Download PDF version: An Open Letter to Citizens of India (PDF)
Dear Fellow Indians,
We are sportspersons who love to play our sport and bring smiles to our people. We play as ‘India’ and we play for the pride of our countrymen. There can be nothing bigger an award for us than people cheering at our every move and pray for a win every time we play.
We believe that the sportspersons and common people ooze the tears of happiness and sorrow together. We are from this beautiful part of India, popularly known as North East. We are simple people smiling our way to achieve our simple dreams. We love to play and win. We love to smile and show to the world how wonderful this corner of the earth is. But, alas, it is not the case always!
As much as we have enjoyed the privilege of representing you in various international platforms, today we are very saddened at what is repeatedly going on in our beloved and beautiful state of Manipur. The common people have been struggling everyday for basic amenities of life. The four month long economic blockade and resultant deadlock have affected the normal life of every common man of this part of the country.
It’s sad to see this great nation giving a deaf ear while lakhs of its citizens in one of the most vibrant states – Manipur have been suffering under the dark shadow of the economic blockade for more than 120 days. It’s painful to see no conclusive action from any of the responsible quarters for over 4 months when the people of Manipur were made to struggle for basic essential items, life saving drugs and many more.
It’s same state which has produced some of the best sportspersons for this country who have brought laurels to the nation at international platforms; it’s the same state which has given some of the best performing art forms and artistes to the nation.
Today, they need your support. They need support from everyone to put an end to the sufferings and help them live a normal life.
We appeal to everyone to restrain from using economic blockade or other such extreme modes of protest on humanitarian grounds and find a solution through democratic way. At the same time, we appeal to our fellow countrymen and the people’s representatives to join hands and help bring back Manipur on the growth path and make it an integral part of the development of our nation.
Let us, the people of this country, work towards rebuilding the jewel of India.
We hope that our honourable prime minister will sow the seeds of peace and lay the foundation of a prosperous Manipur when he visits the state on 3rd December, 2011.
Hopefully,
Kunjarani Devi
(Weightlifting) (Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Winner, 1996-1997)
M C Mary Kom
(Boxing) (Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Winner, 2008-2009 )
Baichung Bhutia
(Football) (Former Captain of Indian National Football Team)
Gourmangi Singh
(Football)
Monica Devi
(Weightlifting)
Govind Singh
(Football)
Sandhyarani
(Wushu)
Sushil Singh
(Football)
Lalrindika Ralte
(Football)
Rocus Lamare
(Football)
Carbon Copies: Rashtrapati Bhawan, Vice President’s Office, Speaker of Lok Sabha, Deputy Chairperson of Rajya Sabha, Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha, Prime Minister’s Office, Leader of Lok Sabha, Leader of Rajya Sabha, Deputy Leader of Lok Sabha, Deputy Leader of Rajya Sabha, Chairperson of UPA, Chief Justice of India, Chairman of Press Council of India, Governors of all the states of Indian Union, Chief Ministers of all the states of Indian Union
Blank Carbon Copies: All the editors of Indian newspapers, wires, electronic media and all the concerned journalists
About North East India Image Managers (NEIim): Northeast India Image Managers (NEIim) (http://www.facebook.com/groups/neimagemanagers/) is a group of PR/ Media / Brand Management/ Communications professionals hailing from Northeastern region of India and working in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore etc. The group is aimed at discussing and finding out actionable issues pertaining to development and promotion of the image of Northeast India, which in the long run is expected to fill up the information and knowledge gap which has been existing leading to confusion about the people, society, economy and geography of Northeast amongst the rest of India.
[pdf https://kanglaonline.in/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/2011-12-01-An-Open-Letter-to-Citizens-of-India.pdf 580 800]
Dear Naga friends,
It is OK for you
to think whatever you want or whatever you want to do and I think you can get
it. I appreciate your unity and courage for a common purpose and goal. I also
admire for your hardship and patients towards the fulfillment of your dream and
vision which was founded by a few of your respected former and present leaders.
What more to say, you have every right to speak, demand and be fulfilled in a country
like India.
The people in
the plain areas heard the gospel of Jesus Christ from you. People looked to you
as the model of their spiritual life. Hundreds of people have been saved
through your Christ-centered missions. People see you as blessed people as you
grow in the Light of Christ, in His knowledge, in purity, in progress in many
areas and as a result thousands of people began to see Christ through your life
and acts. Many people were very hopeful that real peace and security will be
restored in Manipur. Are you going to deny the above facts? If you really want
to know as to how the things mentioned above
happen through your generation, just try to remember of your forefathers
especially the 12th fathers who made you to be such manifold channel of
blessings through a man of God called William Pettigrew. I never hope that your
12th precious spiritual fathers would ever plant such a spirit of confusion and
chaos in your lives. I trust that you were given birth to do the will of those
respected fathers -the will that demands the spreading of the same Light to the
people of Manipur and neighboring states. You are the salt as well as the light
of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). Do you understand what you are doing now. It seems
that you have been misled by some uncircumcised brothers of your own who guide
you in this present issue like sheep but fully wolf inside. Instead of becoming
the salt and light to the world, you have become terrible taste to thousands and
you have become darkness towards them by compromising you integrity for the
sake of just some perishable things like the so called Nagalim/Supra State
Body. You know very well that the world is not ours (John 15:19) and we should
not fight for it (1John 2:15-17). You are following the Prince of Peace and you
are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), but now you are trying very hard to become a
curse upon thousands of people by fighting for a selfish matter called Nagalim
as if it were a God given property. You have been sowing the seed of hatred,
enmity, violence, bloodshed towards your brothers who are in need of Gospel and
this is all for a peace of land and so called man-made egoistic traditional and
cultural identities. Why don’t you identified with Christ who is the real
answer of all your problems and issues. Is this all you are sowing as seed for
your children and children’s children! Dear friends, we who follow Christ are
nothing more than a spiritual Israel. You cannot become a physical Israel. If
you do this your theology has been in need of a dire re-examination so that you
may avoid of being extra-Biblical!
I don’t know
what God is planning for you, but please be sure of this that you have become a
generation of shame towards those precious 12th forefathers who born and
brought you up to be the salt and light of the world. Please be sure of this
that you have become a curse upon thousands of people who are in need of
Christ. Moreover, you have become stumbling block towards the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. You are crucifying Christ again and again by your deed of darkness. I
love the Naga communities and in any sense I am not your enemy. This is an open
message to you from a brother who came
into the light of life through your Christ-centered mission. It is not a
political issue as you think, but it is your spiritual issue. Stop your fasting
and prayer for such Godless movement and wants, because your fasting and prayer
has very special reasons (Isaiah 58:6-7). I feel that it is the time for you to
repent and turn to God for His mercy and guidance. Stop leading your children
into chaos and confusion, your children deserve better than that worldly wealth
and property, because they have special higher calling. Teach your children on
how to inherit the earth by using this eternal truth from Matthew 5:5.
One of your well-wishers,
Imphal