Future of the Manipuris and the Meetei/Meitei
- Imphal Times Editorial :: December 11 2020 -

The Day After Tomorrow, a science fiction movie directed and produced by Roland Emmerich which was based on the book The Coming Global Superstorm by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber, depicts a catastrophic climatic effects following the disruption of the North Atlantic Ocean circulation in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling and lead to a new ice age.

The Hollywood blockbuster which had successfully spread the message about the deteriorating climatic condition is not the concern of this writer, as the concept of the necessity of being Humanism is also a message of the movie.

This writing is a speculation about the fate of the Indians particularly those living in the North Eastern part of the country and Manipur.

Like the way that the earth freezes in the movie due to lack of common sense and humanity to human kinds, we the people of this region see sometime see a total disaster of our children in the day after tomorrow.

From being Manipuri, we have become Meitei, Naga, Kuki, Meitei Pangal. The concept of Manipuri is fading away slowly and the concept of Meitei, Naga, Kuki, Meitei pangal etc. has already taken its shape.

This writing is not about the probable disaster that the Human Being may face in the coming days depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster movie, but this writing is about forecasting the fate of our children of tomorrows.

After British left India 70 years back, India is yet to complete to sort out a workable policy programme which would make all the citizen – a sense of Indianess.

The largest democracy which constitutional expert always pointed out still seem to have left out some provisions that would make all citizen felt that we are Indian.

The continuation of the programme and policy that the British had adopted to rule the country making laws in their own conveniences disregarding the tradition and culture of the different ethnic community make the lower class and middle class people felt that “ Are we a Free Citizen”.

70 years the rich keep on earning more, the powerful gets more power , the farmers and lower class people continue to sacrifice unable to bear the atrocities committed the ruling regime.

No matter the change of guard in the government make no differences in the country as the system still continue to exercise when it comes to the issue of lower class people.

In North Eastern part of the country which was merged to the Indian Union people are treated better by the colonial British ruled.

Various acts which lawmakers and activist called draconian law still impose to suppress the poor and harass people in the name of building the nation stronger .

The longer rule by a specific political party make stronger those who stood against their policy. And it was out of the anti –incumbency that another political party comes up and hold power in the center.

All things expected did not happen. The people face more alienation from the nation called India as the rule and their policy incline more towards a specific majority community.

The government which is running the country is no difference from those of the fascist authoritarian regime of the 19 century.

The need of the hour is a collective move for a change India. Untold stories of Adivasis have slowly come up in the limelight.

Story of how indigenous people are slowing absorbing by major community is known by everyone. Quasi federal structure is slowly becoming history with the present regime centralizing all power.

And the day after tomorrow may be an India with only fascist Hindu without Muslim, Christian, and Meitei.

The logic for this speculation is that when the once upon a time Manipuri started introducing them as Meetei/Meitei, Naga , Kuki and Muslim, the pride of being Manipuri of the erstwhile Asiatic nation, the community will become meager which definitely meant that it will be surely dependable and some critic or activist may come up to take advantage by merging the identity with the majority one.

This was witness in the state of Manipur. Due to wrong; somewhere in the process of making the Manipur Nation, we had seen the NSCN-IM accumulated all minor ethnic community and formulated a Nation like character call NAGA.

Recent development in the Manipuri society is that the Meetei/Meitei now started demanding to become Schedule Tribe.

This demand is coming up out of necessities and more likely – a struggle for survival.

The Day After Tomorrow needs to be saved for the children of tomorrow.