Tearing apart the idea of Manipur? 'Potential to divide'
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: August 13, 2022 -

Central to the stand off is the idea of Manipur as a distinct geo-political reality.

Geo-political reality and it should be clear to all that it is not only geography that defines the idea of a Manipur, but politics or political set up and this is where the observation or declaration of Chief Minister N Biren that the ADC Bill prepared by the Hill Areas Committee of 2021 has the potential to divide Manipur becomes significant.

This is perhaps the first time that the Chief Minister has spoken out on why the Government at Imphal is not at all keen on tabling the ADC Bill of 2021 on the floor of the Assembly and which led the All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur to impose an economic blockade which has fortunately been called off now.

The declaration or observation of the Chief Minister is most likely to stir up a hornet's nest and one can expect scathing criticisms from different hill based organisations in the days to come, once again taking the idea of Manipur into the limelight not for any right reason.

Many may question the political pragmatism of the Chief Minister in going ahead with his observation on the social media (Facebook post in this case), but on the other side he has spelt out the reason for the Government in not tabling the said Bill.

A sharp divide is what one can expect following the media coverage given to the declaration of the Chief Minister, with the valley people or rather the Meiteis solidly standing by the idea of a Manipur and the hill people or the tribals calling for more autonomy, which may be read as another attempt to by pass the Government at Imphal.

Here it would do good for everyone to understand under what circumstances the Chief Minister spelt out the 'potentially divide Manipur' as it has come against the backdrop of Nagalim, a demand raised by the NSCN (IM) and backed to the hilt by the Naga civil society organisations and the call for a Kuki homeland, a point which is said to figure prominently in the political talks under the Suspension of Operations pact with the Kuki armed groups.

Equal development can be an effective alibi to bat for the HAC prepared ADC Bill, but the State Government obviously interprets this is as another step towards Nagalim and Kuki homeland, thereby posing a direct threat to the existence of Manipur, which has been in existence for thousands of years.

The trust deficit is glaring.

Already social media sites like Facebook is awash with comments and statuses on the statement of the Chief Minister with some raising the question of how granting more autonomy to the ADCs and by extension the hill areas, can pose a challenge to the idea of Manipur.

This, at best, can be a superficial observation for the possibility of 'more autonomy' leading to something bigger is a distinct possibility and this is what the Chief Minister was referring to when he delivered his no holds barred observation on the ADC Bill of 2021.

As noted earlier here, the daily newspapers published in Imphal and elsewhere such as Churachandpur can expect to receive responses and more specifically reactions and backlashes to the announcement of the Chief Minister and it is difficult to say how the coming days will unfold.

That the idea of Manipur has always been challenged and even questioned is not a recent development and it may be said that the seeds for such a mindset were sown as way back as the late 1980s which gained prominence with each passing year.

To repeat a point which has always been highlighted here, not a single student from the hills of Manipur, say a Naga or a Kuki, identify himself or herself with the student body which come under the nomenclature of Manipur.

So all Naga students from Manipur studying in Delhi are members of Naga Students' Union, Delhi and not Manipur Students' Association, Delhi.

Same is the case with the Kuki students as most of them are members of Kuki Students Organisation, Delhi and not MSAD.

This is one example that comes to mind and the recent declaration of the Chief Minister should be seen against this backdrop, which is the reality.