'Appeasement, adhocism and Statehoods' no panacea for Northeast
New Delhi
Even a semblance of intra-community unity lies shattered in Manipur.
Notwithstanding a large number of Kuki and other Zo population having takenshelter in neighbouring Mizoram, reports from the other side too contribute to the grim picture.
Aizawl airport
On the May 3 Tribal Solidarity march, several militants toting AK-47 guns were reportedly "seen among the rallyists in Churachandpur defying SoO ground rules". One allegation is the central forces stationed there are helpless, as they do not have explicit ‘orders’ from command headquarters and civil administration.
Kukis in Kangpokpi area, with the backing of militants, allegedly blocked NH 2 Imphal-Dimapur road since the beginning of the conflict.
Security Advisor Kudeep Singh has admitted that several militants and arms were missing at the SoO designated camps. That means Suspension of Operation (SoO) ground rules had been violated by the Kuki militant groups.
A debate is on the utility of the Article 371-C after Union Minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh (only Meitei Minister in the Modi government) penned a letter stating - "A psychological gap was being created (during British era). After Independence too, Article 371 C still made the barrier between the hills and the valley".
These are crucial issues. Kuki MLAs have already said the Meitei cops also played a questionable rolethough the charge has been denied by the DGP.
There is yet another debate on social media that perhaps the Hindutva-smitten BJP leadership in the centre is unaware of the DNA of the northeast region. But what's the DNA of the region in its entirety? Can someone really define the region's DNA?
It all started long back. Even in the pre-British era and then at different intervals of historical timespace, thingskept changing. The Manipur clashes should offer lessons to policy makers who seldom try to workout new formulae. Politically, I have a famous saying from former Nagaland Chief Secretary Late A M Gokhale -- "New Delhi still thinks like Aurangzeb's Delhi".
The Nagaland House in Delhi was parked perhaps symbolically at 29 Aurangzeb Road. Now the Road has a new name after Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Well, even Meghalaya House is on the same road!
My understanding of various pros and cons about the northeast region especially in the context of Nagas and Mizos with whom I have interacted much - is that the 'development role' of the state apparatus (also including Centre) ought to be re-engineered.This only can help to get a better balance between plans and results. The outcome in this region has consistently fallen short of promises (various Accords and Agreements) and subsequent plans.
Nagaland has an experience with a minor controversy related to these.It is about the sanction of Rs 300 crore in 2012 as part of Special Plan Assistance for ENPO region.On Sept 21, 2012, the then Planning Minister T R Zeliang had told the state assembly that a component of 10 per cent was added to the amount and allocated it to various sectors/departments.
But lately when this issue was raked up by former MP, Asungba Sangtam in a TV debate,
the state Planning & Coordination department on November 24, 2022
said in a release that “the government of India did not approve the proposals for Rs 333.33 crore for
Eastern Nagaland region and no fund was released to the state government”.
This denial too was countered later. Thus, it may not be erroneous to suggest easily that the governance machinery (both in the states and the omni-powerful Delhi) have failed in a number of crucial areas.
Instead of winning over the local population, since the 1960s and 1970s there was a faultline in trying with 'appeasement and adhocism'. The problems were hardly grasped in their entirety.
The policy makers banked on old files and old practices. If ministers were busy with Babudom minting money in the 1980s and 1990s, the same practice continued unabated even at a later stage.
Corruption thrived during the 1970s and 1980s and now things have reached much finer and higher scale.
In the new era, if a villager pays and gets his files moved and the work done, one can easily claim honesty (sic).
There is no realisation that there is a need to 're-orient' the governance and political strategies. The governancesystem in all the seven states has to cope with the emerging world that is not only globalised but also has become tech-dependent and now deeply demanding in multi-disciplinary terms.
Creating states and even so called autonomous bodies have not left the faceless locals impressed.
What Delhi does/did to the north east, Dispur did the same to Bodo areas and to Bengali-stronghold Silchar-Karimganjbelt. In Nagaland, the demand for Eastern Nagaland is a testimony to people's grief that Kohima could not dojustice. The pitiable and virtually non-existent roads in Mon and Tuensang areas only strengthen this argument.
Violence as a habit has been encouraged by stakeholders and this prevented industrial growth. This in turnimpacted the job scenario. Instead of discussing 'recognition' to talent and hard work; people became more conscious of who gets how much share of the Quota. Whether the Home Minister or Education Ministeris from someone's village, tribe or ethnic group?
The ST demand issue for Meiteis ought to be understood from this perspective although the recent killings and arson have something deep.
As journalists we may be blamed for looking for the 'conspiracy' angle everywhere, but nevertheless the way things moved, no one can say the outcome has been the culmination of natural developments.
Even a children’s home had to be moved out from Churachandpur district to Aizawl in Mizoram.
And if the administration has been caught napping, we must yet again come back to the old malady ofintelligence failures. Sadly, the police, the military and other central agencies could not predict even a few daysback that something so deep was being planned in Manipur.
If the allegations from Union Minister Dr Singh about the influence of Kuki militants on elected MLAs is true; these should have come to light much earlier. The Neta-Ultra nexus is another old maladyof the seven sister-states.
Worse, a more serious charge has come from the Coordinating Committee of Clubs and Meira Paibisof South Eastern Manipur that the prevailing communal clashes had been planned by "illegal immigrants for the last 40 years".
People can bet that the real issue in the north east for years now is the battle against 'fears'. The 'fear' has many names and definitions in the region.
Absence of governance and growing corruption have caused fury. When people are 'angry' the demand for statehoodby one community or the other seems logical and legitimate.
But statehood is no panacea. People have been repeatedly let down in the north east by misgovernanceand on occasions by zero-governance. So, people are asking today in Manipur or in Mizoram and also other states in the north east --- 'what will it take to stop the fall'.
Tough times have always pushed the human race to return to sanity.
Stupidity is knowing the truth, seeing the truth, and yet still believing the lies.
ends
No comments:
Post a Comment