Sangakpham terror blast : Stop selective protests
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 02 2011 -

Bomb Blast at Sangakpham market, Imphal

Five persons killed in yet another bomb blast in the heart of Imphal, this time at Sangakpham bazar. Of the five, two were girls, both students, going home after school. So what is new ? More importantly who cares ?

To the Government which has already mastered the art of finding the perfect alibi in the most unlikely of places, the statistics of five dead, read only five, may well serve as the alibi to ensure a soft landing while to the numerous civil society organisations, which have etched a place in the consciousness of the people as defenders of human rights, the indications that the security forces may not be involved in the bomb blast will probably compel them to squeak rather than roar !

This is not an exercise in shooting in the dark and this observation comes from years of having seen it all and experienced it. Without hazarding a guess, we may well predict the pattern or course of development we may see in the next few days.

A Joint Action Committee is in line for sure. Demands will be raised and this will include ex-gratia payment to the family members of those killed and injured coupled with a Government job for the next of kins.

Condemnation notes will pour into the offices of the State dailies. Police may be roped in to demonstrate their skill in lathi-charge when members of the JAC proceed towards the residence of the Chief Minister to submit a memorandum. This will ultimately end with a few representatives allowed to go ahead and meet the Chief Minister.

This is to do with the Government and on the other side, it will not be hazardous to predict that women folk under the JAC will come out on the road and stage dharnas and demand that the mastermind behind the bomb blast reveal its identity as well as spell out the reason for the same.

A rag tag group or a group with a highly patriotic sounding name, may come forward and claim responsibility for the blast and while profusely apologising for the loss of the human lives, it will nonetheless seek to justify its action in the name of saving the land and the people !

Once this comes about then all those who were squeaking can be expected to beat a hasty retreat to their holes with their tales between their legs and adopt the saying that silence is golden !

A bandh or two may follow.

In other words, the public and the numerous self appointed guardians of society who come under different names and nomenclatures will beat a hasty retreat the moment a non-State actor comes forward and claims responsibility.

Contrast this with the big hue and cry (rightfully) raised if the hands of the security forces are suspected. This comparison has been drawn up for there is the urgent need to drill home the point that it is this policy of selective silence and selective vocalisation of protests that are chiefly responsible for some of these terror elements to come under the false notion that whatever they do, the public will not raise a voice.

Is this a demonstration of ‘we care’ or is this an exercise in political jugglery meant to discredit one entity to the benefits of another opposing entity ? The gross unethical face of such a culture can only encourage the terror elements, whe-ther they are from the Government or are non-State actors.

There is no doubt that the Sangakpham blast could not have been the handiwork of some rag tag army. The intensity of the blast, the manner in which it was placed, the timing, all suggest the hand of a well organised group at work and it will not come as a surprise if it comes to light that these terror elements had even conducted dry runs before the actual blast.

The question now is what was the State doing ? Is it just a matter of poor policing or does it run deeper ?

Imphal is unlike many other cities of India where almost everyone is a stranger. It is a place where there is a strong bond of familiarity between neighbours and relatives are understood as relatives and not someone in the family tree. Given this social reality, it would have needed someone who is not familiar to the people there to go and plant the scooter fitted bomb.

This is where the support system comes into play and the system here can be understood as the unholy nexus between those occupying positions of power and wielding political influence and the bomb planters or the terror elements.

How else does one explain the ease with which these elements sneaked in with a bomb fitted scooter, place it at a vantage point, trigger it and then vamoose without leaving a trail ? Their trail can be covered up by only those who can do it and certainly it is not going to be Kaka Chaoba next door !

The choice before the public then is clear. The time does not warrant playing into the hands of those with an agenda. What is needed is courage, the ability to stand up and call a spade a spade.

It wouldn't do to cry hoarse only when the Government agencies are involved. There is the growing need to raise our voice and tell these terror elements that they are nothing but terrorists masquerading as sons of the soil.

It is time to tell them that they have no business to talk about causes dear to the people, when in fact they are doing it just to earn easy money and build palatial houses.

It is time to tell these jokers to pack up and vamoose. If Manipur can be paralysed for four months to protest the BT road incident of 2009, well then paralyse Manipur for 30 days now !

Or are we going to creep into our holes if the attackers come forward and disclose their identities and they happen to have a highly patriotic sounding name ?

Time to call their bluff or else it wouldn't be long before we become the laughing stock of the whole world.

More importantly, it is time we shake off our selfish demeanour to be able to say we care with conviction.