Whatever be the conflicting reports on the Khan Market meeting on the Manipur crisis, it definitely served as an ice-breaker of sorts. One has to agree to that. In the 17 months that has gone by, any talk of peace on both sides had become a taboo. Former state Governor Anusuiya Uikey had to go back without striking a peace deal in spite of her efforts. It was in mid-June last year that the Union Home ministry had formed an oversized Peace Committee.
The Peace Committee was rejected by COCOMI, Kuki Inpi Manipur and COTU, besides some of the members nominated to the committee. And it was not a surprise then. It turned out to be a case of jumping the gun. The then Governor was embarrassed by the turn of events, as she is by all means keen to resolve the crisis and bring peace and normalcy in the state. For a peace process to work, we need neutral referees and persons who genuinely believe in peace. In the circumstances and emotional state of the public in those days, no one was ready to stick their necks out for the cause of peace between the warring camps as the level of political polarisation had reached a point where even angels fear to tread.
The ministry had not done its homework and consultation process then before constituting the committee or kick-starting the peace process. He or rather the thinking heads or mandarins working for him seems to have entirely misread the complexity of the situation. Passions and enmity had already reached a boiling point, at that very juncture. No one dared to talk of peace.
The Kukis were pushing for a separate administration citing state government apathy towards them in the wake of eviction from forest lands, war on drugs and restrictions on entry of their kin and kith from across the border. While on the other hand, an assertion of Meitei identity not seen before has come to the fore as a result of the conflict. Politics had become so polarised that politicians and MLAs were forced to form groupings under ethnic identities. Not only the politicians or representatives, even the civil society organisations are coming under the radar of public anger.
In view of the charged atmosphere, nobody dares to speak of peace or against the ethnic assertions. The ghosts that vested interests had unleashed in pursuit of their aims and objectives had taken control then, and politicians and CSO leaders have suddenly become very careful and cautious as not to antagonise the mob.
All this time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah never had the seriousness of dealing with the situation as it became more and more worse. Narendra Modi was like Nero who fiddles away while Rome burnt. Thousands of internally displaced people continue to languish in relief camps without even a whisper of hope for them returning home and eke out a living through one’s own labour and effort. Enough is enough.
More than 200 people have been killed, around a hundred have gone missing without any trace, several homes devastated and razed to the ground while more than 60,000 people including women and children have lost their homes and properties. While both sides show no signs of relenting from the hatred and violence, both the state and central government had not made any meaningful steps towards quelling the violence and peace efforts, until now.
The October 15 meet in New Delhi did indeed provide a ray of hope to the common people yearning for peace. We knew, politics would come in the way of the peace effort. The question whether the Meitei, Kuki and Naga politicians really sat together in the presence of Home ministry officials and BJP leaders or greeted each other is another thing. They do not have any personal animosities, but only political differences. Yes, they did have different clienteles or own communities to whom they were ultimately answerable. So, whatever be their pronouncements, there was indeed a meeting in Khan Market, which has not been disputed. Let us hope for the best.
