Patriotism manifested on I-Day
Nava Thakuria
While Manipur was burning in ethnic violence that resulted in the killing of over 175 people (injuring 1000 others), destruction of many public & private properties including religious institutions, displacement of over 50,000 people (who are taking shelter in more than 500 relief camp), many armed militant outfit issued their diktat on its population. Armed groups namely Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL), People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), PREPAK-Pro, Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF), People’s Liberation Army (PLA), United National Liberation Front (UNLF) played the old record of boycotting the 77th Independence Day celebrations across the State.
As Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh unfurled the Tricolour in the capital city of Imphal, the valley wore a deserted look as only a few people and vehicles stepped out of their residential complexes. Most of the shops in marketplaces remained closed for the whole day. However, the employees of all government offices across Manipur arrived in their workplaces to join the I-Day celebrations. Needless to mention that the people of Manipur as well as Northeast showed their bravery and patriotism in the freedom movement against the British imperialists. They wholeheartedly joined in the agitation and most of them supported the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose led Indian National Army to form the first provincial government of independent India at Moirang defeating the imperialist forces.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the nation after unfurling the Tricolour at Red Fort in the national capital on 15 August, asserted that the entire nation was standing with the violence-torn Manipur. The saffron leader promised that necessary actions were taken to resolve various burning issues and peace was slowly returning to the region. Earlier, both the houses of Indian Parliament debated rigorously over the situation of Manipur, which was triggered by various factors like Narcho-terrorism & illegal infiltration from neighbouring Myanmar, land rights disputes between the majority Meitei people and tribal Kuki groups, etc.
Significantly, a large number of residents from Kuki, Zomi, Mizo, Chin, Hmar villages came forward to observe I-Day in Churachandpur locality, which is around 60 kilometer away from Imphal. Thousands of rural volunteers, led by a group of women, participated in a ceremonial march-past organised at Lamka public ground. They also publicly reposed faith on the Constitution of India while saluting the Tricolour. Even the Hmar Students’ Association organised a makeshift arrangement for the public screening of some Hindi movies for the first time in more than two decades inside Manipur, which was banned by some separatist militant outfits terming those as ‘foreign films negatively influencing Meitei/Manipuri culture’. Since September 2000, the theatre halls avoided the screening of Bollywood movies as the outlawed groups dictated the owners to stop showing such movies.
The celebrators of I-Day in Churachandpur openly declared that the Meiteis (meaning armed militant groups based in Imphal) banned the Hindi movies in Manipur. On the sacred day, they not only enjoyed the movies defying the militants, but also played the Indian national anthem before the screening. Thus they directly projected the Meitei dominated armed groups, precisely Hindus, as anti-Indians and themselves (mostly Christians) as nationalists. Amidst the violent ethnic conflicts between the Meitei language speaking people and Kuki tribal communities that started on 3 May, their stand signifies a lot of the region. No doubt, they have also pushed a large section of the Meitei population into an unwanted debate on their Indian identities.
Earlier, a group of nationalist citizens appealed to the people of Northeast to observe both I-Day and R-Day. They urged everyone irrespective of their religions, ethnic and linguistic divides and political ideologies, to pay respect to the martyrs by saluting the Tricolour. The forum expected that citizens of Manipur would come forward to honour the Tricolour as it does not belong to the government and political parties in power, but to every Indian across the vast land. And baring a few Meitei people, the appeal seemingly attracted the residents of Manipur as they showcased their love and affection to the motherland India which manifested in distinctive ways this time.
