This day in 1972, Manipur attained its statehood after a checkered political history, which saw a sovereign kingdom since 33 AD till 1890 when the British defeated the then King, appointing a Political Agent to rule the state in his place. The journey from then on till its merger, which is seen as a ‘forced annexation’ in some quarters is too well known to be repeated. Once the state became a part of the Indian Union, it’s status was downgraded to a ‘Part C’ dominion which meant that it was ruled by a Chief Commissioner without an Assembly or a Council of Ministers, becoming the only princely state to be do so. In fact, when Sikkim merged into India in 1975, it got a direct statehood status. In comparison, Manipur became only a Union Territory in November 1956, but the then 30-member elected council only had an advisory role to play, with real powers resting with the Chief Commissioner. Mass movements calling for statehood gained momentum from1953, but the Central leadership paid little heed. The demand for statehood of Manipur became violent during 1969-70 with black flag demonstrations being staged before the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi on 23rd September 1969 when she visited Imphal. Many people taking part in the agitations were thrown into jails, the public resorted to stone pelting and curfews clamped.
There lies the irony when one looks at the day in the present time: the very movement for which people struggled all those years no remains a mere ‘observation day’, marked by formal functions to be attended by the Government machineries and its officials. The common man seems to be totally removed from being in any way connected to the significance of this day and look hardly capable of acknowledging the history of struggle that went towards Manipur becoming a state. Many who were in the forefront of the demand for statehood have become political leaders over the years with a few becoming Ministers and MLAs but for the common man, the state is fast becoming an authoritarian police state with incidents of violence involving state agencies leaving the highest court of the country to remark whether there was a war going on in Manipur.
Prophetic words indeed, for Manipur today looks like a land with a war just waiting to happen around the corner. The specter of heavily armed state and central forces zipping in heavily fortified vehicles and blaring sirens or with red flags giving the danger call is hardly any confidence measure of a vibrant democratic sphere but calls attention to the ‘fragile state’ that Manipur is becoming. The civil rights sphere and what citizens are entitled to says it all for the nature of a state. But when a journalist gets fired while covering a public protest when the state police is not issued any ‘fire’ orders, when a crime of violence against a woman is let to escalate into a near to the brink communal divide all because the state has to hammer it to the Center to apprehend the accused then the state of the State is at best shaky.
This is not to shy away from taking a relook at what has been achieved in Manipur, which has rallied from a phase when even Government employees had their salaries tied up for years. There is a semblance of infrastructures being built up and more roads opened up. Yet, for every development package being implemented, for every piece of infrastructure being built up, there needs to be an additional area of planning and effective implementation. The signs of urbanization in the state should not be at the cost of aesthetics being compromised or the green cover being depleted. The sight of young entrepreneurs starting their enterprises is a message of hope but is an area that has not been tapped into. As Manipur observes yet another statehood day, may we also see a day when its citizens will be able to realize their potentials and their rights protected and not trampled upon.