A unique feature of India’s intellectual tradition is that the point of view of the opponent (purvapaksha) must be taken seriously — not because one loves the opponent but because one needs to understand the opponent better if one has to win an argument. That is how the tradition of samvad (dialogue) constitutes a major component of this long-standing tradition. The opposite is coercion and violence, which are outcomes of a monologue possessed by those who ‘own’ the truth! The latter as a trend can be witnessed all over the globe, across histories. Today it is found among conflicting nationalities, religious communities or ethnicity — whether it is in Israel, Nuh, or Manipur.
As Gaza bleeds, there is no objective statement of truth that can explain the large-scale violence and human tragedy that is engulfing the country. While some find fault with the initial point of ignition by Hamas, there are others who are worried about the quantum of destruction that the Palestinians have faced. Either we are carried away by the immediate turn of events, or faced with the challenge of finding the structural cause of the entire Israeli-Palestinian crisis. Similar is the case with Manipur, though the quantum of violence is far less.
The crisis in the State
The Manipur crisis has been running for over five months now, and we are nowhere close to the truth of how and why the violence happened, and which is still continuing. While many civil society bodies on either side are carried away by the violent turn of events, there are others stuck with propounding their larger narratives and demolishing the narratives of the opponent. Each of the warring groups seems to possess contradicting truths. The challenge is equally tough for the third party as it seems to get influenced by one or the other warring groups. The Editors Guild of India faced stiff resistance from the Meiteis — the allegation is that the Guild has put out a biased report that favours the Kukis. Subsequently, the Guild had to seek the Supreme Court of India’s help to neutralise the first information reports filed by the Manipur Police. Since then, the pace of all other fact-finding committees seems to have slowed down, with the larger picture of truth still to materialise.
There have been a few truths about some specific cases. Police investigation under the Unified Command structure has cracked cases related to the parading of two Kuki women who were stripped, the kidnapping and killing of two Meitei students, the arrest of former cadre of the banned People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of Manipur, followed by the arrest of a Kuki militant following a bomb blast at multi-ethnic Kwakta village. Several Manipur-based drug traffickers have been arrested in Mizoram, Assam, Tripura and Delhi, pointing to the spread of illegal activities and the large-scale involvement of people in the trade. The arrests show that the civil administration is slowly stirring back to life.
The hardliners and their politics
However, the crisis is far from over. Most worrisome is the politics driven by the hardliners, whose narratives are to show the opposite camps as being the perpetrators of violence. These narratives often project the protagonists as the victim, and that violent acts they resorted to were out of self-defence. Thus, violence gets justified in each of these narratives. Unfortunately, humanity takes a back seat.
While the State will take its own course to identify the truths behind the magnified stories, the crisis is not altogether about the state-citizen relationship. Had this been the case, it would have been just a law-and-order issue. But the fact is there were instances where armed militants have inspired members of their affiliated community to call themselves as a ‘people’ vis-à-vis an ‘enemy’ in the other community. The torching of houses, cold-blooded killings, and the inhuman treatment of women and children are influenced by the presence of armed militants and a false sense of impunity among some people. This truth about ethnic conflict is one among many narratives. There are larger narratives such as an imagined Kuki nation, insurgency across the border, illegal migration, and narco-terrorism. It is narco-terrorism that has turned out to be the real threat to the Indian state.
Focus on its bonds
Amidst these complex narratives, there is a need to arrive at a holistic truth; a truth that preferably must be agreed by all. There is not only a need for dialogue but also a verification of the facts claimed in these narratives. The search for a holistic truth cannot be done without the presence of the contending parties. The narratives of the hardliners are extremely problematic for these are shaped by the politics of exclusion, which allows little room for dialogue. On the contrary, co-existence, the matrimonial bonds, and spatial sharing among the ethnic communities are the realities of life in the State. People seem to forget the long existing multicultural life of Manipur while having been dragged into the violent politics of the present. Dialogue does not necessarily mean political agreement. Rather, it is about cross-checking each other’s claims and counter-claims. Negotiated truth is possible when the contesting parties recognise amiability in arguments, and show an openness to the outcome.
India’s intellectual tradition of samvad is an invitation to an openness with truth. This requires enormous moral strength in the practitioners of a dialogue. And the result can be peaceful and long lasting. It is an attempt to understand the other’s point of view and politics better. It is also about freeing oneself to a committed truth, letting it open to scrutiny by the other party. Manipur needs a platform for samvad, however small, amidst the violence and the mistrust.
Bhagat Oinam is Chairperson of the Special Centre for the Study of North East India (SCSNEI) at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
