Manipur: Just a Facade

Through the dark walls, she cannot see;
Through our dark souls, we will not try;
But the God above will always know:
There is no sun.
Only the guns, only the guns, only the guns.

Manipur went to elections last month under the shadow of the gun. A state that has bore the brunt of militancy and high-handedness from the Union Government was asked to vote in a Government once again that would probably be as ineffective as the last.

The problem with such elections is that they often hide the chaos underlying the order. For Manipur is a state under siege - militants on one side, espousing silly dreams of Independence, collecting taxes based on that silly dream an killing any dissent. On the other is the Army, which has virtually occupied its own country's civilian territory and which is being forced by an inept civilian administration to maintain law and order - something which it is not trained to do.

Caught between a rock and a hard place for over half a century now, Manipur's state of siege is now seen as 'normal.' The locals have learned to keep quiet and expect very little from one of India's poorest and most neglected states. Elections are just a formality because nobody seriously believes that things can change now - that in a corner of 'emerging' India.Until the Union Government and indeed, the larger people of India look upon Manipuris as their own people, the facade will linger.