At the outset,we need to take note of the timings of putting the blockades in 'animated suspensions'.The first one,by the Kukis was suspended just as Mr Chidambaram,the Union Home Minister,descended in Imphal on an official visit.The second one was suspended on the run-up to the official visit of Mr Manmohan Singh,the Prime Minister and Mrs Sonia Gandhi,the president,Indian National Congress on the 3rd of December 2011.
These timings clearly show from where the strings of the blockades were pulled(and,are going to be pulled in future).
Why should New Delhi wants to pull the strings,hiding behind the Kukis and the Nagas?There are several posts in this blog trying to answer this question.But the fact that the blockades are now in 'animated suspension'dictates us to re-state the answer.
The Casteist constituent within the Indian society is the driving force behind it.This Castiest constituent successfully outwaited both Jainism and Budhism(and,also the Dravidian movement in South India and yes,Mohandas K.Gandhi as well).For some time now,it has been on a grand design to outwait the Chinese Communist Party.That's why they have been keeping the Tibetan issue just 'alive'under the cloak of religion.As and when they sense that the Chinese Communist Party begins losing touch with the Chinese people(which may happen after several centuries--the Casteists have been patient all along--see the cases of Jainism and Budhism) they would revive the Tibetan issue and make it secede from China.(It's worth noting that the varied 'micro-outwaiting'games currently underway in the guise of peace talks hardly warrant a mention here).
This slow but incessant pace of the spectacularly successful 'outwaiting game' of the Casteist is being queered by none other than the Manipuri rebels.
Keeping this background in focus,we may now come to the inside story of the blockades.
The inside story in a nutshell--To be able to return to the comfortable and spectacularly successful path of 'outwaiting'its foes,the Casteist have just embarked on a one final effort to isolate and immobilized the Manipuri rebel group(responsible for the queering of the 'outwaiting game')and,in result,the constituent within the Manipuri society forming its bulwork.That's why they have crafted a 3-months-long blockade.Then,they leaked out the details of the 'supra state body' just in the run-up to the 47th anniversary of the oldest rebel group of Manipur.
If the Castiests fail in this final foray,they have no choice but to encounter a clear faceoff with china--which is the direct opposite of their 'outwaiting game'.(In my mind,Ms Hillary Clinton's Burma visit is less to do with Burma itself than to size up the 'Manipuri component'of this developing faceoff).
But the modus operandi of this final foray?
Basically,they simulated(by not repairing the National Highway 53 and simultaneosly
sponsoring a 3-months-long blockades on the highways and then,leaking to the media the blueprint of accedding the 'Greater Nagaland' in the form of 'supra state body' narrative) a situation whereby the oldest rebel group of Manipur would think it's the 'time' to publicly and officially announce its relationship with China.If that happens,it would go full throttle to try to isolate this rebel group(and,ultimately,the constituent forming its bulwork) and brand them as the henchmen of China(a rebel group instigated by China).Some kind of all too familiar 'foreign hand'narrative.(It also seems that the rebel group anticipated this move--that's why China accused India of 'instigating'smaller nations against it--that too,on the 24th of Nov,the birthday of the rebel group--see my last post)
But the rebel group,in its lengthy message on its 47th anniversary(the 24th of Nov),refused to bite the bait.This makes the purpose of the 3-months-long blockade redundant and,so,New Delhi instructed the Naga blockaders to lift the blockade(the 28th of Nov) .
Now,coming to Manipuri society,its Casteist constituent,unlike its counterpart in the mainland Indian society,is not,at present,the driving force behind it.But,by placing itself in tandem with its counterpart in the mainland Indian society and with the economic and political powers flowing out of New Delhi,it,nevertheless,exerts disproportionately strong influnce on the functioning of Manipuri society.By just sitting tight,it effectively drags down Manipuri society to a confusing inertia.In other words,it can outwait the progress of Manipuri society.If it can continue to do so for 2-3 decades,Manipuri society would be in a complete inertia,thus effectively checkmating the movements of the constituent forming the bulwok of the oldest rebel group.
So,the lines of the constant probings to isolate and immobilize the rebel group(and the Constituent forming its bulwork) and the'outwaiting game'of the the Casteist constituent of Manipuri society might intersect in some futre date.
But,this is a tremendously significant 'but',the Manipuri society, which is in the midst of a tightly-joined battle,is likely to encounter a faceoff with an unpredictable but potentially destabilizing factor:the age of our leader from Somdal.Our leader from Somdal,Mr Thuingalen Muivah,is now around 85 years of age but,when he reaches 88,he must be 'almost 90'.At an age which is 'almost 90',he cannot be an effective leader.So,he has got just 2 years to press forward with all his might for 'Greater Nagaland',which is another name for the gameplan of snatching away hills and mountains of Manipur.
In a scenario in which there is possibility of the hills and mountains of Manipur got snantched away,the Casteists agenda of just sitting tight,'outwaiting' any progress in Manipuri society might become untenable,which would set off a chain reaction giving leeway to the Constituent(forming the bulwork of the oldest rebel group) to move forward,which,in turn,would likely to decide whether the Casteists Constituent in the Mainland Indian Society can continue its decades old endeavour to 'outwait' the Chinese Communist Party.
The next 2/3 might as well prove to be a gamechanging ones for Manipuri Society.
UPDATE-1
4th Dec
The Prime Minister speaking at Kangla on the 3rd of Dec was very categorical about 'Supra-states body'--he said the issue was not under Central Government's consideration.
This only tells us that Mr Thuingalen Muivah and the ruling class in New Delhi are now embarking on a 'sophisticated' blockading.
I've already a post describing this.
UPDATE-2
5th Dec
As I have no cable connection(yes,I've already cut the cord!),I got no chance to see the live coverages of the speeches of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister.I got to hear the edited version of the speeches on radio this afternoon only.
As I was listening to the speech of the Chief Minister,Mr Okram Ibobi,I could easily detect the changed tone and tenor,especially when he addressed the Central leadership sitting right there at the same platform.
