TODAY -
The land of the blind
Chiranjib Haldar | Feb 20, 2012, 12.00AM IST :
Amidst the hullabaloo over the polling in Uttar Pradesh, we seem to have forgotten that Manipur also went to the hustings last month and is awaiting the results with bated breath. While the Congress-led Secular Progressive Front is aspiring for a consecutive third term under chief minister Okram Ibodi Singh, the opposition People's Democratic Front (PDF) alliance comprising Manipur People's Party, NCP, JD(U), CPM and RJD is hopeful of toppling the decade-old Congress regime.
Given all this, it's little wonder there is permanent ethnic strife in the region. To add to the impasse, Kukis migrating from Myanmar have caused their numbers in Manipur to rise. They have laid claim to a Kuki homeland on land the Nagas claim to be theirs in Manipur. Continual clashes between the Nagas, Meiteis and Kukis have given rise to demographic shifts. The truth is that bigger ethnic groups in Manipur have always wanted to win over smaller tribes spread across the state districts.
The UNC had imposed the ban in protest against the UPA's lack of political will to come up with an alternative arrangement for the Nagas of Manipur. It had also imposed a marathon 100-day economic blockade on the Imphal-Dimapur and Imphal-Silchar routes last year to denounce the Manipur government's alleged attempt to bifurcate Naga-dominated areas in order to create new districts. Any resort to this kind of blockade in the future will again cause immense hardship to the people of Manipur with prices of essential commodities skyrocketing.
The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is another sore point with most Manipuris. Though many have demanded repeal of this 'draconian' Act, the AFSPA has been lifted only in Imphal city comprising seven assembly constituencies. Although Irom Sharmila's fast for repealing the Act has entered its twelfth year, AFSPA still provides the military personnel in the state immunity from the country's judicial system. Any charge against soldiers has to first have prosecution sanction from the home ministry before they can be tried in court. But sensing the popular mood, chief minister Singh has promised to withdraw the Act from the entire state by "improving the law and order situation" if the Congress is voted back to power.
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* This Post is uploaded on February 20, 2012
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