By Aaron Keishing
Peaceful co-existence is the most important requirement upon which all other requisites of human survival can be safeguarded including our so called territorial integrity. No community can survive in isolation. The quicker we learn, the better are chances of our survival. It will be difficult for Manipur to survive as a state without peaceful co-existence among different communities. If communities are divided, Manipur will also divide. The racial feelings or communal strikes/bandhs divides the state more than unite it. Communal rivalry can never be viewed as a promoter of peace or state integrity. Communal violence and territorial integrity is diametrically opposed to each other. Latter needs to be eradicated to safeguard the former. Territorial integrity can be ensured only through peaceful co-existence among the various communities living in the territory. Therefore, Manipur peace or peaceful-co-existence is the only alternative for Manipur territorial integrity.
Community A’s peace and community B’s violence can not be exchanged. In other words, peace is to be exchanged by peace, not by violence. It will be a wishful thinking on the part of influential organizations and leaders of dream of territorial integrity or peace without realizing the importance of communal harmony. The India’s partition came out of the inability or refusal of its two communities to live on good terms with one another. Similar partition of Manipur may happen if the communities living in the state prejudice against each other. I strongly believe that all the communities living in Manipur has the same desire to live in peace. Who divide us then? Who is the mastermind behind it? We need to find out our real common foe and eliminate it or reduce its divide and rule policy at the least.
Dear Manipur friends, peace is not required only for territorial integrity or for our progress, but it is essential even for our minimal normal survival. Because of this, all sensible people have great concern for peace. Communal slogans or frequent strikes and bandhs are not serving our purpose of living in peace and happiness. What we saw in other parts of the world. The most powerful people were trying to disturb the world peace, it is the commoner who expressed their concern for peace and finally it is being restored. Therefore, we should not follow our powerful and educated leaders blindly.