No magic formula spelt out Reflecting the reality
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 01, 2023 -

The reality being reflected and obviously Union Home Minister Amit Shah did not come with a magic wand or a formula that would have been hailed by people on either side of the ethnic clash.

Call it political wisdom or pragmatism, but it is significant to note that the Home Minister also did not touch on anything that could have upset the apple cart and his silence on the SoO pact falls perfectly in line with the understanding of being practical, practical as far as the understanding of ‘Delhi’s convenience in the politics of south east Asia’ is concerned.

What however has set tongues wagging and opened the window for wild speculations to do the round was his instruction or suggestion to members of civil society organisations of Churachandpur to maintain peace and calm for the next 14 days !

This must have certainly set many theorists thinking on what it could mean.

What after two weeks is the question that did the round at Imphal and it must certainly have also been the case at Churachandpur too.

Only the Union Home Minister will know this and this instruction or suggestion should be taken along with the ‘I will be back in June’ line.

There was nothing extraordinary or earth shaking in the assurance given by Amit Shah including appointment of a retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India to probe the clash, letting the CBI take up selective cases without involving anyone from the State Government, compensation for loss of life and properties destroyed via the Direct Benefit Scheme etc.

Ensuring the territorial integrity of Manipur is rehashed script, but that it did come in the face of the call for a separate administration, as raised by the 10 Kuki-Chin MLAs is significant, but it should not be forgotten that Manipur also needs to step out of the beaten and flogged ‘territorial integrity’ line.

A call for a separate administration need not necessarily mean chopping up the geography of Manipur, for it could mean so many things and this is a point that should not blow over the heads of all those who stand by the understanding of Manipur as a geo-political reality.

The call for a separate administration can be a reality even if Manipur continues to exist as a full fledged State and this reality cannot be negated by show of street and muscle power but requires well informed and shrewd political moves.

Are the intellectuals and political leadership of the day well placed to live up to the expectations of the people is the natural question that follows.

To come anywhere near ensuring that Manipur comes out on top after any inquiry or probe, it is important for everyone here to debunk the myth that the Tribal Solidarity Rally was staged against the ST for Meiteis demand.

The debate on the present crisis and the ethnic clash should not focus on the ST for Meiteis demand but move beyond and expose the lies that have been floated.

The probe, as assured by the Union Home Minister, should also not fall into the trap of viewing the present clash as one between the Meiteis and the tribals, for it is not.

To understand the Tribal Solidarity Rally at Churachandpur and Kangpokpi one should go back in time and keep in mind the eviction at K Sonjang village and the rally that was staged in the early part of March.

From there one would need to move to the open acts of arson at Churachandpur, the act of setting on fire the arrangements made to inaugurate the Open Gym by the Chief Minister of the State, the Tribal Solidarity Rally at Churachandpur where gun wielding elements were seen taking part, the march up to Torbung which is located 11.2 kilometres away from Churachandpur town and why the rally ended peacefully at Senapati, Ukhrul, Tamenglong and other Naga dominated districts and not Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh.

Keep in mind too that the eviction drive at K Songjang village was not the only such drive conducted in the recent past with 29 houses dismantled at Lamlongei within Langol Reserved Forest area in April this year, Lamdeng Block Reserved Forest area, along the Trans-Asian Highway from Kiyam Babu bazar till Wangjing in December last year.

These are points that should not be overlooked and hereby hangs a tale.