Mr Okram Ibobi has changed.
Judging by one of his public speeches on one Khongjom Day celebration,he was acutely aware of the changing geo-political situation in our vicinity.
And this changing geo-political situation has also brought about an equally startling change to the Chief Minsiter.
As he has grown up politically amidst the Indian National Congress cultural milleue(ie,extreme case real politic),he seems to be acutely aware of the new power equation brought about by this changing geo-political situation.He seems to think that he can bluff his way(in,like demanding ever expanding economic packages) thorough the Delhi ruling class.
I think it's the first tangible change seen on the body of the Indian polity which has been brought about by the changing geo-political situation in our vicinity.I also think that more changes are coming.
If he carries on like this,he would have significant impact on the direction on which Manipur society would likely to take,implying that he would have signicant impact on the making of the 'Manipuri component'of the still developing faceoff between India and China.
Today is my birthday and I'm actually proud to be able to detect such a momentous change on this day.
UPDATE-3
22nd Dec
The oldest rebel group responded.
On the 20th of Dec the Indian State executed a tactical retreat.
And,on the 20th Dec itself the oldest rebel group attacked several military outposts near Burma border.
In my mind,it seems to be the classic case Mao Ze Dong dictum in action.I cannot recollect the dictum clearly but it goes on something like this:
When the enemy advances,we retreat.When the enemy retreats,we advance.
We should recollect that it was widely reported that the Kukis would again impose the blockade from 2oth Dec onward but the Indian State used the Supreme Court to announce publicly that any blockade on the highways would be cleared within 24 hours.
That made the Kukis retreat,meaning, the Indian state made a tactical retreat on the 20th of Dec.
UPDATE-4
1st Jan 2012
I would like to start the new year with a fresh re-look at myself.
In this particular post and several recent posts,I tended to veer towards the view that the still developing 'India-China faceoff' had been giving my personal and my society's day to day businesses a warlike impact(like the unavailabilty of petrol and cooking gas--I've been burning woods for my meals).
If it's only a normal and simple faceoff between two countries,my society should not have suffered this warlike impact.
So?
The only plausible reason I can think of is that Manipuri rebels have joined a grand coalition against Casteist Imperialism.
China may be an outsize,but still an equal,member of the grand coaltion.
India have been trying to break up this grand coaltion.That's why Manipuri society sufferred 120-days crippling economic blockades.That's why we cannot buy petrol and cooking gas,except in astronomical price markup.
On a personal level,I firmly beleive that every progressive citizen of this globe have the legitimate right to strike deep inside the birthplace of Casteist Imperialism.Casteist Imperialism is the new challenge faced by the whole world in this 21st Century.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
The ongoing blockade:Encirclement,China and the 24th of November.
What's the differnece between encirclement and blockading?
What about India encircled by China just like Imphal valley already 'encircled' by Naga blockaders sponsored by New Delhi?
Intersting thought,isn't it?
But it's more than just a thought.In a just posted commentary on Xinhua website,China actually mentioned the words 'encirclement of India,though it said that 'India is living under delusion that China was out to encircle it'.
Here is the link.
To my knowledge,it's the first time China has ever used the words 'encirclement of India' in an official commentary.
And,China is doing this on the 24th of November.
What about India encircled by China just like Imphal valley already 'encircled' by Naga blockaders sponsored by New Delhi?
Intersting thought,isn't it?
But it's more than just a thought.In a just posted commentary on Xinhua website,China actually mentioned the words 'encirclement of India,though it said that 'India is living under delusion that China was out to encircle it'.
Here is the link.
To my knowledge,it's the first time China has ever used the words 'encirclement of India' in an official commentary.
And,China is doing this on the 24th of November.
Monday, November 07, 2011
The ongoing blockade:New Delhi's Plan B and the uncharted territory
The Union Home Minsiter of India descended(a few days back for a one-night stay)in Imphal with a well-prepared Plan B.
That he(as a representative of the rulers in New Delhi) did have a Plan B means that his visit in Imphal marked the beginning of the rolling out of New Delhi's big gamble of entering an uncharted territory.
As any move in New Delhi have direct impact in Manipur,its people are,unwittingly,dragged into a journey towards an uncharted territoty as well.
THE PLAN B.
First,why the Plan B?
Because the rulers in New Delhi are conscious that they are betting on a big gamble.Anything can happen.So,they want a safety valve,an escaped route firmly in place as they begin their Devilish journey towards the uncharted territoty.
The existence of the Plan B is revealed by the presence of Mr Prakash Karat,the leader of CPI(M),in Imphal on the same days Mr Chidambaram,the Home Minister in Delhi,stayed here in Imphal.
As it happened,Mr Chidambaram steadfastly avoided the media while Mr Karat was too eager to cozy up with it.
Mr Chidambaram,the Home Minsiter did nothing to lift the more than 3 months ecenomic
blockades on the highways which is choking off the flow of essential commodities all over the State,particularly the valley area.His inaction,calculated or therwise,have the unfortunate and indirect impact of encouraging and supporting the blockaders.
Encouraging and supporting the blockadeers by none other than the Union Home Minsister?
Well,Mr Karat was right there in front of the media implying exactly that when he spelled out how Chidambaram was doing nothing and was,in fact,neglecting and turning a blind eye towards the plight of the citizens as they struggle with the astronomical price rise because of the economic blockade.
This is where the need of a Plan B comes in.If things go out of control,Mr Karat(and the rest of the ruling class in New Delhi and the rest of India) would say it was because of an individual named Chidamabaram(and of one party called the Indian National Congress)--they are the culprits--their fault--but the rest of India is still a friend of Manipur.
Mr Chidabaram and Mr Karat were acting on a fully thought out script.
(As it turned out,it's sad to note that Comrade Karat was not there as a CPI-M leader but as a fellow conspirator of Mr Chidambaram,the Home Minister.And it's also sad to note that Comrade Karat was selectd by New Delhi exactly because the citizenry of Manipur,more or less,have some trust in the integrity of the leaders of the CPI-M.Obviously,Comrade Karat have to forego his party and his own personal integrity because he was on an overinding 'national security mission' in Manipur.Sad.Sad.)
