"This is certainly not the northeast, which anybody is hoping" - says External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar
New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to start planning for a visit to Manipur at the earliest.
Lately what External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said could be also seen as an admission of utter failure of the government apparatus in Manipur. “In terms of how did this happen? I mean ...there is truly tragic and it is tragic because of the close intermingling of communities, which leads to this degree of violence, which becomes very difficult to head off," Dr Jaishankar said in Seoul interacting with the Indian diaspora.
These underline an obvious fact that the Prime Minister Modi is making an outreach attempt in the run up to the election season.
There is a symptom of application of balm; but maybe some things more often come very late.
Modi had to skirt visiting Mizoram during assembly elections in Nov 2023. He cannot afford such a situation yet again during his mission to make a hat-trick to power in the world's largest democracy.
“This is not the India, and certainly not the northeast, which anybody is hoping for," Dr Jaishankar said. Dr Jaishankar is a suave diplomat. In the last five years since in office, he has established himself as a trusted aide of Prime Minister Modi as well.
More often he has spoken on issues in a convincing manner and with confidence that not many under the present dispensation will be able to do.
Russian foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov calls him a 'friend' and Antony Blinken of the US addresses him as "Jai". Hence Dr Jaishankar's remarks on the ethnic conflict in Manipur has to be understood in its total perspective -- political as well as geo-strategic.
In all probability, he has PMO's nod for making those remarks. In Seoul, Korea on an official visit while interacting with the Indian diaspora he also said, " ... distressed is a very mild word ... for what is happening in Manipur. So, I do feel in many respects, northeast itself can act as a bridge, but it has both a cultural side to it and a physical contiguity side too”.
Some texts of his statement could actually amount to criticism of India's powerful Home Minister Amit Shah.
Congress leader Rajesh Sethi says, "What Jaishankar said is only an admission of utter failure of the Modi government."
"The crisis in Manipur is actually a creation of BJP as the saffron party believes in creating Hindu-Christian divisions. In the light of what the foreign minister has said in a foreign country, and if there is distress, Modi's Home Minister Amit Shah should resign," said Sethi, a National Coordinator Congress Minority Dept in-charge of Manipur.
It appears, Dr Jaishankar made the remarks in full confidence of Prime Minister Modi.
The government would like to ameliorate the grievances of the people in Manipur in this election season because Manipur has remained a weak spot for Modi.
Normally, a foreign minister especially on foreign soil avoids making any remark on a typical internal/domestic matter and that too about a disturbing situation. The administrative issues of Manipur fall under the Home Minister. But as India's foreign minister, Dr Jaishankar may try to use northeast India as a bridge in foreign policy vis-a-vis Myanmar, South Korea and other South East Asian countries.
The situation in Manipur has even stalled the Government of India's hyped 'Act East Policy'.
About 6,000 refugees from Myanmar have taken shelter in the state already.
Manipur Governor Anusuiya Uikey recently told the state legislature that to date 219 persons have been "killed in the ethnic violence" that has roiled the northeastern state since May last year.
The Governor stated that 187,143 persons were detained and around 10,000 FIRs have been lodged in connection with the ethnic violence.
All these have been embarrassing for Modi. Even recently, after he spoke about violence against women in Opposition Trinamool Congress-ruled West Bengal; many critics questioned Modi's silence on the fate of women in Manipur.
The situation in Manipur is something which "we take very much to heart”, says Dr Jaishankar. “We have decided now to suspend that and, actually, in a way, harden the border situation," he added.
The earlier unique Free Movement Regime (system) allowed people in Myanmar and also Indian states bordering Myanmar to travel up to 16 km either way without travel documents
ends
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