No end in sight to violence : There will be no winner
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 06, 2023 -

Let it be very clear.

There will be no winner in the ongoing ethnic clash and the only loser will be the people who have their roots in the soil of the land.

And be clear that the people here refers to the folks who have their roots here, the literal sons and daughters of the soil and not those imported from elsewhere.

Anyone who has a degree of concern for the people and the land should today acknowledge the fact that many of those who have died had no hands in engineering or igniting the clash.

Most of the victims so far are certainly not those who took part in the Tribal Solidarity March on May 3 at Churachandpur, not those who set the houses on fire at Torbung, not those who went on the rampage at Imphal and reduced numerous houses to ashes besides killing.

Yet sense is yet to seep into the consciousness of many and what Manipur today sees is sheer madness.

The sense of righteousness in the smug announcement that a decision has been taken to allow movement of goods trucks along the Imphal-Dimapur Highway for five days is unmistakable and this is the level in which human beings have stooped to in this part of the world, a place which is otherwise known as Sanaleibak amongst the Meiteis.

The opening of the highway also comes with its share of riders, in that only trucks or vehicles carrying essential commodities and medical supplies would be allowed to move, that too from 10 am to 2 pm.

Human beings all the people calling the shots in the present circumstances are, but without being humans.

This is the line that can be read clearly in the series of violence that has gripped Manipur since the evening of May 3.

And even as a gesture has been demonstrated with what is said to be part of a ‘Peace Mission,’ reports have come in of more houses being razed to the ground at Serou side and lives being snuffed out at Phayeng side.

This is the story that Manipur has been hearing all over since May 3 and all the stories that have come out from this land have had to deal with killings, houses being burnt and grounded, people being displaced, relief camps etc.

Not to speak of the curfew hours in different parts of the State as well as the continuing ban on the internet, in this age of information.

How long will this senseless violence continue ?

There will be no easy answer but what can be stated without an iota of doubt is, the highway bandh, the gun attacks at the foothills, the mob culture, attacks on settlements and razing houses to the dust, armed men clad in bandana roaming the highways and roads, are the reasons and not the symptoms of the violence.

And this is perhaps where everyone may take a relook at the general observation that peace and normalcy can come only from the conduct of the people.

Highway bandh is man made. Gunmen roaming the highways and roads of Manipur, mob gathering and targeting a settlement and reducing human settlements into dust are all man made.

The design at work for igniting the clash and how it started has been discussed many times in this column and now the question that may be raised is who stands to gain from prolonging the clash ?

Who is or are the elements behind the bursts of gun shots at the villages located at the foothills ?

Who has instigated the people to become mobs and lynch the targeted folks ?

May 3 to June 5 and this is well over a month period and these are questions which everyone should be raising within themselves now.

A time zone is generally associated with any case of a fit of anger resulting in a destruction spree but to think that either side should carry on this destructive and violent confrontation for over a month is really worrying.

Who stands to gain from this is a question which everyone should ponder over and definitely violence cannot be the answer, for as noted earlier, there can be no winner in the series of killings and destruc-tions that have been unleashed.