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PART-II OF THE OPEN LETTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER
The author N. Khagendra Singh is a retired professor and now guest faculty, English department, Manipur University
Honourable Prime Minister Sir, a very important problem is the venom-spewing destructive propaganda unleashed by the obsessed propagandists of the Naga cause against the government of Manipur and the Meiteis, which seems to be their favourite name or term for the expression of rancour. You can very well imagine what the famous Bollywood film director Mahesh Bhatt can say about the Nagas and Manipur when he airs his views through the media.
It is one thing when someone tries to build up his or her name and popularity by making a controversial statement on something on which he or she has not done enough research and another thing when some well-meaning person expresses his or her views on something for which he or she has done proper examination and objective assessment.
Sir, the reason for this uncalled for generalisation, is that we have helplessly bogged down on many serious issues because of many half-truths, pseudo-truths, rumours and canards spawned by the ambience of the world in which we live. The Nagas charge that the state government is high-handed and exploitative. They also allege that the Meiteis are racists, trying to dominate over the Nagas culturally. Unfortunately, all this is nothing but propaganda, which I ignore because it lacks philosophical depth and imaginative resonance.
Against these charges and allegations, I would like to refer to some irrefutable facts:
1. During the last 30 years or so in the history of the government of Manipur, two Nagas ruled over the state as chief ministers for nearly 15 years.
2. Most of the government departments are headed by accredited civil servants belonging to the tribes in the hills of Manipur.
3. In almost all the government offices there is a proportionately well-balanced number of employees from the hills, appointed on merit basis, according to the quota system. These facts are self-explanatory. Why should the Nagas have any grudge against the state government and the Meiteis? One outwardly simple but intrinsically important question rankling in the mind of the majority community, the Meiteis, is: “How and why have the Meiteis produced so few IAS and IPS officers through all-India competitions during the last so many decades? About the answers to these few questions and the details of the issues involved, the less said the better. It will be virtually a Pandora’s box.
I cannot but refer to the malady, the cancer, which has for a long time been eating into the vitals of Manipur and its people. The land and the people have been plagued by decades of misrule and mal-administration. For years we have been helpless victims of a series of cynically manipulative, obscurantist and anti-people governments of many types which failed to govern. We have now reached the stage of people versus government. And in this kind of anarchic atmosphere, a problem like that of the Nagas can easily rear its head. Now the time has come for all of us to put our heads together and shout at the top of our voice that enough is enough and that reason, justice and the spirit of compromise should prevail against cantankerous and divisive forces.
Indeed, sir, I sincerely hope that the New Year will ring in substantive changes for the betterment of the Nagas. My only prayer is that Manipur and its time-honoured territorial integrity are not casually reduced to an unsubstantive issue in the course of the discussion of “substantive issue” between the Government of India and the NSCN (I-M), because the protection and preservation of the territorial boundaries of Manipur is inseparably linked with the existential problems of the Manipuris. As a matter of fact, the territorial problem of Manipur is the basic problem of survival with honour and dignity for Manipur and the Manipuris. Manipur is not a big state like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which can give away vast areas for the formation of new states. Ours is a small state with an area of 22,327 square km only.
If, through a policy of appeasement of the Naga expansionists, the four hill districts of Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamenglong and Chandel, along with nearly 30 villages of Churachandpur district (as is claimed by the Nagas) are given to Nagaland, Manipur will be reduced to a miniature state with an area of a few square km — not a state worth the name but a ridiculous apology of a state. Then, what about the Kuki underground outfits demanding a separate Kuki homeland? What about the many Kuki villages in the four districts? What will happen to the many Kabui villages and other tribal settlements in the Imphal valley? What about the tragedy of the Naga-Kuki conflict a few years ago? There are many questions, which cannot be answered or simply wished away easily because these are questions related to the lives of lakhs of innocent people.
Then, what about Manipur with its long socio-political history, its rich culture and its achievements in various walks of life? What about our contributions to the national treasure-house in the fields of arts, culture, sports and games? It will be a grievous mistake to forget that through the centuries Manipur and Manipuris have lived, learned to govern growth and build up a distinct brand of civilisation. After a long cogitation, arguments, counter-arguments and pressures from the powers that be, we merged into India. During the last few decades we have tried hard to join the national mainstream, and I think that we have not failed the country. But, what is the result and the reward? I can never think or imagine that neglect and indifference on the part of some people roaring down the corridors of power in Delhi is the reward of our struggles, sufferings and sacrifice.
Then, sir, the problem of lack of development in the hill areas of Manipur is quite understandable. This is all because of the non-performance of the state government and its corrupt practices for a long time. No individual and no community should be blamed for this. I am really sad to find some Naga propagandists saying so many things against the inclusion of Manipuri language in the 8th Schedule and charging the Meiteis of being racist who try to dominate the Nagas culturally. Hundreds of languages can and should be improved through honest endeavour and hundreds of cultures can and should grow through the enrichment of the physical, mental, moral and imaginative lives of the people. And why racism? There is no room for racism in Manipur. It can be historically and scientifically proved that almost all the communities of Manipur grow out of the same racial stock.
Thus, sir, I am very sad — I am very sure my sadness will be shared by all true Manipuris — that the strategic designs of the Naga expansionists are fraught with tragic potential like physical suffering, mental agony, trauma, bloodbath and even some kind of genocide. In this context, I sincerely feel that the ongoing Naga peace-process should be welcomed by all.
I hope that with your vast experience, wisdom, statesmanship and political acumen, you will certainly find a way to solve the Naga problem permanently without injuring the interest of Manipur. After all, you will agree with me when I say that the democratic institutions of India are the best guarantors of the secular and pluralist polity in a multi-ethnic region like Manipur.
n Concluded
