Traversing Down Memory Lane: My Years with MSAD
- Part 1 -

Homen Thangjam *

Our revisit of the past or the present always reveals an uncanny nature of non-linearity. A particular philosophy of uncertainty also seems to have its primacy looming large. So is my recollection of my association with the Manipur Students Association of Delhi (MSAD). MSAD memories are deeply ingrained in my life. An arduous task it turns out to be to package them into a few pages of legible lines. But the assignment given to me by my former organisation prevails over me to offer at least a simple narrative devoid of creative flavor. So here we go.

My days with MSAD saw three phases: the period of decline, revival, and normalisation with a tinge of autonomy. 1992 was the year that we arrived in Delhi to seek admissions in colleges under Delhi University or at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI). While most of my friends got admission to prestigious colleges of North Campus, Delhi University, few of us were lucky enough to be admitted to South Campus colleges. This included Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College (my Alma Mater), Sri Venkateshwara College, Dayal Singh and Aurobindo College, etc. Zakir Husain College was the main attraction in Central Delhi.

Hitherto neglected colleges in West and East Delhi, too, became sought-after colleges as the number of admission seekers increased, and the cut-off percentage in these off-main campus colleges was relatively low. Then many others chose JMI as the University had written entrance examinations for all the courses offered with a low qualifying mark. Many brilliant students who scored less in their secondary school leaving examinations, too, rushed to JMI for the same reason. In the past, the reach of MSAD was generally confined to North Campus and JMI. And as such, election to the students' body was a contest between students studying in these two main centres of higher education.

A South Campus Novice's Deep Dive

My foray into MSAD was shaped by chance. Being a Delhi University South Campus student, I was unaware of the upcoming MSAD election, 1992. However, my friends in North Campus informed me about the event. They requested me to cast a vote for their team. It was one feisty election fought between the two centres.

MSAD Annual Election 1992

The North Campus was represented by Team M. Ibomcha Singh of Awang Sekmai and the JMI camp led by Team Ksh. Surjit Singh of Kakching. Busloads of students from all corners of Delhi participated in the hotly contested election. Candidates who received favourable votes from the hill students of Manipur, both Kukis and Nagas, had the edge of winning the election. Ultimately, the fray took the shape of the Kakching versus Sekmai. There were accusations that Awang Sekmai wanted to keep the pie of the Scheduled Caste reservation at the cost of Kakching.

Ibomcha defeated Surjit by a single vote. From the JMI team, only Khoisnam Dinesh could win the election for the Treasurer post. As the posts of executive members were vacant, we were inducted on the spot.

Table 1: MSAD Office-bearers, 1992-93

Sl. No.	Name	Designation	Remarks/Present Occupation
1.	Moirangthem Ibomcha Singh	President	Politician
2.	Minthang Singsit	Vice President	Bank PO
3.	Ningthoukhongjam Satyajeet @ Kokpi	General Secretary	Bureau Chief of United News of India
4.	Binalakshmi Nepram	Joint Secretary	Director Gun Survivors
5.	Khoisnam Dinesh	Treasurer	Government employee
6.	Thingnam Roshan Singh	Executive Member	Manager, SAA, Imphal East
7.	RK Tomma	Executive Member	Advocate
8.	Chingangbam Pravabati	Executive Member	Associate Professor, IIA, Bangalore
9.	Geeta Potshangbam	Executive Member	Social Activist
10.	Mutum Nicky	Executive Member	Advocate
11.	Homen Thangjam	Executive Member	Faculty, IGNTU-RCM

Due to numerous reasons, the 1992-93 MSAD could not function as expected. According to the survey conducted by the 1993-94 MSAD from December to January 1993, the following factors were identified for the decline of MSAD, especially during the last term (1992-93).

MSAD Office-Bearers, Executive Members & Well Wishers, 1992-93
Standing (R-L facing): Homen, Nicky, Binalakshmi, Kokpi, Arudra, Ibomcha, Kishan, Memthoi, Farooque; Sitting: Dinesh

First of all, except for most of the Executive Members, the office bearers were not compact. They did not belong to the same peer or age group or a specific region. Thus, the challenge was working as a cohesive unit.

Secondly, apart from the general Sekmai-Kakching hostility, the students' diaspora was fragmented on rural-urban (Louwai-Imphal) divide. For instance, although Ibomcha was an able leader (presently a politician intending to contest in the 12th Manipur Assembly Election), his misfortune was hailing from a rural area. As a result, it seemed he could not garner the much-needed support from students of Imphal areas in the post-election period.

Thirdly, there was a schism on communal and caste grounds within the valley dwellers. The Mandal Reservation politics (OBC reservation) had a palpable effect on the Delhi Manipuri students. It was a divided lot. Even in MSAD, most of the office-bearers were anti-Mandal.

