From May 3 to October 3, 2023 : Lies and more lies
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 04 2023 -

May 3, 2023 to October 3, 2023 and Manipur has completed five months of madness, a madness qualified by the term and understanding ‘intense hatred’.

Five months is 150 days.

To say that there is relative calm at the moment would be refusing to see beyond Imphal and the valley districts, for Churachandpur and Kangpokpi must be reeling under immense tension following the arrest of 6 accused in the murder of Hijam Linthoingambi and Phijam Hemanjit, two young students who went missing on July 6 with the ‘Before’ and ‘After’ photos going viral on the social media just a few days back.

If Churachandpur and Kangpokpi are up in ‘arms’ now, the reverse was true at Imphal and the valley districts when the said pictures emerged on the social media.

Imphal had every reason to rise in anger for here is a case of two absolutely innocent young students, who had nothing to do with the ongoing conflict, being held captive and later done to death in the most inhumane way.

If Imphal had solid reasons to vent out their anger, Churachandpur and Kangpokpi are calling for the murder accused to be treated like heroes and heroines.

Heroes and heroines for killing two innocent students and Churachandpur and Kangpokpi coming together as one to defend cruelty.

It is this mindset that Manipur is up against and this should not miss the consciousness of anyone who qualify to be called humans.

May 3 to October 3 and surely everyone, at least the discerning folks, must have come to note the desperate attempts that were made to sell a totally concocted story to the global audience and gain sympathy with lies and more lies.

The story of Churches being vandalised while maintaining a mute silence on the Temples and places of worship of the Meiteis being desecrated and spat upon, the story of houses being vandalised and destroyed in the Meitei dominated areas in Imphal and in some valley pockets while maintaining a conspiracy of silence on the Meitei settlements that have been levelled to the ground at Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangpokpi are facts that have begun to emerge.

Lies and misinformation campaign have a limited shelf life and not surprising that the false narratives are beginning to fall apart.

The false narratives that have been fed to the rest of the country and to the outside world should not come as too big a surprise to anyone who has been following the story of the clash minutely.

In the first place, the seeds of the ongoing clash were sown, camouflaged as a Tribal Solidarity March, against the demand that the Meiteis be included in the Scheduled Tribe list of the Constitution of India.

Here is Lie number 1.

The order of the High Court of Manipur had nothing to do with the supposedly Solidarity March organised by the All Tribal Students’ Union, Manipur on May 3, for the instruction to the State Government was to just send the report or recommendation to the Centre, an information sought by New Delhi back in 2013.

It was lies and more lies on which foundation the participants of Tribal Solidarity March went on the rampage and attacked Torbung on May 3.

The lies continue and it is again on the basis of these lies that Churachandpur and Kangpokpi have taken to the streets to protest the arrest of the six accused in the murder of the two innocent students.

The fact should be clear to all.

Imphal sat in protest against the nude parade of two Kuki girls on May 4 and even dismantled the houses of the accused.

Churachandpur and Kangpokpi on the other hand have taken to the streets to protest the arrest of six persons accused in the kidnapping and cold blooded murder of two young students.

It is the lies which have pushed the clash to carry on for the last 150 days and given that some continue to stick to the slogan ‘Solution before Peace’, it is clear that some are bent on derailing all efforts to help Manipur take the first step towards normalcy.

Delhi should note this.