Matamgi Manipur

Aaron Keishing, Sub-Editor, The Aja Press, wrote this article for  Morung Express on 30 Mar 2012   A state integrity cannot be ensured by exclusion policy or weakening of a section of people in economic growth. A state territory cannot be protected by political slogans or breaking our heads on the streets, but by ensuring economic equality among different communities living in that territory. Peaceful co-existence and economic inequality are diametrically opposed to each other. Latter needs to be eradicated to achieve the former. The question of peaceful co-existence cannot come unless our hearts genuinely accept economic equality and our actions follow it. By merely saying peaceful co-existence or economic development of the poorer section of our people without action can never ensure a territorial integrity. The phrases “territorial integrity or peaceful co-existence” itself constitutes a threat to integrity or peaceful co-existence when the shouter himself act ag...

This article was originally publsihed by the Times of India on March 29 New Delhi:  Citizens from the northeast became targets of what amounted to racial profiling on Wednesday , as cops stopped and questioned any person with "Tibetan features" in a bid to preempt protests during Chinese President Hu Jintao's visit. Reports of harassment came from markets, residential areas and streets. In some cases, citizens were stopped on the street and taken to the police station for questioning. "Three of us were going to Hauz Khas when our auto was stopped near Humayun's Tomb. When we said we were from Manipur , the cops asked us to show our passports. I am an Indian living in Delhi for four years. Why should I carry my passport? I was made to feel unwelcome in my own country," said a 25-year-old woman who did not wish to be named. Some employees at eateries in Khan Market were even taken to the police station. "Around a dozen people from north-eastern states ...

This article was originally published as  Women In The Shadow Of The Gun  in Women's Web  on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 Binalakshmi Nepram works with Manipuri women who face a dual violence – when their men are killed and in the deprivation that follows. Interview by Aparna V. Singh In the last few years, Manipur has been in the news as a conflict zone where ordinary citizens face the likelihood of unpredictable violence. On the ground though, Manipuri women continue to work to bring peace to the state, with incredible courage and resilience. Here Women's Web meets Binalakshmi Nepram, founder of the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network (PDF) that works with female survivors of the violence in Manipur, besides advocating for stricter gun control and disarmament. She was awarded as one of CNN IBN’s Real Heroes in 2011.

by JC Sanasam This article was published by Hueiyen Lanpao , and webcast at e-pao.net on 26 March 2012 ...Manipur needs to metamorphose itself into such a visage to take the first step towards positive progress. And perhaps, it has to start from home and family values; not from the ongoing chamcha-giri trend.  It is, more or less, an instinct in everybody that one nurtures a love for or some devotion to one's country or homeland. Regardless of the ramshackle condition of its physical structure in terms of the decay of electricity, water supply, roads and communication systems etc., added upon it, the atmosphere of corruption, murder and crimes, rape and abduction flurries, slaughters of the innocent, the negative spills-over of militancy, bursting and hurling of bombs and LED explosives and death of people, we the inhabitants here never fail to love and be proud of Manipur as our homeland or home state. However, sometimes, activities of many a citizen turn out in different for...

This article was published by the Times of India on March 22 2012 at  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-2012-Manipur-worst-hit-by-terror/articleshow/12361177.cms Manipur is worst affected by militancy in the country, overtaking J&K and other northeastern states. Mizoram and Tripura are among the most peaceful states. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, minister of state for home Jitendra Singh said 246 militancy-related incidents occurred in Manipur in the first three months of 2012. During that period, 34 such incidents occurred in J&K. This year, 21 militants, five security personnel and seven civilians were killed in Manipur. J&K recorded killings of six militants and four civilians. In the other northeastern states, militancy-related incidents decreased from 424 in 2009 to 251 in 2010. In 2011, there were 145 incidents and 26 till March 2012. Violence by militants is on the rise in Meghalaya. In 2009, there were 12 such incid...

Sanatomba Kangujam wrote this article for  The Sangai Express  and was webcasted by E-pao.net    on 9 March 2012  A keen observation of the prevailing conflict situation in Manipur reveals that military solution is out of question. This is primarily on account of the fact that neither side can win a decisive battle. Stringent military operations launched by the Indian State Forces have not been able to quell the armed resistance movement, on the one hand. On the other hand, the armed opposition groups are not in a position to achieve the sovereignty of Manipur by militarily defeating the Indian State Forces in the present context or in any foreseeable future. Moreover, prolonged military engagement is not favourable for all the stakeholders to the conflict as it has resulted in heavy loss of human lives and other collateral damages. This calls for early resolution of the prevailing conflict. But any such outcome may depend on at least three conditio...

This article was published by the Imphal Free Press ( http://ifp.co.in ) on 22 Feb 2012 at http://ifp.co.in/imphal-free-press-full-story.php?newsid=4650&catid=5 Manipuri Language, the mother tongue of the Meiteis, is one of the most dynamic languages, ever evolving with the passage of time and change. Like its speakers, the language also went through the rigorous process of ethnic amalgamation and cultural assimilation which continued till late 18th century. According to the ancient records, seven major clans with established principalities struggled for power and supremacy in the fertile Manipur valley, for many centuries. The Mangangs otherwise known as Ningthoujas emerged victorious in the first century A.D. And they began forging a larger and composite Meitei identity through a long and complex historical process. Many tribal elements from the hills and many streams of migrating people naturally became a part of the cultural melting pot. Non-Mongoloid peoples from the Indian...

By Yengkhom Jilangamba This article was published by the Sangai Express ( http://thesangaiexpress.com ) on 19 Mar 2012 at http://thesangaiexpress.com/sangai-express-news.php?newsid=13952 Yet again another election has been conducted in Manipur with a massive recorded participation by the voters. We saw moments of tension, marked by violence leading to loss of lives and property. We also saw the usual tactics of manipulation leading to claims and counterclaims and repolling in some areas. There has been an interesting exchange of opinions on the issue. The question that I would like to pose, here, is what is wrong in voters selling their right to freely exercise their vote? I do not intend to comment at the moment on how free this freedom is. Therefore, let us set that aside and begin from the premise that there is some level of free choice for the voter to select the candidate of one’s choice. The use of money and muscle power as one of the forms of manipulating voters in elections...

This article was published by the Sangai Express ( http://thesangaiexpress.com ) on 20 Mar 2012 at  http://thesangaiexpress.com/sangai-express-news.php?newsid=13972    It would be interesting if an extensive research on the character of Imphal city is carried out, for in many ways the very term, city, connotes not only the size, population, and infrastructure available but also sharply reflects the character, the mindset, the culture, the ethos and values of not only the Government but also its inhabitants. Imphal may not come under the category of a slum, but down the years it has become more and more clear that it fits in quite well with the description of a shanty town and this says something very, very significant for it is the capital of Manipur, one of the older kingdoms in South East Asia, with a recorded history of 2000 years. But it ends here for even as the world has moved into the 21st Century, where windows are no longer windows and where the apple is no l...