THE UNCHARTED TERRITORY.
Giving a fresh lease of life to an already 3-months running economic blockade is certainly a clear case of stepping into an uncharted territory.
That's exactly what Mr Chidambaram's Imphal visit had achieved.
The blockadeers,who recieve direct intructions from the Naga rebel group,NSCN-M,which is currently on a 10-years running peace talk with New Delhi,have,in the last few days,been reinforced with newer signals that they have Mr Chidambaram (and the rulers in New Delhi) on their side.
But why should New Delhi support the 3-months running ecenomic blockade?
It's because New Delhi is fully convinced that the direction-shifting battle in the fight with China lies in Imphal Valley,which is currently blockaded continously for 99 days now.This point is fully discussed here here and here.
How the ongoing blockade would give New Delhi its much needed strategic win?
New Delhi is deploying all political and diplomatic skills in its armoury to hide behind the Naga blockaders so that the ire of the citizenry would be directed towards the Nagas.That would certainly result in an ethnic war.New Delhi is zeroing in to that ethnic war.Because in that scenario,the rebels of Manipurs,who have evidently a good working relations with Beijing, would have their hands so full managing the crisis that they would no time for relations with Beijing.
I believe that,in the advent of an ethnic war,the Manipur society would be in a complete disarray and thus, would be completely paralysed.
New Delhi,by hiding behind the Naga blokadeers,are aiming for no less than the complete paralysis of Manipuri society.
But New Delhi is missing on one very crucial point.
The present ground reality is the Naga blockaders have a complete sway on one National Highway,called NH 37.To be really effective,the blockaders have to have a complete control over another National Highway,called the NH 53,through which the Govt of Manipur in bringing in essential commodities at great cost(now the queues in the retailing outlets for petrol are 4 kms long--imagine consumers in 4 kms long queues!).I know it would evoke total disbelief when I say this:the Prime Minister of the largest democracy of the world came to the rescue of the blockadeers.But it is fully detailed here.
The upkeep and maintenance of the National Highway 53 is being looked after by the Border Roads Organisation(BRO),which is directly under Ministry of Defence,Union of India.Repeated attempts by the Govt of Manipur to transfer the job to it Public Works Deptt were vetoed by the Defence Ministry.The BRO made a lot of noise and is still keeping the highway in a terrible condition.As it stands now,a few weeks of rain would render the highway unfit for light traffic,leave aside heavy trucks.
On one highway,New Delhi is sponsoring a total blockade via the Nagas and on the other,an organisation under it direct control is making the road unfit for traffic.
A lot has happened regarding this National Highway 53.The Govt of Manipur and a number Civil Society Organisations has petitioned the Prime Minister and many other power players but nothing has materialized.
So much so that the general citizenry has already begun to suspect that soemthing
'extraordinary' is undergoing in NH53.As of now,in my mind,they are refusing to believe that any responsible power centre,be it Imphal or New Delhi or for that,anywhere in the world,would stoop so low as to refuse to repair the highway facilitating the success of an economic blockade,trapping 2 million people inside a tiny valley.They are in denial mode.
Yes,the general citizenry of Manipur is in denial mode--they remain silent beacuse of this but not beacuse they are being intimidated by the Devilish design by New Delhi.I think New Delhi misses on this subtle but crucial point.
As we start entering the unchartered territory,the newly experienced sgnals,impulses and the general ambience might evoke a series of responses within the general citizenry to enable itself to lift the veil of denial and to reveal to itself the true nature what New Delhi actually is.(It is exactly at this point of time that New Delhi hopes to let the Plan B kicked in,presenting Mr Chidambaram and the Indian National Congress as the scapegoats).
I even don't like to mention the only other possible scenario as we start entering the unchartered territory--the ethnic war.I truly hope that we won't come down to that lowly level.
But,as was mentioned earlier,anything can happen because we are being forced into an
unchartered territoy.
That he(as a representative of the rulers in New Delhi) did have a Plan B means that his visit in Imphal marked the beginning of the rolling out of New Delhi's big gamble of entering an uncharted territory.
As any move in New Delhi have direct impact in Manipur,its people are,unwittingly,dragged into a journey towards an uncharted territoty as well.
THE PLAN B.
First,why the Plan B?
Because the rulers in New Delhi are conscious that they are betting on a big gamble.Anything can happen.So,they want a safety valve,an escaped route firmly in place as they begin their Devilish journey towards the uncharted territoty.
The existence of the Plan B is revealed by the presence of Mr Prakash Karat,the leader of CPI(M),in Imphal on the same days Mr Chidambaram,the Home Minister in Delhi,stayed here in Imphal.
As it happened,Mr Chidambaram steadfastly avoided the media while Mr Karat was too eager to cozy up with it.
Mr Chidambaram,the Home Minsiter did nothing to lift the more than 3 months ecenomic
blockades on the highways which is choking off the flow of essential commodities all over the State,particularly the valley area.His inaction,calculated or therwise,have the unfortunate and indirect impact of encouraging and supporting the blockaders.
Encouraging and supporting the blockadeers by none other than the Union Home Minsister?
Well,Mr Karat was right there in front of the media implying exactly that when he spelled out how Chidambaram was doing nothing and was,in fact,neglecting and turning a blind eye towards the plight of the citizens as they struggle with the astronomical price rise because of the economic blockade.
This is where the need of a Plan B comes in.If things go out of control,Mr Karat(and the rest of the ruling class in New Delhi and the rest of India) would say it was because of an individual named Chidamabaram(and of one party called the Indian National Congress)--they are the culprits--their fault--but the rest of India is still a friend of Manipur.
Mr Chidabaram and Mr Karat were acting on a fully thought out script.
