Same old story down the decades : Yet another general strike
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 14 2015 -

It has been like this for decades.

So while the rest of the country gear up to celebrate Independence Day on August 15, the people of Manipur will stay indoors.

The same scenario is repeated every Republic Day on January 26.

Add the 12 hour bandh called by the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) from 4 am till 4 pm of August 14 this year and this in effect says that people will have to stay indoors for two consecutive days.

Bandhs, general strikes, public curfew are all terms which have become synonymous with Manipur and while these terms signify that something is terribly wrong somewhere, Delhi and Imphal just do not seem to have woken up to the disturbing reality.

For decades, Independence Day has been boycotted with numerous armed organisations imposing a general strike on this day to dissuade the people from participating in any celebration of the day.

Yet there is nothing much to suggest that Delhi is keen to study the situation and do something about it.

On the contrary, it has been under the belief that the armed movement here can be suppressed by military might and the imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act is an apt example of such a mindset.

That such an approach has not worked is something which the Government of India has refused to acknowledge.

On the other hand the situation here seems to have offered the best excuse to militarise the region and the State and the result is there for all to see.

Today situation has come to such a pass that there are numerous armed groups all espousing a cause or two.

It was only dialogue that worked with the Mizo National Front in Mizoram and now with the NSCN (IM) in Nagaland.

So as the rest of the country celebrate Independence Day, Manipur will see empty roads with no vehicles plying on the road, except in cases of emergencies.

Moreover all the shops will down shutters and there will be no business transactions. Ditto too for schools and colleges.

This is not something new for this has been happening for decades and it is mind boggling to see that not single effort seems to have been initiated to politically engage the different armed groups.

The State Government too seems to be batting in the dark, with no clue on how to proceed and reach out to the numerous armed groups, active and operating here.

The only real effort made may be the cease fire offered by the State Government more than ten years back, during the short term of Radhabinod Koijam as the Chief Minister.

It took conviction and courage to come up with such a design and one wonders why successive Governments have not explored the means to hold political dialogues with some of the armed outfits.

At the moment there is nothing to suggest that things will improve, but this should be no reason for the Government to sleep over the matter.

Efforts should be taken up to strike a deal with everyone.

It is important to remember that each boycott of important dates like Independence Day and Republic Day is a damning statement that there are many groups which are questioning the idea of India as a Nation. Guns and military might can never be the answer.