UNLF critiques Manipur's art and literature status
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 17 2013: Highlighting the important roles played by literature, art and theatre in several liberation movements, the proscribed UNLF observed that art, culture, literature and theatre of Manipur have been conditioned within certain parameters set by the Government of India to suit their alleged colonial agenda.

A statement issued by the outfit's Central Committee recalled the contributions made by the writings of Tolstoy, Gorky and Puskin in the Russian revolution, Lu Zun in the Chinese revolution, Buro, Lapido, Soyinki and Achebe in different nationalist movements of Africa against European imperialism, Pablo Nerudo of Chile and Gracia Marquez of Colombia against repressive military regimes of Latin America.

In addition to taking total control of the economy and political freedom of Manipur, the Government of India has been twisting art, literature and culture of the land to suit their own interests.

On account of this arm twisting method and manipulations by India and resultant crippling effects on the perspectives, objectives and perceptions of people, writers of Manipur have lost their originality and creativity.

The current form of art and literature seen in contemporary Manipur is highly polluted.

Given such a sorry state, emergence of writers/scholars who can see through the multiple layers of obscurity and give a new vision and line of thoughts to the people would be no mean achievement.

Whether it is literature, art, theatre, dance or education, the Government of India always set up their own agenda so that all such activities fall in line with what they desire.

To translate the GoI's agenda into action are the objectives of writers and their write-ups.

Writers who grew up within the parameters set by India are given national awards only to consolidate their alleged colonial rule.

"By restricting the creativity of our writers/scholars within a domain acceptable to India, GoI has been scheming continuously to instill a wrong perception among the colonised people that the goals and outlook officially upheld by them (GoI) are the universal truths", the Central Committee asserted.

Such restriction, by corollary, has been inculcating a mental attitude of dependency among indigenous people of the land.

Once this mental attitude is ingrained among the indigenous people, they are rendered incapable of searching for alternatives.

Dance and music, drama, poetry, essays, novels, short stories and their mode of criticism seen in Manipur are all conditioned and supported to flow along a course set out in advance by India with the primary objective of consolidating their alleged colonial rule.

Majority of the litterateurs, theatre activists, critics and scholars of Manipur think that their chosen art forms are beyond politics.

Capitalising on this concept, GoI has rendered all their art forms toothless and useless.

The nexus between artists, critics/scholars and GoI merits deeper analysis.

Critics/scholars have been donning the perfect role of middlemen between writers/artists and GoI.

Majority of the critics/scholars being students of Sanskrit/Bengali/Hindi literature apart from being faithful followers of Brahminic Indian tradition, they have their faith in the alien rule.

"Values of our literature, theatre and dance are determined based on the prescriptions and objectives of GoI", it said.

These critics/scholars are included in the decision making process and by exercising certain given by New Delhi, they present themselves as some sort of authority before writers and artists of the land.

They are also members of groups entrusted to compile syllabi and prescribe text books for schools, colleges and university and in this way, they act as a useful catalyst in making the alien rule deep rooted.

This is one reason why Manipuri literature is kept as an appendage of Bengali, Sanskrit or Hindi literature as if it cannot stand on its own.

In the same vein, Manipuri culture has also been maimed deliberately so as to render it dependent on foreign culture.

Because of restraining the current of literature and other cultural practices within a domain of colonialism, all art forms of the land have become stereotype.

"It is these restrictions which our writers/scholars must break and overcome.

For this writers and scholars should have political commitment." "Writers/scholars need to challenge the Indian colonialism openly.

What the colonial master and pundits find most unsavoury is 'art to politics' because they (GoI) fear that the our literature, theatre, dance, art and education may be transformed and directed against the alien rule as a political force", conveyed the outfit's Central Committee.

"To ward off such a transformation, GoI has covered our vision as well as mental faculty with thick layers of misplaced notions and wrong concepts", it added.

Comment