Manipur is one of the oldest insurgency-infected states in post-independent India and even after 33 years of statehood, there appears to be no sign of future hope. The present scenario in this once princely state is anarchic and, in reality, nobody knows who is really running matters of state.
Any organisation be it underground or civil or youth can dictate to the state government. There are many parallel governments and the people are losing confidence in the popular Secular Progressive Front (SPF) government headed by O Ibobi Singh.Mr Singh was not particularly well known by the people of Manipur before he came to power three years ago. But he surged to power and formed a coalition taking advantage of the public mood after the Bangkok declaration when the National Socialist Council of Nagalim and the Government of India agreed to extend the Naga ceasefire to other parts of the region led to riots in Manipur and the rolling back of the position by New Delhi.
The state was passing through unprecedented crisis and continues to lurch from one to the other, but Mr Singh hangs on, the quintessential survivor. He faced a series of major public agitations after the killing of Th Manorama Devi by the Assam Rifles last year and the later campaign to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), the fight to implement the Meitei script (Meitei Mayek) and the more recent 52-day economic blockade by the All Naga Students Association of Manipur, supported by Naga groups such as the Naga Students Federation demanding withdrawal of the declaration of 18 June as a state holiday. The Naga campaign and the state holiday decision, which he took without consulting the Cabinet, put him through one of his toughest political trials, to commemorate the rising against the NSCN-government peace expansion.In spite of all these, the state is reeling under a spell of worsening law and order: the recent kidnapping of Kh Ashokumar, president of the Manipur University Students Union (MUSU) by an underground group and the subsequent state-wide bandh by student organisations demanding his immediate unconditional release, lootings on the Imphal-Moreh National Highway, continued terrorising of the innocent by masked gunmen, unexplained killings of innocent civilians by security forces, and continued knee-capping (shooting in the knees) of erring teachers and principals of school and colleges by the banned KYKL.
Add to this the storming of police stations by angry mobs for failure to protect the public, teachers agitations, lawyers agitations, Churachandpur bandh, Moreh bandh, Tamenglong bandh and Ukhrul bandh are nothing but a reflection of the current state of affairs.Manipur is perhaps the only state in the country again to witness bandhs protesting against other strikes. This has severely affected the socio-economy of the state and especially the youth.
Manipurs future remains bleak. The state witnessed at least 100 bandhs in 2000 and it cost the state about Rs 4.4 crore daily. According to KYKL which banned bandhs and strikes in Manipur in 2003, a single-day bandh in the state leads to the loss of about Rs 9 crore. There were 72 State bandhs in 2001-2002 that cost the state exchequer Rs 676.48 crore. During ANSAMs indefinite economic blockades on Manipurs two national highways 39 and 53, Ibobi Singhs proposal to frame a new law to ban economic blockade and bandhs was nothing new.In 1999, the then government had banned bandhs called by any organisation causing inconveniences to the people. Even the KYKL had once banned bandhs and strikes in 2003. All these failed to work because the government failed. Of late, bandh or strike supporters have started targeting public and private properties. One of the worse forms of agitation in recent times was the burning down of the state library by the Mayek (script) activists during its agitation.
The government booked several Mayek (script) activists under The National Security Act during their violent agitations in the state. Even after he agreed to their demands, Mayek activists threatened another agitation if their leaders and other members booked under NSA were not released and the NSA cases dropped unconditionally.Mr Singh conceded to their diktat. The chief minister should not have booked them under the NSA only to release them later because in the long run, no one will respect the law of the land and it will only encourage people to take to the streets.
The failure on the state governments part to enforce the administrative machinery has convinced the people that the streets are the best alternative: rule the streets to rule the state and achieve goals. It appears, in Manipur, that confrontation and violence are the only means of resolving issues.(The author is a Kohima-based freelance journalist.)
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