BUILDING BUNKERS, GOING BONKERS

IT IS A DEMENTED STATE OF BEING IN ANGRY MANIPUR. ETHNIC STRIFE HAS BECOME BRUTAL WAR. PEOPLE WIELD MACHINE-GUNS AND BUILD BUNKERS. DISTRUST DIVIDES THE POLICE AND CENTRAL FORCES. A GROUND REPORT

- JAVED PARVESH

A day before her birth, Nankhothing Vaiphee’s father died in a gunfight with British troops in Manipur. He was one of the Kuki youth who had joined the Indian National Army and was marching towards Kohima when he died. He was joyous, she said, when the INA tricolour was hoisted for the first time at Moirang, 45 km from Imphal.

Today, at the age of 79, Nankhothing finds herself as a refugee in a camp in Tengnoupal, a district that shares the international border with Myanmar. She has lost everything: her father before her birth, and now her home, cattle and books to the ethnic clash between the Meiteis and the Kukis in Manipur.

“They label us as illegal immigrants and narco-terrorists! But are we? If you visit the INA Memorial, you will discover the names of numerous Kuki people who sacrificed their lives for India’s freedom struggle,” said David J. Vaiphei, a lawyer from Moreh.

Manipur has been burning for two horrific months. I have been a regular visitor to this beautiful land of beautiful people, after Irom Chanu Sharmila began her fast against the misuse of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. I was one of the first few journalists to interview her after she ended her 16-year fast. When she stood against chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh in an election six years ago, I followed her closely.

I remember the day I saw her riding an old Hercules bicycle from Imphal city to Thoubal during her election campaign. She was all alone and looked as though she had been abandoned. In the end, she got 90 votes. That did not diminish my admiration for the women of Manipur. As a south Indian, I had been dumbstruck by the fighting spirit of the Imas (mothers) of Manipur. I have always believed that they are the most fearless fighters. Now, in the war zone that Manipur has become, it is the Imas who are leading the struggle.