Clubs and Meira Paibis of South Eastern Manipur that the prevailing communal clashes had been planned by "illegal immigrants for the last 40 years".

People can bet that the real issue in the north east for years now is the battle against 'fears'. The fear has many names and definitions in the region.

Absence of governance and growing corruption have caused fury. When people are 'angry' the demand for statehood by one community or the other seems logical and legitimate.

But statehood is no panacea. People have been repeatedly led down in the north east by misgovernance and on occasions zero-governance. So, people are asking today in Manipur or in Mizoram and also other states in the north east --- 'what will it take to stop the fall'. Tough times have always pushed the human race to return to sanity.

Stupidity is knowing the truth, seeing the truth but still believing the lies.