Deepening ethnic divide
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 29, 2010 -

Can Meitei bashing or levelling several charges against the majority community in Manipur help in paving the way for the creation of a Greater Nagaland ?

On the other hand, can any exercise in Naga bashing or trashing their 'history' or launching scathing and personal attacks on the character of the NSCN (IM) leader, Th Muivah help in any way in ensuring that the territorial integrity of Manipur would not be compromised ?

To any sane person, with a modicum of rationality, the answer to the questions that we have raised would be a big NO. Accusing the Meiteis of over riding the interest of the Naga people and on the other hand ridiculing the 'uniqueness of the history of Naga people' and taking pot shots at Mr Muivah will not serve the purpose of the people who stand for a united Manipur or the proponents of a Greater Nagaland, which can see the light of day only by carving out huge chunks of territory from neighbouring States like Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Despite this fact and the futility of raising the war cry and fanning communal passion, why do leading civil society organisations often tend to over look or at times even participate in levelling accusations and charges against another community is an interesting question and needs to be deliberated upon by conscientious people on either side of the Lim divide.

Lest we are misunderstood as trying to whip up unnecessary issues and questions, we suggest all to scan through all the newspapers published in Imphal, Dimapur and Kohima after the Ibobi Government made it clear that it would not grant permission to Mr Muivah to visit his birth place.

We at The Sangai Express have been receiving numerous articles, opinions, suggestions, letters to the Editor etc, and we are hard pressed to carefully go through all such submissions and edit according to the policy of our newspaper.

So what the public gets to read has been refined to a certain extent and we really do not know what the situation would be like if the media had not exercised its editing policies creditably in this troubled time, both in Nagaland as well as in Manipur.

This is our job and our responsibilities as well and we are not complaining, but it is time for the silent majority to start raising questions why a political issue is today threatening to snowball into a communal cauldron.

Playing the communal card for political gains has been one of the biggest blots in the history of independent India, despite its democratic processes remaining intact, save for the Emergency imposed by the late Mrs Gandhi during the 70s.

Since the North East cannot totally cut itself off from the system that is endemic in Indian politics, nothing can be taken for granted and there may be elements who are out there trying to capitalise on the growing chasm between the people of the valley areas and the Nagas in Manipur.

The matter is further compounded by the overt demonstration of playing the Pan Naga card by civil society organisations like the Naga Hoho and the United Naga Council. The civil society orgnisations based in the valley areas of Manipur and which are dubbed as Meitei centric, too have at times taken the bait in an effort to demonstrate that Manipur will fight to its last man to defend her territorial integrity.

The tragedy in such a situation is the two opposing sides seem to have lost the vision and focus of the real issue at hand. However unpalatable it may sound, it stands true today that Mr Muivah and his men have discarded the demand for total sovereignty and is instead more interested in taking its pound of flesh by demanding the unification of all the Nagas under one administrative unit, obviously to be headed by the NSCN (IM).

This is the bone of contention. To the Meiteis and the non-Naga peoples of Manipur, such as the Kuki tribe, the question of claiming the land they inhabit as the ancestral land of the Nagas is not acceptable while on the other hand, the Nagas have put forward the argument that the present demarcation of State boundaries are all artificial lines drawn up by the colonial powers.

It is here that questions like when and in which point of time, did the Naga people live together under a well defined boundary and under a head or a King ?

Just as the NSCN (IM) has been saying that territory is linked to Nationhood and hence the demand for a Greater Nagaland, this line of argument can be turned on its head and instead directed towards Mr Muivah and see how he responds.

Remember the Naga tribe is an inclusive group, willing to embrace any small tribe into its fold unlike the Meiteis, which stand by its exclusivity and this is amply demonstrated by the protest raised against the term Bishnupriya Manipuri or Manipuri Bishnupriya.