The violent conflict that engulfed the tiny state of Manipur since May 3 has entered its eighty ninth day without the slightest hint or hope of scaling down anytime in the forseeable future. While reports of government agencies paint a rather positive picture of the conflict having reduced in intensity and frequency, the reality at the peripheries of the valley cannot be more different with heavily armed suspected Chin-Kuki Narco-Terrorists raining down bullets on the villagers around the peripheries of Imphal valley from atop well entrenched positions up in the hills without interruptions or interference save for limited retaliatory actions by village defence volunteers and state security forces aided by the central security forces in limited instances. And while the armed conflict has been continuing all these while, the horrible and bloody issue which has claimed more than a hundred lives and displaced almost a lakh more has become a rallying point for political parties across the country.
The state also witnessed various groups and representatives of various political parties and CSOs with affiliations and inclinations to various political parties visiting the troubled areas and interacting with the displaced people and addressing their views and experiences of their visit to the state. The all too familiar sequence of events of these visits have raised the rather uncomfortable yet vital question of their real intent and objective given the fact that these visits have so far failed to produce any significant result in bringing about a pragmatic solution to the present violent situation in the state. The latest in the increasing list of visitors was the group of 21-member multi-party delegation of MPs of the Opposition’s Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) that was in Manipur over the weekend to assess the situation in the strife-torn state, and as expected, expressed anguish over the pathetic condition of the relief camps with the mandatory denouncement of the handling of law and order situation as well as the inexplicable silence of the Prime Minister on the most burning issue in the country at present.
The unfortunate violent conflict in the state has become a convenient and visible rallying point to gain political mileage and with the next Indian general election expected to be held in India between April and May 2024 to elect the members of the 18th Lok Sabha, more visits and denouncements is expected, with expressions of sympathy and promises of submitting their resolutions and findings to the central government for necessary action thus effectively passing the buck while the tens of thousands of victims of the conflict continue to bear with the worsening conditions at these relief camps and the inability of the central as well as the state government to handle the situation effectively.
The growing concern for the people of the state is the fact that since the central and state government have failed to manage the present situation and instill a sense of security to its citizens despite almost three months of violence and the emerging evidences of the genesis as well as the agenda behind the present situation, the promises and shows of solidarity by the opposition will also be a convenient episode to be forgotten after the elections without a pragmatic and lasting solution to the issue which will otherwise threaten to erupt all over again in the future. To forget that the present crisis is one involving human lives and will take years and even generations to heal will eventually sow the seed for further mayhem and conflicts in other parts of the country.