IT News
Imphal, Apr 24:
Protecting one’s own identity will not hinder the development of other ethnic nationalities or communities; this will not even affect neighboring community. This was stated by the Chairman of proscribed group Kanglei Yawol Kanna Kup (KYKL) while greeting the people on occasion of the 29th raising day of the armed rebel group.
In his greeting the Chairman of the rebel group KYKL, N. Oken critically examine making an effort for better understanding the stage of revolutionary movement in Manipur.
N. Oken said that revolutionary movement in WESEA is in a state of existential crisis and deep sinking today. Majority of ethno-national groups in the region that used to fight for freedom have committed to peace talks with colonial rulers, thereby giving up their long-lasting fight. Besides, there are a few revolutionary organizations waiting in line to join these groups who have already given up on the national armed liberation struggle.
The rebel leader said that a more peculiar trend taking place currently in Kangleipak is the split of an organization to further the goals of a few individuals who want to make it an organization that has ditched revolutionary politics. They are also planning to inflict physical and mental trauma on those organizations that refuse to give up on the real revolutionary movement. Currently, many middle-aged revolutionary leaders who have faced many ups and downs in the revolutionary movement over the past two to three decades within an organization, but have not yet given up on the revolutionary movement, find themselves in the dilemma of choosing whether to leave the party or continue to shoulder on the movement like those who had already declared themselves defeated before they became truly defeated in the battle.
“Although we have often boasted that we have a written history dating back more than 2000 years, in reality we have always done things that threatened to destroy our identity. Our words and actions are in direct contradiction to each other. The Kanglei society begins to live a life more focused on the pursuit of personal interests than the advancement of collective social existence. We have lost sight of people and society. Rather than putting effort into productive activities, people do believe more in collecting interest and rent-seeking. It is almost as if parents are appearing for their children’s academic examinations rather than shaping their children into morally upright individuals who understand justice and are well-versed in social ideals. As a matter of fact, it amounts to injecting the virus of corruption into the very core of our young minds. Nobody acknowledges the value of morality and acting morally in all aspects of life.
“There is no doubt that corruption has become the basis of our culture. Ours is a society without established standards for what is right and wrong. Typically, people believe anything is right if it serves their own personal interests, which is not human. Nobody cares what should be done or shouldn’t be done; if we continue to live the way we do today, our society will not survive. The dog-eat-dog mentality has taken over our society. Therefore, everyone in society suspects everyone, and no one trusts anyone. People who live in such a society are unable to cooperate or unite; it is a collapsing society. As documented in history, such a situation has historically led to the demise of several societies; we are heading towards the same fate today. As a society, we are no longer acting as ‘subjects’ who behave like fully human beings, equipped with high agency, and who can hold their own responsibility and realize their wills. Rather, we have been reduced to ‘objects,’ people who have limited agency and are manipulated by ‘Mayangs’ at their whims, unable to put their dreams into reality.
“The poisonous tree that they planted 74 years ago has grown tall and mature over the years. The idea that we can survive as a people by converting into ‘Mayang’ cannot mean ‘let’s survive’, rather it means ‘let’s become extinct sooner’. The real existence of a society involves resistance against the domination of others on the one hand and self-empowerment on the other hand.
“In the democratic world order, a great number of past events have shown that if a group of people resist, they do not end up becoming extinct. Getting rid of the sense of inferiority complex is the first step to resisting colonial dominance. The idea that we cannot exist as a people without joining Mayang people’s neo-fascist organizations may be called as imposter syndrome”, Oken said and added that the rational of our people and Wesean leaders at the present is similar to saying “There is no future for us, the conflict between Mayangs and Us is no more, there is no need to resist them, our history is ended”.
He said that protecting one’s own identity will not hinder the development of other ethnic nationalities or communities; this will not even affect neighboring community. It would only benefit the particular community. There is a correlation between protection of identity and economic development of the communities. In a society with strong sense of identity, the self of an individual integrates with the collective self of the society. Without protection of identity, it will be hard to unite members of society; if not united we lose our strength. If there is no strength and unity, there will be no resultant economic development. Even the bare minimum of subsistence cannot be obtained without the protection of identity. If a society cannot protect its identity, they will not have core resolve/ value. Due to lack of this value and strength, they will eventually be marginalized; and the marginalized society is on its way to extinction.
