By Witoubou Newmai The multi ethnic fissure of Manipur, once again, is portentously ripe for eruption - a classic illustration of the Central Government’s partisan and cockeyed approach in dealing with the volatile situation in the state. For a month now, the three communities in Manipur—the Nagas, the Kukis and the Meiteis— have been juxtaposed in a situation where a slight spark could spiral into a catastrophic scenario. Regrettably, the Central Government, whose pertinent attention and intervention is imperative to defuse the situation, is still absent. When will the Central Government allow itself to make an effort to separate what is hypocrisy and what is not? Except to cut ribbons, not a single Union minister has shown urgency to visit Manipur so far to take stock of the situation. It is not an exaggeration to say that not a single day went by without a union minister’s presence down south at the height of the recent Cauvery water impasse. This nonchalant attitude also brings to the fore the sense of alienation and disenchantment among different sections of the people of in the region. The Central Government is not only skewing from its obligation but also fueling the alienation. The United Naga Council (UNC) has imposed the indefinite blockade on all goods trucks plying along Imphal-Dimapur route and Imphal-Silchar route connecting Manipur shortly after the Manipur government drew up a plan to declare Sadar Hills and Jiribam as full-fledged revenue districts. The stir has led to increase in prices of all essential commodities. Fitful transportation of consumer items under heavy security arrangements through Imphal-Jiribam highway has not been able to help solve the acute shortage of goods, including petroleum products, in a land-locked Manipur. The people have been caught up in between the issue and made to bear the brunt of the stalemate. It also resulted in counter blockade in the valley on the flow of goods to the hill districts, smothering all avenues to envision a way out of the unfolding affairs. Even at this level of danger, however, the Central Government is still displaying its insipid attitude. It has been New Delhi’s way to give undue emphasis to any insurgency related incident but neglect the wail of the distraught people. For seasoned observer as well an inhabitant of the region, the depressing precedence to hype over all the wrong reasons, is a perpetual norm. The despair and forlorn engulfing any of the places of the Northeast region never merits the Centre’s registration until the situation advanced into dire straits. Things have turned from bad to worse in Manipur. After the arrest of the UNC leaders, there is a marked intensification of economic blockade in the hills and counter blockade in the valley, threatening the trend to assume a dangerous communal tone. The Government of Manipur under the leadership of O Ibobi Singh seems to have exhausted its resources to tackle the situation. But the continued Central Government’s utter indifference to the grim scenario of Manipur is a major concern. The UNC has been saying that it cannot directly hold dialogue with the Manipur Government citing ‘severance of ties’ with the latter. The Central Government, knowing the position of the Manipur Government and the UNC, should invest meaningful and urgent intervention into the impasse.
