The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre’s ‘politics of polarisation’ — to divide people on religious and ethnic lines, provoke violence and rule — has resulted in the many horrors now being witnessed in Manipur, observed political scientist and human rights activist G. Haragopal.
And not only Manipur, but conflicts based on religion, caste, by patriarchy and male dominance have come back and are being promoted all over the country, he said.
Delivering at a talk on ‘Manipur Horrors’, organised by Media Education Foundation India here, he said the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with increased centralisation of power, neo-liberal legislation to encourage monopoly capitalism, and the belief that country can be governed by dividing people, has become more unequal.
“If policies are made for industrialists to exploit resources in States such as the North-Eastern States, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana, A.P. and West Bengal, where all tribal areas are in a crisis, what is the future of the country?” he wondered.
Recollecting his visit to Manipur University, while in the University Grants Commission, for enhancement of its grant as it was converted to a Central University in 2005, the professor said his team was ensured high security. The students’ slogan at the time was: “UGC dogs go back”.
“While the State university would ensure high representation for locals and tribals, the Central University status would decimate all the reservations was their contention,” he recalled.
Similarly, experience from Nagaland, where the professor was part of the peace talk delegation, and Meghalaya, as a visiting faculty, Mr. Haragopal said the socio- cultural factors are very different from the rest of India. “The very idea of implementing Uniform Civil Code in Meghalaya, where a man goes to the woman’s house after marriage and largely land ownership is with women, could turn the State into a war zone,” he noted.
The diverse culture in the country and practices of respective States are not respected, but friction and violence are encouraged to divide and rule by the government. The politics of the day also succeeded in diverting real issues such as unemployment, price rise, education and inequality, he said.
“Whether Manipur will repeat in other parts of the country? What is the future of the country? With a strong public opinion to resolve issues democratically, the government recognising and making relevant policies, if the Constitutional values are protected, there is future,” Mr. Haragopal observed.
