By – Amar Yumnam
Before I start on anything, I would like all the readers of three main perspectives on Manipur, and for that matter, the entire South East Asian part of India. First Manipur is not considered a part of “mainstream”; but only a sidestream or lowstream. Second, it is not a Major State, but only an ignorable Minor. Third, the Chinese-looking people should never be taken as part of the core but to be kept at a distance under sustained watch.
Recently three things have happened. First, the High Court ordered postponement of the conduct of Census in Manipur in the present circumstances. Second, compelling circumstances made the Mainstream Government to postpone Census. Third, it has been announced in the Legislative Assembly of the Minor State that citizenship of certain areas would be confirmed with 1951 National Register of Citizens as the basis. These happenings cannot be without a foundation and the imperative to explore some truths. We need to emphasise that justice and morality should be the process characteristics while establishing the truth. The present endeavour has to satisfy two characters: i. One negative character that it cannot be conducted like the highly haphazard way of SIR of Electoral Rolls; the governing framework here is not how to exclude but to identify the reality; ii. It should be treated as an issue of India and not an exclusive one for Manipur.
The reality in Manipur today is that the State Government is as good as non-existent while there is no trust on the government of the and by the mainstream. These make me to recall David Hume, the Truth Commissions literature and Kaushik Basu, the former Chief Economist of the World Bank. Hume wrote in his Political Essays on the first principles of government: “NOTHING appears more surprizing to those, who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the easiness with which the many are governed by the few; and the implicit submission, with which men resign their own sentiments and passions to those of their rulers. When we enquire by what means this wonder is effected, we shall find, that, as FORCE is always on the side of the governed, the governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore, on opinion only that government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments, as well as to the most free and most popular.” He also put forth that “Opinion is of two kinds, to wit, opinion of INTEREST, and opinion of RIGHT.” The Manipur case is one where both are present within the government and the public. Within a very short period of three years, Manipur has faced still unresolved events of “Remembering is not easy, but forgetting may be impossible” to put it in the words of Priscilla Hayner – one of the most experienced scholars working with Truth Commissions in her book ‘Unspeakable Truths: Transitional Justice and the Challenge of Truth Commissions.’ As Mark Freeman puts in discussing truth commissions, Manipur is in urgent need of a Truth Commission to identify the Transitional Justice possessing mechanisms of Trials, Fact Finding Bodies, Reparations and Justice Reforms for evolving, as Rawls emphasises, a functional state performing with justice. Hayner defines Truth Commission thus: “A truth commission (1) is focused on past, rather than ongoing, events;(2) investigates a pattern of events that took place over a period of time;(3) engages directly and broadly with the affected population, gathering information on their experiences; (4) is a temporary body, with the aim of concluding with a final report; and (5) is officially authorized or empowered by the state under review.” The commission for Manipur should be led by a Retired Judge of the Supreme Court or Retired Chief Justice of a High Court with at least two, preferably four Experts from the Social Sciences. While ideas should emerge from the academic institutions, the universities are in a bad shape. There is nothing to be expected from the DM University whose VC has more of Clerical Experience than Academic, while the Manipur University has sunk.
Let me end positively with Kaushik Basu of the ‘Reason to Be Happy’: “We have one advantage the dinosaurs did not have – the ability to introspect, analyse and change. Therein lies hope, the hope of reason and collective action, not just to weather the storm, but to come out of it better, creating a world that is more equitable, with prosperity shared across regions and across generations. For that reason, we must not give in to the urge to pull down the shutters. We have to remind ourselves that even the darkest of winter nights has a radiance. Given the recent trajectory of history, if we do nothing, there is a lot to lose. On the other hand, if we use our reason, rise and reform, we have a world to win.”