Fourthly, the Kuki-Naga ethnic conflict in the early 1990s led to the effervescent solidification of organisations on ethnic lines. Moreover, students hailing from the hills felt that their genuine interest was never represented in MSAD. The exception was the once existing KOMREM organisations and a few Kuki students. On account of the above factors, forging a common goal was an uphill task.

However, the most crucial destabilising factor for MSAD was its slumping image. The general impression was that MSAD was a wing of one of the underground armed outfits of Manipur. However, that was not the case. This notion was well reflected in a survey conducted by MSAD. Survey respondents cited the functioning of the previous batches of MSAD to drive home their point. They commented that the students' body had been captured by 'outside' forces and engulfed in unwanted interferences. Consequently, there was a silent withdrawal from MSAD membership and refrained from participating in its activities.

Finally, female students expressed 'detest' against MSAD on gender insensitivity and chauvinistic attitudes regarding their personal freedom. It included strictures on their dress, choice of mates, on live-in relationship, food habits and leisure activists, etc. And above all, their greatest grievance was MSAD's wanton summons/letters served to parents for trivial follies.

At this juncture, it becomes pertinent to examine the significant activities of the 1990-91 and 1991-92 batches of MSAD for the readers' knowledge. This is an exercise we could not avidly perform after the survey. However, based on the survey findings, we chalked out our policy and program.

From the Horse's Mouth

To get a retrospective picture, I took the opportunity of speaking to the former office bearers of these two eras. The seniors included Oinam Sunil, Kokpi, Dhiren A. Sadokpam, Phillip Laishram, Rajesh Thangjam and Prof. Dilipkumar and Dr. Takhelambam Babhananda.

It is important to mention that MSAD since its inception became a unit that grappled with the political turmoil and human rights violations back home in Manipur. Tamo Sunil had served three tenures with MSAD under three different presidents. He was the General Secretary when Ratan Khumujam was the President. He recalled, "During that period, we organised a seminar Ching-Tam Punna Hingminnaba (Coexistence of Hill-Valley) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Dance Academy, Imphal in July 1987. We published a souvenir by compiling the seminar papers".

Table 2: MSAD Office-bearers, 1990-91

Sl. No	Name	MSAD designation	Remarks/Present Occupation
1.	(L) RK Johny	President	Martyred in 1992
2.	Wahengam Jyotirmoy Singh	Vice President	Faculty, DMCTE, Imphal
3.	Biswajit Sapam	General Secretary	Advocate (Supreme Court)
4.	Borpati Devi	Joint Secretary	Housewife
5.	Rajesh Thangjam	Treasurer	Aviation Ground Handler, Imphal Airport
6.	Oinam Sunil	Executive Member	State Information Officer of Manipur
7.	(L) Thingnam Kishan	Executive Member	MCS; killed by NSCN-IM in 2009
8.	Prof. Angom Dilipkumar Singh	Executive Member	Physics Department, Manipur University
9.	L. Imocha	Executive Member	Entrepreneur
10.	Kh. Kiran ST	Executive Member	Advocate
11.	(L) Sorokhaibam Herojit	Executive Member	Natural death
12.	Kshetrimayum Surjit Singh	Executive Member	Environmentalist & Secretary, ADAM

Tamo Sunil recalled, "When Johnny was President, I was an Executive Member. We organised a flood relief work in Khodrak Village near Loktak Lake by sending medicines from Delhi during that year. MSAD also published a magazine titled Yawol (Revolution) with articles contributed by members. Then we're part of the movement that demanded inclusion of the Manipuri language in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. We also staged a protest rally against the Bishnupriya issue when they claimed that they were the original Manipuris. We also organised Manipuri cultural shows in Delhi".

"Yawol" is fondly remembered as one of the most ideologically-profound magazines ever brought out by students in Northeast India. Rajesh Thangjam added, "We worked under the slogan of Achumbana Yaiphare (Truth Triumphs), a slogan of MSAD right from its inception. I learned that MSAD has picked up the slogan Apunbana Yaiphare (Victory to Unity). Perhaps, it reflects the existential crisis of Manipur, or perhaps truth becoming merely mundane". The magazine was published in cyclostyled sheets.

Prof. Angom Dilipkumar expressed that MSAD also focused on hill-valley unity and worked against racial discrimination. For example, protest against racial discrimination was also palpable when The Times of India, in one of its New Delhi editions during that time, published an anchor story/article in two parts under the Headline - "Chinkies Set the Campus Clinking", filed by one reporter Vijay Thapa, who himself was of Nepali or Gorkha origin.

MSAD and other members of Delhi based Northeast student organisations vociferously protested against the highly racial nature of the news article. Students burnt copies of the editions in front of The Times of India office at Delhi and eventually lodged a complaint with the newspaper. We were told that finally, the external Ombudsman of The Times of India at that time (since 1988) was the former Chief Justice of India PN Bhagwati, and he was duly informed. The newspaper eventually had to apologise for the paper's racial attitude.

