Profound observation of PRCM : Eroded trust, confidence
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: November 23, 2024 -

Supposedly the smallest among the 33 recognised tribes of Manipur, but the message the Purum tribe via the Purum Reim Council, Manipur (PRCM) has delivered is profound.

A point which many have felt but have never had the conviction to verbalise and the point delivered so effectively is certainly food for thought.

Their one line statement that ‘more and more people have lost faith in the valley based CSOs considering the adhoc measures/decisions taken by them in connection with the present crisis’ is hitting the bull’s eye with aplomb.

Food for thought this certainly is and that this statement should come at a time when a video clip of some CSO leaders coming to logger heads with some meira paibi leaders or members, the video clip of which has gone viral on the social media, makes it all that more significant.

Snide remarks against the organisation purportedly represented by the said CSO leaders have also done the round on the social media, reflecting poorly on Manipur and the Meitei society as a whole.

This is the reality at the moment and this is the time for everyone concerned to sit back, relax and give the observation aired by the PCRM some serious thoughts.

There is no sign that the Meitei-Kuki clash would come to an end anytime soon and this is where it becomes very important for everyone to come to terms with the enormity of the task at hand and since some have stepped forward to ‘guide’ the people, it is more than important that they do nothing which can reduce them to something to be mocked about.

It should also be more than clear that Manipur lacks a strategy, a strategy to take the battle to those standing against the understanding of a geo-political reality called Manipur, with everyone coming under the impression that they know best and there is no need to co-ordinate.

Anything called co-ordination, an understanding to make the position of Manipur clear at different levels, from the media war that has been fought from Day 1 of the conflict, to the story that is being churned out to the outside world, to the manner in which the Court is being approached, to the manner in which the demand and stand of the place and the people are being projected to the people who matter, there is nothing to suggest that a system has been worked out.

To think that this is the case even after more than 18 months of the place going up in flames is unthinkable.

Just like how Manipur has been surviving from day to day, it appears that the fight to protect the understanding of Manipur seems to be just going from day to day without anything coming close to the understanding of a systematic approach.

Time for everyone to come to the reality.

Manipur is up against forces which are powerful and which seem to have pre-planned all its moves, best exemplified by the fact that the call for a Separate Administration came the moment Manipur erupted in flames on May 3, 2023 and this call came along with the carefully manufactured victim stories which were then sold to the outside world with an ever ready section of the media eagerly lapping all these up.

Lessons should be learnt and the observation given by the PRCM should be digested and corrective steps taken up accordingly.

A sort of a wake up call it should be for all who are at the forefront of protecting the understanding of Manipur and her people.

One also wonders whether the people of Jiribam have received the post mortem reports of the three children and three women who were killed after being kept in captivity for five full days by Kuki-Zo-Hmar militants.

An answer to this would help for it is on the basis of such a report that Manipur can take the fight against such savagery more meaningfully.

The bodies of the nine victims will be put to rest, but this is an incident which Manipur can ill afford to forget and yes a lesson should also be drawn from this blood curdling incident.

For 18 months, Manipur has been in a state of ‘war’ but there is no indication that things will improve in the coming days and if it is not Jiribam today, then it could be at any of the villages lying at the foothills on the Churachandpur side or anywhere else.

The question is whether the Central forces sent here will continue to be mere spectators or do something concrete.