The Message from Indonesia
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: November 20 2012 -

"Only three major tribes but each fighting for supremacy over one another. Oh, what a shame!," said Rihana Sarang of Jakarta, Indonesia in her short message, "Hello Manipur, Greetings from Indonesia", which we carried on the front page of this paper on its November 19 edition at the risk of inviting guffaws from some quarters.

But we had a purpose. Born and brought up in a nation which is home to as many as 489 different ethnic tribes, who are nonetheless, bind together by a common thread of unity among them, Rihana would have been definitely shocked on hearing about the prevailing situation in Manipur where every imaginable ethnic groups are trying to outdo each other in raising the demand for a separate homeland of their own.

That is why Rihana wonders, "If we divide our country into accordance to the number of tribes, another 489 nations will emerge in the UN list (of independent countries in the world)."

Here, we may take note that the number of islands that made up Indonesia is around 17,504 and if the people living in each of these islands too started demanding separate homelands, then we could very well expect an even longer list of countries in the world. But this is a futile conjecture, for Rihana would never be able to imagine such a situation arising in her world's largest archipelagic country.

In stark contrast to the message of unity in diversity that Rihana conveys in her message to the people of Manipur, what we have here today is looming shadow of mutual distrust and hatred among the various ethnic groups who have been living together in the true spirit of peaceful coexistence for the last many centuries.

Manipur is only a tiny land mass covering a geographical area of 22,327 Sq. Km, but it is being divided into hills and valley.

The division may have been necessitated for convenience from the administrative point of view. But today it has assumed an altogether different meaning and aspect, thanks to some politically ambitious crafty minds, who masquerade under the self anointed title of 'public leaders'.

In order to realize their political ambitions, these so-called public leaders are hell-bent on infusing poison into the mind of the people.

Whether they would be able to succeed in their devilish scheme or not is one thing which only time will tell, but it's high time for the common people like you and me on the streets to understand that we have got nothing to gain from their political game other than allowing ourselves to become pawns into their hands.

Let be clear that 'In union there is strength' and 'what lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us'.

Hope, the message that Rihana was trying to convey to the people of Manipur does not go in vain.