By Barnes Mawrie
The violence in Manipur state is going on unabated and crimes are being reported daily. It is very heart-rending to listen to the pathetic stories of individuals and families who are victims of this ethnic clash. Even the women are not spared and we have witnessed such appalling and inhuman crimes against them. It is sad to say that this ethnic conflict has touched the deep ethos of both communities. It will remain in the historical consciousness of generations to come. As a tribal myself, I empathize with my fellow tribal victims and as a fellow Northeasterner I feel ashamed that such inhuman crimes are being perpetrated in our beloved region.
The heinous crimes committed are not easy to be forgiven or forgotten. I am afraid that the seed of enmity or mistrust to say the least, has been sown in these communities. The question now is how do we bring the two communities to the table of reconciliation. There are already some attempts by NGOs and church organizations to address this issue, but I believe that such a deep wound cannot be healed by outsiders, although they be church bodies and well-intended. In my humble opinion, reconciliation can only be done by leaders of both respective communities. Such leaders must not be those who have fallen in grace like the present Chief Minister Shri Biren Singh whose sincerity is in great doubt. He can never be the negotiating voice of his community as he is perceived as a perpetrator of the present crisis. I doubt whether the Prime Minister himself will be able to bring solution to this impasse as he is also implicated in this by his resounding silence. Therefore, to do this task we need leaders from within these communities who are of great integrity (both secular and religious) well respected and accepted by all the members of the communities. They are the ones who will carry the voice and sentiments of their communities. Only such leaders can quell the flame of hatred so conspicuous in both communities.
In such conflicts, as they say “healing can only take place from within and not from without.” Leaders from both affected communities should come together to smoke the pipe of peace. First of all, there is need for sincerity and honesty when coming to the dialogue. A great sense of humility is necessary so as to accept one’s own community’s fault and beg forgiveness from each other. Any arrogance or self-righteous attitude will only end in a fruitless dialogue. What the central government authorities and the other NGOs can do is only to facilitate the process of dialogue. In this regard, the socio-cultural as well as religious leaders from both communities would do a better job than their political leaders.
This conflict has to end by all means and both communities cannot afford to allow this enmity to go on indefinitely. Too many innocent lives have been lost; too many people have suffered and too much property has been destroyed. Above all, peace and harmony have been sacrificed for nothing absolutely. Soul searching for both communities is very much needed here. They should ask themselves – what have we gained from all this violence? Once again, I would reiterate that coming to the table of reconciliation is an urgent need and this responsibility lies with the true leaders of both communities. We members of other tribal communities of this region, only hope and pray that good sense prevails and soon we would see both the Meiteis and the Kukis shaking hands with each other and living once again like brothers and sisters.
A word of caution to all our tribal brothers and sisters of Northeast India – beware of hostile elements both within and without who are trying to sow the seed of hatred and division among our people. Let us nip them in the bud lest we suffer the same fate as Manipur does today. Let me end with the quote of Nelson Mandela who says “in the end reconciliation is a spiritual process which requires more than just a legal framework. It has to happen in the hearts and minds of people.”