The resolution to unite all CSOs
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: September 09, 2023 -
IN a development that would be appreciated by many, representatives of as many as 35 civil society organisations have resolved to unite and work together under one roof for saving Manipur from disintegration.
This could be seen as a first step towards fruition of the popular demand of the people for unification of all the civil society organizations in the state, specially in the light of the violent conflict between the Meitei/Meetei and Kuki-Chin communities, which has been going on for more than four months now without any sign of ebbing.
The resolution to unite all civil society organisations and work under one roof was announced during a meeting convened by the women's wing of Thawai Miral, whose members had to launch hunger relay strike and then stepped up to fast unto death stir to make the leaders of civil society organizations to sit up and pay attention to the public call for bringing their heads together and leading the people from the front in the effort of finding a lasting solution to the current crisis besieging the state.
If not for these gutsy women members of Thawai Miral who had to even face excesses of the security forces during the course of their agitation, the numerous civil society organisations in the state would be still functioning in their own way and despite their good intention, contribute nothing much to the collective effort of saving Manipur from forces that are inimical to the idea of a united Manipur and are trying to tear apart the social fabric in pursuit of advancing their own nefarious agenda.
Of course, the process of unification is yet to be completed as there are many more civil society organisations that need to be taken on board.
It is learnt that another meeting had already been convened and invited leaders of other civil society organisations who could not come to participate in the earlier meeting.
One has to wait and see the outcome of this meeting.
But gauging from the prevailing mood and general sentiment of the people, who have suffered long enough, it is unlikely that any civil society organization, which is truly wording for the welfare of the state and its people, would even think of remaining blind and deaf to the urgent call for unification.
But one thought that might be nagging the minds of many people at the moment would be how these civil society organisations which are at loggerheads most of times over any issue in the past are going to work together now?
Isn't the inevitable pull and push factors which are at play within the civil society organisations not going to complicate the effort of finding a solution to the present crisis, which is becoming even more complex with each passing day?
These are genuine apprehensions if one look at the history of splits and divisions within any organization in the state owing to differences of opinion among its rank and file.
In fact, it is these splits and divisions that have led to the presence of so many civil society organizations in the state today.
So, all the civil society organisations and their leaders should understand that the new opportunity that is being provided to them by the people is not for indulging in petty organizational politics but for showing that they are worthy of leading the people upfront.
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