8,000 insurgents surrender in north east since 2014 yet Manipur burning

Nirendra Dev *

It is one of the paradoxes of our times and the north east region, the policy makers ought to comprehend effectively. As of April 2023, as many as 8,000 insurgents surrendered and joined 'mainstream society', says the Government of India yet none can deny the violence and multi-pronged troubles the state of Manipur has landed.

Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to Manipur coincides with the Modi government completing nine years in office and also an obvious fact that in less than a year the country will plunge into electoral mode. A question asked in 2019 -- Can India afford another five years of Modi regime - will be asked again.

There are other statistics on positive contributions of Modi-led dispensation.

Let us take a glance.

Seven airports built in the last 9 years in the northeast, 4,016 km of road projects are currently ongoing and around 2,000 projects worth Rs 22,000 crore sanctioned for the region since 2014.

Waterways have been given a mega boost and 19 new waterways added as the lifelines of commute and trade, 8 additional airports operationalised and 100 percent Broad Gauge electrified under North East Frontier railways. Some benefits too could be measured. Officials claim around one crore tourists arrived in 2022 to the region and the factors being attributed are better connectivity.

Northeast India has been propelled as a gateway to Southeast Asia due to its unique offerings in tourism, horticulture, handloom and sports, goes another line of assertion and campaign.

In order to respect public opinion and appreciate the native sentiments, something considered overdue was done. They were noteworthy instances of recognition of hitherto unsung heroes including Lachit Borphukan and Rani Gaidinliu.

In terms of connectivity, the Bogeebil Rail-cum Road Bridge, the longest rail cum road project in India has been achieved.

What has definitely excited the people of Manipur, the Jiribam-Imphal rail line, the world’s tallest girder rail bridge, has also been taken up.

Another such milestone has been the Dhola -Sadiya Bridge - which is India’s longest bridge.

"In line with India’s ethos of ‘Swasthya ke Saptrishisi’, Assam will be developed now as South Asia’s largest cancer hospital network and the state of Sikkim attained the stature of the first state in the world to become fully organic in farming in 2018," an official source said.

Officials also claim good progress in organic farming in Meghalaya and agro-based products of Nagaland including Bhoot Jhaolkiia (hot green chilly) has reached London. The Sangai Festival of Manipur and Hornbill Festival of Nagaland too have been encouraged. PM Modi himself inaugurated the Hornbill Fest of Nagas in 2014 within months of his taking over.

The sum and substance, why we are still complaining. Why people do not hesitate to burn effigies of central leaders over minor to major controversies and issues.

Home Minister Amit Shah's effigy was burnt after Oting tragic botched up operation in 2021 and more recently Manipuri women did not hesitate to burn effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also of Amit Shah.

Actually these contradictions are not puzzles per se. They are the real messages. Come, and try to understand our problems before you claim you have fallen in love with this region.

One message is people's confusion. Can I be a nationalist and yet be a good native Naga or a Mizo? Or do I have to give up being a good Kuki, Sema or Angami and then become a good Naga or a good 'citizen of Manipur'?

It is high time the policy makers and the intellectuals give a convincing message that no man need fear that by becoming a nationalist he will make himself an anti-Mizo or anti-Naga.

In his masterpiece 'The Conquest of Happiness' Bertrand Russel says - "The man divided against himself looks for excitement and distraction ..... he loves strong passion". Russel further explains that 'passion' takes the man 'outside himself'. This applies to human kind at the global stage but it applies more to the people of north east.

In the end, we have three terminologies very crucial for north east India -- Different, Separate and Foreign. Often I find these terms intermingling. This is not a generalised statement about the vast region out of nothing.

Historically, the various ethnic groups have never been together or were they?

The northeast as a unit is a product of colonial legacy and all stakeholders have to appreciate the gravity of the situation. The destruction/demolition of the Naga Club building at Kohima is a pointer -- could anyone imagine even a decade back that such a thing can happen.

We are in different times. We may look for 'separate' angles to the same thing; and our views may be extremely 'foreign' to each other.