A two-month-old video from the northeastern state of Manipur where two women were seen being paraded naked by a mob has shaken the entire country. According to media reports, the women were told by the mob in Kangpokpi district to strip and later, one of them was gang-raped.
This was a barbaric incident. However, what's even more shocking was that despite the incident being reported two months ago and even FIRs having been registered, it took the video to go viral for the police to act and make arrests in the case. So far four people are confirmed to have been taken into custody and another arrest was reportedly made on Saturday morning.
It is hard to believe that the BJP-led state government, particularly chief minister N Biren Singh, was unaware of this barbaric incident. Was the state administration trying to hide the incident? His statements of "strict action" that came only after the video became viral don’t inspire confidence.
It has been more than 77 days since the ethnic violence broke out between Meiteis and Kuki-Zomis in the northeastern state of Manipur. People are being lynched or killed by militant groups; homes are being burnt; even religious places like churches and temples aren’t being spared. At least 150 people are dead and more than 50,000 have been displaced because of the ethnic violence.
But what is more surprising is that the state’s CM N Biren Singh is holding onto his post, despite the complete failure to control the law and order in Manipur, which is yet to return to normalcy even after 77 days of ethnic violence.
It is believed, Biren Singh doesn’t enjoy the support of the Kuki-Zomis. Even a large section of his own party MLAs, including Meiteis, is angry after his failure to anticipate and control this violence. Now, it is high time for him to quietly submit his resignation papers to the state governor Anusuiya Uikey — and that would be his last step toward the process of restoring normalcy in the northeastern state.
PM Narendra Modi’s Selective Statement More Disturbing
After remaining silent for more than 75 days, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally spoke on Manipur this week to express his anguish on the barbaric sexual assault of the women. He asked the state government to take tough action against the perpetrators.
This statement of Modi is welcome. Being the country’s most popular leader, his condemnation of this barbaric incident carries much weight. His condemnation indirectly is an indication to his own BJP government of the state, particularly to chief minister Biren Singh, to act swiftly without further delay.
Having said that, PM Modi's statement focusing only on the sexual assault of the Kuki women, without a word on the ethnic violence is very disturbing. It has been more than 75 days of the violence but Modi hasn’t spoken a single word on that. The people of the state — particularly the Meiteis and the Kuki-Zomis — are eagerly waiting for his statement on the violence in the state, which, unfortunately, has slipped into a dangerous circle. It is another thing that the people of the state are now gradually losing hope of an action by the Prime Minister due to his disturbing silence.
In this ethnic violence, the Kuki-Zomi tribes are not the only victims. Meiteis, too, are victims — and this shouldn’t be forgotten. Both Kukis and Meiteis have their own concerns. So, the concerns of both communities have to be addressed. Prime Minister Modi speaking only for the victims of the sexual assault is likely to cause discontent among the Meiteis — who, too, are anguished at the barbaric incident. One shouldn’t forget that they, too, have lost their homes and near and dear ones in the horrific fire of violence.
The monsoon session of Parliament has started and it would be better if the Prime Minister speaks on the ethnic violence to address the concerns of Meiteis, Kukis, and Nagas. He should also highlight the ongoing efforts by the Centre to restore normalcy in the northeastern state.
Delimitation Drive Revives Demand For Separate Ahomland In Assam
The delimitation draft prepared by the Election Commission to freshly demarcate the boundaries of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam has now revived the old demand for an 'Ahomland' in Assam. The proposed state comprises the areas of upper, central, and northern parts of the state.
This demand is an old one that had lost its relevance after the start of the Assam agitation. However, the delimitation draft has revived this old statehood demand. The organisation at the forefront of the demand for 'Ahomland' is the Tai Ahom Yuba Parishad. One of the major reasons is that the proposed draft reduces the assembly seats dominated by the Tai Ahom community from 9 to 3. This is completely in contrast with the claims of the BJP, particularly chief minister Himata Biswa Sarma, that the delimitation draft is beneficial for the indigenous communities of the state. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the narrative that the BJP wants to weave is that it stands with the indigenous communities. This statehood demand challenges the narrative of the saffron party.
Another reason is that Tai-Ahoms are yet to be granted the Scheduled Tribe status along with Adivasi, Koch Rajvanshis, Morans, Mataks, and Chutias. According to reports, then BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in his election speech during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections had promised to grant ST status to these six communities. That promise hasn’t been fulfilled by the BJP.
The statehood demand of Ahomland arises as the Ahom Tais feel that their interests aren’t safe in the state. This feeling of alienation by the community indicates that the state government has more work to do. After all, it is the duty of the state government to address the concerns of the Tai-Ahoms before this feeling of alienation results in a strong statehood movement creating problems for the state government and the state.
The author is a political commentator.
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