The Prime Minister used the words ‘continuously reducing’ regarding incidents of violence in Manipur and that his government was making efforts to normalise the situation in the state. He also said, hopes of peace are possible now as he painted a picture of normalcy in schools, colleges and examinations besides government offices functional in most areas. The central and state government is talking to all stakeholders to restore peace, Narendra Modi assured in the Parliament after Manipur MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam’s midnight thunder.
Although the Prime Minister’s reply was found wanting in several aspects, many people here in Manipur breathed a sigh of relief that he managed to break his silence and gave a ray of hope to thousands of victims and those whose life had been indirectly affected by the conflict situation. Nobody can predict when will this unrest end. The whole state is earnestly praying for a kind of peace and normalcy where the common people could lead at least a semblance of the normal life they once had, when internally displaced citizens could return to their original home and hearth and bury the hatchet for the sake of the future generation.
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As men of wisdom say, peace is not just the absence of conflict or violence but a state of mind where the general population feel secure to carry on with their normal lives and transactions. To be honest, the present situation is not that rosy and conducive for peace efforts to work. Yes, violence and clashes have reduced since the Lok Sabha elections. But it has once again erupted in Jiribam and anyone with a shred of intelligence would understand why it has erupted in Jiribam, a border town adjacent to Assam’s Cachar district. It is about control of the border post, the highway traffic and railway operations. On the other hand, the enmity and hatred between the warring communities is very much there or crossing over to areas of dominance and control is still dangerous. In short, the two communities are not in talking terms.
Even if we do not see much of an overt activity, the Prime Minister has said that the government is talking to all stakeholders to restore peace. So naturally, the desired outcome for such an exercise must be to pave the way for all stakeholders to sit together and thrash out the contentious issues. PM Modi said, both the central and state governments are talking to stakeholders.
The state chief minister followed up by saying that talks are on to restore peace, only to be vehemently denied and condemned by Kuki CSOs. There was a time when Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that he is in regular touch with the Kuki ministers and MLAs, only to be denied by the said legislators through a statement. As we understand, a jumbo-size Peace Committee with the state Governor as chairperson was instituted by the Home Ministry in the initial days of the conflict. But it failed to take off even as some of the members refused the nomination and everyone is still in the dark as to what happened to that Peace Committee. Again, we are not privy to any Track 2 process initiated by her office.
All we know is that, she has been meeting with a cross section to try and thrash out the issues. Still, she has to have a green signal from the Home Ministry in carrying forward any such endeavour. We earnestly feel that for any meaningful peace efforts to begin, a conducive atmosphere needs to be laid on the ground first. Then, it must be followed by some confidence building measures. Unless one sees any of these, nobody is going to believe the yarn about ‘talks going on.’
