The perpetration of violence, particularly on women,
in Manipur is numbing, its beyond comprehension. The stories of rapes, in
hundreds, killings, burning of property and all possible manifestations of
violence has shaken the conscience of the nation once again. A saga of
bloodshed and weaponization of womens’ bodies, comparable to any gory times in
history leaves any Indian citizen ashamed of the times we live in. We should be
sorry. Very sorry. Sorry for letting down our own people, our women of Manipur.
A video grab of 2 Kuki-Zo tribe women being paraded
stripped by a mob of 800 men and then gang raped are enough to send shivers
down the spine. The very thought makes me shudder forget the viewing of it. It
needed a graphic to send alarm bells ringing from Manipur to Delhi, the
national capital of India, to sit up and take serious notice of whats happening
in this beautiful state of our northeast. It took 2 months, 3 weeks, 10 hrs
& 39 minutes for a statement from Prime Minister Modi on the boiling Manipur
situation. He who keeps shouting from the roof tops Beti Bachao Beta Padao,
doesn’t miss any address to the nation (whenever he talks actually) calling for
respecting women, and all this very emotively, doesn’t spare a thought for 60
days, or more, to utter a word on their condition in Manipur. During these 2
months he has had two high profile trips outside the country, to US and France, Egypt
and UAE too but doesn’t find time to speak a word on the state of affairs in Manipur,
on its women being reduced to mere objects of lust as a part of a larger ethnic
conspiracy. It’s a huge humanitarian crisis gone out of hand. I am full of angst.
Meitei and Kuki tribes have been at loggerheads since
long in the state. The ethic communal clashed that broke out on May 3 have
killed more than 160 people and destroyed villages and churches having left
75,000 displaced. The Meiteis who are in majority both in the state &
assembly have been pushing for their dominance in the region. The complacency
of the state govt headed by Chief Minister Biren Singh, a Meitei himself, in the civil strife
is to be blamed for sitting on the strife all along to the extent that he normalizes
the brutal rapes that have been taking place for months. As per witnesses the
state police too is divided on ethnic lines. The raped women, 21 yrs & 40
yrs confirmed that they were handed over to the mob by the police themselves. FIR’s
that were lodged after 16 days went ignored. Arms were looted from the police
stations by miscreants. A journalist John Verghese covering the clashes says
bodies of women were lying openly with dogs eating on them. ‘The soil smells of
blood’, he said.
Women have been running to hide anywhere with their children,
to save themselves from the men. Who else than the state machinery and the Chief
Minister is responsible for the deteriorating law & order in his state! It is he who is
answerable for the state police’s active role in the heinous crimes of rape and
efforts towards cleansing of Kuki tribe from Imphal valley which has many
graphic proofs. The PM too has lot to answer as to why is the CM of the state
still where he is, who couldn’t restore peace in 3 months. The partisanship is
as stubborn as his central shield is strong. Its as much about the political
dimension as it is about the human rights of the people of Manipur. With the
Supreme Court’s observation that the Centre take note of it before they
intervene may be of some consequence but what about the Human Rights bodies!
The crisis has received world attention with ramifications from our eastern neighbors which have ethnic linkages from ages.
Benalakshmi Nepram, an well known activitist says there are more
than 60 armed insurgent groups in Manipur, active, equipped with all kinds of sophisticated
arms. Women have been targets of every ethnic or political spark that ignites in
the region, she says.
And when the Prime Minister compares the lawlessness
& rapes of women of Manipur with that of Rajasthan & Chattisgarh he
just betrays his party’s one-upmanship, its indifference. Our women Parliamentarians, who are at
the least expected to stand by their sisters and are generally at their
vitriolic best when it comes to attacking Opposition, have not spoken a word of
condemnation for the shameful incident on Kuki women in Manipur.
Is it time for the country to rise once again after
the horrific Nirbhaya case in Delhi, if our sisters of the northeast are to be
given justice!.
Surely the country has many questions to ask. Can
Manipur be let to burn and go the path of destruction this way! How can law and
order be restored in Manipur. How does this bloodbath end! How do the
devastated women of Manipur get justice! Can the honor of those raped Kuki women be
returned! How much more suffering is yet to be seen! Is Nirbhaya to revisit
again and again and again…!
It only reminds me of Draupadi of Mahabharat…. Where
is KRISHNA! Will he not come this time!!!
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As a nation, we have a 'very short memory'…..! Nirbhaya seems to be a sadly forgotten story .
Such serious turn of events ……does the higher power centres need to be shaken up to take notice of, by the highest seat of judiciary ??
Where is all the sensitivity gone ??
Where is all the humaneness vanished ??
Is it a clear cut Open & Shut case of a state that is "Away from sight…away from mind" ?
Too many questions , but certainly NO answers !
Lastly, we must remain alive to the goings-on in the immediate neighborhood – lest, China takes advantage of this volatile situation.
O Krishna where are you ….?
(The author has given a very lucid account of the atrocities caused to women in the North East & the ramifications thereto …! A superbly penned article ! )