Voice of sanity amid insanity
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 16, 2010 -

Amid the high voltage rantings and blood curdling cries raised by war mongers and the rumours spread by mischief makers, it is heartening to note that some sane voices have been raised, thereby underlying the fact that it is only goodwill and understanding, plus people to people contact, that will go a long way in bridging the gap between the people divided by the Greater Lim issue.

At the moment, all vehicular movements along NH-39 have virtually come to a standstill, thanks to the indefinite economic blockade imposed by ANSAM as well as the series of barricades put up along this route to protest the police action of May 6 at Mao Gate in which two young students were killed.

A somewhat similar situation is prevailing in the Mao to Kohima sector of the Highway with the Naga Students' Federation decreeing that no vehicles from Manipur will be allowed to enter Nagaland.

This is in obvious retaliation for stopping the members of the student body including its president to enter Manipur by State forces stationed in Mao as precautionary measures to stop any attempt by Th Muivah and NSCN (IM) to enter Manipur. Amid the economic blockade on the National Highways, another disturbing trend is the emerging 'counter blockade' voice raised by some elements in the valley area.

In fact at certain points, vehicles coming from the hill districts have been turned back or not allowed to enter Imphal. This is the disturbing situation in which Manipur finds itself today and an issue which was supposed to have been dealt with solely between the Government of Manipur, the Government of India, the NSCN (IM) and to a certain extent the Government of Nagaland, has been turned on its head with people taking the issue out on the streets, where no sane voice can be heard or are allowed to be raised.

Another ugly and extremely disturbing point is the Thamnapokpi incident on the Imphal-Moreh route, when gunmen suspected to belong to a particular group, waylaid and hijacked 15 goods laden vehicles, after forcing them to drive all the way to a spot about 5 kms from Komlathabi in Chandel district. The drivers and passengers were warned not to take the route again, tinged with communal overtones, which we at the press, thought it wiser not to report in detail.

It is amid this madness that the invitation from the Co-ordinating Committee of Naga Civil Society came to the United Committee Manipur and All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation via the newspapers for a meeting at Guwahati on May 13.

That UCM and AMUCO have turned down the invitation, citing valid and reasonable points but welcoming the invitation provides a ray of hope in helping to bridge the divide that seems to be getting sharper and sharper by the day. Manipur and Nagaland are neighbours and in one way or the other, contacts between peoples of the two States cannot be severed under any circumstances.

The same rule applies to both the people who espouse the cause of a Greater Lim and those who swear by the territorial integrity of Manipur. Our fate and destiny are the same and no artificial or man made situation can change this. The history, the geography, the racial components of the people are factors that cannot be wished away or ignored.

Remember, whether one is a Naga or a Meitei, once one steps out beyond the region and ventures into mainland India, we are all the same, the chinkies or bahadurs or a blanket description as people from the North East.

The Co-ordinating Committee of Naga Civil Society has already taken the first step of stretching out a hand for better understanding and it is time other civil society organisations also wake up to this development.

The Church in Nagaland has a big influence on practically every aspects of the people there and this is where the Church from Manipur, irrespective of denominations can explore the avenues to initiate some sort of a people to people contact and dialogue. The Manipur Baptist Convention can perhaps take the lead.