The pathetically insensitive episode of a contingent of Mahar Regiment near Gwaltabi 26 km from Imphal stopping and forcing the word “Manipur” to be hidden on the banner of a Manipur State Transport bus ferrying journalists from Imphal to Ukhrul will leave a bad taste in the mouth for a long time to come in the state. The journalists, including those of the state Department of Information and Public Relations, DIPR, were on their way to cover the opening ceremony of the Annual Shirui Lily Festival by the Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla on May 20. Quite obviously, the troopers were not doing what they did of their own accord, and were following orders from the chairman of the unified command constituted by the government not long after the current ethnic feud between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo group of tribes broke out two years ago on May 3, 2023.
This distasteful and thoughtless action has now spiralled into another full-blown crisis. The journalists travelling in the bus decided not to take the insult and chose not to travel any further and instead returned to their bases on foot till they found another vehicle to hire. Back in Imphal, the journalist fraternity too decided not to take the insult lying down, and the All Manipur Working Journalists Union, AMWJU, and the Editors’ Guild Manipur, EGM, submitted a protest memorandum to the Governor, who is currently the head of the administration as the state is under President’s Rule, seeking an inquiry into the incident and to award suitable punishment to whoever in the administration is found guilty of giving such an order. They also declared a one-day pen down strike and to not cover government related promotional events till the matter is resolved satisfactorily. Civil society organisations also condemned the atrocious event, and one among them, COCOMI, went a step further to call for a 48-hour bandh which crippled the valley districts for those two days. It remains uncertain what else will follow, although in the meantime, the government has instituted an administrative enquiry to identify who or why the atrocious incident was allowed to happen. We do hope the inquiry will be able to do justice and put the matter to rest to the satisfaction of all.
It is quite possible that the order to have the word “Manipur” hidden from the bus had no mala fide intentions. Indications are, there were negotiations with Kukis and that the order was meant as a face-saving device for the Kukis to withdraw quietly from their earlier posturing and threats of not allowing Meiteis to transit the foothill belt where Kuki villages are located, to visit the Shirui Lily Festival at Shirui village. It was in this sense meant as an honourable exit route for Kukis from the entangle. But the way this understanding was executed was where the unforgivable blunder was. The modus operandi should have been for all these negotiated settlements to be put into effect quietly, covertly and without fanfare. As for instance, by inter-departmental communications and understanding, private vehicles could have been hired and used for these transportations, not out of any fear, but with an interest of not causing any disturbances which can disrupt the peace negotiations and initiatives which are underway.
But this caution was apparently thrown into the wind, and the government obviously issued an order to disallow Manipur State Transport vehicles with its trade mark prominently displayed without any instruction on how this order was to be executed. Hence, this order, by the time it reached the soldiers on the ground came to be translated into simple and raw action, therefore extremely provocative, especially in the sensitive environment the state is in today. Even if the original order was issued perfectly in good faith, devoid of any mala fide intent against the interest of Manipur, the extremely vulgar and shocking optics its execution ended up generating, is what is at the core of the current expected and justified public outrage.
The remedial action ahead should be obvious to everybody. It must be about complete transparency on the matter, explaining what the intent was and what went wrong, and who caused this wrong to happen wilfully or otherwise. Such a response should pave the way for a defusing the crisis. The inquiry instituted to look into this matter should come out with the whole truth and then according to the gravity of the flaws committed by any government officials regardless of hierarchy, award proportionate penalties. This should further lighten the public anxiety and tension.
What needs to be also remembered is, in any genuine initiative to settle disputes and conflicts, the idea of giving all parties in the conflict honourable exits from their earlier untenable postures is important. As in the case of the possible honourable exit meant for the Kukis from their earlier blockade posture during the Shirui Lily Festival, in the quest for a settlement to the current entangle over the government’s miscalculated and insensitive order too, this idea of honourable exit will be equally important. If pushed too far with an intent to corner and humiliate, and with no provision for any honourable exit, those who are thus cornered will be compelled to turn around and take a counter aggressive posture. This will only add another dimension to the already devastating conflict. This is a universal truth. Even a harmless cornered kitten if pushed to the wall and cornered, can get extremely aggressive and dangerous – a fact most will be familiar with.
Editor, Imphal Review of Arts and Politics and author
