Staging agitation in a mediatized culture
- Part 1 -

Dr Nongthombam Premchand *

Protest against killing of Manorama by Assam Rifles - July 2004 :: Pix - David M Mayum

In the title of this paper the word 'staging' is purposely used before the word 'agitation' to mean that launching an agitation against the state has all the qualities of staging a drama or performance. The phrase 'mediatized culture' is borrowed from Philip Auslander's book Liveness. Through this phrase I try to make a point that as never before happened Manipur is experiencing an upsurge of activity in the new field of media technology dominated by mobile phone, internet, cable television network, global television news network, and other forms of audio and visual reproduction, and this exposure has led to the generation of many new cultural formations. Media being a powerful medium the agitators have used it successfully and they have become expert performers or actors, and have made the world a stage through media.

In the conflict situation of Manipur one will find it difficult to draw a clear border line demarcating life and art. It is a time when life and art are mingled inseparably. Once, the English poet William Wordsworth said of poetry in clear definitive terms. He said that 'poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility'.

But for Manipur it is the 'spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings' which burst into intermittent events or upheavals of 'social drama'. There is no time for recollecting in tranquility. Because, it seems, there is no peaceful or a tranquil social life. Life has become the poetry itself and the individuals are now the symbols, metaphors, imageries, the phrases, similes and the words in the poetry. In the politically charted map of Manipur there are actors, directors and those scripting social drama.

The term 'drama' here sounds the presence of a sense of fiction in it and also it appears to entail a derogatory sense. But this is not so. Drama here is a serious performance charged with a ritualistic content and it may lead to as serious a case as the death of the actor during performance or suffering ghastly injuries that may maim the actor for life. But the drama continues and there are consciously generated 'breaches' which spark drama.

Victor Turner in his theory of 'social drama' says that when a social drama is unfolded it goes through a journey of four phases or stages. They are the Breach, the Crisis, Redressive action and Reintegration or Schism. Breach happens when there is a rupture in the course of a social life which is considered normal and acceptable. The breach threatens stability of the society and it leads to a circumstance where the breach is widened into an increasingly opened public display. This is the stage of crisis and there may be several crises, each more public and threatening than the last.

Next is the Redressive action during which all efforts are made by a third party or the government to resolve and heal the breach. Finally the breach may be resolved and the crisis may come to its end and with the society reintegrated to its normal course of life. Or, there may cause a schism. Turner's theory of social drama certainly helps in understanding patterns of political movements, agitations and social upheavals happening in a society, and also it can pave the way towards resolving the crisis.

Social drama happens on all levels of the society from state to family. It could be people staging agitation against the state, a revolutionary movement, a political crisis leading to dismantling of the government, a village/students group/an underground outfit falling into factions or a husband beating his wife and the domestic problem becoming a public issue, etc.

Manipur has experienced three major upheavals or social dramas since the year 2000. In the year 2000 people rose against the agreement reached between the Indian government and the NSCN(IM) in which it was mentioned that the cease fire between the two groups would also cover the neighboring states including Manipur. The people of Manipur took it that it was a complete sale out of the Naga inhabited areas of Manipur to benefit formation of a greater Nagaland and resolve the problem of Naga insurgency.

In the wake of the spontaneous agitation 18 people were killed, the Chief Minister's bungalow was ransacked and the State Assembly hall and ministerial quarters were torched to ashes by the agitators. In this case the agreement was the breach because it envisaged an agenda of extending cease fire to three hill districts of Manipur which people apprehended that it would lead to disintegrating the territorial integrity of Manipur. The breach sparked a crisis period, a liminal phase of days of confrontation between security forces and the agitators. Indefinite curfew was imposed successively for days together.

The central government in Delhi and the state government under President's rule took up redressive measures by restricting the ceasefire within Nagaland. But this was not made clear to the public, and people are still suspicious of the Indian government that cease fire still continues to be implemented in three hill districts of Manipur. In due course of time curfew was lifted and people gradually came to be reintegrated to their normal process of life but not through a clear healing of the breach. The redressive action of the Indian government was itself a political ploy to calm down the people of Manipur and thus to put an end to the social drama at least temporarily.

The second major social drama was sparked when the body of one Thangjam Manorama Devi was found abandoned at roadside after allegedly raped and brutally murdered by the Indian army. The rallying point of the agitation was that the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 was denying the people of their right to life and that it should be repealed. Manorama's case was the point where the rupture or breach was happened.

But people were well aware of the organized killing spree of 'civilians' picked up from their homes by the central security forces in the wee hours. It was a long pent up anguish of the people which overflowed on to the streets in the form of violent social drama. Women staged nude protest in front of the Assam Rifles personnel at the western gate of Kangla. The violent protests lingered for more than a month.

To be continued....