(As it turned out,it's sad to note that Comrade Karat was not there as a CPI-M leader but as a fellow conspirator of Mr Chidambaram,the Home Minister.And it's also sad to note that Comrade Karat was selectd by New Delhi exactly because the citizenry of Manipur,more or less,have some trust in the integrity of the leaders of the CPI-M.Obviously,Comrade Karat have to forego his party and his own personal integrity because he was on an overinding 'national security mission' in Manipur.Sad.Sad.)
THE UNCHARTED TERRITORY.
Giving a fresh lease of life to an already 3-months running economic blockade is certainly a clear case of stepping into an uncharted territory.
That's exactly what Mr Chidambaram's Imphal visit had achieved.
The blockadeers,who recieve direct intructions from the Naga rebel group,NSCN-M,which is currently on a 10-years running peace talk with New Delhi,have,in the last few days,been reinforced with newer signals that they have Mr Chidambaram (and the rulers in New Delhi) on their side.
But why should New Delhi support the 3-months running ecenomic blockade?
It's because New Delhi is fully convinced that the direction-shifting battle in the fight with China lies in Imphal Valley,which is currently blockaded continously for 99 days now.This point is fully discussed here here and here.
How the ongoing blockade would give New Delhi its much needed strategic win?
New Delhi is deploying all political and diplomatic skills in its armoury to hide behind the Naga blockaders so that the ire of the citizenry would be directed towards the Nagas.That would certainly result in an ethnic war.New Delhi is zeroing in to that ethnic war.Because in that scenario,the rebels of Manipurs,who have evidently a good working relations with Beijing, would have their hands so full managing the crisis that they would no time for relations with Beijing.
I believe that,in the advent of an ethnic war,the Manipur society would be in a complete disarray and thus, would be completely paralysed.
New Delhi,by hiding behind the Naga blokadeers,are aiming for no less than the complete paralysis of Manipuri society.
But New Delhi is missing on one very crucial point.
The present ground reality is the Naga blockaders have a complete sway on one National Highway,called NH 37.To be really effective,the blockaders have to have a complete control over another National Highway,called the NH 53,through which the Govt of Manipur in bringing in essential commodities at great cost(now the queues in the retailing outlets for petrol are 4 kms long--imagine consumers in 4 kms long queues!).I know it would evoke total disbelief when I say this:the Prime Minister of the largest democracy of the world came to the rescue of the blockadeers.But it is fully detailed here.
The upkeep and maintenance of the National Highway 53 is being looked after by the Border Roads Organisation(BRO),which is directly under Ministry of Defence,Union of India.Repeated attempts by the Govt of Manipur to transfer the job to it Public Works Deptt were vetoed by the Defence Ministry.The BRO made a lot of noise and is still keeping the highway in a terrible condition.As it stands now,a few weeks of rain would render the highway unfit for light traffic,leave aside heavy trucks.
On one highway,New Delhi is sponsoring a total blockade via the Nagas and on the other,an organisation under it direct control is making the road unfit for traffic.
A lot has happened regarding this National Highway 53.The Govt of Manipur and a number Civil Society Organisations has petitioned the Prime Minister and many other power players but nothing has materialized.
So much so that the general citizenry has already begun to suspect that soemthing
'extraordinary' is undergoing in NH53.As of now,in my mind,they are refusing to believe that any responsible power centre,be it Imphal or New Delhi or for that,anywhere in the world,would stoop so low as to refuse to repair the highway facilitating the success of an economic blockade,trapping 2 million people inside a tiny valley.They are in denial mode.
Yes,the general citizenry of Manipur is in denial mode--they remain silent beacuse of this but not beacuse they are being intimidated by the Devilish design by New Delhi.I think New Delhi misses on this subtle but crucial point.
As we start entering the unchartered territory,the newly experienced sgnals,impulses and the general ambience might evoke a series of responses within the general citizenry to enable itself to lift the veil of denial and to reveal to itself the true nature what New Delhi actually is.(It is exactly at this point of time that New Delhi hopes to let the Plan B kicked in,presenting Mr Chidambaram and the Indian National Congress as the scapegoats).
I even don't like to mention the only other possible scenario as we start entering the unchartered territory--the ethnic war.I truly hope that we won't come down to that lowly level.
But,as was mentioned earlier,anything can happen because we are being forced into an
unchartered territoy.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Ongoing blockade---Instructions from New Delhi.
This may sound a bit dramatic but let me say it---
How is Manipuri society's destiny got so tangled up with the ongoing blockade?
We are talking about our destiny because the hardships heaped on us, and the profound questions thrown up, by this ongoing blockade may help us open up our eyes to the true personality of the Indian State in action.Once the majority of our populace reach that point,we may come face to face with our destiny.
On the 51st day of the ongoing economic blockade, let me make a list of the intructions sent down by New Delhi to the blockade sponsors.
In other words,the list portrays the dirty war being waged by the Indian State against the helpless and innocent people of Manipur.
1)The first is not exactly the intruction sent down to the blockade sponsors but nontheless an instruction.
I can't the remember the date but it was in the early days of the ongoing blocakde when Assam Rifles sepoys beat up blockade supporters on the highway 39.There was a huge commotion in the Sardar hills in protest against the AR sepoys.
New Delhi instructed the AR to show the way to the Manipuri society by its example:BEAT UP THE BLOCKADE SUPPORTERS AND OPEN UP THE BLOCKADE.
2)The second episode is also similar to the first one but this time Assam Rifles convoys promised safe passage to some Manipuri truckers by letting them mingle with the AR trucks on the NH39.But they somehow let the blockade supporters burn down 4 trucks.
Then, they again beat up some blockade supporters.
This time--more passionate case of leading by example:BEAT UP THE BLOCKADE SUPPORTERS AND OPEN UP THE BLOCKADE.
3)This was 3rd September 2011.And it was in Keithelmanbi.
As a positive response to the appeal made personally in a public meeting held in Sardar hills by the president of a prominent civil Society organization,the last of the series of public meeting called by the Sardar Hills district Demand Committee in Keithelmanbi announced the suspension of the econonmic blockade.Even as it was being announced,suddenly there arose a fracas within the meeting.And,the announcement was kept in abeyance so that it could be confirmed by the following day.
