Living in a Blockade: A first-hand account from Manipur
Dear All: Below is a first-hand account of the situation in Manipur as described by Deepak Sharma. Deepak is an Art of Living instructor who recently spent 9 days in Imphal. I requested him yesterday to share his thoughts so that people become more aware of how acute the situation is. He kindly agreed. Read on (minor edits for readability and to keep it tight; emphasis added).
*** Living in a Blockade: A first-hand account from Manipur by Deepak Sharma ***
As a travelling teacher of the Art of Living Foundation I have taken workshops in Manipur before. But this time as I was leaving for Imphal my family was shocked. How are you going there.. No busses are running, there Is no LPG, how will you eat… petrol is going to touch 200rs a liter… rice is going to touch 40rs a kg, what will you eat… you are a non manipuri and daily they are killing 2-3 non Manipuri’s. As typical of a Art of Living teacher I decided to carry on and took a flight instead.
In no part of the world you will find a situation in which some local groups have sabotaged a whole state and the center and the state government is not doing any thing about it. The national highway 39 blockade has been there for the last 60 days which has led to hundreds of trucks carrying medicines, food items, fule, LPG stranded on roads. Manipur is a hilly area and the lifeline of Manipur is NH 39.
During my 9 days in Manipur, I saw schools shut, 22hrs black outs, hospitals shut because of lack of vaccines and medicines to treat patients and local transportation come to a halt due to lack of fuel. No where will this happen except the north east. It was disheartening to notice that Manipuri’s have become used to…these things (and they) have become a part of their life. A human right activist recently told me that every day 6-7 people die through fake encounters. This is done as the local police have a Special Powers Act in which they can shoot anyone who is a suspect without any interrogation. Sharmila Irom also called the Iron Lady of Manipur, a social activist has been on a hunger strike Since November 4, 2000 just to keep on her fight against the special powers act. She is on drips and glucose for the last 9 years and is presently in some hospital in delhi. I doubt that Manmohan Singh or Sonia Gandhi or for that matter our honorable home minister has ever visited her.
Image Courtesy: NDTV
Not to mention that just a few months back the education institutes of Manipur were rescued from a 6 months ban on education by the All Manipur Students Union…Some institutions were even burned as they protested against the bandh… Just imagine no education for youth for a period of 6 months… This can happen only in North East.
…Now when I reflect back and see the broader picture, North East is a home of more than 70 tribes. Tribes that worship nature. When they cut one tree they pray to the tree and say I will plant five like you. You know the kind of stories we use to read in fairy tales. They will not like to sit with their back facing the sun because they believe that sun is god and we should always sit face to face with him. Can you imagine such kind of innocence? These tribal’s live that way. But their identities are now at risk due to mass conversions in to Christianity. You will never find a tribal house built by strangers. The whole neighborhood come together and builds a new house. By doing this a person’s house is not only his but of the whole community. They protect their land and love their people the way you see in “Dancing with the Wolfsâ€. They are so innocent that they will cut paddy at 2 in the night and skin it so that they can feed a complete stranger in the morning. You feel choked to eat that food when you come to know that they don’t have anything to eat at lunch. These innocent people are being exploited by a hand full of leaders who have been to Delhi and have seen the developed side of India. On questioning the Center on the development activities they are ignored. The only way to get their voices heard is either through bomb blasts, guns or through bandhs and mass blockades.
The reason why I have written this is that first we should be grateful for the facilities we have around us as there are still places where electricity come for only 2 hrs a day. Second we all should learn from the west and should devote a few years of our life in service to the nation. I would be nice to have some of you visit this part of the country and contribute to its development the way Shantanu has done. Just a few moments of service would bring a huge change in you, leave aside the people who you serve.. Mind you .. I am not complaining about the situation, we believe in taking responsibility and that’s what we are doing there. I believe every situation you encounter like these are nothing but opportunities to serve. Please come, explore and serve..
Jai Hind,
Deepak
***
The latest (and somewhat positive) news on this is that NSF (is) likely to relax ban on vehicular movement:
KOHIMA, June 10 – The Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) has stated that it would soon consider relaxation of the ongoing protest ban on movement of vehicles to Manipur in view of the appeals made by various organisations following the receipt of a letter of regret from the Government of Manipur.
For the sake of those suffering from this unprecedented blockade, I hope they do so – soon. With prayers and hope…
Related Post:Â One Country, many Worlds..and a forgotten Manipur
Somewhat related: Notes from North-East: Indigenous Cultures, Demographic Invasion
It brings tears in my eyes, because we had friends from Manipur(they display Buddhism and Hinduism at a time) and the years were mid ninties, in one of the university in other part of India. It was last year of university and one of us wanted to go and visit Manipur with them and asked them if some of them can join them. They became very hesitant and perplexed on this idea of taking friends along with them. Could not say no to join them to their state Manipur for short visit and friends could not understand their situation. They told us that their life is very harsh in Manipur and friends will not be able to cope with daily struggle and also some kind of political struggle going on daily basis. Friends insisted “don’t worry, we will adjust and will co-operate as we are their guest. We will find our own place to live there. When you can live, why not we would not be able to live for few days”. It become very crucial issue for them, and they booked their tickets without us and went away without taking any of the friends with them. For few days we felt very bad; and on their back we thought they made many excuses for not taking us along with them. We supported them all the time when they were here, and they went away without giving any notice of their departure, and lost the touch with them after that. Though we always missed them.
