Muscle flexing exercises in one's domain : Of arrogance and ineptness
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 25, 2012 -

Under no circumstances can indefinite economic blockade, indefinite public blockade, indefinite general strike or indefinite bandh be justified.

The ongoing indefinite bandh cannot be an exception.

From the December 18 Chandel incident to the manner in which the State Government unleashed its brute force and lathi charged the gathering of film artistes in front of the Chief Minister's official bungalow to the manner in which the NSCN (IM) broke its silence and termed the December 18 incident as a ‘small incident’ and accused the film actress of provoking the Nagas, to the manner in which the indefinite bandh has been imposed, everything that can go wrong has gone wrong.

The death of a journalist in police firing on December 23 has already given a new twist to the agitation.

Time for all concerned to seriously look inward and take one hard look at the mirror.

An issue which should have strictly been seen through the prism of a woman getting molested, assaulted and abused now stands on the brink of descending to a stand off along ethnic line.

The tension is palpable. Flexing muscles in one's domain, this has been the defining characteristic of Manipur for long.

The economic blockades, the recent public blockade and the ongoing indefinite bandh are all examples of these muscle flexing exercises.

How has a universal issue, such as crimes against women, come uncomfortably close to a situation where it has only gone to expose the deep sense of mistrust and animosity amongst the different ethnic groups in the State ?

A question which should be raised sincerely by all those who believe in the sanctity of the place called Manipur as well as in the principle of peaceful co-existence.

Things cannot go on like this. Now that a journalist on duty has been killed in police firing, the chances of things taking a turn for the worse are high, uncomfortably high.

Indefinite bandh and in the days following the December 18 incident what has become definitely clear is the inept handling of things by the Government and the police as well as the arrogance of the NSCN (IM).

Instead of demonstrating the will power and the resolve to deal with the matter, the Government has deemed it better to stick to such lines as the matter would be brought to the notice of the Union Home Ministry.

This is not the time for niceties but to go after the accused, the culprit and bring him to book.

If an agency under the Union Home Ministry, the National Investigation Agency, can serve summon orders on the top functionaries of the NSCN (IM), then what is stopping the State Government from hauling up someone for outraging the modesty of a woman in public view ?

And is outraging the modesty of a lady a minor matter, as the NSCN (IM) would like the world to believe ?

The death of a journalist on duty is once again a testimony of the trigger happy nature of the State police.

A result of equating policing with shooting, nothing else, if one may add.

On the other hand, it is in the fitness of things for all concerned to review their stand and study whether the ongoing course of agitation is on the right track or has the potential to trigger a chain reaction that would ultimately mean a loss to the people and the land as a whole.

As things today, the agitation has become leaderless and structure-less and has come to mean nothing more than a bunch of mob keeping vigil.

Mobocracy has never brought any positive result is the end point.