The unfolding of the Violent events in Manipur

SF Yato *

All these self-made conflict management experts and their baseless claims have left me rather crestfallen & almost reduced me to silence. But I decided not to just sit quietly and do nothing.

I wrote this entirely based on the intel I have accumulated from sources I believe are legitimate and trustworthy. I felt that it was necessary for me to start narrating the way I perceive the present situation pertaining to my 'MOTHERLAND' and this article is in no way intended to spread hatred and distrust. I have always debated myself with the wisdom of being a humbug or penning down false narratives of things and have always discarded those thoughts before they take root.

It all exploded the day the tribal unions organized and held a peace rally in the hill regions. Tensions have already been brewing in the past recent days.

The insensible and unwanted dialogues used by the people taking part in the rally and their failure to maintain a civil tongue, severely tapped into a wound of the Meitei community, still raw and covered but never fully healed, thereby, assumptions were made that the Meitei people from the near proximity who were perplexed by the discourteous conduct in the said 'Peace rally' might have obstructed the rally to a certain degree and the rumor that broke out stating that a Kuki war memorial was vandalized and destroyed was the last straw that broke everyone's capability to abstain from violent conducts – and hence the violence that erupted.

Neither the assumed obstruction from the Meitei community nor the unchecked rumor that broke out, in no way justifies their actions and the scale of the violence that followed – arson on a large scale, physical assaults resulting in the deaths of many civilians, lootings, etc. (from both sides).

What initially seemed like a clash between two communities shifted its dimension and solidified as a political demand when the 10 Kuki MLAs supported/openly demanded a separate administration. Blood is blood and only fools believe otherwise.

"This puts everyone in a situation of fight or flight."

Before curing an ailment, a thorough and thought-out diagnosis comes first. So, if we get down to it right away and explore this series of violent and catastrophic events – we will be shooting in the dark. Thus, it's important that we first understand what the Kukis and Meiteis demanded and how the militants (from Myanmar) equipped with sophisticated weapons got involved in these clashes among the commoners of these two different communities.

The crux of the problem is the tension between these two communities that had been fermenting and had gone on for decades. And the recent consideration of the ST (Schedule Tribe) demand of the Meitei community by the High Court has served as the spark that ignited the fire – spreading with fine freedom, devouring everything.

It takes a little effort to none to convince the average thinking person that war is inevitable as long as there is population growth and its importance on how it has shaped the present - national and international war history backs this claim. Now back to the Kukis, they demanded a separate administration unit for them, which, in other words, means disintegration and separation from the state entirely – an irrevocable certainty that will shatter the integrity of the state.

It's safe to assume, by now, that the general population has a firm idea of the SOO (Suspension of Operation) – the tripartite agreement between the Kuki militants, the State government, and the Union government. The participation of these combat-ready and seasoned militants has drastically changed and intensified the degree of violence.

These Kukis that seemingly migrated illegally within the past 40 / 50 years in our motherland along with the Kuki militants in SOO, which not only upsets the state's demographic balance, are also the ones equipped with sophisticated arms and ammunitions, presumably funded by drug money and foreign entities.

In addition, after the recent coup in Myanmar there have been conspicuous reports of refugee issues not only in Manipur but in the bordering states of northeast India, and these refugees, especially the Militants, have been fostering trouble – concrete evidence in the involvement of these said militants have been duly collected by the intelligence unit.

Drone video footage & imagery have been attained, fortifying the said evidence. And this very involvement has aggravated the Meitei community. These militants are like dipsomaniacs, the only difference is, their uncontrollable craving isn't for alcohol but for "Killing".

And "THE MIGHT OF THE 4th LARGEST AND POWERFUL ARMY IN THE WORLD" having failed to subdue a minuscule of these Kuki militants wreaking havoc makes them the living "JOKE" – gawked and ridiculed by people. It is an undeniable fact that there were multiple factual twists from both communities – and the incompetency in the leadership of the prominent organizations has done nothing but add more salt to the wound.

Many experts and politicians, inside the safety of their layered walls, sitting on their comfortable seats have expressed their concerns and opinions – of which none can be taken at face value. Theoretical solutions have been surfacing but how those can be made practical? No one has an answer.

On that point, I would like to say – we desperately need a reflective and non-skewered open talk between the Meitei and Kuki leaderships to establish equilibrium and to develop a mechanism to anchor it. Instead of this mushrooming of several CSOs, and other civilian or political bodies, this dire situation calls for an apex body consisting of members from both communities (Meitei and Kuki) agreed upon by the general population, capable of presenting a concise but complete exposition of the situation in both levels – the State and Central body – this will hasten the solution searching process.

"Let the mother of this land find the strength to bring out her nurturing bone,
Let our Father restrain from getting vacillated and find the courage to extend his protecting arms,
And let the children have the grace & modesty to duly accept them in the spirit of which it was offered."

But on a different but equally important and related topic – I believe not a single individual would register any amount of surprise that the internet ban which has been going on for more than 90+ days has derailed economic activities, the people working from home are either on the verge of losing or have already lost their jobs and most vital of them all are the students and their education - which nowadays relies heavily on having access to the internet have been irrefutably compromised and will continue to do so as long as this ban persists – to what extent it will surmount will be an answer only time can offer, keeping in mind that the inconveniences that germinated from this are not limited to the ones mentioned above. Finding an alternative and an immediate lifting of this internet ban is a demand endorsed by all sorts of people.

Now, to wrap up this narration, a conglomeration of all the communities inhabiting this small speck of land on Earth and cutting these militants off our life, leaving no remaining bits to fester and multiply is something I profusely urge everyone to agree upon. One final collection of words I would like to share with everyone, especially with the people in power is.

"Imitate the rice stalk, the more grain it bears, the lower it bows."

YAIPHARE!