Focus on pre-May 3, 2023 period : What are the steps to be taken ?
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 11, 2025 -

‘Our focus should be on returning to the pre-May 3rd, 2023 situation.’

These are the words shared by a young gentleman during a group discussion on a Whatsapp forum and one wonders how high this is on the agenda of Imphal and Delhi.

Governor Abhay Kumar Bhalla has however rung out the message that he is intent on taking Manipur back to the pre-May 3, 2023 days by reaching out to the civil society organisations of Churachandpur and maintaining a tight line and length in asserting that peace should precede any ‘solution’.

How Raj Bhavan take things further remains to be seen but already a point has been delivered and given that AK Bhalla is a man handpicked by the Centre to oversee Manipur during this tumultuous period, one can safely assume that the initiative taken so far has the blessings of New Delhi.

This is a point that should be noted and while it remains to be seen how Manipur responds to the fresh gestures adopted by the Governor, it should be admitted that the act of reaching out is something which Manipur has not seen in a long, long time.

What is possibly the way forward ?

For one, the Governor has demonstrated that his first priority is ushering in peace and one hopes this has a cascading effect with people on either side of the clash divide falling in line with the call for normalcy to come first.

Meaningful dialogue or talks can become a reality only when there is an atmosphere of peace and normalcy.

One also wonders when the next Delhi summit would come about, for the October 15, 2024 Delhi meet was the first time that such a meeting was convened.

The significance of the October 15, 2024 summit lies in the fact that MLAs drawn from the Kuki, Naga and Meitei communities were present and it was arranged under the initiative of the Union Home Ministry.

What exactly transpired during the meeting was never spelt out to the media, but it was a beginning and one wonders whether the Governor has any plan to take things forward from the October 15, 2024 meeting.

It would help if the Governor can look at ways to form a Peace Committee in the line of such a body which was formed in the early stage of the conflict but which has completely been rendered inconsequential.

Getting back to the pre-May 3, 2023 days will be a tough task, no doubt, but this cannot be the reason why efforts should not be taken up. And in Governor AK Bhalla, Manipur may perhaps have the best man to take things forward.

This is a point which should not blow over the heads of anyone, especially those who would want to see Manipur back to the pre-May 3, 2023 period.

It should however be kept in mind that violence broke out on May 3, 2023 not because the call for a Separate Administration (SA) was raised.

The SA call came about only when Imphal and the valley areas retaliated after Meitei settlements at Torbung and Churachandpur were razed to the ground.

This line of argument should be simple enough to understand.

This much should be kept in mind in any effort to reach out to people on either side of the clash divide.

And this is where it becomes important for Manipur to present the true and undiluted story to the Governor who has just assumed office and effectively at that.

So while the need to study how Manipur can be taken to the pre-May 3, 2023 period should be explored by the people who matter, it is disturbing to note the mindless personal allegations raised while discussing the burning issue in the State.

Punching below the belt is the line that comes to mind when allegations and verbal assaults are launched against anyone perceived to be questioning the people who matter while it is only facts that have been raised.

Manipur needs to come to her senses and recognise the threats staring her in the face instead of targeting each other which ultimately makes no sense at all.

The tragedy is, nothing seems to have been learnt from the past 20 months.