Political Diary
New Delhi, 1 August 2023
Manipur In Pain
NO POLITICS, REALLY?
By Poonam I Kaushish
“Police was there with the mob which
attacked our village. They picked us from near home and gave us to the mob.” cried
the 19-year old and her 40-year old Kuki women who were stripped naked, groped
and paraded in public before being gang raped 4 May in Kangpokpi, Manipur. A strife-torn State with a population of mere
2.5 million which has been on the boil for over three months due to ethnic
conflict which has cleaved it into two, between valley and hills. Wherein, life
hangs by an address, surname, dialect, community and tribe.
Shockingly, an FIR of the 4th May incident was registered
on 18 May, in June case was transferred to the concerned police station and the
video went viral on 19 July ---- And like always all hell broke loose with a
horrified nation expressing outrage and pain demanding action against the
perpetrators of this heinous crime.
Appallingly, its uniformed guardians surrendered their
weapons as police armouries were looted
and politicians houses burned by communal criminals as a
cynical State Government dozed with one eye open after the majority community
Meitei’s (mainly Hindus who are 52% of the State's population) ST status demand
was granted legitimacy by Manipur’s High Court.
This posed a threat to the Kukis, mainly tribal Christians,
Nagas and Muslims who feel this would infringe upon their rights and have no
faith in Singh who is a Meitei and believe he is allowing armed Meitei groups
to target and kill them.
A tough, angry and deeply disturbed Supreme Court asked the
Government, “What have you done for 14 days? You cannot excuse what happened in
Manipur by saying that this and this happened elsewhere. Using women as
instruments for perpetrating violence is simply unacceptable.... We are dealing
with something which is of unprecedented nature --- violence in a situation of
communal and sectarian strife. Time is running out for us ....”
Bluntly, a rap on the knuckles for Prime Minister Modi, of
course, without naming him, who expressed anguish and shame outside Parliament
20 July, 79 days later, in generic terms without singling out Manipur and other
BJP-ruled States while naming Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. “The
entire country has been shamed ... guilty will not be spared...What happened to
Manipur daughters can never be forgiven… my heart is filled with pain and
anger.”
Only then did BJP’s Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh like
Rip Van Winkle arise from his slumber and order action. Earlier he dismissed any hostility blaming
“terrorists and infiltrators for the violence, referring to them as Kukis from
Myanmar.” Sic. Meiteis’ too accuse him for not doing enough to safeguard lives
and properties. Why did it take him over
two months to even promise an investigation and take action?
For over 70 days Manipuris, MPs and citizens across the
country are waiting for Modi to break his silence on this verdant State which
symbolised our unity in diversity, turning it into a valley of death, claimed
180 lives and counting, women dragged out of their homes, displaced thousands (over
30% of the population), bundled them in deplorable unsanitary make-shift relief camps and cut-off their livelihood, who
live as refugees in their own country. While women hide in jungles to avoid two-legged
beasts possessed by lust and hate who prowl for prey.
Post Home Minister
Shah’s visit, 21 MPs from 16 Parties forming Opposition’s INDIA (Indian
National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) visited Manipur to “understand peoples’
pain and express Parliament’s concern about their plight.” Really? Or was it
just to score political points against the Government?
Even as they admonish Modi for visiting poll-bound States
like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where he speaks against Opposition leaders
and inaugurates the new Pragati Maidan complex Delhi, but is mum on Manipuris
grief, it begs a question. What action have they undertaken to elevate the
sufferings besides mouthing platitudes and indulging in photo-ops. What if
there had been no video?
Scandalously, one fails to comprehend why Modi who is so
vociferous and vocal about issues continues to avoid making his Government’s
stand on the issues involved in Parliament even as Manipur cries for help and
our polity watches in horror. His silence is counterproductive. Less said the
better of his Party and Ministers who duck when faced by Opposition leaders and
will only open their mouths after he does, instead go into moral overdrive to babble
banalities and fume against external interference in India's internal affairs.
Worse, the Government is
in defensive mode. Its leaders, including the Chief Minister, organises
protests against the video, not against the barbaric act. True, West Bengal’s panchayat
elections saw bloodshed and violence under police nose with many ruling TMC
workers complicit, Rajasthan and other States too are engulfed by rapes ad
nauseum but to cite them on par with Manipur is an insult to women in the
video, State, all ethnicities who are vulnerable in a conflict.
It not only cheapens
the discourse, doesn’t behove a Government or Party that just months ago was packaging
its electoral success in North East as a testament to its inclusive politics. It
allows Modi's enemies to castigate him for inaction.
A former Army Chief Naravane has added to confusion. Asserting,
foreign interference in Manipur could not be ruled out and is “definitely
there.” Stressing, Chinese has been aiding various insurgent groups for years.
Alongside, a flourishing drug trade across borders.
What is the roadmap ahead? None. The peace committee set-up
by the Union Government has failed with both Kuki and Meitei groups saying they
will not participate. Till date, the Government has not clarified what else or
how it plans to address the situation. All seem to be clueless.
Clearly, the Government’s
absence along-with an ineffective police
making the strategic mistake of keeping silent for over two months have made
matters worse. Both Centre and States have to acknowledge that scoring debating
points helped by megaphone TV anchors has only compounded the problem and adds
insult to Manipur’s injuries which is the worst thing.
The Government must put in a mechanism to ensure complaints
are filed, FIRs registered. The Centre should instruct State Governments to
enforce rule of law when needed. They
must have a plan to bring the Administration back on track and apply balm on
broken souls.
Undeniably, our political leadership has failed. All are drawing
lines on water and indulging in political one-upmanship. Sadly, Parliament has become
a battleground of conscience. Since both Opposition and Ruling Party are
unwilling to step back from the precipice of confrontation, Manipur faces
irreparable damage to its identity.
Our leaders collectively need to explore ways to bridge the
gulf between communities as the fault-lines in Manipur can set-off cracks
beyond its borders, as evident in neighbouring Mizoram where a local outfit has
threatened the resident Meitei population. There is also a transnational
dimension as many have kinship ties in Myanmar, which is roiled in conflict of
its own.
Sadly, a collective reckoning was held hostage to short
term confrontational politics, which does not speak well of the responsiveness
and responsibility of Parliamentary politics in a moment of crisis. After all,
this was the time for Parties across the spectrum to set aside hostilities and
noise and participation the difficult search for peace and resolution.
Time for Opposition to ask questions and Government to
attempt an answer. At the very least, a cue for MPs to tell Manipur they can
see and hear them. The nation wants answers from those in charge in Delhi and
Imphal. The Government must converse with Opposition, by stubbornly refusing to
do so in Parliament it is striking a blow to accountability of Treasury Benches
to the people.
Remember, even as violence
is flesh to flesh, judgement is soul to soul. Time, to tame community goons and
our polity who feast on blood and pain. History neither forgives nor forgets
the crushing of innocents. ---- INFA
(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)
|