It was a clear case of an intruction to scuttle the announcement by New Delhi to the
underground outfits currently engaged in Suspension of operation with it.
It is to be noted here that from the beginning of the series of public meetings in four different places(the last being Keithelmanbi),there was a very positive vibe that the economic blockade might be suspended.So, the Indian STate had got a plenty of time to prepare the instruction to scuttle the announcement in Keithelmanbi.
4)12th September 2011.
The Sardar Hills District Demand Committee announced that the existing Sardar Hills
boundary should be kept in tact--no redrawing,no tweaking.
This is huge change in the stance of the Committee.
Previously,in all the public meetings(in even one held in Imphal)they wanted district first--boundary question could be discussed later on.
Now,it's not the question of districthood---but the question of "Kuki land".
On another instruction from New Delhi,the functioning of the Committee was hijacked by the underground elements and the demand for a districthood morphed into an ethnic issue.
5)15th September 2011.
Mr P Chidambaram,the Home Minister,Union Of India,daintily came out to the floor of the conference of top cops in New Delhi and heartily announced that his Union has just now begun to face the newest problem--BLOCKADE ON THE HIGHWAYS.
It took the very presence of the honorable Home Minister himself to give blessings to their henchsmen on the highways of Manipur!Come on,New Delhi!!
6)20th September 2011.
As if to celebrate the 50th day of the blockade,Mr Wungnaoshang Keishing,the Phungyar MLA,began running front page ads in major Imphal dailies.
We have to remember here(as my last post had discussed in detail) that the ongoing blockade aka the newest dirty war by the Indian State,was enunciated by an instruction given to Mr Keishing.Now, we have just seen Mr Keishing recieving the second instruction.
So,what might be the second instruction by New Delhi to Mr Keishing?
Provocations on the highways won't do. Now,bring the provocations to the heart of Imphal Valley--Konung Lampak(Palace compound).
So,Mr Keishing dutifully announced in his ads a political conference of Phungyar
constituency at Konung Lampak on the 5th of October 2011!He is inviting 'headsmen,pastors,leaders of the students union and women union,social workers and well wishers of the Phungyar constituency'.
The ads continue their second day run on the front pages of today's major dailies.
Amidst the dramatic price rises,so much uncertainties and so much pent-up feelings,a lone ranger might throw a rock towards the conference.Then,a minor scuffle.Then,a bigger one.Then,somebody might get hurt and then,God forbid it,somebody might get killed.Then,we have the spark of an ethnic clash.
Clearly,Mr Keishing is instructed to aim for that spark in Konung Lampak--the spark so far proving illusive despite such intensive and prolonged provocations on the highways.
New Delhi is becoming desperate for a spark of an ethnic war in Manipur.
How is Manipuri society's destiny got so tangled up with the ongoing blockade?
We are talking about our destiny because the hardships heaped on us, and the profound questions thrown up, by this ongoing blockade may help us open up our eyes to the true personality of the Indian State in action.Once the majority of our populace reach that point,we may come face to face with our destiny.
On the 51st day of the ongoing economic blockade, let me make a list of the intructions sent down by New Delhi to the blockade sponsors.
In other words,the list portrays the dirty war being waged by the Indian State against the helpless and innocent people of Manipur.
1)The first is not exactly the intruction sent down to the blockade sponsors but nontheless an instruction.
I can't the remember the date but it was in the early days of the ongoing blocakde when Assam Rifles sepoys beat up blockade supporters on the highway 39.There was a huge commotion in the Sardar hills in protest against the AR sepoys.
New Delhi instructed the AR to show the way to the Manipuri society by its example:BEAT UP THE BLOCKADE SUPPORTERS AND OPEN UP THE BLOCKADE.
2)The second episode is also similar to the first one but this time Assam Rifles convoys promised safe passage to some Manipuri truckers by letting them mingle with the AR trucks on the NH39.But they somehow let the blockade supporters burn down 4 trucks.
Then, they again beat up some blockade supporters.
This time--more passionate case of leading by example:BEAT UP THE BLOCKADE SUPPORTERS AND OPEN UP THE BLOCKADE.
3)This was 3rd September 2011.And it was in Keithelmanbi.
As a positive response to the appeal made personally in a public meeting held in Sardar hills by the president of a prominent civil Society organization,the last of the series of public meeting called by the Sardar Hills district Demand Committee in Keithelmanbi announced the suspension of the econonmic blockade.Even as it was being announced,suddenly there arose a fracas within the meeting.And,the announcement was kept in abeyance so that it could be confirmed by the following day.
It was a clear case of an intruction to scuttle the announcement by New Delhi to the
underground outfits currently engaged in Suspension of operation with it.
It is to be noted here that from the beginning of the series of public meetings in four different places(the last being Keithelmanbi),there was a very positive vibe that the economic blockade might be suspended.So, the Indian STate had got a plenty of time to prepare the instruction to scuttle the announcement in Keithelmanbi.
4)12th September 2011.
The Sardar Hills District Demand Committee announced that the existing Sardar Hills
boundary should be kept in tact--no redrawing,no tweaking.
This is huge change in the stance of the Committee.
Previously,in all the public meetings(in even one held in Imphal)they wanted district first--boundary question could be discussed later on.
Now,it's not the question of districthood---but the question of "Kuki land".
On another instruction from New Delhi,the functioning of the Committee was hijacked by the underground elements and the demand for a districthood morphed into an ethnic issue.
5)15th September 2011.
Mr P Chidambaram,the Home Minister,Union Of India,daintily came out to the floor of the conference of top cops in New Delhi and heartily announced that his Union has just now begun to face the newest problem--BLOCKADE ON THE HIGHWAYS.
It took the very presence of the honorable Home Minister himself to give blessings to their henchsmen on the highways of Manipur!Come on,New Delhi!!
6)20th September 2011.
