Proscribed KYKL Shares Thoughts On 19th Anniversary
Oken calls for serious introspection
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 24 2013: Greeting the people of Kangleipak (manipur), Western south East Asia and CorCom associates on the eve of its 19th foundation day, chairman of the proscribed Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) N Oken has issued a clarion call to all the leaders of revolutionary groups that time has come for thorough introspection and initiate appropriate measures for reviving the armed movement in the region.

Observing that leaders of insurgent groups ought to accept that the ongoing armed campaign has lost its sheen, Oken emphasised on the need for involving/engaging intellectuals of the society in preventing derailment of the movement.

Conceding that one of the reasons for the decline in the momentum of the armed campaign is due to the movement gradually losing the people's support, he also opined that revolutionary leaders need to understand the problem and work out an effective strategy to wriggle out of the tangle before it is too late.

Maintaining that present day Manipuri society is beset with various challenges having the potential to exterminate the whole Nation, Oken remarked that inspite of being invisible one of the causes for the problems is prolonged suppression by New Delhi.

Regretting that certain section of the society are of the firm belief that revolutionaries are only complicating the situation and putting the masses in misery, he acknowledged that to some extent the assumption may be true for campaign against adversaries eventually means use of force/violence.

The people should, however, take note that the Government of India and its partners in Manipur have been working overtime to separate the masses from the ongoing movement as both are fully aware that participation of the masses would only strengthen the armed campaign, said the chairman while pointing out that dubious revolutionary groups and irresponsible conduct of some armed cadres had been undermining the movement.

Intellectual section of the society too need to contribute their mite in the revival of the revolutionary movement as falling prey to the propaganda of the Central and State Governments against the insurgency movement would ultimately prove costly.

While it is possible that 20 percent of the people's woes might be caused by insurgent groups and 30 percent of the hardships caused by trigger-happy Central and state forces in collusion with rogue elements but the rest of the problem is undoubtedly due to impact of continuous Indian rule, expressed the chairman.

maintaining that it is paramount to put the revolutionary movement on the right track for which constructive suggestions by the intellectuals have been solicited, he also cautioned that understanding hidden agenda of India entails exhaustive effort and cooperation from all section of the society.

Alleging that suppression of the productive forces has been one of the hidden agendas for India to prolong its domination of Manipur, Oken also likened the Central Government providing money in terms crores to Manipur to feeding caged animals.

While suppressing the productive forces would automatically mean derailment of the local economy the beguiling tactics of pumping money is leading to the people into believing that money could be earned without much effort.

neither entrepreneurship is relevant in such a situation nor is there need for long-term planning or effort as there is a concept that lobbying, corruption and indiscretion are enough for one to gain wealth irrespective of such misconduct breeding looters and adverse elements in the society.

Apart from such misconception leading to undesired consequences, lack of trust amongst the people would highly endanger the society as none would be willing to help a person in distress, approve collective decisions, eventually weaken the society and make the society a breeding ground of anti-social elements, lamented the chairman.

If a society is deprived of right-thinking citizens it would be impossible for the society to stand on its own feet but rather be satisfied to exist under the domination of others as long as there is financial solace.

Asserting that all such misconceptions is due to prolong existence under the Indian rule, Oken said failure to understand and tackle the problem in time would result in Manipur suffering from another round of mass devastation/desertion (Ahumsuba Khuntaakpa) .

Highlighting that pre-1949 Manipur had its own reliable economy and expressing confidence that with firm determination not only could the ills afflicting the society be eradicated but trust among the people could be restored, Oken reiterated his call to the intellectuals that maintaining silence in such a crucial juncture would only compound the problem.

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