KOCHI: In the aftermath of continuous violence in Manipur over the past 75 days, Dr Lamtinthang Haokip, the former president of the Kuki Students Organisation, held a press conference in Kochi on Saturday to shed light on the situation in the state. He emphasised that the incidents witnessed on social media are not isolated events and that Manipur has been grappling with such occurrences since May of the preceding year.
“Such acts are common in Manipur, and the CM himself has admitted that there are a lot of such incidents. However, the question is, what has Chief Minister N Biren Singh been doing?”Lamtinthang said.
He expressed concern that the state’s citizens are now divided, and peace and harmony have been severely disrupted. He stated that the situation is untenable, making peaceful negotiations with the state government, led by Biren Singh, challenging. “The CM should accept accountability for the violence occurring in Manipur. We call for Biren Singh to resign. Also, the Union Government should take responsibility,” he added.
Contrary to the perception that the violence in Manipur began in May, Lamtinthang argued that these incidents are part of a broader chain of events that started unfolding when the BJP government assumed power in Manipur back in 2017. According to Lamtinthang, the media in Manipur is predominantly controlled by the majority, leading to the proliferation of fake news. He also asserted that the violence is associated with the involvement of fringe groups, including the RSS.
Country at a critical crossroads: Supreme Court lawyer
Bemoaning the recent violence in Manipur and other parts of the country, Supreme Court lawyer and minority rights activist Dr Menaka Guruswamy said, “We as a nation are at a critical phase where we must decide whether we take the constitutional path or the imperialist path.”
Speaking at the 7th Dr T K Ramachandran memorial lecture in Kochi on Saturday, she said, “We are a society that for a long time was defined by caste, gender inequality and all kinds of discrimination. The Constitution was ahead of its time in that it introduced provisions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. This was a radical idea then,” she said.
The Indian Constitution is a manifesto for a more decent country, for a people seeking to live with dignity and for a society that says we want to be better, Menaka stressed.
She said the Constitution was prepared against the backdrop of the freedom struggle and partition. “One of the reasons that contributed to its successful drafting within three years is the enormous political will that many of our leaders then had,” she said.
“During the freedom struggle, we were witness to bloodshed and violence. Over the last seven decades, too, we have been beset by such incidents. Why don’t we have a provision to deal with communal violence? ‘Individual rights’ would be enough to deal with this. But the question is are the rights mentioned in Part 111 of the Constitution sufficient for the lives we live today? she asked.
‘Hold talks to end Manipur impasse’
People who are trying to portray Manipur riots as a communal clash involving Hindus and Christians have a hidden agenda, said Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international secretary general Milind Parandeji in Kochi on Friday.
“The incident in which two women were paraded naked is shameful to our country. The people who are involved in the incident should be brought before the law and punished severely. The move to portray the issue as a Hindu-Christian clash is dangerous and aimed at destabilising the nation.
We should try to bring the situation under control rather than try to score political brownie points. We should strengthen the hands of the government to solve the issue,” he told reporters in Kochi. Milind Parandeji said the riot in Manipur is between Meitei and Kuki communities. It is a volatile situation and the leaders of both communities should sit together to find an amicable solution.
Milind Parandeji said the Vishwa Hindu Parishad will demand the state and Centre to bring in anti-conversion laws and anti-cow slaughter laws across the country.