Survivors of Manipur violence face grim future

Manipur is in severe turmoil yet the rulers of the day are flying abroad, saying that all’s okay in the country! The deadly strife has left hundreds dead and survivors economically & emotionally ruined Around this time of the year, June, there’s that sudden frenzied focus on the declared Emergency of 1975. Ironically, today, in 2023, there’s an undeclared Emergency on! Hitting hundreds and thousands in the country, yet we are going along as though oblivious of the disasters unfolding every single day. Today, as joblessness and price rise and crime are thriving, in a communally surcharged atmosphere, the situation stands absolutely dismal. There’s a definite unease hovering around, as violence takes over. Look, Manipur is in severe turmoil yet the rulers of the day are flying abroad, saying that all’s going okay in the country! Hundreds have died in Manipur and the survivors economically and emotionally ruined, not sure what the future would hold out for them. How do they survive? Look, the minority groups and the disadvantaged communities in the country are sitting as though silenced and compelled into accepting their fate! Not to be overlooked is the fact that a large percentage are subjected to discrimination and humiliations. The situation is grave to the extent that for an Indian Muslim even going to the local masjid to offer namaaz could prove to be challenging as Right-Wing goons could attack and assault! Look at the crime graph. Crime on the rise. Criminals on the prowl, in various hues and forms. Many masterminds get away, whilst the foot soldiers apprehended. Rapists and molesters and tormentors could be let off. The situation gets rather too obviously blatant if the culprit is from the so called who’s who category. ***** With this in the backdrop, there’s not just sheer disappointment but utter disbelief when rulers of the day whilst travelling to those foreign lands, talk of growth and development and whatever else they can package in their well-crafted speeches. In fact, contrary to their claims, never before have we witnessed the blatant destruction of the human being. Not to overlook the killings by the State machinery, the so-called encounter killings. And where is the required transparency and the much-needed accountability to get to know the profiles of those killed by the State machinery? What is the role of the State in killing its own citizens? What is the State trying to achieve, bypassing the traditional ways to settle crime and the so labelled criminals? Why this new form of terrorizing tactics on the citizens, who are anyway surviving amidst tough challenging circumstances?