B Nandakumar Sharma writes to PM, seeks intervention to restore peace in Manipur
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 14 2023:
B Nandakumar Sharma, retired Group Captain, on Wednesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking intervention in restoring peace & normalcy in Manipur.
In the letter, Nandakumar apprised the PM about the present situation of Manipur and added that Manipur is burning and a lot of innocent civilians are suffering as a result.
He stated that it is more than a month now since the first case of violence and arson started on May 3, 2023 at Churachandpur after the vandalization & burning of an open Gym to be inaugurated by Chief Minister N Biren Singh on April 27, 2023 .
"The Army Chief visited the State and said in a press release that the problem in Manipur is due to ethnic clashes between the two communities namely Meitei and Kuki.
Similarly, Home Minister Amit Shah also visited the State from May 29 to June 1 and said in a press conference that the reason for the violence and the existing problem is due to the decision of the High Court of Manipur", he added.
Nadakumar shared that the situation in Manipur is tense, common people are generally poor and they are suffering the most in both communities.
He also highlighted a few problems faced by the people of Manipur to the PM such as scarcity of food & essential commodities; shortage & high prices of fuel including petrol, diesel & LPG; shortage of essential drugs in hospitals; education for students; regular supply chain for businesses have been disrupted, etc.
Pointing out that many people are homeless from both sides, he said, "Monsoon is at the onset and life of these homeless people at relief camps are going to worsen.
Those who are making hue and cry at various media are the ones who are very rich" .
He also claimed that if the person is Kuki then he or she has at least three houses, one in a local village, one in Imphal, and another in one of the Metro Cities of India like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, etc.
He continued that their children do not study in Manipur so they have nothing to lose personally, they only add fuel to the present situation and leave the middle class & poor to face the tough ground situation.
"If you hear about the Kuki victims in National News Channels and social media, they add fuel to the fire.
They are rich so they could afford air travel and stay at the relief camp set up by Christian Community in Delhi.
But the actual sufferers are poor Kuki people who are not rich and not part of SoO Militant, I am sure they also do not support such violence", he asserted.
Sharing that everyone appreciates the PM's decision to carry out Balakot Air Strike in Pakistan and covert operation to destroy the camps of NSCN (K) camp in Myanmar in 2016, he asserted, "You have neither spoken a single word of empathy about the suffering people of Manipur nor taken sufficient measures to control the violence" .
Alleging that the killings in Manipur are done by Kuki Militants armed with sophisticated automatic weapons, he added, "The common poor people of Kuki and Meitei are innocent.
The day Kuki Militants stop firing and the National Highway blockade is removed, the crisis will come to an end for starting a negotiation" .
Accusing the National Media of covering only one-sided story of Kuki being the victim, Nandakumar urged the PM to spare some time to watch the local news and the videos of RAF personnel trying to burn the shops, vandalizing private cars and glass windows in Imphal.
He further appealed to the PM to consider Manipur as a part of India and Manipuris as citizens of India during non-election campaign season as laid down in the Indian constitution and resolve the problem from his side.
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