Rebel with(out) a cause... Walk the talk
- Sangai Express Editorial :: July 23, 2013 -

Ups and downs. As in any movement, this applies to 'revolutionary' movements too and perhaps no one will understand this better than the people of Manipur and the North East States which have been in a perpetual 'state of war' with the Government of India.

Should the lack of strike power be equated with the armed insurrection being on life control system or should it be more about how deeply entrenched and wide reaching are the ideologies behind the armed movements ?

A question worth examining in the light of the thought provoking article written by Lt Col Laishram Lokendra Singh (Retd) and which was published in the July 22 edition of this paper.

Should random acts of placing unexploded grenades or bombs at the residences of select individuals or sites be taken that the revolution against the Government of India is still on to restore the lost 'sovereignty' of the land and the people, is the poser that the retired Army official raised in his article and this is certainly food for thought.

On the other hand, should it be taken that just because the fire power or strike power of the armed groups or underground organisations have been blunted to a certain extent, the call for an armed revolution has fallen flat or is about to go bust ?

There will be no easy answer to these questions, but questions which should not be swept aside. There is also the question of whether the erosion of the strike power of the armed groups can be equated with the erosion of their political and social ideology.

Another important point to note is whether the acts of placing bombs and grenades at select sites come anywhere near a revolutionary movement.

Another very important and interesting point which the retired Army official has raised is whether the insurrection launched by the 'Meitei insurgents' include the Naga areas earmarked by the UNC as theirs as well as the territories charted out by the Kukis under the Kuki Statehood Demand Committee, no doubt a frontal organisation of one of the armed Kuki groups which are in a SoO pact with the Government of India.

'Meitei insurgents' is the term used by Lt Colonel Laishram Lokendra Singh and this is something which should be acknowledged.

Bold is the word written all over the idea of using the term 'Meitei insurgents' and not everyone has this conviction of coming to terms with the reality of the deep social and political divide that spawns Manipur.

To get a better understanding of the article referred here, The Sangai Express would like to recommend to all our readers to go through it minutely.

What is the step forward then ? Peace talk or political negotiation is naturally the politically correct approach to address the issue of armed movements in Manipur and the North East region in general.

However the question of peace talk does not come without its extra baggage. The much tom tommed peace talk between the NSCN (IM) and the Government of India is nearing 16 years but yet at the ground reality there is nothing much to show by way of any progress.

A resolution or an agreement is round the corner is a term that has been bandied about for the last six/seven months, but still there is nothing to demonstrate that something indeed has progressed since August 1, 1997.

It is more or less the same thing with the Suspension of Operation pact signed between the Kuki armed groups and Delhi and Imphal. Signed more than seven years back and yet a meaningful political dialogue is yet to start, constraining the Kuki National Organisation, one of the two umbrella organisations of the Kuki armed groups not to append their signature to the six month extension period of the SoO pact, though technically they are still a part of the pact.

On the other hand a number of armed outfits, which come under the 'Meitei insurgents' term of Lt Col Lokendra have come forward to hold peace parleys with the Government of India.

A peace initiative is always welcome, but this still does not answer the question of on whose behalf are these groups going to negotiate with the Government.

On behalf of the people and the land or on behalf of their cadres and themselves ? Not yet clear, but the overwhelming focus on 'rehabilitation' package of the cadres says something significant.

A point worth noting.