As if to celebrate the 50th day of the blockade,Mr Wungnaoshang Keishing,the Phungyar MLA,began running front page ads in major Imphal dailies.
We have to remember here(as my last post had discussed in detail) that the ongoing blockade aka the newest dirty war by the Indian State,was enunciated by an instruction given to Mr Keishing.Now, we have just seen Mr Keishing recieving the second instruction.
So,what might be the second instruction by New Delhi to Mr Keishing?
Provocations on the highways won't do. Now,bring the provocations to the heart of Imphal Valley--Konung Lampak(Palace compound).
So,Mr Keishing dutifully announced in his ads a political conference of Phungyar
constituency at Konung Lampak on the 5th of October 2011!He is inviting 'headsmen,pastors,leaders of the students union and women union,social workers and well wishers of the Phungyar constituency'.
The ads continue their second day run on the front pages of today's major dailies.
Amidst the dramatic price rises,so much uncertainties and so much pent-up feelings,a lone ranger might throw a rock towards the conference.Then,a minor scuffle.Then,a bigger one.Then,somebody might get hurt and then,God forbid it,somebody might get killed.Then,we have the spark of an ethnic clash.
Clearly,Mr Keishing is instructed to aim for that spark in Konung Lampak--the spark so far proving illusive despite such intensive and prolonged provocations on the highways.
New Delhi is becoming desperate for a spark of an ethnic war in Manipur.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
The ongoing blockades--the Chanakya-esque ploy to drive a wedge between Manipuri society and China
We have now twin blockades--enforced on all highways both by the Nagas and the Kukis.
We are facing the prospect of the tightest blockade ever witnessed in recent times by this tiny valley of ours.
But we also notice 2 crucial differnetiating characteristics in the present blockades:
1.Both are carefully crafted in New Delhi.
2.Both the blockades can be called off in a short notice because they are concerned with the relatively small matter of creation of a district.
New Delhi is testing if the tightest ever blockade of Imphal Valley result in another Gilgit Batistan.
If there materializes another Gilgit Batistan,New Delhi would instruct the Kukis to
immediately call off the blockade(because New Delhi can act swiftly in a matter as simple as creation of a district).
In the above scenario,the Chinese would land themselves in a situation which will look foolish to the rest of the amused world.
But New Delhi is not interested in painting the Chinese as foolish.There is more subtle goal.
If the Chinese land themselves in the above situation,it would be solely because of the wrong inputs from the Imphal Valley.Then the chinese would have no option but to
recalibrate the Manipuri society--the inputs from Manipuri society is at best unreliable and the Manipuri society itself is at best kept in a distance.
Thus,New Delhi would succeed in driving a wedge between the Chinese and the Manipuri
society.
I can come this far because I 'jumped' to the conclusion that the ongoing blocakes are 'carefully crafted in New Delhi'.There is every likelyhood of any people thinking that I did actually 'jump to the conclusion'if we remember that the demand for a district in Sardar Hills is a 40 years old demand,which even the Chief Minister had publicly announced as being 'justified'.
To clarify this point,we need to revisit the chronology of the events of the last few weeks:
1)On the 23rd July 2011,Mr Pranab Mukherjee announced 1 trillion USD investment in NE,which can be inferred to as a round about way of giving notice to China by India that India together with US can outspend China in every field including military spending.(My last post).
2)On the 30th July 2011,a Chinese military patrol in Arunachal Pradesh pulled down 200m long wall erected by the Indian military.This demolition of the wall prompted a formal lodging of a protest by the Indian milatry to the Chinese military.And, this is important,the Indian military immediately built up the 200m wall all over again.
In demolishing the wall,the Chinese are responding to Mr Pranab Mukherjee's notice--they are not responding in empty words but in concrete action.
3)On the 1st August 2011,the blockade by the Kukis started.
4)This is the game changing episode in our chronology.On the 18th of August the military headquarters in New Delhi broke the news of the demolition of the wall by the Chinese patrol.(This PTI news was carried on the 19th August issue of Poknapham--it's on page 2)
Why 18th of August?
It's because the Kuki leaders spearheading the blockade were in New Delhi meeting the President of India and the Home Minsiter,P.Chidambaram.Why so much readiness in lending ears to the group of people demanding a mere district admimistration by none other than the President of India herself?In contrast, the Chief Minister was made to cool his heals for several days in trying to meet the Home Minister.
All these things do not add up.
Unless,we try to see it as another round about way of sending another notice--you responded by demolishing the wall--now,we respond by blockading your darling Imphal Valley.
5)On the 21st August 2011,another blockade by the Nagas started.
Ironicaly,this 5th and the last episode makes us to see the begiining.
It turns out that Mr Wungnaoso Keishing, the Phungyar MLA worked closely with the Naga Lim people.They worked together with a carefully crafted plan in hand.
First,Mr Keishing was made to plead the Chief Minister for establishing a district
administration in Phungyar.It came out publicly that the chief Minsiter was ready to hand out the district to Mr Keishing.
Then,the Naga Lim people made a public show of not liking the idea.They even ambushed Mr Keishing,ever careful not to hurt Mr Keishing himself.They killed 6 people in the ambush,all non-Nagas except one.Careful planning,isn't it?
Then, feelers were made to be sent to the Kukis in Sardar Hills by using the Kuki groups engaged in Suspension of Operation with the Indian Military--the Chief Minister is ready to create new districts--so, why not longstanding Sardar Hills district?
All these careful crafting of the grand plan is not possible without the direct involvement of New Delhi.
We are facing the prospect of the tightest blockade ever witnessed in recent times by this tiny valley of ours.
But we also notice 2 crucial differnetiating characteristics in the present blockades:
1.Both are carefully crafted in New Delhi.
2.Both the blockades can be called off in a short notice because they are concerned with the relatively small matter of creation of a district.
New Delhi is testing if the tightest ever blockade of Imphal Valley result in another Gilgit Batistan.
If there materializes another Gilgit Batistan,New Delhi would instruct the Kukis to
immediately call off the blockade(because New Delhi can act swiftly in a matter as simple as creation of a district).
