Restive Manipur in a state of utter disarray

Imphal | October 18 : Manipur has not had time for development. Each day is spent witnessing some  sort of pandemonium. Things are in a state of utter disarray and this is visible in Imphal where not a day passes without some form of protest or another. Those observing the bizarre politics of Manipur from outside as well as inside cannot but wonder at the indifference and nonchalance of the government to the burning issues facing the state. The state government is as adamant in carrying out its stupefying agenda as the protestors are in coming out to the streets. Judging from the number of protests against the government and the effigies of the chief minister that are burnt at regular intervals, O Ibobi Singh seems to have alienated every right thinking citizen in the state. So who is the government of Manipur representing?
Though Manipur’s descent into chaos started some decades ago, things have only got worse with the death of Ch. Sanjit Singh, a reformed former militant, and Th. Rabina, a young pregnant mother, in an alleged fake encounter, which happened to be captured frame by frame by a local photographer and whose photos were published in the Delhi based weekly magazine Tehelka. Ibobi Singh now has blood in his hands, being the chief minister of Manipur leading the Secular Progressive Front (SPF) government, holding the portfolio of the state home minister as well.
Having presided over the government of Manipur for five years and being re-elected for the second term, Ibobi Singh is now in his eighth year as the chief minister of Manipur. In these eight years, violence has escalated and fake encounters have become the order of the day, though none of them were captured in pictures as unequivocally as in the case of Ch. Sanjit at B.T. Road, Imphal on July 23, 2009.
Manipur today has been described as a “failed” state by academicians and theorists of democratic politics. It is difficult to think of other adjectives to describe a state where even school students are out of their classrooms and on the streets protesting against gross violations of human rights by both state and non-state actors, and who are at present deprived of attending their classes due to “class boycott” imposed on educational institutions by three prominent students organisations in the state as part of the intensification of agitation protesting the July 23 incident.
In recent times, the state, whether represented by the state or the central security forces, has been ruthless in its attempt to short-circuit militant activities. The methods adopted by the security forces, such as fake encounters, are considered by many to be self-defeating, as it is felt that using more violence to scale down violence only has a detrimental effect.
Although the present agitation spearheaded by the Apunba Lup, a conglomeration of civil society organizations in Manipur, protesting the July 23 killings is considered by many people to be justified, the sad part of the agitation is that it seems to have created a “divide” between the protagonists of the agitation and some sections of the society, which does not envisages good tidings for the society as a whole. One hopes and prays that better sense will prevail and a quick end to the present imbroglio is worked out by all concerned.