Dear Editor,
Congratulations for publishing the brilliant article entitled “What is the Trouble and who is the Troublemaker in Manipur?” It has done much to shine a brilliant light to uncover the truth behind the fog of lies that appear in the mainstream media as well as on many social media channels.
As you said, what is happening in Manipur for almost two months now is by no means a riot in which masses of people have spontaneously resorted to violence. Not only the armed forces that are deployed in every part of Manipur, but even the police are equipped and trained to bring the situation under control in minutes. Instead, the violence that occurred happened while the police just looked on. It is well known that police have to obey orders as do the armed forces. So allowing the violence to occur was evidently the plan of the highest authorities!
This is not the first time that such a thing has happened in India. As your article reminds us, the Congress in 1984 and the BJP in 2002 organised and enabled the genocide and labelled it as communal violence. So indeed, “The use of the term “riots” is a deliberate attempt to blame ordinary people for crimes which the ruling class, its politicians and political parties have committed.”
It is pertinent to note as you have done, that people of all communities have been living peacefully together for centuries and have unitedly fought for their rights. Those in power deliberately whip up passions in order to divide the people and rule over them. However, as is always the case, ordinary people in Manipur too, saved those of other communities even by endangering their own lives.
What is most heartening is that “there are several districts which have remained peaceful, such as the areas where Naga people’s organisations have mass support.” If people’s organisations, with their meagre resources, could keep their areas peaceful, it makes the case against Central and Manipur governments even stronger.
What lies behind the violence in Manipur, is indeed the rule of the capitalist class. This class is numerically insignificant and “Divide and Rule” is one of its standard methods to stay in power.
Thank you for shedding light on the situation in the North East in general and Manipur in particular. Over the decades there have been powerful struggles against the notorious AFSPA, and you have highlighted them. As you have pointed out, the real aim of unleashing this violence is to create a pretext for the continuation of army rule and AFSPA. This is necessary for the ruling class in order to implement its plan to build road and rail routes from India to the countries of South East Asia, which will go through Manipur and Myanmar as a part of its look East policy.
While the people of Manipur have to strengthen their unity and their common struggle in defence of the rights of all, we who reside in the rest of the country should not be taken in by the false propaganda of the ruling class. We should express our support for the Manipuri people and their struggle for rights. Their struggle is a part of our common struggle to carry out a radical transformation of the political system to ensure that sovereignty is vested in the people. We the people should have the right to frame policies and laws and to hold our representatives accountable. We should reorient the economy to fulfil our needs and not capitalist greed, as is the case today.
Sangeeta,
Mumbai