Witoubou Newmai There is not an iota of doubt that the Ibobi Singh government is exploiting the situation to full political advantage. To many, it appears to be poor handling of the situation by the Manipur State Government. When selective attacks on plying vehicles in Imphal valley could go on for a considerable length of time amidst wails from victims, and perpetrators continued to burn vehicles in a zone where Section 144 CrPC had been promulgated (barring the gathering of more than five persons), the role of the Ibobi Singh government needs to be questioned. On that fateful day of December 18 morning, hundreds, if not thousands, of stone and stick wielding people attacked a convoy of vehicles heading for Ukhrul and Kamjong districts carrying home bound students and others in Imphal East district without the needed resistance from security forces. Videos on social media show perpetrators snatching the belongings of the victims to make bonfires from them. When such cruelties could happen in the state capital, the zone supposed to be under prohibitory order, how does one define that government; only mindful of security of commodities, ignoring the security of human lives? It has become extremely important to raise doubts on the integrity of the Ibobi Singh government to understand why it continues to be indifferent to the communally charged situation. In the choice between political advantage and the security of citizens, the Ibobi Singh government veered toward the former, reinforcing old memories of a Manipur filled with episodes of ethnic clashes. If FIRs can be filed against the leaders of the United Naga Council (UNC) for protesting against the government, what measures has the Ibobi Singh government taken on those people attacking innocent people on that fateful day in Imphal East district? For a government that is only interested to count the number of stray incidents in the Naga areas but calculatedly turns a blind eye on those sporadic incidents in the valley on the hills bound vehicles, more than a ‘communal’ tag is justified, which has been attached to it by Naga organizations in Manipur. Such attitude of the Manipur government has dispelled chances of sitting down to understand issues together. Equally to be blamed is the Central Government. Time and again this column has been saying that the Central Government’s partisan and cock-eyed approach in dealing with the volatile situation in Manipur State is to be questioned. For almost two months now, the three communities in Manipur—Nagas, Kukis and Meiteis— have been juxtaposed in an extremely dangerous situation. Regrettably, the Central Government, whose pertinent attention and intervention is imperative to diffuse the situation, is still absent. When will the Central Government 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.
