Taking strong stand against CAB...Aribam Syam returns Padmashree Award
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 03 2019:
Conveying a strong message to the Government of India against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) 2016, renowned film maker Aribam Syam Sharma has returned the Padmashree Award conferred to him in 2006 .
Speaking to media persons at his Thangmeiband residence today, 83 year old Syam said he is returning the Padmashree Award to the Government of India in solidarity with the vehement opposition raised by the people of Manipur and the whole North East region against the Bill.
The Bill is a serious threat to all the indigenous people of Manipur whose total population is even smaller than the total population of one district of Uttar Pradesh, Syam said.
"Our future is very bleak if such a Bill is passed.
Tripura always serves as a living example of how the indigenous people of Manipur can be wiped out in no time.
The Bill which was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8 has landed the entire North East region in a very critical situation", said the renowned film maker.
"Life has no meaning to a man who has no future.
It is a matter of grave concern that such a scenario is staring all the people of Manipur in the face today.
When the indigenous people are reduced to a small minority, our unique culture will be diluted beyond recognition and Manipuri people will no longer have any identity", he continued.
The Government of India is not listening to the repeated appeals of the small North Eastern States to scrap the Bill.
Till yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was campaigning for the Bill in West Bengal.
The President of India too indicated that the Bill would be passed for sure, Syam noted while expressing deep anxiety about the Bill becoming an Act.
Asserting that people will emerge victorious if all the people of the North East unite and fight collectively against the Bill, Syam underscored the urgent need for a collective struggle.
"The issue is not a mere political issue.
It is an issue of life and death.
If Manipuris must survive, we must fight the Bill collectively with all our resources.
Senior citizens too need to come out in support of the anti-CAB crusade", he said.
Like the Governments of neighbouring Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya, the State Government too ought to oppose the Bill boldly, he said.
The State Government's idea of inserting a special clause sounds rather too far-fetched, he remarked.
A Bill already passed in the Lok Sabha cannot be amended or modified any time just because some people wish to.
The restive situation seen in the whole North East India today could have been avoided had the Government of India sought a consensus before passing the Bill in the Lok Sabha, Syam rued.
Manipur ought to oppose the Bill even more considering the fact that neighbouring States like Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh have been enjoying some sort of Constitutional protection in the form of ILPS while Manipur is deprived of any such safeguard, he pointed out.
"If we fail to oppose and fight the Bill now, we will be heading to a very bleak future" warned the octogenarian.
Once the railway line reaches Imphal and CAB 2016 becomes an Act, all the indigenous people of Manipur will drown in a sea of immigrants and Manipur will cease to exist, he warned.
"I'm not being uncannily sentimental nor am I speaking against any community or religion.
What I'm saying is that all the indigenous people of Manipur and the North East ought to fight the Bill with all our resources", he added.
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