A Pre-Planned Disaster

The painful situation is not easily described. It has continued for over 16 months. Visitors from elsewhere keep misunderstanding the real issues and their developments. Each one returns home and presents his/her own version of the story according to his/her political biases, cultural or religious prejudices, and partisan or one-sided interests. The State and Central authorities have no satisfactory explanation of how social order cannot be restored with 60,000 armed forces standing by. It is an insult to the Indian Army to say that they cannot control a few armed groups. Julio Ribeiro, a retired police officer, had said some time ago that normalcy could have been restored within 24 hours if only the police team was clear about their goals.

The problem is at higher levels. Chief Minister Biren Singh continuously contradicts himself. One day, he accuses the Kuki-Zo community of narco-terrorism and foreign influence; another day, he evades an explanation. He admits to violence done to women and social disorders of all kinds but does not hold himself responsible for such horrors. What is going on is a pre-panned game. Evidently, Biren is not trying to serve the people of Manipur but to please the Delhi duo: Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. For the BJP-RSS, ideology comes first; Manipur's or nation's interests come much later.

"The Government of India is Responsible"

In such a context, most people would be afraid to point a finger in the right direction. But not Bimol Akoijam, Congress MP. He does so fearlessly. He is perfectly sure that the Government of India is responsible. He feels someone is scripting the entire agenda. Officials are not innocent. Every detail is well-planned. He asks whether the Government of India would allow such a situation to continue in UP or MP. Would they allow sturdily armed groups like Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun to wander around dictating as warlords do in Afghanistan? No doubt, Kuki-Zo groups have responded. Many have described what is going on in Manipur as a civil war. Recently, Biren promised to control Arambai Tenggol's anti-national and communal activities, but there has been no difference.

Akoijam feels bitterly upset that the Prime Minister keeps away from his homeland after 16 months of agony. This indifference is hurtful and infinitely humiliating. "Manipur is crying out for the insult, for the pain." From time to time, the Government of India asks the people at the borders to prove their loyalty to the country. Does the Government have no obligation to show loyalty to those very people? Does the PM not consider Manipur a part of India?

Modiji has time for yoga in the US, a meditation on the Kedarnath and Kanyakumari, and Mann ki Baat on all topics, but not a brief moment for Manipur. We understand well the painful neglect similar small ethnic groups feel in big nations: Uighurs in China, Balochs in Pakistan, Chechnyans in Russia. People at the margins often feel misunderstood and forgotten. Jairam Ramesh of the Congress says that our "non-biological" Prime Minister moves around everywhere but keeps away from Manipur. His "hugplomacy" seems to work with Putin, Zelensky and Biden, but he blunders with Biren. Manipur is a non-issue for Modi, whom Trump recently described as "fantastic."

Things Are "Calm" in Manipur: Amit Shah

Though the number of deaths in official reports does not go beyond a few hundred, they are, in reality, very many times more. Over 60,000 have been displaced, especially Kuki-Zos. Their houses have been razed to the ground in the Imphal valley. There was an explosion at a minister's house recently. Women are on the move, blocking roads. Students are continuously in protest. Young people are in action. There are repeated reports of violence both ways. Locally-made rockets and drones are in use. Mobile and internet services remain shut most of the time. Life has become unbearable. It is in this context that we must listen to Amit Shah, who assures the nation that things are "calm in Manipur" and peace negotiations are on!

Northeast Student Organisation pleads with the PM to visit Manipur and verify things for himself. The absence of contextually relevant and perceptive leadership has allowed things to go this far. Meghachandra Singh, Congress president of Manipur, shows Modiji in a video holding a calf, saying, "truly adorable". Is Manipur not "admirable," at least if not adorable? Do the people there not deserve attention? Amit Shah has repeatedly sworn that Biren Singh was doing what needs to be done. Yes, Birenji remains a staunch defender of BJP-RSS ideology. For the ruling clique, national security and concern for weaker groups come after that. Manipur peace comes last.

What is Wrong, is Wrong

We may ask whether BJP-RSS has the power to change what is wrong into 'right' and what is non-ethical into ethical. Is that what Sanatana Dharma is about? For example, Arvind Kejriwal asked Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS chief, if bullying political opponents with the ED and CBI was ethical for the BJP Government. Do corrupt politicians who cross over to the BJP remain guilt-free? Should Modi not retire at 75, as Bhagwat had made it a rule for others? We have not heard an answer yet. Answerability is not in RSS tradition.

The other day, Adityanath Yogi was seen holding a gun. He was visiting a weapons exhibition, of course. But seeing a monk with an instrument of 'himsa' in his hand should have looked strange. Surprisingly, it was not with 103 encounter-killings reported from Yogi's UP during the last two years. Informed sources say, many times more.

When Akhilesh Yadav criticised him for bulldozing buildings belonging to the Muslims, Yogi countered, accusing him of Muslim appeasement. But is constant Muslim harassment the answer? In Lucknow's Akbernagar alone, 1,160 houses were flattened this year. Put together, some 4,46,254 structures have been demolished in different states. Arghya Sengupta opines that bulldozing speaks of a 'lawless government.'

What about Sanatana Dharma in this context? Is violence against the weak justifiable? Or has Dharma, in BJP's hands, become a political tool, which Udhayanidhi Stalin was criticising?