Furthermore, MSAD stood against the racist action of Delhi Police and staged a dharna against racial discrimination during the Presidentship of Ibomcha. On 19th November 1992, two suspected NSCN cadres shot at SC Jamir, the then Chief Minister of Nagaland, in Nagaland House, New Delhi. One of the men was a student hailing from Manipur. SC Jamir survived the attempt on his life. Several students from the Northeast studying in Delhi were harassed by the police. Many were picked up for questioning and numerous detained. MSAD confronted Delhi Police by staging dharna at Manipur Bhawan, Sadar Patel Marg, New Delhi.

Another high point of MSAD activism was its anti-drug campaign. Many would agree that anti-drug bodies such as CADA and AMADA have not taken roots in Manipur then.

Table 3: MSAD Office-bearers, 1991-92

Sl. No.	Name	MSAD designation	Remarks
1.	Loitongbam Binod Kumar @ BK	President	Contractor
2.	Dhiren A. Sadokpam	Vice President	Editor-in-Chief of The Frontier Manipur
3.	Chongtham Paresh	General Secretary	Restaurateur
4.	Phillip Laishram	Joint Secretary	Counsellor, ART Centre, RIMS
5.	Rajesh Thangjam	Executive Member	Aviation Ground Handler, Imphal Airport
6.	A. Guneshwar Sharma	Executive Member	District & Session Judge, Imphal West
7.	Angomchambam Niranjan	Executive Member	Teacher
8.	Takhelambam Babhananda	Executive Member	Faculty, Modern College, Imphal
9.	Ngangbam Gagan	Executive Member	Travel agency proprietor

Movement for inclusion of Manipuri language in the 8th Schedule continued and tasted success during the 1991-92 MSAD term. The 1991-92 MSAD also diligently carried out its calendar events, including observation of Martyrs Day on 13th August, Fresher's Meet and the Annual Thabal Chongba. Tamo Dhiren shared, "Students not only from the NCR region but also Agra, Chandigarh, Hisar, Dehradun, Mussoorie, and Shimla, etc. participated in the popular MSAD Thabal Chongba". The same trend continued in later years. Much to the dismay of illicit drug users, MSAD proceeded with one of the most successful anti-drug campaigns.

However, one key achievement of this batch was the intellectual and logistics support provided to the Manipur delegates visiting Delhi on their way to international destinations for seminars and conferences. They also opened a blood donation unit with highly disciplined volunteers to give blood to needy persons who had come to Delhi for medical treatment. This was the last time MSAD participated in the famous Kenyata Cup, a football tournament organised by the Kenya Embassy, New Delhi and was crowned the champion. Famous footballers of Manipur, such as N Bijen and Kiran Khongsai and other well-known national level footballers of the period, played for the MSAD team.

The 1992-93 MSAD is also derided by many for its inability to forge a common goal of all student communities hailing from Manipur. However, credit goes to this team for its pacification drive between the Meiteis and Meitei Pangals in Delhi. Following the ill-fated communal clash that broke out in May 1993, an air of tension hovered among the Delhi students' communities. Persuaded by the senior Manipuri students of JMI, a small delegation led by MSAD comprising Meitei and Meitei Pangal students, visited Syed Ahmed Bukhari, the 13th Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Delhi. The delegation requested him to make an appeal to douse the communal wildfire in Manipur valley. Subsequently, a peace-sit-in was organised in front of Manipur Bhawan, Sardar Patel Marg, to maintain communal harmony in Manipur and elsewhere. Tamo Dhiren recalled, "Syed Ahmed Bukhari delivered a solid appeal to maintain communal amity".

As mentioned above, our (the 1993-94 MSAD) immediate task was identifying the factors responsible for the decline of MSAD. The findings of the survey have been enumerated above. We were inspired by the opinion poll of the Sunday edition of The Times of India, New Delhi commonly known as STOI (Sunday Times of India) Opinion Poll.

Table 4: MSAD Office-bearers, 1993-94

Sl. No.	Name	Designation	Remarks/Current Occupation
1.	Saikhom Ronel	President	Faculty, Lovely Professional University, Punjab
2.	Mutum Nicky	Vice President	Advocate
3.	Naorem Arudra	General Secretary	Businessman
4.	Homen Thangjam	Joint Secretary	Faculty, IGNTU-RCM
5.	Farooque Ahmed	Culture Secretary	Graduate Teacher
6.	Thingnam Roshan Singh	Treasurer	Manager/Coordinator, SAA, Imphal East

A handful of students turned up for the election. All were elected uncontested, and as the above Table indicates, there were no executive members.

To be continued.....

(Written on 18th February 2022, on the occasion of 50 Years of MSAD, the Golden Jubilee Celebration

The author thanks Bobo Khuraijam, film maker (national awardee), for editing this article )

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* Homen Thangjam wrote this article in February 2022 for MSAD Golden Jubilee Celebration
The writer is an Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science at Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Makhan village
He can be reached at homenth(AT)gmail(DOT)com
This article was webcasted on September 09 2022.

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