From June 18, 2001 to May 6, 2010 : Paying equal respect to both dates
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 08 , 2014 -

Naga public and students pay homage to Neli Chakho and Dikho Loshou on May 6 2014 :: Pix - TSE

Nine years separate them, that is the June 18 uprising in 2001 and the mass movement at Mao Gate on May 6, 2010.

Though there is a deep divide between the two movements or upsurge of protest, one common thread that runs through them is the political aspirations of two groups of people, though they may run parallel to each other with no seeming meeting points in sight.

And so it should stand that in as much as the votaries of a united Manipur, standing as a single political unit, have the right to religiously observe the June 18 uprising and pay homage to the 18 souls who sacrificed their lives to safeguard the territorial and social integrity of Manipur, so too the people who stand for the bifurcation of Manipur and the unification of all Naga inhabited areas under one administrative unit.

The Sangai Express is a votary of a united Manipur, where each and every community should reside side by side cordially an in mutual respect, but this should not be taken to mean that it stands against the observation of May 6, wherein two students were killed in police action, when the State Government decided to deny permission to the NSCN (IM) leader Thuingaleng Muivah to visit his native place at Somdal village in Ukhrul district in 2010.

Both events deserve the respect of all right thinking people, for respecting differences is the foundation on which the principles of democracy rest.

Only history will judge whether Mr Okram Ibobi Singh was politically correct in barring the entry of Mr Th Muivah but none can deny that the Chief Minister stuck his neck out and took a tough decision.

A trait which leaders should ideally possess.

If the sacrifices of the 18 people on June 18 in 2001 have served as the rallying point to raise the slogan of safeguarding the territorial integrity of Manipur, then it also stands that the death of two young, promising students in police action on May 6, 2010 at Mao Gate has also served as the rallying point for those who sit on the side of a Greater Lim, where the central demand is that all Naga inhabited areas must come under a single administrative unit.

The issue is no doubt sensitive and it is this sensitivity that must be respected and understood.

Mind you, it is not a case of one group of people versus another group of people, but rather a clash of political and social aspirations and this is where the common people on either side of the Lim divide need to be extra cautious so that no rooms are given to rabble rousers whose sole agenda is to whip up public passion and sentiments.

And it goes without saying that there are a dime a dozen such people on either side.

So it was that for numerous Naga people, including leaders of Nagaland based civil society organisations, all roads led to Mao gate on May 6.

In many ways the seeds for the demand of an Alternative Arrangement for the Nagas of Manipur, outside the State Government and pending a final solution to the NSCN (IM)-Delhi talks may be said to have been sown on the grave yards of the two young students.

Obviously, the refusal to grant permission to Mr Muivah to visit his birthplace is another factor.

In the given political scenario, June 18, 2001 and May 6, 2010, are historical dates in Manipur.

Whichever political aspirations one may believe in, the importance of these two dates cannot be overemphasised. Surely the road ahead is tricky and strewn with political intrigues and closed door affairs.

It should also be kept in mind that it is not only the Lim demand that is central to the political issues besieging Manipur.

The Kukis under the Kuki State Demand Committee have already raised the banner of a Kuki State and no one seems to know which direction Manipur is heading towards.

But one thing that should be kept in mind and which The Sangai Express has been steadfastly batting for is a unified Manipur, where all communities can and should live together on an equal footing.

Accord equal importance to June 18 and May 6, for these are dates in which young people laid down their lives for a cause they believed in.

The question of whether one agrees with them or not should be of no consequence, for we are talking about precious human lives, which are beyond the political demands which have been raised.