Biren govt is problem, not solution in Manipur - Time for Modi to Learn
Please avoid looking for the largest current security danger to India's internal or foreign security on the majority of our tv news stations. The violence in the West bengal panchayat elections may then fool you into thinking that's what's going on. Locate Manipur on the map by looking further east. If you feel it is important to you as a loyal Indian.
The country of india as a whole is experiencing chaos at the moment. Even for someone like this writer who has been accustomed to seeing civil turmoil, insurgency, and terrorism for the greater part of four decades, the situation in Manipur is unparalleled. When these difficulties first appeared in the 1950s (in Nagaland), 1960s (in Mizoram), or even the early 1980s (in punjab and Assam), it was one thing. But in 2023, with the level of influence the bjp currently enjoys at the federal and state levels, as well as the current status of the military, paramilitary, and communication systems?
Particularly when it comes to establishing the power of the state, the past is no reliable guide for the present. Even in the early 1980s, when three major insurgencies (Naga, Mizo, and Manipuri) still raged and assam was in disarray, communication in the northeast was so primitive that as a reporter, I had to submit at least two reports using a Morse machine from the telegraph office in Mokokchung, Nagaland. The task of governing in an area affected by an insurgency became much more difficult as a result of weak or nonexistent channels of communication, and working as a reporter became almost impossible. These defences are no longer valid.
Let's first examine how Manipur differs from other crises and what makes this situation distinct from others.
In the northeast and elsewhere in the past, one community has attacked the other sufficiently frequently. bengali speakers in assam were frequently attacked violently, and in particular the Muslim bengali speakers. But the state immediately recovered its own power by acting decisively and swiftly. Everyone was aware of both the perpetrator and the victim. And the victim was defended by the state, if occasionally ineffectively.
We witnessed deliberate murders of the bengali majority in Tripura by the tiny tribal minority (less than 25% of the population). The earliest and most infamous of them was the Mandai Massacre, which took place on june 8, 1980, close to Agartala and resulted in the deaths of 400–600 innocent people. That was also dealt with quickly.
Finally, we turn west to see punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. In the first, during V.P. Singh's tenure as prime minister, the state and the centre both lost control of the situation for a period of time. The state, though, never gave up. As in Manipur, it was not observed to be in the barracks. Jagmohan, a stern governor, was dispatched by it. Thousands of guns from police armouries were not being stolen without any opposition. In Manipur, the thieves are so brash that they abandon their Aadhaar cards so that the on-duty police can 'assist' if there is an investigation.
It is also helpful to look back for precedents if the response to every new crisis, oversight, or setback is that it has occurred before, particularly while the congress is in power. Article 356 of the Constitution was utilised by a strong administration in New delhi to remove its own complete majority government in a sizable state only 220 kilometres away from Delhi. With a majority greater than the BJP's now enjoys, it was indira gandhi at the height of her post-Emergency rule.
We can see why this government may be reluctant to follow Mrs. Gandhi's example. However, if you were to look at the situation objectively from all angles, you would realise that the state government is now at the heart of the issue rather than the solution.
The country of india as a whole is experiencing chaos at the moment. Even for someone like this writer who has been accustomed to seeing civil turmoil, insurgency, and terrorism for the greater part of four decades, the situation in Manipur is unparalleled. When these difficulties first appeared in the 1950s (in Nagaland), 1960s (in Mizoram), or even the early 1980s (in punjab and Assam), it was one thing. But in 2023, with the level of influence the bjp currently enjoys at the federal and state levels, as well as the current status of the military, paramilitary, and communication systems?
Particularly when it comes to establishing the power of the state, the past is no reliable guide for the present. Even in the early 1980s, when three major insurgencies (Naga, Mizo, and Manipuri) still raged and assam was in disarray, communication in the northeast was so primitive that as a reporter, I had to submit at least two reports using a Morse machine from the telegraph office in Mokokchung, Nagaland. The task of governing in an area affected by an insurgency became much more difficult as a result of weak or nonexistent channels of communication, and working as a reporter became almost impossible. These defences are no longer valid.
Let's first examine how Manipur differs from other crises and what makes this situation distinct from others.
In the northeast and elsewhere in the past, one community has attacked the other sufficiently frequently. bengali speakers in assam were frequently attacked violently, and in particular the Muslim bengali speakers. But the state immediately recovered its own power by acting decisively and swiftly. Everyone was aware of both the perpetrator and the victim. And the victim was defended by the state, if occasionally ineffectively.
We witnessed deliberate murders of the bengali majority in Tripura by the tiny tribal minority (less than 25% of the population). The earliest and most infamous of them was the Mandai Massacre, which took place on june 8, 1980, close to Agartala and resulted in the deaths of 400–600 innocent people. That was also dealt with quickly.
Finally, we turn west to see punjab and Jammu & Kashmir. In the first, during V.P. Singh's tenure as prime minister, the state and the centre both lost control of the situation for a period of time. The state, though, never gave up. As in Manipur, it was not observed to be in the barracks. Jagmohan, a stern governor, was dispatched by it. Thousands of guns from police armouries were not being stolen without any opposition. In Manipur, the thieves are so brash that they abandon their Aadhaar cards so that the on-duty police can 'assist' if there is an investigation.
It is also helpful to look back for precedents if the response to every new crisis, oversight, or setback is that it has occurred before, particularly while the congress is in power. Article 356 of the Constitution was utilised by a strong administration in New delhi to remove its own complete majority government in a sizable state only 220 kilometres away from Delhi. With a majority greater than the BJP's now enjoys, it was indira gandhi at the height of her post-Emergency rule.
We can see why this government may be reluctant to follow Mrs. Gandhi's example. However, if you were to look at the situation objectively from all angles, you would realise that the state government is now at the heart of the issue rather than the solution.