Prof Bimol berates Centre for ignoring Manipur crisis
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, July 02 2024:
In a passionate and fiery speech in the Parliament on Monday, Inner MP Prof Angomcha Bimol Akoijam delivered a scathing critique of the Central government's silence on the Manipur tragedy and called for immediate attention to the plight of 60,000 displaced people.
Highlighting the neglect and exclusion of Manipur from the national discourse, Prof Bimol demanded recognition and action, emphasising, "I would keep quiet the moment the Prime Minister opens his mouth and the Nationalist party says that Manipur is part of India and we care for the people of that state".
During the debate on the President's address, Prof Bimol drew attention to the ongoing crisis in Manipur, which he referred to as "The Tragedy of Manipur" .
He criticised the government's attempt to silence and overlook the critical issue.
"This is not a simple absence; it is a reminder of a Rashtra Chetna (National Consciousness) which excludes people," he stated with reference to omission of Manipur from the President's address.
Prof Bimol detailed the dire conditions being faced by the displaced population, comparing their suffering to that of Partition survivors in 1947 .
"More than 60,000 people are languishing in relief camps in wretched conditions for the last one year that I cannot even mention here.
60,000 people homeless is not a joke.
200 plus people died and there has been a civil war-like situation where people are armed to the teeth and roaming around, fighting each other, defending their villages, and the Indian State is a mute spectator to this tragedy for one year".
He criticised the heavy militarisation of Manipur and questioned how such a tragedy could unfold under the watch of numerous central armed forces.
"Each and every square centimetre of Manipur is covered by central armed forces.
It is one of the most militarised areas in this country where you have more armed policemen than the civil police besides the armed forces of the Union," the first-time MP noted.
Despite this, he pointed out the irony that 60,000 people were rendered homeless, and thousands of villages were destroyed, yet the Prime Minister has remained silent, and the President's address did not mentioned even the crisis.
Prof Bimol accused the government of continuing a colonial mindset by neglecting the state and its people.
"This silence is not normal.
It is a reminder of the fact which many scholars have said that there is a continuity between colonial and the postcolonial period.
Today, we are observing a day where we begin new criminal laws seemingly discarding the colonial heritage.
But as Ashish Nandi says, colonialism is a state of mind, it is a psychological phenomenon, it is an outlook, the way you look at the people, the way you look at the world".
He criticised the exclusion of the Northeast from the national narrative and history, saying, "75 years after Independence, can you negate this fact, we are talking about the inclusion of the North East history after 75 years.
That's a classic exclusion.
India was an anthropological subject, not a historical subject in the eyes of the colonial forces, and today the Northeast remains outside of the history of the Indian history textbook.
That is why you treat them as the 'other' and that's the silence, and the silence on the Manipur tragedy is not unique, it is the reflection of this general continuity of the colonial in the postcolonial'' .
Prof Bimol reminded the House of the contributions made by Manipuri citizens to the nation, mentioning names of decorated soldiers and celebrated athletes from the state.
"You are dishonouring the likes of the youths who hold the tricolour on international platforms - the likes of Mary Kom, Sarita, Kunjarani, and Mirabai Chanu.
You are saying that you don't matter in this country, your state doesn't matter in this country," he proclaimed.
He also highlighted the heroism of Manipuri soldiers who have been awarded for their bravery and service to the nation.
"Major Laishram Jyotin, who was awarded Ashok Chakra while grappling with a suicide bomber, was a Manipuri who was awarded Ashok Chakra.
You are dishonouring his own state.
Major Ngangom Joydutta, who was awarded Vir Chakra while fighting for this country and doing his duty as a part of the Peacekeeping Force in Sri Lanka in 1987, you are dishonouring this man" .
He also reminded the central leaders on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Manipur and the mass call for action by the Indian government to address suffering of its citizens in the state.
"Keep your hands on your heart and think about the 60,000 people who are languishing in relief camps, and those mothers, those widows, think of them and then you talk about nationalism.
Only then we will understand what this tragedy means," he mentioned with apparent reference to PM Modi's silence.
He concluded his speech by saying, "I would keep quiet the moment the Prime Minister opens his mouth and the Nationalist party says that Manipur is part of India and we care for the people of that state" .
Comment
