Organiser, the mouthpiece of the right wing Hindutva organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in an election related article on Manipur has called the Meiteis “Bishnupriya Hindus”
TFM Desk
In an article published by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) mouthpiece Organiser has exposed the pintsized knowledge of the author on the ethnic and religious demography of Manipur.
The piece written by one Nirendra Dev published on January 9 stated, “The valley is a stronghold of the Meitei population, mostly Bishnupriya Hindus. However, the saffron party has announced that it will contest all 60 seats and has set a target of 40 seats for itself. Besides NPF, NPP, led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, is also another ally of the BJP in the outgoing assembly.” (3rd paragraph)
https://www.organiser.org/india-news/cm-biren-singh-the-local-trump-card-of-bjp-in-manipur-10400.html (Accessed on January 10, 2022)
The baying statement has been made while acknowledging that N Biren Singh, the chief minister of Manipur, also has “an image of a ‘protector’ of Meitei interests”
The article, “CM Biren Singh: The local trump card of BJP in Manipur”, is apparently written in admiration of chief minister N Biren Singh and the performance of the BJP led government in the state.
Nirendra Dev heaped accolades on the chief minister and stated, “N Biren Singh, who joined BJP in 2016, has earned the reputation of being an accessible Chief Minister. Despite challenges in the last five years, his popularity and ‘good performance’ give BJP a major advantage in this year’s polls”.
Sensing some level of apprehension, the author also argues that elections in the Naga dominated areas of Ukhrul and neighbouring districts have generated “extra interest and excitement following certain developments in neighbouring Nagaland” without mentioning what actually happened to Oting village in Mon district of Nagaland on December 4 and 5, 2021. It then states that Ukhrul district in Manipur is inhabited by a sizable Naga population, especially Tangkhuls, whose community leader Thuingaleng Muivah is the powerful NSCN (I-M) general secretary and has been negotiating peace talks with the centre for the last few years now.
The article states that N Biren Singh’s popularity and ‘good performance’ despite challenges in the last five years have given BJP a major advantage in this year’s polls. It has listed the chief minister’s outreach programmes ‘Go to Hills’ and ‘Go to Village’ as “widely accepted and appreciate”d by the people in the “development-starved state”.
The piece also claimed that “The Prime Minister’s concept of ‘Double Engine’ is at its display in its best form” in Manipur.