Hammering in the divide nail : Politics of blockade
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 28 2011 -

Blockade politics is hydra headed. It is not only about pressurising a Government to bring it down to its knees and give in to a demand or a series of demands raised.

It is not only about escalating cost of essential goods and commodities. It goes much deeper than stopping the free flow of goods and goods trucks on the National Highways and it is much, much more than over night queues at petrol pumps.

These things are no doubt the most visible and the most felt impact of any blockade on the National Highways and the 120 days economic blockade which Manipur recently survived told all these tales and more. Manipur should know.

In 2005 it was the 52 days economic blockade called by the All Naga Students' Association, Manipur against the decision of the State Government to declare June 18 a State holiday as well as to observe the day as Integrity Day in remembrance of the June 18 Uprising in 2001.

In 2010 the 64 days economic called by the United Naga Council was purportedly against the decision of the State Government to go ahead with the election to the Autonomous District Council under the 2008 amendment, with the shadow of the aborted visit of Th Muivah hanging over the horizon.

This year, the economic blockade was first called by the Sadar Hills Districthood Demand Committee from August 1 to October 31 with the UNC chipping in with a counter blockade from August 21 and lifting it on November 28.

While the escalating cost of essential goods, reports of life saving drugs running out of stock, serpentine queues outside petrol pumps and normal life affected adversely have all been recorded and commented upon numerous times for the sheer visibility of it all, what has remained removed from the consciousness of the people but which nonetheless has all the potential to deal an adverse blow on the very idea of Manipur as a social and political entity is the manner in which blockade politics has come to encase hate campaigns and communal politics.

This is one fall out of the politics of blockade and on the other hand is the emergence of a class of speculators or fortune hunters, who jumped onto the bandwagon of the blockade politics to make a killing while the Sun shone.

In many ways the term economic blockade is a misnomer now. It is not only a tool to cut off the lifelines of a people but is now a political campaign to hammer in the divide nail one more inch, thereby taking the challenge to the idea of Manipur as a social and political entity one notch higher.

The agenda is simple enough. Cut off the lifeline of a people in the name of a cause taken up on behalf of another "group of people" and the pieces begin to fall into places.

The longer the lifelines are cut off, the more will be the angst of "the deprived people" against the "people" in whose name the blockade was imposed in the first place, automatically creating an atmosphere of distrust and animosity amongst the different groups of people.

This despite the fact that the common people are not at all sold on the idea of blockade politics. Hammering in the divide nail with greater force.

This is real politiks at is basest level and potentially very dangerous. On the other hand, in such a situation, it is easy to create a climate of scarcity which is the perfect fishing ground for speculators of different hues.

Make hay while the Sun shines and there is no need to elaborate from whose stable the speculators will emerge or have emerged. It definitely does not need rocket science technology to home in on the prime factor for blockade politics to thrive and prosper-the dependency on only one lifeline.

The answer to tackle this then should be more and more lifelines. The train is set to chug into Manipur/Imphal shortly and while this will go a long way in addressing the travails of depending on only one lifeline, Manipur cannot afford to lose sight of the reality.

"Rail Roko" definitely occupies an important space in the dictionary of agitation. The answer lies in opening as many connecting routes with the outside world as possible.

Such an approach can work three ways. For one it will make economic blockade redundant. Once such a form of agitation loses its sting, then the politics of hate can be neutralised to a large extent. Thirdly it can mean the death knell of the class of the speculators.

Manipur has nothing to lose by exploring all available means at its disposal to open as many routes as possible. The question of maintenance can come later.

The important point however is whether the people are interested in striking a bargain with the Government on this point. Election date has been fixed. It is now the call of the people.