In the above scenario,the Chinese would land themselves in a situation which will look foolish to the rest of the amused world.
But New Delhi is not interested in painting the Chinese as foolish.There is more subtle goal.
If the Chinese land themselves in the above situation,it would be solely because of the wrong inputs from the Imphal Valley.Then the chinese would have no option but to
recalibrate the Manipuri society--the inputs from Manipuri society is at best unreliable and the Manipuri society itself is at best kept in a distance.
Thus,New Delhi would succeed in driving a wedge between the Chinese and the Manipuri
society.
I can come this far because I 'jumped' to the conclusion that the ongoing blocakes are 'carefully crafted in New Delhi'.There is every likelyhood of any people thinking that I did actually 'jump to the conclusion'if we remember that the demand for a district in Sardar Hills is a 40 years old demand,which even the Chief Minister had publicly announced as being 'justified'.
To clarify this point,we need to revisit the chronology of the events of the last few weeks:
1)On the 23rd July 2011,Mr Pranab Mukherjee announced 1 trillion USD investment in NE,which can be inferred to as a round about way of giving notice to China by India that India together with US can outspend China in every field including military spending.(My last post).
2)On the 30th July 2011,a Chinese military patrol in Arunachal Pradesh pulled down 200m long wall erected by the Indian military.This demolition of the wall prompted a formal lodging of a protest by the Indian milatry to the Chinese military.And, this is important,the Indian military immediately built up the 200m wall all over again.
In demolishing the wall,the Chinese are responding to Mr Pranab Mukherjee's notice--they are not responding in empty words but in concrete action.
3)On the 1st August 2011,the blockade by the Kukis started.
4)This is the game changing episode in our chronology.On the 18th of August the military headquarters in New Delhi broke the news of the demolition of the wall by the Chinese patrol.(This PTI news was carried on the 19th August issue of Poknapham--it's on page 2)
Why 18th of August?
It's because the Kuki leaders spearheading the blockade were in New Delhi meeting the President of India and the Home Minsiter,P.Chidambaram.Why so much readiness in lending ears to the group of people demanding a mere district admimistration by none other than the President of India herself?In contrast, the Chief Minister was made to cool his heals for several days in trying to meet the Home Minister.
All these things do not add up.
Unless,we try to see it as another round about way of sending another notice--you responded by demolishing the wall--now,we respond by blockading your darling Imphal Valley.
5)On the 21st August 2011,another blockade by the Nagas started.
Ironicaly,this 5th and the last episode makes us to see the begiining.
It turns out that Mr Wungnaoso Keishing, the Phungyar MLA worked closely with the Naga Lim people.They worked together with a carefully crafted plan in hand.
First,Mr Keishing was made to plead the Chief Minister for establishing a district
administration in Phungyar.It came out publicly that the chief Minsiter was ready to hand out the district to Mr Keishing.
Then,the Naga Lim people made a public show of not liking the idea.They even ambushed Mr Keishing,ever careful not to hurt Mr Keishing himself.They killed 6 people in the ambush,all non-Nagas except one.Careful planning,isn't it?
Then, feelers were made to be sent to the Kukis in Sardar Hills by using the Kuki groups engaged in Suspension of Operation with the Indian Military--the Chief Minister is ready to create new districts--so, why not longstanding Sardar Hills district?
All these careful crafting of the grand plan is not possible without the direct involvement of New Delhi.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Here comes the definitive battleline of the 21st Century.
1 trillion USD,by any count,is huge.
(If I start spending 1 million USD,roughly Rs 4.4 crores,everyday for the next 2000 years,I would be able to spend only three quarters of a trillion dollar!On the macro level,we have already seen that the US,which has almost half a billion population and the world's largest economy,needed only about 1 trillion dollar infusion,in the shape of TARP, to check the downward spiral of its economy).
Now, Mr Pranab Mukherjee,the Indian Finance Minister,has just announced that the Central Government in New Delhi would invest 1 trillion dollars in the NE India's infrastructure,mainly roads and communications!
And,Mr Mukherjee chose 23rd of July,which is a hugely momentous day for Manipur, to make the announcement!!He did it on purpose to send out the message that this 1 trillion dollar is the direct response to Gilgit Batistan.
If one puts 1 trillion dollars justaposed to NE India,everybody would be initially assailed by the sense of disbelief and then,finally,blown away by a shock wave.To prevent this,Mr Pranab Mukherjee visited Washington 3 weeks ago and publicly announced the Indian Government's invitation for 1 trillion USD investment for India's infrastructure.Even then,when 1 trillion USD was put justaposed to the infrastructure of the whole of India,there was that sense of disbelief.Who would bring in that kind of money for India's infrastructure?
Three weeks later Secretary of State,Ms Hillary Clinton came to India and after some days of her departure,Mr Pranab Mukherjee announced that that 1 trillion dollars is meant for only NE India and half of that money(ie,500 billion dollars) would come from private sector.If this 'private sector'do not mean US Government-fronted US companies,asking 500 billion dollars as private funding for NE India from anywhere in the globe would only invite smirks and ridicules.So, is this the case of Secretary Clinton giving the go ahead to Minister Mukherjee?
Let's move back in one week's time.There we would find that US sudenly suspending US aids to Pakistan.Then,came the arrest of Mr Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai by FBI.These two events make us stand up and ask:Is US ditching Pakistan as a strategic ally?More pertinently,can US make both Pakistan and India as strategic allies?
To answer this question,we have to go back to the time when the Tamil separatists in Sri Lanka was inflicted a crushing military defeat.Amidst the dust and din of that short war there stood out one significant news:Pakistan supplied military hardware to the Lankan military for the war and there were senior Pakistani military officer 'advising' its Lankan counterpart on the ground.Pakistani strategic thinkers were then betting on a very significant scenario:if they helped the Sri Lankan military in bringing about a crushing military to the LTTE,then the Tamil separatists would have no other options but to shift their base to Tamil Nadu state of India.If one can add Tamil Nadu to the same league as that NE and Kashmir,we would have a vastly altered strategic scenario in the IOndian sub-continent.
