The ghost of 1990s
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: July 05 , 2014 -

Literally speaking, the ghost of the early 1990’s communal clash or the genocide, depending on which side you are, is still haunting the collective psyche of both the Naga and Kuki communities of Manipur.

Indeed, it was a dark chapter in the history of modern Manipur. Spearheaded by the influential Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) and Kuki Students’ Organisation, (KSO) a ‘peaceful’ public rally was taken out today at eight different locations of the State including the capital town.

As the name suggests and if one should go by the words of the organisers, the rally was not targeting any community but was solely aimed at highlighting the grievances of Kuki community to the Government of India.

Dissection of this very sentence throws up two distinct connotations of the word ‘grievances’.

The first connotation relates to the old wounds inflicted upon Kuki community at the height of the communal bloodbath.

The second inference is the authority’s (read Government of India) failure to address these grievances for the past two decades.

New Delhi, by looking the other way, has been unwittingly multiplying the same grievances.

Like all the people of the entire North East region, Kuki people, more precisely KIM and KSO have been closely watching the Indo-Naga peace process.

Speculations are rife of a possible solution to the vexed Naga insurgency problem with NDA back at the helm of affairs at New Delhi.

It is in the backdrop of these speculations that KIM and KSO came up with the idea of a grand mass rally with its own share of publicity.

It sounds like hitting the right chord at the right moment.

How KIM and KSO have been articulating this thorny issue of communal clash or genocide is rather interesting.

Although many saw the bloodbath as a clash of two communities, KIM and KSO have been consistently putting the blame on NSCN-IM, not the whole Naga community.

The two influential Kuki organisations might have their own reasons and logic for blaming only the NSCN-IM.

Now the crux of the issue is, how could the Government of India amend for the past misdeeds or crimes committed by a rebel group currently under negotiation for peaceful settlement.

At the same time, neither KIM nor KSO has spelled out how their old wounds can be treated and compensated.

Certainly, Kuki people would be having genuine grievances against NSCN-IM and Government of India, the two parties currently under ceasefire agreement and in the process of political dialogue.

But the grievances should not be allowed to fester and derail the hard-earned peace process.

Justice for the victims, be they Kukis or Nagas, can be achieved only when the quest for such is underpinned and founded on the spirit of reconciliation and forgiveness.

This is exactly what the UNC stated and nothing can be more sensible than this response.

If there were reasons for enmity, there must be room for reconciliation. One cannot always live under an atmosphere of animosity.

In addition to amicably settling the Naga insurgency issue, the Government of India need to register the grievances of Kuki people.

We believe the ghost of the 1990’s can be put to rest if New Delhi cares enough for the North East region including Manipur.

If New Delhi can don the role of a peace-broker, it can be a win-win situation otherwise everything can turn upside down.