Ever since it has been pointed out that the ancient texts of the land has talked of a time when prosperity would usher in following the ‘Nongpok thong hangba’ (opening the Eastern gates, literally); many have looked on that prophecy as a near divine truth. As India seeks to get its share of the world market dominated by the developed countries with the lions share with China emerging as a literal dragon slayer, Myanmar and through it the South Asian Countries will be wooed and pursued for trade and tourism deals and investments. The Look East policy, which came into being during the times of P V Narasimha Rao as the Prime Minister of the country was vigorously pursued by the BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee though it is the current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has toed the line of breaking bread with the military junta across the border and exchanging pleasantries with Aung San Suu Kyi who was kept in isolation by the junta for years till the very dramatic announcement of her ‘freedom’ in 2010. For the record, O Ibobi will historically be the first CM to have lead a Government delegation to talk trade, commerce, partnerships for health, education, sports and a call for fighting against the drug menace. The Chief Minister’s offer on visa on arrival for Myanmarese nationals seeking medical treatment in the state and encouraging neighbourly support for sports is all fine given that a leading private hospital is already extending its hand to Myanmar for medical treatment and the like and the fact that Manipur does have some infrastructure and lost of experience in the sports arena. Myanmar is not exactly noted for its healthcare and there have been many cases earlier where people have been thrown out of the country’s hospitals and clinics if they were found to be HIV/AIDS or even have Tuberculosis. It was common to see many Myanmarese nationals staying in clinics and small treatment centers run by NGOs in Moreh itself and even Churachandpur starting from the late 90’s with the NGOs going out of their way to ensure that those seeking treatment would not be found out and sent back.
The offer on the neighbour sending its students to the state is a bit strange considering the state of affairs in the education sector today with the law and order situation playing havoc with academic schedules and an enabling environment for studying. If the thought behind that offer is centered around the fact that those coming from Myanmar would only be at home with the military presence and the state and non state actors crackdowns, then it is a different story. The Chief Minister’s statement on supplying Myanmar with electricity has meanwhile emerged as something of a joke in social networking sites and amongst the general population since every household in the state who is not fortunate enough to have what is known as a VIP connection is able to get as little as 4-5 hours of electricity in a 24 hour cycle. The call given by the CM to wage a joint war against drug trafficking is sheer irony as the military junta in Myanmar is not exactly known for being pro-active against drug trade. In fact many journals and newspapers of repute have given wide media coverage on how the illegal drug trade in Myanmar is fuelling the hold of the junta over the country’s economy. Going as a guest to a country and calling the hosts as being purvey to drug trafficking may not be political acumen but as observers, the mention of a concerted fight against drug trafficking with a country that is the source of the largest supply of drugs is total irony.
In a sense, Manipur and Myanmar does have a lot in common starting with a boundary and the sheer number of military presence. The neighbour does not have a good track of the rights of its citizens being respected. Myanmar gets rapped at various International foras for its track record of human rights violations. The same is true with Manipur where central armed forces have the impunity given under the cover of the Armed Forces Special Power’s Act and state police have the false confidence that they too have impunity. The political story of Aung San Suu Kyi ‘s struggle in Myanmar is similar and yet different with that of Irom Sharmila. Both are icons in the human rights movement, one thrust by the political legacy of her father and another by the political undercurrent of AFSPA. But the one major difference between the two is that where Myanmar inspite of its track record of a dictatorial and military regime, is emerging as a partner to be engaged with, Manipur is still detached from that powerful platform of brand building and going for an image make over.