Inconsistency in Government Policy is Pouring into our Society

The Supreme Court says this form of bulldozer justice is against the Rule of Law, but it continues. We do not see the influence of Judicial views on Executive action. The other day, the Prime Minister chumming with Chief Justice Chandrachud at Ganesh Chaturthi shocked the nation. Is the judiciary's independence evident? Is its Constitutional power a protective hand for the weak or a supportive force for the Executive?

Akhilesh's retort to Adityanath Yogi was that if he won the election, all UP bulldozers would be made to target Yogi's Gorakhpur. Thus, Buddha's Gangetic Valley becomes a land of encounter killings and bulldozer justice!

Meanwhile, Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati comes to the Northeast preaching against cow slaughter, promising one lakh cow shelters in India, and wanting cows to be declared "Rashtramata." He was turned away from Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh, where beef is part of people's daily diet. He, like Yogiji, wants ageing cows to be tenderly cared for while human beings perish in police encounters!

Growing Distance from the Genuine Hindu Teachings

Sankardev, the religious reformer of Assam, brought the Hindus, Muslims and tribals closer together. But today's Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, is at an evident game of polarisation before the elections. Muslims are the target. Violence has grown. Congress alleges that there have been 533 cases of murders in Assam in 7 months and asks for the Chief Minister to resign. The Supreme Court has served a contempt notice to the Assam government for bulldozing houses at Kachutoli Pathar.

How do our hidden killings in India of the 'other community' differ from Netanyahu's killing of 41,000 Palestinians because they belong to 'another religious' persuasion? How do they differ from Putin's threats of nuclear retaliation?

We notice inconsistency in another area, too, when we hear of Ayodhya temple staff alleging repeated rape, even gang rape! Where are the BJP-RSS power-wielders and mind-shapers leading the nation?

There is something called an informed understanding of Hindu identity, culture, thought, and history, not merely a self-interested creation of the past by the BJP-RSS for political interests. When unconstitutional figures like Swamis and RSS men are allowed to exert too much influence on public life, a Manipur-like situation is likely to rise in more unexpected corners of India. Incoherences, illogicalities, and contradictions multiply.

The Prime Minister and Home Minister approach the Northeast with the same Hindutva assertions as Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati. It is no wonder they fail to understand the people of the region despite their tall talk about democracy, participation and recent achievements. They know that they will be hooted out. They know that their effigies are being burnt every other day.

The RSS continuously looks for trishuls and Shiva lingams in the Northeast, wanting to link up local places with Hindu Puranas and Ramayana tales...Mizo-ram is Ram's land, and the Khasi people are originally from Kashi! Recently, Hindu activists in Meghalaya demanded "rights" to worship a Shiva linga-like stone near Mawsynram!

Genuine Religion Moderates Desires, Disciplines Inclinations, Prompts Healthy Relationships

Mohan Bhagwat occasionally shows a measure of openness when he is able to move an inch out of the usual RSS exclusiveness. He said, "One who is generous is a Hindu regardless of religious beliefs," to be a Hindu means "to be the most generous person in the world." If he is serious about what he says, Mother Teresa was an eminent Hindu. Christian missionaries are Hindus, too, in the way he means it. Why this quarrel about 'conversions' then? If the RSS is willing to accept that definition of a Hindu, they must show that in the field. Mann ki Baat must become Kaam ki Baat as well. In Gandhiji's language, 'Ramarajya' amounts to the rule of Dharma, which is fairness to all.

Modiji himself, speaking at the UN assembly, sounded convincing, "Success of humanity lies in our collective strength, not on the battlefield". This message must come alive not only in Ukraine and Gaza but also in Kashmir and Manipur, among cow vigilantes and Arambai Tenggol. Yes, a conversation can be initiated in each context. Genuine religion means healthy relationships with everyone, even with Pakistan and China. Jaishankar claims that the Indo-China dialogue has been 75% successful. Yet far more progress has to be made.

Modiji once admitted to Obama that his mother's house was the size of the car they were sitting in. How modest! We Indians become hero-worshippers, sycophants, and boasters, suiting the occasion. But there is a certain amount of modesty at other levels and at other moments that impresses people, and a certain amount of "realism" makes the path to solutions easier and smoother.

There is moderation even in our dissent or protests. When last year, there was a string of public burnings of the Quran in Sweden, and we heard of 15,000 text messages from Iran calling for revenge. Some called the Swedes "demons." When recently a Hindu temple in Sacramento got vandalised, the Indian response was different. A tone of sufferance and tolerance may be considered passive, but it does not invite a counter-response. Less of a display has more convincing power. True religion disciplines inclinations, and it builds relationships. Indian "realism" smoothens out tortuous paths.

Avoid the Pakistanisation of India

What RSS-BJP High Command should do to hold up Indian-Hindu pride is not to Pakistanise India or Afghanistanise its sub-regions but tap its limitless resources of inner sturdiness as Gandhiji did. He respected people, communities and minorities and won their respect in return. So, put aside all fanaticism in Manipur and other sensitive areas for one's "one-sided ideology," and doors open to solutions.

Allow the indigenous civil society to take up issues. Let the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo people sort out their differences on their own. Let the state authority be placed in the hands of people who are knowledgeable and sensitive to the sensitivities of both groups. Solutions will emerge on their own. Peace will return. The present-day BJP-INDIA hostility itself can be turned to healthy competition and intelligent collaboration.

Prove true Mohan Bhagwat's statement that the 'Hindu is the most generous person in the world,' and you will prove true the general impression that Indians are the most "realistic" persons in the world. The future is yours…ours!