The chairman of the banned Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup, KYKL, N. Oken, on the occasion of the organisation’s 29th raising day on April 25, extend the party’s revolutionary greetings to all revolutionary organizations and people, as well as CSOs, public leaders, public intellectuals and the media fraternity in the Western South East Asia, WESEA region and Kangleipak.
In a statement released today the KYKL chairman said he was sharing few thoughts before the masses so that the same thoughts can be critically examined in an effort to better understand the stage of revolutionary movement in Manipur.
The KYKL chairman’s statement said “currently, revolutionary movement in WESEA is in a state of existential crisis and deep sinking. Majority of ethno-national groups in the region that used to fight for freedom have committed to peace talks with colonial rulers, thereby giving up their long-lasting fight”.
The statement also added in consternation that there are also “a few revolutionary organizations waiting in line to join these groups who have already given up on the national armed liberation struggle”.
In particular, the statement said “a more peculiar trend taking place currently in Kangleipak is the split of an organization to further the goals of a few individuals who want to make it an organization that has ditched revolutionary politics. They are also planning to inflict physical and mental trauma on those organizations that refuse to give up on the real revolutionary movement”.
The KYKL chairman’s statement further said “Currently, many middle-aged revolutionary leaders who have faced many ups and downs in the revolutionary movement over the past two to three decades within an organization, but have not yet given up on the revolutionary movement, find themselves in the dilemma of choosing whether to leave the party or continue to shoulder on the movement like those who had already declared themselves defeated before they became truly defeated in the battle”.
It further said “Similar to the phenomenon observed in revolutionary organizations, where revolutionary cadres thought they were defeated internally in their minds and psychology, prior to actual defeat on the battlefield, the majority of political elites and masses in society appear to have been encircled by an internalized sense of self-defeatism prior to actual defeat, believing that one’s society cannot exist without being part of Delhi sponsored neo-fascist organizations”.
The statement continued that “Although we have often boasted that we have a written history dating back more than 2000 years, in reality we have always done things that threatened to destroy our identity. Our words and actions are in direct contradiction to each other”.
The KYKL leader also said “the Kanglei society begins to live a life more focused on the pursuit of personal interests than the advancement of collective social existence. We have lost sight of people and society. Rather than putting effort into productive activities, people do believe more in collecting interest and rent-seeking. It is almost as if parents are appearing for their children’s academic examinations rather than shaping their children into morally upright individuals who understand justice and are well-versed in social ideals”.
“As a matter of fact, it amounts to injecting the virus of corruption into the very core of our young minds. Nobody acknowledges the value of morality and acting morally in all aspects of
life. There is no doubt that corruption has become the basis of our culture. Ours is a society without established standards for what is right and wrong” it added.
“Typically, people believe anything is right if it serves their own personal interests, which is not human. Nobody cares what should be done or shouldn’t be done; if we continue to live the way we do today, our society will not survive. The dog-eat-dog mentality has taken over our society. Therefore, everyone in society suspects everyone, and no one trusts anyone. People who live in such a society are unable to cooperate or unite; it is a collapsing society. As documented in history, such a situation has historically led to the demise of several societies; we are heading towards the same fate today” the KYKL leader lamented.
He said “as a society, we are no longer acting as ‘subjects’ who behave like fully human beings, equipped with high agency, and who can hold their own responsibility and realize their wills. Rather, we have been reduced to ‘objects,’ people who have limited agency and are manipulated by ‘outsiders’ at their whims, unable to put their dreams into reality”.
He also expressed his fear for the society saying: “Unless people intervene, a society like this will become extinct; it is only a matter of time. This is mainly due to Indian colonial economic policy, where colonial rulers planned to destroy our economic base rather than build it. Their economic policy aims to take away every means of production from us and to make the people entirely dependent on Delhi’s economic doles. The poisonous tree that they planted 74 years ago has grown tall and mature over the years”.
“The idea that we can survive as a people by converting into ‘Mayang’ cannot mean ‘let’s survive’, rather it means ‘let’s become extinct sooner’. The real existence of a society involves resistance against the domination of others on the one hand and self-empowerment on the other hand. In the democratic world order, a great number of past events have shown that if a group of people resist, they do not end up becoming extinct” the KYKL leader’s message further said.
He said the important thing is first to get rid of the sense of inferiority complex and to resist colonial dominance. The idea that Manipur and its people cannot exist as a people without joining India’s neo-fascist organizations may be called as imposter syndrome, he added. “In other words, it is what is referred to as internalization of oppression” the message explained.
The message said “there is a trend where they are becoming less human; they no longer see themselves as humans; this is a sign and symptom of self-dehumanization. Or to put it another way, it is the same as giving up on history and on being human being. It is obvious that a society that is resisting colonial dominance would get brighter and more dazzling with time. As the Kanglei adage goes ‘Icha khomdon meiroubi, chetna yaallu’, revolutionaries must not give up on the revolutionary movement and be steadfast in the fight by remembering the adage”.
It said rationale of “our people and WESEAN leaders at the present is similar to saying ‘There is no future for us, the conflict between Mayangs and Us is no more, there is no need to resist them, our history is ended”.
The message further said: “As a matter of fact, it is incompatible with basic human nature. In order for generations to come, we must let history move forward. Like our forefathers sacrificed their lives so that Kanglei history could be protected, we should not conspire to put an end to our history today”.
It also said “There are a number of resistance movements still going on in the world today. The movement of Khalistan, which was believed to have withered away 30 years ago, has appeared all over again in recent times. The resistance movement in Catalonia is far from over. It is true that movements in Palestine have transformed but it is still alive. Movement in Scotland is also not extinct. In Quebec, the resistance movement is still going strong and continues to flow its course. The ember of Basque resistance movement still continues. Their movements are still on and that is why they are able to protect their identities” it added.
The message further said: “Protecting one’s own identity will not hinder the development of other ethnic nationalities or communities; this will not even affect neighboring community. It would only benefit the particular community. There is a correlation between protection of identity and economic development of the communities. In a society with strong sense of identity, the self of an individual integrates with the collective self of the society. Without protection of identity, it will be hard to unite members of society; if not united we lose our strength. If there is no strength and unity, there will be no resultant economic development. Even the bare minimum of subsistence cannot be obtained without the protection of identity. If a society cannot protect its identity, they will not have core resolve/ value. Due to lack of this value and strength, they will eventually be marginalized; and the marginalized society is on its way to extinction”.
