Blacking out stand of 10 MLAs : Nothing but rehashed script
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 13, 2023 -

There are reasons why The Sangai Express has decided to leave out the report that ten tribal, non-Naga, MLAs have jumped onto ' the bandwagon of the separate administration' call , for the simple fact that there is nothing hew in this demand.

It has been there for ages and to the non-Kuki people this demand can be understood as Kuki Homeland, Zalengam, etc and it should be more than obvious how and why the said ten MLAs hitched their wagon onto the 'separate administration' call.

The interesting question therefore is, how sincere or committed are the ten MLAs to the call of a separate administration ?

Perhaps the only thing new here is the open backing of a 'separate administration', a demand which has already been there and other than the mischief elements here, The Sangai Express finds no reason to play into the hands of such mischief makers, the mastermind behind the mischief agenda or those who just gave their signature on a piece of paper.

The agenda is simple and plain, but it can have the potential to prolong the crisis and give more bite to the 'victim card' being played out in all its manifestation.

The very fact that a first time MLA managed to find a slot in a programme hosted by renowned journalist Karan Thapar in The Wire should say something significant about the wide reach of some of them and this is a point which the Government of Manipur should have taken note of.

Take a look at the manner in which the supposedly Tribal Solidarity March of May 3 was camouflaged under the cloak of 'a march against the ST demand for the Meiteis' and this should have more than testified that the rally organisers had done their homework minutely so as to take along all the tribals of Manipur.

The very fact that trouble started during the Churachandpur rally and soon spread to Kangpokpi and Moreh should more than say something on the other unstated but obvious agenda behind the rally.

This is where the oblique reference to the ST demand for the Meiteis, raised by some here in Imphal, as being the reason for the outbreak of the clash, can be said to be playing into, the hands of ATSUM, which organised the rally on May 3.

Playing into the hands of the nemesis of everything that Manipur stands for is a line that comes to mind and this is what Is disturbing.

So ten MLAs backing the call for a separate administration and this is where people in Imphal and elsewhere would need to read between the lines and not play into the hands of the agenda that has been scripted.

Work up more angst and more anger and let the people come out on the streets again and then play the victim card more aggressively, so as to win the sympathy of the world and the onlookers is the line.

The people of Manipur, more particularly the people of Imphal, should not allow themselves to be drawn into the game that is being played out here.

Perhaps resigning from the Assembly would have had more impact, that is if the said ten MLAs are really sincere about their stand.

More like a case of playing to the gallery for their own political survival and such tactics can only have a short life span.

This is not the time to exacerbate the problem and people across the 'clash divide' should ideally be looking for and working for ways to see how confidence building measures can be initiated.

Too many people have died, too many properties have been destroyed and too many people have been displaced and such a situation cannot be allowed to linger on endlessly.

This is especially true for those who believe in the existence of the geo-political reality called Manipur.

At the same time it is also important for everyone to remember that the clash erupted on issues which may be understood as strictly political and not along religious line.

It is not a Hindu-Christian clash and it absolutely makes no sense to destroy or burn places of worship' like Churches and landmark religious places like Kondong Lairembi at Moreh or other places deemed to be holy by the people of the valley.

The bottomline is, it is not only Churches which have been targeted but also places of worship of the people of the valley.