By Thenkhogin Haokip
“By the rivers of our life, yea, we sat and we wept, when we remember 13th September.”
Thousands of years ago, the Israelites’ had sat by the rivers of Babylon, weeping for their lost freedom, family members and country. They had been driven to a very strange situation by their enemies. Those were the time, when the beautiful ideas of liberty, fraternity, democracy and most of all, Human Rights were not yet born or at least materialized.
In the 21st Century CE, a similar song had to be sung mournfully every 13th September by a nation, very insignificant in the eyes of the biggest and largest democracy. These singers had to compose this deep sentimental composition not because of the Chaldeans or the Babylonians, but because of those who spearheaded the “Nagalim for Christ,” at the century decade of receiving Christ’s message of love. Would Christ’s love butchered-off the heads of innocent man, women and children without the slightest sense of pity? Will the pioneers in receiving Christ’s love spearhead the murder of 1000 innocent Christian lives? It is in fact, the devil in sheep’s clothing.
In the years 1990’s the NSCN (IM) had done which the devil himself would hesitate to do, without a moment of hesitation, torturing, butchering, raping and disfiguring to the extreme, thousands of helpless, defenseless people, burning-off villages, imprinting in the surviving hearts such impression which no amount of detergent could wash-off anymore. The people who proudly claimed to be the first to receive the Gospel in Manipur had carried out the devils gospel upon the unprepared helpless Kukis. A century of the Gospel of Christ had taught them to hate, kill and butcher mercilessly, which the writer as a Christian never did come across as a commandment from God to do likewise. Instead, the scripture says “Love your enemies as yourself.”
The then governments both the State as well as the Centre turns blind eye to these historical massacre. When the helpless people had to wipe-off their tears and stood-up to fight back, then the government armies intervened. The murderers were always backed by the government agents in killing the Kukis.
The Manipur Kacha-Naga’s are not real Christians as long as they shared the same cup with the devil-NSCN (I-M). Believed me, the naked Tangkhuls had been properly clothed by Christianity, but now their cloths are torn. They thought they would change their cloths after the commit such grievous sin. But they cannot change history. Uprooting, molesting, killing innocent people, is that what Christ stands for?
Why September 13?
During the NSCN (I-M) campaign for ethnic cleansing in the hills of Manipur, many innocent Kuki lives had been lost, starting from 1950’s, highly aggravated during 1992-93. Quit Notices were served to Kuki people living peacefully in their villages in all parts of Manipur. The Kukis vacated many of their villages. A Quite Notice was also served to the Kuki people in Zoupi Village, Tamenglong District of Manipur. A deadline was fixed for them before which they had to vacate their village. Thus, the Kuki people unwilling to resist the dictates of the devilish NSCN (I-M) vacated the village before the deadline and move away from the village as a caravan toward Taphou. However, the devils intercepted them on the way, stop them, separated all the man, tight their hands at the back, blindfolded them and started butchering-off their heads (not wanting to spent bullets on them) killing 88 helpless, defenseless man at the spot in broad day light in the sight of their women and children. Another incident on the same day, at Gelnel Village in Sadar Hills District, 13 helpless Kukis were brutally murdered, 4 persons at Santing Village and yet another 3 at Nungthut Village (Tamenglong District). All together the death toll of the day reached 108 on 13th September 1993.
The world turned dark with helplessness and pain for the Kukis with no one to help, even as the state government at the time was in the hands of a Naga Chief Minister Shri Rishang Keishing (May he live long) who was the strength and source of the devilish NSCN (I-M). The Government still supports and protects Th. Muivah and his NSCN (I-M) just like what the Americans had done decades ago to Osama bin Laden and his Al-Quada. The Kukis lost more than 900 lives in the hands of the NSCN (I-M). Thus, the Kukis decided to bemoan the death of all their kinsman, women and children on 13th September every year. A decade has passed; nothing is done to the criminals. They (NSCN-IM) neither admits their crime and make amends nor say sorry to their Christian Brothers (Kukis), for which this Black Day is observed still today.
Author is a Research Scholar, Assam University, Silchar.
