Attacking the 'Idea of Manipur' becomes the last nail for the GoI-NSCN (IM) peace talk hammering
- Part 2 -

Puyam Nongdrei *

Manipur Maps showing the different districts :: Pix - TSE

Again, to start with, many tribal Autonomous District Council (ADCs) teachers who take regular salary in the hill districts take up job (private or public) elsewhere and get double salaries in a month. They also put someone as their substitutes without personally attending the schools. This has been reported by the Education Minister M Okendro recently with reference to hiring proxy teachers in Ukhrul.

Many of them can do so without being challenged by those who fight for justice and equality in the hill districts as they happen to be connected ones with the higher echelons of those powerful groups. So the practices of corruption and wrongdoing are not the privilege enjoyed by the Meeteis alone. The hill folks have their own share in it since the beginning.

While rising literacy rate and increasing employment level in the hill districts are positive development, the number of MCS and IAS officers may and may not serve the collective interests of the people living in the hill districts. These rich and educated hill folks can leave aside their native villages and make cocoons elsewhere indulging in activities not only detrimental to the interests of their communities but also Manipur.

For developing the hill districts, devolution of more powers along with separate budgetary allocations for Autonomous District Councils and proper functioning of the Tribal Affairs and Hills Department under the Manipur administration should be considered. Construction of village roads, water supply, primary health centres and educational institutes in the hill districts can be done through these institutions and other concerned authorities of Manipur government. Economic development of the hill dwellers will bring more shared norms and values with the valley dwellers will contribute to social integration.

About the section of the tribal population that siphon off tribal development funds, what they are and where they live have nothing much but something to do with our collective interests. But if they misuse their powers and indulge in telling lies to their folks while they are beneficiaries of corrupt practices in the system, we need to expose their true colour. Their conducts and culture of lying attacks the idea of Manipur disturbing the hill-valley unity.

Despite these, there are elements of truth in the complaints raised by the hill folks about the social conducts of the Meeteis. There are genuine issues to be addressed for bringing peace and harmony in our land. Meeteis have to take initiatives to make social reforms in our society for accommodating the basic democratic principles in our day-to-day life. These principles may sound very unproductive at the moment but the true foundation of the idea of Manipur can never be laid without hill-valley unity.

In order to construct anything new, these principles are the pillars we cannot ignore and forget. When five hill men share their thoughts telling the wrongs done by Meeteis, you can still hold your position. But when fifty hill men share the same thoughts, there is the need for some self-introspection that the Meeteis have to do.

It will be wrong for us to think that it is only the tribals who are attacking the 'idea of Manipur'. Many a times, Meeteis have also attacked the 'idea of Manipur' both consciously and unconsciously. It is only when the attacks come from other communities that we Meeteis become restless.

June 18 marked a very significant day for many of us. The extension of cease-fire after the Bangkok declaration shook Manipur like never before in the contemporary time. Lakhs of people rallied for Manipur's territorial integrity and sloganeering was filled with oneness of the hill and valley people and patriotic feelings of our people. For many, love for this land called Manipur took a solid foundation that time.

At least, the Bangkok declaration compelled many to think hard about the fate of Manipur and the widening gap between the hill and valley. Most importantly, those days will be remembered for the most popular slogans like 'chingmee-tammee amattani', and 'chingmee-tammee echin-enaoni'.

Local grandmas, grandpas, sisters, brothers, uncles and many others joined the sloganeering which came from nowhere those days as if they have been in our mouths for thousands years. Unfortunately, such slogans have failed to stop Meetei parents from abusing their sons for marrying or loving tribal women till now.

Even the well-educated Meeteis harbour this complex consciously and unconsciously. No matter whether human beings were created in the image of god or evolved from apes through the long process of natural selection, Manipur has to accept this principle of equality of all men. As things cannot be changed overnight, we need cooperation and understanding to build mutual respect.

Till now, we have stories of many un-happy endings of chingmee-tammee marriages in our leikais and khuls. The stories of children abandoned by the Meetei families and disowned by the tribal families have no place in the books or newspapers. Only we get to see some of these realities in the digital Manipuri movies. However, there are different families which manage to accommodate the ethnic diversity and barrier free love of human beings.

What happens when children of such cross-ethnic marriages take up arms to fight against injustices in the society? Untold stories remain in the hearts and minds of the people. What the Meeteis say or think about the hill folks can only be better known to a Meetei. But the change is coming faster than anyone can think of it. Dirtiness of politics crops up when such issues are exploited to wedge divide among the people to achieve some mean goals. When reviving ethnic feuds become the strategy of political movement, exclusive ethnic homelands are projected as land without illness and death.

