Have we lost all that was achieved on Peace Talks so far?

“We will take democracy to every corner ...," CEC Rajiv Kumar

New Delhi 

There is something common about Success, Failure and Political Chaos. 

They all are contagious.  Once you hit upon a 'political chaos', there are chances these will be exploited and once you are on the track to 'exploit' the situation, be rest assured  the remaining days would be consumed in ensuring correction and preservation.

In 2023, the state of Manipur was in a mess. In 2024, we are talking about general elections but in another corner of northeast - closer home 'eastern Nagaland', there are threats of poll boycott. Veteran Naga leader S C Jamir is a concerned man and he has again underlined the importance of an early Solution to the vexed Naga political  issue.

Well, he has said so numerous times. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to himself set the ball rolling for resolving some of the issues in Nagaland and also Manipur.

It needs to be pointed out that the issues and struggles of common people either in Manipur or in Nagaland are never religious or 'communal' in that sense of the terms.

Political problems are not resolved by monetary measures also. Then, what holds the future?

'Nagaland Page'

Have they not even started diagnosing the problem of Manipur ? The Kukis are unhappy because Meitei pressure tactics seem to work more with the Government of India. But various armed groups of Meiteis are only adding fuel to the fire from time to time.

There have been four reported incidents since the commencement of the conflict in Manipur wherein soldiers whilst on leave, on duty or their relatives have been targeted for nefarious interests by "inimical elements", as they put it. It is certainly a matter of deep concern.

  

The Arambai Tenggol is in news on some of these. It's a Meitei activist body - also calling itself a 'revivalist organisation' that aims to reestablish the prominence of a native Sanamahi religion among the Meiteis.

In Nagaland, there were a lot of hopes from the Peace Talks that commenced in 1997. A boy born that year -- would be 27 in circa 2024; and yet nothing seems to have been achieved after years of parleys.

Talk to some stakeholders either in Delhi or in Dimapur and Kohima regions; one gets a typical refrain -- "Have we lost all that we have achieved on Peace Talks so far?"

And for the last few years, if the Government of India is not showing much urgency to deal with the very process of negotiations on Naga talks; why is it so?

 If the central government under a 'decisive' Prime Minister Modi lacks vision for Naga people -- either in Nagaland and outside Nagaland - it is pretty bad news. 

The critics may get a chance to attack a Prime Minister -- who may win his third term with an enhanced mandate. The Government of India's approach to the Naga issue and the state of Nagaland is now being widely perceived to be bereft of vision and ill-planned.

In 2023, for the Manipur mess; the Modi government already was tagged for pushing some allegedly ill-planned ideas. 

Let us keep hoping for a Solution to the Naga problem too. But demands are probably too high and there is a need to scale down the 'targets' a bit. Every agreement or a Solution formula may not be 'acceptable' 100 percent.

So some phrases like 'honourable and acceptable' could be tweaked to make things more practical.

Pragmatism is not a vice and need not be discarded. 

Time will make New Delhi realise its follies. Time will also make other stakeholders understand that things could have been handled better. But unfortunately when the time for reconciliation will come; the worthy who will rule in the Ministry of Home Affairs and those in Dimapur, Kohima and Imphal may not be left with a respectable audience.

Personally, even Jamir has in the past lauded Prime Minister Modi's ability to decide things and to display real guts. Modi has enough political maturity to understand that there is a lot of difference between doing something with a vision and plan or merely 'doing something'.

“We will take democracy to every corner of the country,” India's Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, said last week as he announced the six weeks long voting dates in the world's largest democracy.

There is a bit of irony in that declaration. 

ends