No 'Manipur' in Manipur order : Whose directive is this ?
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 21, 2025 -

Governor AK Bhalla, Security Advisor Kuldiep Singh, Chief Secretary PK Singh and DGP Rajiv Singh have to answer this.

Why was the bus carrying journalists and arranged by the Directorate of Information and Public Relations from the Transport Department made to stop and erase the word Manipur from the windshield of the vehicle ?

It is anybody's guess whether an answer in black and white will be furnished or not, but let it be clear that the journalists were not on a picnic tour but were on their way to Ukhrul district headquarters and Shirui village to cover the Shirui Lily Festival.

Manipur and anyone who has taken an interest in the developments in Manipur must be aware of the circumstances under which reporters of different Imphal based media houses decided to take the bus trip to cover one of the most important festivals in the State and it is baffling that it was not the Kuki militants and their fronts who derailed the plans of the journalists but the very set of men who are there to ensure the protection of the citizens.

Imphal based newspapers must have decided to depute their respective reporters to cover the Shirui Lily Festival after seeing the spontaneous response from the Tangkhul Naga Long as well as the NSCN (IM) against the stand adopted by the so called Kuki-Zo Village Volunteers-Eastern Zone that no Meitei would be allowed to cross what they call 'Kukiland' on their way to the Shirui Lily Festival.

Given the strong stand adopted by the most influential Tangkhul organisation in Ukhrul district as well as the no-nonsense stand struck by the NSCN (IM), the threat perception appeared to have waned, but trust the security establishments to step in and spoil everything.

And this is what Manipur woke up to, sort of, when personnel of the Mahar Regiment stopped the bus carrying media persons and ordered the removal of the word Manipur from the windshield of the vehicle.

The question doing the round and for which no answer has been forthcoming so far is, under whose order did the Mahar Regiment personnel thought it fit to 'remove' the word Manipur ?

The bus belongs to the Manipur State Transport and hence the word Manipur.

Not surprisingly the journalists on board the bus returned, a fuming lot and as the news spread, a number of meira paibis also gathered to register a strong protest.

It was not just the covering of a word, but rightfully many see it as an act of desecrating the understanding of Manipur.

Has Manipur come to such a stage that a vehicle, a bus in this case, cannot move around freely just because it carries the word, Manipur?

Only Raj Bhavan, the Security Advisor, the Chief Secretary and the DGP can answer this question, and answer they must.

The media will not accept anything that comes close to what is generally understood as 'explanation'.

Under whose instruction or direction has the word Manipur become anathema in Manipur itself?

Amounts to a standing directive that any vehicle that carries the word Manipur must remain confined in the valley and Delhi should answer whether this would be acceptable in any other parts of the country.

The Tangkhul Naga Long, the people of Ukhrul, the people of Shirui, in fact the Tangkhul people as a whole do not deserve this and it is for this very reason why there was a strong rebuff to the stand of the so called Kuki-Zo Village Volunteers-Eastern Zone which sought to stop the Meiteis from attending the Shirui Lily Festival.

The festival has got underway but to many it has started off on a very sour note and personnel of the Mahar Regiment and the man who gave the instruction to stop any vehicle with the word Manipur must be stopped, should be held accountable.

To many others too, the very act of the Mahar Regiment personnel smacks of a bigger conspiracy, a sort of an arrangement with the SoO groups not to let anything close to the understanding of Manipur, walk or ride across the fantastically coined term 'Kukiland'.

The Shirui Lily Festival has kicked off and while The Sangai Express extends its best wishes for a successful festival, the bitter experience of May 20 will be noted.