Dividing the people into 'we' and 'they' and projecting the 'they' as cause of all our sufferings will be misleading at present. While fighting against domination of others, many have aspired to dominate weaker ones in the course. Narrow-mindedness was taught to build exclusive identities leading to germination of tribalism and yet smaller cocoons for smaller groups.

Promising of correcting the wrong course of history, thousands have been misled leaving their fate uncertain. Hatred and enmity were actually sowed with the empty promises of reaping peace, prosperity and harmony. By selling false hopes, some are feeding people with violence to destroy ethnic harmony for once and all.

Some are still trying to build peace on the old foundation of inequality and deprivation. Others are preaching for unity and love standing on the table of status quo. The basic principle of 'equality of all men' is something which the Meeteis want to see through the prism of Manipur kingdom. But this has no place in a democratic society where everybody has certain inalienable rights and duties as equal citizens.

In addition to this, flourishing and survival of the 'oasis of civilisation' in the Imphal valley has something to do with the ranges of hills that encircle the small central valley. But the hill dwellers also need to make new political steps toward ethnic harmony and meaningful co-existence.

The contributions made by the hill folks to the evolution of Manipur as a socio-cultural and political entity cannot be erased totally. Such hidden truths are beyond the reach of children of this ancient land as if they are something not to be discussed in public. Or, the inhabitants of this land know only violence and learn only about hatred, war, enmity and violence.

The hidden love and fraternity between the hill and valley remained unexplored as if it is against the current of our historical evolution. The legacy of Manipur kingdom and British colonialism continue to feed the ethnic animosity and hatred in the hill districts too. New Delhi has got these loose ends of ethnic animosity and feuds to serve its strategy.

All these realities broke loose recently during the general strike called by various organisations in the wake of the Chandel incident. Though anger of the people was quite understandable, the developments following the incident also reflected the under-achievement of political education of the masses in Manipur to pave way for a better future. Some elements tried to reap a good harvest but mature steps intervened to turn the movement against the real enemies of the people of Manipur.

Manipur is surrounded by Nagaland, Assam, Mizoram and Myanmar. The territorial boundary of Manipur does not demarcate the ethnic boundaries and the kin ethnic relations across the borders will continue to play a role. This is a reality we must always keep in mind. Manipur being a multi-ethnic society needs to follow certain principles to guide our conducts, actions, words and policies.

In fact, the historical situation in Manipur demands the following principles to be accepted as core values and principles of our socio-economic and political movements.

They are:
1) Meemannaba (equality of men),
2) Hingminnaba (co-existence),
3) Chaokhatminnaba (co-development),
4) Neihatpidaba (free from exploitation and oppression) and
5) Punsinba (unification).

Those who blame Meeteis for everything complaints about developmental gap, social discrimination, exploitation saying there can be no unification and co-existence between the hill and valley of Manipur. Those who want to strengthen the 'idea of Manipur' need to emphasise on co-development, equality of all men, non-exploitation and mutual respect to achieve what we call unification and co-existence of the people.

The very 'Idea of Manipur' stands on the 'unity of hill and valley' as the main pillar. Anything that goes against the spirit of hill-valley unity is an attack on the idea of Manipur. Therefore, those who believe in the idea of Manipur must judge their acts, words and policies according to these principles.

At present one can see some changes which is healthy sign for our well-being. Blaming one for his/her misdeeds is acceptable. However, there are elements who are trying to blame others for anything without having any solid ground whatsoever. This could be termed as 'using anything as means for achieving the end'.

For scoring political points, many are indulging in the habit of blame-game with lies as foundation for political goal which is clear sign of their serious mental sickness. Again, killing somebody just because he/she happens to be a Meetei/Naga/Kuki is an unpardonable offence. Nobody had the choice to be born as a Meetei or Naga or Kuki. Such inhuman acts of targeting civilians to incite ethnic clash should be stopped once and for all.

To be victorious, one must know one's enemy well. In Manipur, one is not clear of who is an enemy and who is not. This can communalise the mass movements fighting for justice and rights. Some has stated their position clearly and will continue to engage in activities which disturb the social harmony. But at least those who stand for co-existence need to know the real enemies and single them out to avoid confusion.

NSCN (IM)'s politics is targeting the non-Naga ethnic groups as a means to dismember Manipur for serving their political interests. Another major step in this divisive politics of the NSCN (IM) is question of valley Rongmeis/Kabuis in the alternative arrangement. This is to cause suspicion between the Meeteis and the Kabuis who have been sharing the small Imphal valley for decades as brothers and neighbours.

