Editorials

Manipur: Intensify struggle against central and state governments

It has taken 65 days or more to wake up the UPA government from its pretended slumber and to announce that the first convoy with food, medicine and other essential materials shall be send to Manipur with para-military escort on 19th June. During these days, following the blockade of NH 39 by students led by Naga political groups the prices of all essential commodities had gone up  almost ten times. As a result people had starved and the patients were dying in hospitals. But the central government which has a Constitutional obligation to Manipuri people to supply all essential commodities at normal prices under the annexation document of 1948 and under the general principles defining centre- state relations totally failed to safe guard these responsibilities. Only when the Nagaland based student groups lifted their siege on the crucial road link the central government come forward to send the convoy. The whole episode exposes the inhuman, barbarous attitude of the UPA government which did not bother for such a long period when the Manipuri people were subjected to such miseries. This reactionary, anti people attitude is part of the divide and control, together with the suppress and control policies pursued for six decades in the whole Northeast. It should be severely condemned by all progressive and democratic forces.   
As pointed out by all progressive forces repeatedly, the seven states in Northeast are practically converted into killing fields for the armed forces from the time the Nehru government dispatched the army in 1948 to suppress the Naga peoples struggle for the right of self determination. Manipur was annexed and made part of Indian union denying the right of autonomy to the people. The armed forces along with the Para-military forces continued to impose reign of terror with the aid of armed forces special powers act (AFSPA) like black acts. When it alienated more sections of people and when resistance struggle of Mizos and other peoples became stronger, further repressive measures were imposed. The failure to handle the problems created by the large scale migration of people from Bangladesh to Assam before and following the 1971 revolt led to insurgency there. To all these problems in the complex situation in the North east the consecutive government at centre and the state governments under a multitude of political parties representing ruling class, regional chauvinist interests had only one answer: suppress the peoples aspirations, divide them to control but always refuse to resolve them politically involving the people of North east. Instead of pursuing a holistic approach, these governments tried for piecemeal solutions making the problems more serious than ever.
Meanwhile the vested interests of the bureaucracy, the armed forced, the Para-military and ruling political class in the region became more and more heinous and reactionary. Along with the contractor’s, mafias and wholesale merchants the region became a fiefdom for their plunder for amassing quick riches and for ruthless exploitation of all sections of people, especially women. All of them are united in preventing a political solution to the problems in the region with a holistic approach. As a result the vast mass of people in the region is the most exploited and oppressed. All the vested interests had created a condition which prevents any democratic space in the region.
It was in this situation, sections among the peoples of this region either continued the insurgency started against the deployment of armed forces by the Nehru government or launched new insurgent groups. As most of these groups have only the slogan of right of self determination, as they could not link their struggles with anti imperialist, anti state struggles the agents of Indian state including RAW and various other intelligence services, the armed forces and various imperialist agencies including NGOs could infiltrate them and corrupt them. Almost all of them are reduced to representing various tribal, sub tribal interests, compromising with the regional parties in power or with the so called national parties like Congress. The degeneration of CPI and CPI(M) which had considerable influence in this region once and still have influence in Tripura, Manipur and parts of Assam to ruling class positions, playing second fiddle to the army and paramilitary forces which are imposing a reign of terror have also contributed towards degeneration of the situation there. Even some of the ‘Naxalite’ groups which had some influence in few pockets also could not contributed in a positive way to improve the situation due to their own distorted approach towards the nationality or sub-nationality questions at a time when all there issues have submerged and new contradictions have come up under neo colonization. The entry of RSS Parivar in a big way to the region especially from 1970s has further aggravated the situation as it has communalized the already complex situation. As a result it has become easier for the consecutive central governments to perpetuate this anti people, anti democratic situation utilizing all these well entrenched vested interests to divide and control the people.
It is in this background the feud between Nagaland and Manipur governments leading to economic blockade of Manipur and the pernicious role of the central government and its various agencies including the army in it should be seen. On the one hand Nagaland state government and the NSCN factions are utilizing the Nagalim or greater Nagaland question to cover up their failure to solve the problems of the masses of Naga people by whipping up chauvinist feelings. Muivah’s visit to his village in Manipur was planned for it. On the other hand the Manipur government which has made life miserable for the vast masses of Meiteis as well as the tribal people due to its corrupt and reactionary policies, have whipped up chauvinist feelings against Muivah’s visit and by initiating the holding of autonomous district councils (ADC) elections after enacting a law cutting down the authority of tribal villages. Even after knowing the nefarious games of both these state governments, the central government by first allowing Muivah’s visit to his village and then acting against it played its own long standing dirty game of divide and control. All these three parties are responsible for the creation of the situation which led to the blockade of NH-39 and NH 59 by Naga student factions and the consequent miseries to the Manipuri people.
The bulk of the peasantry, workers and other exploited sections of Manipur as well as their counterparts in Nagaland have nothing to gain from either Muivah visiting his ancestral village or not. Promoting the visit as well as calling for Nagalim are communal and chauvinist steps. Similarly the act of chauvinist government of Manipur was also communal and against the interests of creating amity between Naga and Manipur peoples. By their actions, conspiratorially supported by the central government has created unprecedented miseries to Manipuri people. It has benefitted only the hoarders, black marketers and other vested interests who have earned enormously by looting the people. The blockade of NH-39 and NH 59 by sections of Naga student groups has only helped the anti people central government to continue its policy of military occupation of North east utilizing AFSPA like black laws. So Naga people also have not benefitted from this siege in any way.
The people of north east in this situation should join hands against the divisive policies of the central government which create situations like the economic blockade of Manipur and struggle to throw out the army, paramilitary forces and all black laws from the region. They should raise their voice for a political solution to the problems of North east by fighting against entrenched vested interests who enrich themselves from peoples miseries.
For the people of Manipur what happened is a bitter lesion about the arch reactionary character of the central government which remained a silent spectator all through these weeks when they were starving and about the state government. They should get united and intensify their struggles against the central government which refusely to take steps to end the ‘blockade’ early and to fulfill its Constitutional duty, about which it always talk a lot of rubbish on all other occasions, and against the anti people state government.