‘The Giant Of Hastinapur’

By H. Bhavan Meitei

When the clock strikes 5 pm, people absorb themselves alone in the darkness. They rush to their houses, elders look for their family members. If some one doesn’t return after sunset, mothers begin to cry, worry heaps upon the family. When dogs bark in the street, people switch-off lights and gather in one room – together. The fear. The fear of ‘The giant of Hastinapur’.

This is the present condition of Manipur, which once was called ‘The jewel of India’ and ‘Switzerland of the East’ by the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. But today, it is one of the most disturbed and conflicted states in the country. People are trapped between militants and armed forces and are eaten up slowly by corruption, fake encounters and price rise of essential commodities and much more. There is an extreme lack of power supply. The state is like an orphan, with nobody to talk to. Death is more common than anything. People are alive not because they din’t do anything wrong, but because they are lucky.

Who is ‘The giant of Hastinapur’?

After the infamous brutal rape case incident of Manorama, (2004, June), people of Manipur coined the termed ‘Hastinapurgi hingchaba’ (The giant of Hastinapur, in English) as a metaphor to the Indian Army. Citizen rose against the Army, shouted slogans to vacate the state immediately. But one clarification- Manipuri people are not against Indian Army, we are simply against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which gives extra custodial power to the forces, giving rights to kill or detain any person regardless of the gender at any time by even a low rank constable. Manipuri’s respect the Army, who are dedicated to serve and protect mother India and to maintain law and order.

Art, culture and sports, all suffer:

Traditionally, Manipur is famous for culture and excellence in sports. Shagol Kangjei (Polo, in English) is originated from this tiny state, which is hidden in the eastern frontier of the country. Manipuri dance (Ras leela), pung cholom (a kind of dhol yatra) are some of the internationally acclaim art forms which have emerged from Manipur. In the last National Games held in Jharkhand, Manipur emerged as the top state in medal tally. Many of the Manipuri’s won medals in CWG and other international tournaments. The reason for such dedication in sports also lies in the fact that people try their best in sports to get, at least, a government job, on quota. Corruption kills the state, but people didn’t protest against it as there are a lot of fears and lack of awareness, in most cases.

Media coverage:

There is something in the air and in the rules and regulation of the present media houses. Or may be it is just the commercial saga of media which makes them think that the news from this region will not read or viewed by people in other states in the country. No doubt that some channel and papers carry news from this region but most of the issue are discarded. Most of the news are regarding the conflict, violence and often portrayed as ‘only the victims of the time’. No analysis to solution of the problems is offered and now news of development is featured, as if nothing is happening in the entire region.

I can go on and on on this topic. But it is up to us to really reach out to our brothers and sisters in Manipur and bring them to the forefront.

The Hidden War In North-East India

By H. Bhavan Meitei

North Eastern States of India, which are home to more than 260 different tribes and speak a number of language and dialects are now witnessing a lot of conflicts and problems. Women are being raped by army personnel, mothers keep waiting for their disappeared sons, children wait for their parents – who don’t return, and much more. These are some of the common problems in the North Eastern states. But it is kept hidden, people from mainland India do not know of this and the media does not want to show.

The Northeast region of India comprising of eight states with a population of about 40 million inhabitants, is a region poorly connected to the Indian mainland and surrounded by many countries such as Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and China, setting for a huge number of conflicts that undermine the idea of India as a prosperous and functioning democracy.

The Naga insurgence, which started in the 1950s, is one of the oldest unresolved armed conflicts in the world. Currently, most of the states in the region are affected by some form of conflict and rapid rising of insurgents in some states. The insurgents in this region often target the civilians. They have no common agendas, fight for individual causes and are set up for their personal benefits only. Some of the reasons for the respective conflicts are wide ranging from separatist movements, to inter-community, communal and inter-ethnic conflicts like Boro conflict, naga-kuki-meitei conflict etc.

Unfortunately, the data and information on the region is not sufficiently analysed and conversed between the region and the Central Government, contributing to further misinformation, mismanagement and alienation. At another level, conflict in the region has been an all pervasive phenomena, and in its violent form, it has not only affected the territorial and political sovereignty of the Indian state, but also the life of the common man in the region, in impenetrable and unfathomable terms. In a radical and dreaded sense, there is a “culture” of conflict, and unfortunately, people have submitted to such continuation. However, amidst the widespread sense of helplessness, there is also an overwhelming desire and force to be free from such a situation of conflict which cripples the people from all sides.

Due to this conflict, over 50,000 people have been killed since independence and a large number have also been displaced. The archaic draconian and black law, which was used by British to suppress the Indian freedom movement, Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) adds more woes to the people of this region. In the name of suppressing insurgents, army officials have often been observed misusing their powers. One is bound to question that if this act is supposed to suppress the insurgents, then why does the Central Government not impose this same law in the Maoist affected areas and not leave it only to the North Eastern states and some parts of Kashmir. As a North Eastern myself, I ask, are sons of lesser god and are we not included in the Preamble of Indian Constitution? I really hope our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has the answer to this question.

Hundreds and thousands of illegal Bangladeshi migrants are entering North Eastern states, the intrusion of Chinese in Arunachal Pradesh and even the economic blockade that is often organized in this region are problems which have no solution, either from the State Government or the Central Government. They come and stand with the common when elections arrive, to prove that our country is a democratic one, but when it comes to solving real problems, they ignore us. To conclude, this torn condition of the states will only be resolved when people are actually given their fundamental and constitutional rights and efforts are made to bring the North East India to the mainstream.