Is Manipur Reaching a Breaking Point?
Shrikant G. Talageri
Deutsche Welle, or dw.com, has published the following article with the above title on the internet:
I have already uploaded an article on this subject called "Operation 'Exterminate-the-Meitei-in-Manipur'" on 1-6-2023, already today (20-10-2023) almost five months old. I am not saying that my article should have had some result by now − it would be egotistic beyond measure to suggest that it should − I just cite it to show how time is passing by with no attempt being made to stem the rot, since the problem was already a burning one when I wrote my article almost five months ago.
In my article, five months ago, I began with "Manipur is in flames and the Hindu Meiteis of Manipur are being set off on the path to near-extinction, but the rest of India, and particularly Hindu India, couldn't care less", and ended with: "The only thing that can save the Meitei people from extinction is being granted the status of full-fledged "Scheduled Tribes" with all its benefits and facilities. Anything short of that (and it certainly looks as if everything about Manipur except this one crucial item is being discussed everywhere) practically amounts to giving the thumbs-up signal to Operation "Exterminate-the-Meitei-in-Manipur"".
Even the article on dw.com, which cannot in any way be expected to be pro-Hindu, has the following observation to make:
"The initial clashes were triggered by the Meiteis' demand to be granted "scheduled tribe" status, which would give them landowning rights, as well as access to educational and employment opportunities — benefits that are already enjoyed by the Kuki community".
And indeed, the article is not pro-Hindu, and probably not as blatantly anti-Hindu as most western media articles would be expected to be: it points out the hardships imposed on the people of Manipur (notably a seemingly never-ending internet blackout imposed on the state), and even notes the recent incident where two Meitei (i.e. Hindu) youths were killed. But it does also point out the verdict of a woke leftist organization blaming Hinduism: "Human Rights Watch has accused the Manipur authorities of facilitating the conflict with "divisive policies that promote Hindu majoritarianism"", without explaining the rationale behind this accusation indicting "Hindu majoritarianism" − which, knowing the way in which India's history is regularly distorted, will be the final verdict which will prevail, whatever now happens in Manipur. In India, adding insult to injury by blaming the Hindu victims is the compulsory and politically correct rule,
But, as the article points out, no-one is actually in any doubt as to who is responsible for all this:
The Meitei: "Many Meiteis seem frustrated by the ongoing cycle of violence, criticizing the political regime for not standing up for its citizens........ The Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) is also irritated at its inordinate delay in finding a way out of the imbroglio.....(its) spokesperson Khuraijam Athouba, who has highlighted the involvement of mercenaries and drug traffickers in the Manipur conflict, believes New Delhi is not acting on its assurances".
The Kukis: "This sentiment was echoed by Janghaolun Haokip, secretary of the Kuki Inpi, the apex body of the Kuki tribes."Five months into the violence, people are facing extreme difficulty now," Haokip told DW. "All cards are now with the central government. How long will the people suffer before the government can bring an end to this ethnic strife?""
Even the local BJP is aware of the hatred their party has created in the minds of the local people: "The home of the BJP state president, Sharda Devi, has been targeted several times since the beginning of the sectarian conflict. "I have been working tirelessly since May 3, but in my 30 years of political experience, I have never seen this kind of aggression and hostility toward a party that is running the government," Devi told reporters."
Why exactly is the BJP, which, beyond any doubt, has blood on its hands in Manipur, not doing anything and deliberately and cynically allowing things to deteriorate to an absolute point of no-return (if it has not already reached that point in the last five months)? Although anti-Hindu forces have only one explanation for anything and everything happening in India, "Hindu majoritarianism", the actual reason, which should come as no surprise to anyone knowing that the party in question here is the most cynical, opportunistic and unprincipled party ever to take part in the electoral democratic process anywhere in the world, is exactly the opposite:
Christians (2011 figures) constitute 87.93% of Nagaland and 87.16% of Mizoram. The BJP is part of the ruling coalition in Nagaland, and is determined to carve out a place for itself in Mizoram, where elections are due shortly, on November 7 2023. For this purpose, the BJP has formed a missionary cell (yes: missionary cell, not even minorities cell) in Mizoram, and made electoral promises to build "the highest cross in Mizoram", and officially declared that the BJP will "collect data of all Christian missionaries and extend help to them whenever required" (including giving missionaries from Mizoram accommodation and other facilities in BJP offices all over India)!
In Manipur, the main opponents of the Meitei are the Kukis, (and also the Nagas, though these do not seem to have cropped up to a major extent in the present conflict) and the Mizo people of Mizoram form a closely aligned broader tribal group with the Kukis. The BJP wants to get the votes of the Mizos in Mizoram. This is the reason why the BJP is refusing to take the necessary step in Manipur which could gradually cool down the fires in the state. And in fact, if this step had been taken five months ago, things would never have reached this stage in the first place. But better late than too late or never.
What is this "necessary step"?
It is not some dark secret unknown to anyone. In fact, everyone knows what this step is: Simply: accept the verdict of the High Court, and grant "scheduled tribe status" to the Meitei people (who are the only major tribal group in the entire northeast who have been deliberately denied this status), which, as even the western Deutsche Welle, or dw.com site accepts, "would give them landowning rights, as well as access to educational and employment opportunities — benefits that are already enjoyed by the Kuki community"".
I already wrote an article on this topic earlier. Five months later, I am writing another one, simply because I cannot repress the pain and agony in my heart at the state to which Hindus have been reduced in this country by cynical and unprincipled political forces and the masses of converted Hindus (converted from Hinduism to BJPism) backing them to the hilt in their anti-Hindu activities. My usual solace is that I won't be alive 20 years hence to see what all this cynical and unprincipled politics will do to my India; but the problem is that I am not brain-dead now, so I can visualize what will happen in 20 years!
It is not the Meiteis or the Kukis or the Nagas or the Christian missionaries or the courts in Manipur who are responsible for what is happening in Manipur. It is the BJP. And my only reason for writing this article is to place this on record.
And, when the inevitable happens in Manipur in particular and the northeast in general, let no minority Hindu (as distinct from majority BJPist) ever forget who is responsible, or forgive the traitors.
EPILOGUE 23-2-2024: The Inevitable Has Happened:
A single judge bench of the Manipur High Court has rescinded the earlier order of the court directing the inclusion of the Meitei in the list of Scheduled Tribes:
A film "The Manipur Files" recording the forced exodus of the Meiteis from Manipur will be made in the future. It cannot be made now, since that exodus is still to take place. It will of course lay the blame at the doors of Gandhi, Nehru and Macaulay.
Or perhaps no-one will even bother to remember the Meitei people, let alone make a film on them? Who can predict the future?
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