The prolonged silence of our Prime Minister on the Manipur crisis reminds us of Napoleon Bonaparte who said “The world suffers a lot. Not because the violence of bad people. But because of the silence of the good people.”
By Ch Manjit Singh
Nine months of mayhem in Manipur and the consequent violence still continue to haunt the state’s citizens. The future holds the fear of spooky nightmare. The erstwhile serenity of the state has been left with permanent scar woven in the tapestry of state’s chronicle. Unfortunately, the wails and the cries of the crumbled and torn souls seem to reverberate only within the ranges of the hill-locked land and the eerie sounds have failed to cross the boundaries of the state. It has failed to reach the ears of the nation and an attempt for a solution is a distant dream. With allegations and counter-allegations being flung by the warring groups, questions are being posed every day, what have the authorities done to bail out the land from such a turmoil?
While Manipur is drowning in an abyss of its own blood, the only question being asked on everyone’s mind is when the ‘tornado’ that has swept the state will die down. The debris and destruction left by the storm has left us crippled beyond the reality. With embers being lit, sparks are flying, smoke is still bellowing, where do the people of Manipur go and seek for the ‘Oracle’ ? Should the people of Manipur practice for deep transcendental meditation to find an answer for the lost peace?
With questions and more questions bubbling with seemingly no certain answers, the only elixir that has been in constant search by the people of the state is only in the hands of none other than the Honourable Prime Minister. With days bygone, his continuous silence has left the people still puzzled and for whatsoever the reasons of the silence, the belief and faith on the Honourable Prime Minister by the people of Manipur is still on with the hope that sooner they will see the light of the day.
It is often said that silence is golden. However, the prolonged silence of honourable Prime Minister reminds us of Napoleon Bonaparte who said “The world suffers a lot. Not because the violence of bad people. But because of the silence of the good people.” To end the man-made calamity of the state, is it not required to break the silence of good people? And should the constitution of the republic be enforced to safeguard the rights and privileges of its own citizens?
Today, the reality portrays the story. The lives of the indigenous people are at stake in its own state, and on the verge to get buckled under the aggression of cross-border immigrants. Manipur is undergoing a development drifting back in time. The destruction caused by the violence has left the land at a standstill. With schools and other educational institutions remaining closed for months together, education has seen an unprecedented crisis and developmental work in the state has also received a serious dent. The fear of a socio-economic breakdown is lurking heavily in the near days to come.
With no solution at near sight, the days ahead are going to be dimmer. However, the people of Manipur continues to push the boundaries of hope for a constitutional solution to restore normalcy in the violence-ridden state. Perhaps, one fine day, we long to see the shrill echoes of the citizens in Manipur be heard beyond the boundaries of the hills of Manipur and awakened the good people in the nation and to prophecise a tunneling solution that will bring the conflict to its logical end and we find ourselves on the cusp of an exciting and transformative era of Manipur with the state as a hot topic in the “Chai Pe Charcha”.
(Ch Manjit Singh is a Software Architect at an MNC, Bangalore, Karnataka)