For the suffering multitudes
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: July 13, 2012 -

It seems there is no escape for the people of Manipur from their annual tryst with the summer of discontent.

Just as the people have started looking forward to an annual calendar without the summer of discontent, a string of events have come up one after another in such quick successions making them reconcile to a destiny tied down to a vicious cycle of violence and angry protest.

While the state has been boiling over the demand for re-introduction of Inner Line Permit System, Southern Angami Youth Organisation (SAYO) has imposed restriction on 'social mobility and vehicular movement' to and from Manipur within its jurisdiction over the alleged failure of the Government of Manipur to take up necessary action in connection with hijacking of a vehicle from Nagaland by four Manipuri persons.

Close on the heels of SAYO's move, United Naga Council (UNC) has announced 96-hour total bandh in Naga areas from the midnight of July 23 to midnight of July 27 in protest against the alleged lack of sincerity on the part of the Government of India and the Government of Manipur in taking forward the democratic dialogue on the demand for an 'alternative arrangement for the Nagas in Manipur outside the government of Manipur.

As if all these protests and agitations were not enough to make the cup of woes of the people brimful, fuel scarcity has hit the passenger buses and school van services after all the petrol pumps downed their shutters in protest against setting on fire two oil pumps over monetary demand by some UG groups on the night of July 9.

From all these events, we can rest assure on one thing for certain, that is, all these problems are not likely to be resolved so soon but only have cascading effects making the lives of the common people more miserable.

While the issue over the public demand for re-introduction of Inner Line Permit System in Manipur to regulate influx of outsiders is getting more complex with the state government unable to take a definite stand on the issue and the Union Home Ministry, from whom it had sought opinion, maintaining that it is Central law over which the state government has no authority to decide upon, the demand of UNC for 'an alternative arrangement' is something so vague that even the Centre had earlier sought a clarification in this regard.

That leaves the demand of SAYO and the problem of fuel scarcity.

For the former, co-ordination between the police departments of both the neighbouring states of Nagaland and Manipur is a must for arresting the miscreants whose act of hijacking a hired vehicle could spark communal tension needlessly, and for the latter, the state government should seriously get down to the business of neutralizing the menace of extortion demand from UGs.

No doubt, solution to all these issues may not be at an arm's length, but still the State government and more particularly the elected representatives of the people should give them due importance for thorough discussion on the floor of the ongoing Assembly session, if they really care for the suffering multitudes.