The idea of Manipur and AA conundrum
- Sangai Express Editorial :: March 04, 2014 -

With neither the Government of India nor the Government of Manipur seemingly unable to decipher what exactly is UNC’s demand for alternative arrangement, the same demand has turned out to be a big political conundrum.

If it is the other way round and both New Delhi and the State Government know exactly the UNC’s most passionate demand of recent times then both the Government of India and its subordinate Government at Imphal are playing a very dangerous game which would have serious ramifications on the geo-political entity called Manipur and all the people living within its political boundary.

Let us rehearse UNC’s demand “alternative arrangement outside the Government of Manipur for the Nagas in Manipur pending solution to the Indo-Naga issue.”

The words and vocabulary used in the particular sentence indicate the UNC is demanding some sort of alternative to the existing system of governance and administration controlled by the Government of Manipur for a temporary period.

So much is clear and there is no ambiguity in its implication that Nagas would live separately away from not only Meiteis but also Kukis who are much closer neighbours.

The UNC has voiced openly “Let’s part ways peacefully”.

This time the UNC went a step farther by openly declaring “Meiteis and Nagas cannot live together”.

The paradox only sharpens with AMUCO, UCM and many other civil organisations championing for a united Manipur.

Clearly, two opposing forces, one centripetal and another centrifugal have been operating in the State for quite a long time with New Delhi as the common axis.

If the names of these organisations have anything to do with their political objectives, the UNC is undoubtedly the champion of Nagas in Manipur, if not for all the Nagas.

On the other side, AMUCO and UCM are committed to a united, pluralistic Manipur as their names suggest.

At least outwardly, civil society organisations with the word ‘Manipur’ in their names seemed to be driven by civic nationalism whereas UNC’s engine of political struggle is apparently fuelled by ethnocentric nationalism which connotes that two parallel and contradictory streams of nationalism are tearing into the socio-political fabric of Manipur.

The tragedy is, civic nationalism as understood to be espoused by civil society organisations like AMUCO and UCM lose all its meaning when these organisations and Manipur itself are identified with only Meiteis.

Apart from Meiteis, how many communities do these organisations with the word ‘Manipur’ in their names represent ?

Or for that matter, does the UNC carry the mandate of all Nagas in Manipur ?

The Government of India should first address these questions before taking any decision which can make or break Manipur.

For the sake of introspection as demanded by the unfolding situation, let us assume that UNC carries the mandate of majority of the Nagas of Manipur.

Then the implication is, majority of the Nagas cannot identify themselves as Manipuris.

Or should we say the very idea and understanding of Manipur is still contested? Being the majority community, the onus of transforming Manipur into a comprehensive and collective identity of all its indigenous communities lies with the Meiteis.

The Meiteis need to the take the first realistic step of transforming Manipur into such a place where Nagas can live and prosper as Nagas, Kukis as Kukis and Meiteis as Meiteis, and they are collectively known as Manipuris.

If the terms ‘Manipur’ and ‘Manipuri’ are too synonymous with the Meiteis or cannot encompass other communities, these terms may be changed to some consensual ones.

For Manipur to survive under its existing name or some other consensual names, the Meitei worldview, the Naga worldview and the Kuki worldview should have a meeting point.

We at The Sangai Express are of the view that fragmentation and separation cannot be a solution to the myriad issues and identity crises being encountered by indigenous communities of the entire North East region in this age of globalization and neo-imperialism.