2023 : A disaster of a year it was :: Tasks before the Govt
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 04, 2024 -

The silence is loud, very loud and it says so many things.

The fire that was lit on May 3 last year continues to rage and there is nothing to suggest that Manipur will see normalcy any time in the near future.

On the contrary the days of 2023 and the first three days of 2024 have more than demonstrated that the Kuki militants are getting bolder, even engaging in gun fights with Central security forces, such as the Assam Rifles and the Border Security Force.

The belligerence of the Kuki militants is clear and with Chief Minister N Biren more than hinting that armed militants from across the border are behind the renewed offensive against the State at Moreh, this should be raised before Delhi.

The situation calls for the Chief Minister to demonstrate his political acumen and approach Delhi with the point that the Suspension of Operation pact signed with the KNF and UPF should be rolled back.

Or if this is not possible then a good point should be delivered to get the SoO pact reviewed.

It should be more than obvious to Delhi that the encounters or assaults on the security personnel could not be the handiwork of some village volunteers.

This much is clear and Imphal should put its best foot forward to present the case of Manipur before New Delhi.

Rolling back the SoO pact or at the least get it reviewed and this could go a long way in putting Manipur on the path of normalcy.

The Kuki militants need to be defanged and reined in and it is important to remember that the Chief Minister himself has used the term Kuki terrorists to refer to the armed Kuki cadres.

Imphal should also apply the right approach and political tactic to get the Prime Minister speak on the crisis, a crisis which has already claimed nearly 200 human lives, rendered thousands homeless and many missing till now.

One word of understanding, one word to demonstrate that Delhi is seized of the crisis and realises the grief and pain of the people from the Prime Minister can certainly go a long way in applying the needed balm to the hurt sentiments of the people.

Manipur has bled for too long and there does not seem to any magic formula to deal with the situation.

But the critical question is whether Manipur can afford to let the situation continue like this forever.

2023 was a disaster, a disaster for the people and the worrying part is, it seems that the situation will continue like this, with no one really knowing when normalcy will return to the troubled State.

As stated, getting the Prime Minister to speak on the issue, getting SoO abrogated or if that is not possible right now then get it reviewed, give the go ahead signal to update the National Register of Citizens in Manipur, with the base year set at 1951, a long standing demand of quite a large number of civil society organisations could be the way forward.

It is also more than clear that the designated SoO camps must have been deserted a long time back, and at the beginning of the ongoing unrest there were some reports of the Security Advisor to the Government inspecting the camps, but there have been no further reports of any inspection drive.

It is also extremely important to check the incursion of refugees from across the international border and the first step towards this should be to recognise that many have indeed come into Manipur and the best way to keep track of the refugees is to keep them at designated places and not offer any room for them to merge with the local population.

Manipur has burnt for far too long and it is only right that some corrective measures are taken now.

2023 was a disaster and this should not be extended into 2024.