Their evil design will not leave anything unturned to dismember Manipur. Therefore, everyone who still has faith in the 'Idea of Manipur' should stay calm and make wise steps to avoid any unwanted incidents which will be exploited by these evil forces. These elements will try to wedge divide between the Meeteis and Meetei Pangals, Meeteis and Kukis and even among the Meeteis to destroy the social fabric of Manipur.

Meanwhile, the position taken by the government of India which is nothing but double-tongued policy towards resolving the Naga issue needs serious questioning from one and all. Every politically conscious citizen of Manipur should engage in understanding India-Manipur relations since 1949.

The government of India (GoI) keeps on blessing the divisive politics of NSCN (IM) and use groups opposing the Naga insurgent group to weaken the party's negotiating position with New Delhi. Again, at the same time, New Delhi hampers the formation of anti-New Delhi coalition in north east region to serve its strategy.

As a matter of fact, a right political step from New Delhi after the Bangkok declaration could have changed the course of political current in Manipur. But New Delhi has its own political objectives to gain from the ongoing conflicts in the Northeast region.

The long cease-fire pact between GoI and NSCN (IM) is nothing but a game designed to kill two birds with one stone which serves New Delhi more than anyone else. NSCN (IM) can think of getting a certificate of participation in this game which not necessarily will stop fratricidal killings among the Naga groups after the political settlement. This is what every right-thinking Naga should ponder over by now to avoid any fratricidal killings like in the post-Shillong Accord.

Whether NSCN (IM) leaders can lead peaceful lives after the settlement with Z security protection from government of India is anybody's guess as of now. The nature of the peace talks conducted in northeast region are lacking in comprehensiveness. Factionalism will continue to reign supreme which worsen the situation for those fighting against the government of India. This region will have more or less similar situation prevailing till New Delhi satisfies itself and New Delhi can wait for decades if not centuries to see factionalism destroying the societies in northeast.

The whole northeast is like a brothel house where New Delhi acting as pimp supplies various issues and problems as clients. The objective is not to bring peace and stability in the region so that the people living in this region can join the race of development like many others elsewhere. A way out of the present situation is not through tribalism and hate campaigning.

It is to maintain, in this strategic region, a certain state of instability controlled and directed by New Delhi which suits its militarisation, use of repressive measures in the name of law and order and lastly, special region inhabited by special races where Indian armed forces enjoy special powers under national security framework.

Therefore, Manipur and Nagaland will continue to suffer in the name of armed groups fighting for autonomy or independence and New Delhi using repressive measures to fight back which is the larger game plan of Delhi Gurus to maintain a 'state of instability' in the region. The whole northeast will contribute to this game plan like dancing to the tune of New Delhi if our political strategies are not guided by pragmatism based on actual ground realities which cannot exclude 'learning to co-exist in diversity'.

If we have to save the 'geo-political entity' of Manipur, there are two most practicable ways available to us. The first way is the making of a new Manipur on the foundation of hill-valley unity. This is about writing a new history for making a new Manipur by joining hands among all the ethnic groups inhabiting the land and working toward meaningful co-existence.

The second way is Meeteis joining hands with all sections of hill dwellers who believe in the idea of Manipur against anti-Manipur group(s). For some Meeteis, NSCN (IM) and UNC's provocative statements are nothing but an invitation to the valley dwelling Meeteis to become hill men and make settlements in the hill ranges like our ancestors. However, the second way is bloody indeed and this is what we all should try to avoid as fraternal killings serve only the evil master. Though it sounds provocative, the solid position of the Meeteis should be making major sacrifice whenever necessary to save this land at any cost. Thus, the political strategy of the Meeteis in twenty-first century have to be guided by the wisdom that Manipur rests on hill-valley unity and any sacrifice is small to save Manipur.

A similar reciprocity from the hill dwellers will strengthen Manipur like never before which we all need and want to make our future brighter. Lastly, the state of instability controlled and directed by New Delhi will continue to attack the idea of Manipur whether peace talks are conducted with Naga groups or the Kuki-Zomi groups as long as the three contesting ethnic groups do not come together for a viable political solution. So we do not have a smooth sailing ahead even after PM Manmohan Singh's re-assurance of protecting Manipur's territorial integrity.

Will New Delhi make a step to permanently put an end to Manipur bashing?

Areeba maru khunduna ngamtaiyu II
Meerak meethumnaganu pukning ira chenba wa haakna yawa chaopharoi II
Ngamdainabasu wadouri hannagi malomna akhangbasu thupkhini aheibasu tanglagani II
Ahei ashing changduna madu khara waida,
heitana ahei saba khangdana akhang saba yambana aheiba akhangba langla machin thuptuna tashin thupchinna lenkhrani II
(source: Langdai Puya Manga)

To be continued ....