Pointing fingers at the last 40 years : What is the status of SoO now ?
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 31, 2024 -

It may be granted - The successive Governments in the past 40 years slept over it and as a result the Manipur of today is reeling under the impacts of the last four decades or so.

As stated, this line may be taken but it should also come with the rider, what is the present doing now to deal with the present crisis ?

Gradual streaming in of immigrants, all obviously illegal, in the last 40 years, vote bank politics, playing to the ‘minority’ gallery etc are factors that are behind the present crisis, no doubt about it, but the question of greater import at the moment is, what steps has Delhi taken up to bring the situation under control ?

And the situation that one is talking about did not erupt today or yesterday or even one month back, but it has already crossed the 17th month mark and come November 3, 2024 it would have completed 18 months.

What steps has Delhi or Imphal taken up in the last 18 months to deal with the situation ?

This is a question which only the present dispensation at Delhi and Imphal can answer but till date there is nothing to show of any work taken up at the ground to show something is being done, other than scrapping FMR and to fence the border.

The Prime Minister may have spoken, not once but twice, but did the reference to Manipur have anything to deal with the crisis other than just expressing deep pain and shame over the nude parade of some young girls ?

What steps has the Union Home Ministry initiated so far other than the much tom tommed meeting between the Meitei, Kuki and Naga MLAs at New Delhi on October 15 ?

Was room created for the Kuki and Meitei MLAs to sit together and exchange ideas and line of thought to bring Manipur towards the path of normalcy ?

Or more specifically did they at all sit together and discuss things ?

And why was there a separate meeting organised with the Kuki-Zo MLAs earlier in the day of Oct 15 ?

Why have the BJP MLAs and Ministers who were deputed for the October 15 meeting still not deemed it fit to spell out what was discussed or if at all they had the opportunity to sit down and talk things over with the Kuki MLAs ?

All questions that ought to be raised and this is perfectly in line with the poser, what steps have been taken up right now to deal with the present crisis ?

The crisis may have been a thing waiting to blow up, slowly building up in the last 40 years or so, but the question of greater importance is, if this is an outcome coming from the last four decades, then doesn’t it need the collective efforts of Delhi and Imphal to deal with the issue now ?

Pointing fingers at the past without nothing to show what is being done currently may not exactly go down well with the people and this is a point which should be noted.

The Suspension of Operation pact signed with the Kuki armed groups in 2005 and Imphal made to come on board in 2008 may be seen along the line of ‘building up since the last 40 years.’

This is fine for the general question that did the round when news of the SoO pact first broke out was why a ceasefire need to be inked with any entity which had never once targeted the security forces ?

And this question still stands and this is where one is left wondering what the exact status of the SoO pact is now, as things stand right now.

According to the book, the SoO pact was not extended on February 29 this year, which in other words mean that it has lapsed.

However as Chief Minister N Biren pronounced some time back it is still in force and the question is, if a pact which was inked during the time of the Congress Government is still alive and kicking today why hasn’t it been abrogated now and why is there no official confirmation from Delhi on whether the pact is past its validity or whether it has been extended.

This is not the time for finger pointing but to get down to the business of getting things right and it stands that the State Government has so far failed to get an appointment with the Prime Minister.

And it is along this line that one should study and try to understand why The Sangai Express (English edition) had used the term ‘rouse’ Delhi, in the news story about the coming together of North East students to cry out for efforts to put Manipur on the path of normalcy.