SITTING ON A VOLCANO |
So much has been written about the long history of Manipur in the wake of the present trouble. The place has had its ups and downs, like all others in the course of history. Hardly anything is left to be said on the historical locus standi of Manipur as a political entity, and hence we would rather attempt an analysis of the present crisis from the perspective of the evolving process of history. In a way, the problem is a direct result of the juxtapositioning of communities, or nationalities, in very different stages of history. We recall here an article by Subir Bhaumik, of the BBC, (who incidentally is from the northeast and has an intimate understanding of its problems), which capsulizes the trials and tribulations that accompany the process of ethnic communities becoming identity conscious and finding the need to define it within the modern political idiom of nationhood. He so aptly points out how this process necessarily involves the transformation of "soft cultural frontiers" within which the ethnic communities live, into "hard political boundaries." The Naga situation seems to be just this. The Naga identity is still nascent, although its proponents would have the world believe it has been in existence since time immemorial, and that the Naga nation was divided up by colonial powers into different parts out of vested interests. This is evident from a number of archival and anthropological material, as well as letters and memorandums presented by community leaders, who as late as the time of the Indian independence and the departure of the British, identified themselves with the Kuki group of tribals. Now most of them call themselves Nagas. The point is, the pan-Naga movement is on an expansion mode, so is the Naga notion of homeland.
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Courtesy: The Imphal Free Press |
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