Questions doing the round The indifference continues

Over 18 months and while Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not failed to globe trot and propagate the message of global peace and understanding, Manipur continues to burn. Not once has the Prime Minister deemed it fit to visit the trouble torn State, perhaps satisfied with the line that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has been tasked with monitoring the situation and Chief Minister N Biren falling in line with the de- claration that he is closely in touch with the Home Minister. The stand of the Chief Minister is fine, one may say, but the question of bigger import is whether the BJP Ministers and MLAs and members of the State BJP are comfortable with the thought that the ethnic violence has been allowed to drag on for too long with Delhi just looking. Mark the italicised word allowed and this is the general perceptions felt by the common people, the folks out on the streets earning  their day’s income, the very set of people who will decide who gets to be sent to the seat of power when their time comes. This is the beauty of democracy and in as much as the Chief Minister has been more than willing to not question the seeming indifference of the Prime Minister, one wonders whether this is shared by the BJP MLAs and BJP Ministers. The Naga People’s Front, an important ally of the BJP led Government has so far not raised any question that could perhaps land the BJP in an uncomfortable position, but the other partner, the NPP has already raised the question of whether it would be politically prudent to continue supping with the BJP or not. This is the reality at the moment, but the more interesting question would be to study how the BJP Ministers and BJP MLAs have taken to the reality, a reality which has not missed the ears and eyes of the public. And this is something which was demonstrated so very clearly in the Lok Sabha elections held in the earlier part of the year when the BJP candidate faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Congress candidate in the Inner Parliamentary Constituency and the NPF candidate who had the backing of the BJP, too bit the dust in the Outer Parliamentary seat. 2027 is still a good two years away and while things can change in the days leading to this year, Manipur will have her moment for that would be the time when the people will be able to vocalise their thoughts via the Electronic Voting Machine. The present may be said to be still too early to think about the 2027 coming Assembly elections, but there is no guarantee that this would not have weighed in on the minds of the BJP MLAs and Ministers.
What is the way forward ? Perplexing it is, that even after more than 18 months of the violence erupting in all its ugliness in the evening of May 3, 2023, there just does not seem to be any answer. No wonder many have started raising this poser with the addendum, ‘Is Delhi serious about working out a solution ?’ and ‘Has Imphal put in the needed efforts to get the attention of Delhi and accordingly work out a solution, a solution that would be acceptable to all ?’ These questions are invariably raised against the fact that ever since violence erupted on May 3, 2023, the Prime Minister has not deemed it fit to even grant an audience to representatives of the State Government. This is what has not gone down well with the people for in many ways it rings out the message that Delhi is indifferent to what is happening in Manipur. How this has been taken by the people will not need rocket science knowledge to understand and the bigger question is whether such a state will be allowed to linger on. Has Imphal taken up any step to once again present the case of Manipur before Delhi or will it be a case of waiting to take up from the first meeting of MLAs convened at Delhi on October 15 ? More than two weeks since the much publicised meeting was held, but unfortunate it is that the outcome of the meeting came something like a bucket of cold water after a hot shower, if the mute silence of the BJP MLAs after the meeting is anything to go by. The Kuki-Zo MLAs did make their stand clear in asserting that any dialogue without a reference to the demand of a Separate Administration would be meaningless and the silence of the BJP MLAs after the meeting is the bucket of cold water after the hot shower that preceded the meeting.