I can understand their situation very well now after reading the above post, and one is shortage of food and water. They did mentioned some of the facts to us but we thought they were just excuses for not inviting us to their state. We friends were too young at that time to understand “political situation” and the word “Shortage.”
One more thing, one can also manage to be in touch with them by meeting them in other parts of India. As many students of N.E go out for their university studies in different part of India. I believe Delhi and Gujarat is one of them.
I agree with Deepak, that they are very thoughtful people. I wanted to say this cultural background long time back, on this blog but was not able to do it which Deepak has did it wonderfully. I also remember what they told us once, that women in N. E are taught not to scream and speak loud; and to walk slowly so that they can maintain grace of mind and feminity. Modernity, but with grace and beautiful thoughts!
Sorry for this long and out of topic comment but I could not stop myself sharing this here.
yes it does bring tears in my eyes too,
terribly angered at the expoitation of innocent people,
this should be dealt with high priority..
(part of what follows is borrowed thinking)
when the 26/11 incident happened,
it led to a huge frenzy,
the came out in a way that it stared everyone in the eye
(the media to credit)
a whole wave of awareness, desire to change, desire to act,
spread throughout among people..
and so widely was it discussed..
why? just because it was in bombay..
what is holding back similar things, from happening about the north east..
just because negative impact of the scale of 26/11 (maybe more)
is happening daily, and there is nothing new in it!!
why isnt this also heavily covered by media, why dont people discuss this everyday,
why is this issue not in the mainstream..
i think that is what is lacking for the governemnt to act,
because i think, our governemnt acts not on basis of facts, but on basis of public view about things..
It is such a shame to see the true face of people who wield absolute power in the nation. We have two parallels here: the so-called blockade of the Kashmir Valley, the second, the real one where ;people are dying in Congress controlled Manipur – the Land of Dancing Krishna – due to a real blockade created by a Christian majority state controlled by Congress. The questions are, who is dying, why are they allowed to die, and what is the powerful machinery of the all powerful people doing to alleviate the misery of the people who are held at ransom? Where is the charity they preach? Why are the righteous spokespeople like Smiling Singhvi and Smug Expressionless Tiwari silent on this issue? Why ‘Poppo-the-Puppet-Can Do Anything” (Do you remember the Danny Kaye movie?) cannot doing anything for the remove the misery of people of Manipur? Doesn’t any one care?
Pardon my bad editing: The last lines should read,”Why Poppo……..cannot do anything to remove the misery of people of Manipur.”
God bless all of them.
Dear Shantanu,
Remember the end of “Dapwar” period, and the Kurukhestra. “Kaliyug” is going to end soon. The symtoms are so transparent that needs no more description. Remember “SAMAV-AMI YUGE-YUGE”
For eradication of the evils and establishing peace, the TIME HAS COME TO LAND AT THE BATTLE FIELD. The WEAPON is the KNOWLEDGE. The APPLICATION would be in PEACEFUL MANNER.
Dear Shantanu.
Successive Governments have neglected the development of this region on one or other pretext. The situation was allowed to get worse. Now we know who is supporting the divisive politics at the centre. RSS has been playing its role in bringing young people from the region and giving them education in different states. I met few Girls of ages between 14 and 18 years and heard their misery first hand. All the male members of their family were brutally killed and their home were set on fire.
It is pitiable conditions of the people of that region. We have to live on hope that one day the things may change. We should not stop in our efforts to help them which ever way we can.
Dr. Ambekar
From a ET news-report:
Organisations like the Joint Parliamentary Working Committee of Nagaland Assembly, Churches of Nagaland and Manipur and All Assam Students Union had already appealed to the Naga Students’ Federation (NSF) to lift the blockade on the two highways on humanitarian ground.
“We expect the Naga leaders will listen to such appeal. Otherwise, we will have to take strict action by using forceâ€(sic), said a senior official here. Union home secretary G K Pillai had visited Manipur to take stock of the situation last week.
Read Sonia Wahengbam’s first-hand account here
Dear Blogger,
Deepak has made a crucial statement in his report: “Manipuri’s have become used to…these things (and they) have become a part of their life.” We, who live in more peaceful areas, hear and read similar reports from all around the world, everyday, and we have also “become used to these things”. Most of us don’t react, and this is the main reason why such disastrous situations happen.
@Shruti: Most of us don’t react, and this is the main reason why such disastrous situations happen.
Indeed…and that is why one of the main objectives of the blog is to increase awareness about these issues and make all of us “react” in some way – rather than passively listening to the news.
Just one correction you stated that Irom Sharmila Chanu was being kept in a hospital in Dellhi. That was some years back. She has since her return to Manipur been kept in quasi solitary confinement in the JN Hospital, Imphal, in a security ward where prisoners from the local gaol are housed. She has been detained without trial by the Indian Government as you say for the past nine years on trumped up charges of attempted suicide. Only in India would this farce be considered as keeping within the law. The WHO has issued a Malta Protocol I believe for the treatment of political prisoners. The doctors and nurses who have collluded with the State in this are in violation of this protocol. But then we all have our reasons. The same was done in the Soviet Union to their political dissidents. And she has been kept alive.
The other matter is that the repeal of AF(SP)A for which she has been campaigning is currently before cabinet with mainly Army Chiefs demanding its retention. India has to decide whom it wants to run this country. I have some respect for the Art of Living. I have never been able to forget the witness of Irom Sharmila Chanu since I first read about her in the book Burning Bright. She is an antidote to the lie that I am only one person what can I do. A lie told among others by the Prime Minister, and the Home Minister. Another difference in the West. There our political leaders prefer the illusion that they are in charge of the country and they take responsibility for what happens.
The repeal of AF(SP)A is a tiny step. It would make the police accountable for their extortion rape and murder. It’s odd that I have to explain this to some in India. It is already a crime for an insurgent to commit extortion rape and murder against the local population. The repeal of AF(SP)A would make it a crime also for the police to do the same. But in India the police are here only to hassle the poor.
I am trying to visit Manipur. The additional problem with being a foreign national is that the Indian Government does not want the free world to be aware of its long term oppression of the peoples of the north east. My application for a PAP is still sitting with the Home Secretariat and I am complaining about the lack of assistance afforded by the British High Commission to the FCO in Whitehall. There is always something a citizen can do.
Thank you for posting something about life under the blockade. Many Manipuris seem too afraid to say anything to strangers about what is going on.
@ Desmond: Thanks for your comment…
A hurried response below (I will write in more detail in a few days).
1] India does not need lessons in “farce” from other countries..All countries indulge in activities that are either on the borderline of “morality” or downright indefensible (2 recent examples from UK: rendition and Saudi arms deal – I am sure you know what I am talking about). So pl see this in context.
2] The repeal of AFSPA is not as straight-forward as it sounds…The areas where this act applies are the hubs of anti-national and terrorist activities. And again, India is quite capable of managing its own affairs – and to decide on who runs the country…we don’t need lessons in that from foreigners.
3] India has a very active human rights lobby – again I am sure you are aware of that…so please do not think that unless “foreigners” come in and write about things, Indian citizens will not know what is happening in these areas. They do know…We do have something called “the Indian media” (although it has its own prejudices). There are good, sound reasons for having foreigners require permission to visit these areas…I will not go into detail on these reasons here (and now).
P.S. If you really want to help Manipuris…please make your Indian friends aware of the situation there…I am very happy to work with anyone on this…Thanks
Shantanu,
Well said. Foreigners (and, too a great extent, some old-time office-holders of our nation) can not accept the fact that we no longer have to hold ourselves to incredibly high level of morality and peace that is defined by a group of nations who regularly fail to hold themselves to that standard.
Human rights wallahs (and NGOs, the boundaries are blurred often) are one of the biggest unrecognised industries of the world and a great tool for covert imperialism. You would not see such geniuses to land in North Korea or Iran or Saudi Arabia. You will see landing them in Kashmir to sympathise with Jihadis or in Chhattisgarh to sympathise with Maoists or in Kohima to sympathise with NSCN, but nowhere to sympathise with the martyrs in Indian Army. The commenter that you responded to may be one such executive in that growing industry.
Besides, as the link between world vision and remit2india proves, that this industry is probably the biggest anti-India and anti-Hindu covert threat in recent times and covert threats are far more difficult to fight than the overt ones.
Elst has a good description of the Christian missionaries:
http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/articles/chr/missionaries.html
Daily Herald has a good
sympatheticreport on Naga Chrisitian movements including it’s history and attitude towards Indian government, a report that no news outlet in India dare to link:http://www.dailyherald.com/special/passagefromindia/nagaland.asp
You may like to take a look here for a debate between a Naga and a Meitei:
http://mizoramexpress.com/index.php/2010/06/why-nagas-left-imphal-valley/
This is just one part of the picture … There are also a lot of good things to do in manipur .. Their Kauna craft is beyond comparison. Lokthak Lake is one of the biggest fresh water lake in asia .. If some people can help promote employment to locals by promoting their craft, it can be great http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=4859361&id=520471769 .. Every one can serve in their own way .. Some one writes, some one teaches, some oe gives money, others give a platform to explore, some people just make people happy and make them smile.. A ll different ways to serve. Come explore and serve 🙂 Jai JGD