In other words,there are very active strategic thinkers in the vicinity of the Indian nation who are betting on the implosion of the Indian nation.
(Did Secretary Clinton get the intel that the shift of base LTTE had already happened?Is this reason why she ditched Bangalore and Mumbai and landed in Chennai to talk pluralism and Sri Lanka?Is this the message she wanted to send out--'Tamils of the world,don't go for the implosion of India'?)
Now,we return to our question:Can US make both Pakistan and India as her strategic allies?The answer is no because Pakistan is going full steam for the implosion of India.US may not much care for the implosion of India per se but it desperately need (a non-imploded)India as a solid counterweight to china.
With US putting 500 billion dollars on the table and with Al Qaeda being pushed into a corner and with the still deeloping Arab Spring in hand,it is now certain that US has just made a historic change in its foreign policy priority--Islamic terrorism comes down to the second place with the containment of China moving up the no 1 slot(with the ripple effect of ditching Pakistan as a strategic ally).
India and US has just committed to jointly and equally spent 1 trillion USD in our homeground to start the containment of China(or,in other words,to start the prevention of implosion of India).We are being sucked into the world of multi-faceted American and Indian strategy of containment of china.
Having come this far,it's now easy to conclude:for both India and US it's worth more than a trillion dollar to contain China.
Now,in our home ground,we have at hand a poignant scenario:on one the hand,there are Indian operatives moving so unobtrusively(so succesful in preventing shock waves to all concerned) and,on the other hand,there is one aging leader fron Somdal,who is so thick skinned not to sense all these world shaking changes taking place around him.
Unknown to our leader from Somdal and lay citizenry of Nagaland,'Nagalim'is a sure recipe for the spark for the implosion of the Indian nation.(My old posts on the home page of this blog).
Now,it's my turn to admit this:it makes me suddenly weary to say this--the definitive battleline of the 21st century is being drawn right under our own nose.
And,it runs directly in the middle of this tiny valley of ours.
UPDATE-1
28-07-11
By now,it's clear that there is something fishy about Mr Pranab Mukherjee and the 1 trillion USD.
I think I need to elaborate on the context in which I wrote the original post.
I was nursing a cold on the 24th.From early morning onwards,I simply switched on the radio and tried to get some rest(staring at the computer screen gave me headache).
During the discussion on the headlines of Imphal dailies on 7.30 am news bulletin on AIR imphal,1 trillion USD was laready mentioned along with the 200 million USD as road development project from ADB.
I was stunned at the mention of the 1 trillion USD.
On the FM channel of AIR Imphal,1 trillion USD was mentioned all throughout the news headlines of the day.
Now,cut to night.
I was preparing supper with the radio still playing.There came Samachar Sandhya and it mentioned the 1 trillion USD.Then, the News at Nine--1 trillion USD was still there.
By now,I was totally intrigued.
But,as I was stunned by the magnitude of the money involved,I had in mind to check the veracity of the news on the Web the next morning.
As I was thinking like this,there came Spotlight.They featured a discussion on the 1 trillion USD investment in NE.The discussants were Mr Vir Bhadra Singh,the former Governor and one Sharma,a senior journalist.
After hearing out the discussion,I could not wait for next morning.I quickly ate my supper and wrote the original post.
I was excited at the idea of beating the establishe media,which I throughly expected,would be all splattered by the news next morning.
UPDATE-2
29-07-11
Now,how come the news was blanked out in all news channels?
we are presented with two scenarios here:
1)The wise men and women of the editorial offices of media house across India were quick to see through the 1 trillion dollar crap(pun intended) of Mr Pranab Mukherjee.
OK.It's fine.
But if they were quick to come that position,why didn't they expose the crap fo the number two man in UPA2,who is virtually the deputy prime minister?
Besides the normal duty of exposing such craps,I think there are sizable body within the media fraternity who would be in glee to get the golden chance of going after Mr Mukherjee for his faux pas and demanding axing him from the government.
That did not happen.
2)The second scenario is that the ruling class in New Delhi quitely sounded out the 'heads' of the media houses(through back channel)not to publish the news."Our NATIONAL INTEREST is at stake",they might might have said in persuading the media houses not to publish the news(so as to make it a Manipur-only news--Manipuri dailies did publish it).
This may seem to be an extreme viewpoint.
But we have to remember two things here:
---when confronted with the matters of NATIONAL INTERST(like NE) there is no Indian journalist,no Indian politician,no Inidan businessman,no Indian diplomat,no Indian intellectual--they are just a monolithic Bharatya bloc.
---All thses are possible because India is a young nation-only 66 years old.
The Indian politicians can still harness the energies(is it patriotism?) spewed out at the formative moment of the nation.
Personally,I'll put my money on the second scenario.
If we are to accept the second scenario and we re-read this update together with the original post,it would be crystal clear that the sole objective of '1 trillion USD' is to send out threats to Manipuri society.They are saying--if Manipuri society dares to bank on China for its course of action,we will rope in US and together,we would be more than a match for China.They are saying--beware,we are willing to sink as much as 1 trillion USD.
The ruling class in New Delhi is threatening the Manipuri society.
UPDATE--3
31-o7-ii
Coming as an update,this might seem to be an afterthought.But it is not.I thought of incorporating this in my original post but I decided that it would make the post too long and make to lose its focus.
Let's make a list:
Iran,Germany,Egypt,France,India.
I always think that there is some underlying bond amongst these countries.They seem to send out one common identifying characteristic.
What might be that characteristic?
I've been trying to find that answer for so many years.Do all of these countries exhibit the 'middle kingdom' syndrome?Is it the identifying characteristic of these countires?
Even if we have to accept it as true,still a question remains to be settled--"what about the original 'middle kingdomness' and Mandarinate"?
I think the differntiating factor here is the Great Helmsman,Mao Ze Dong(whom even the skeptical Henry Kissinger was forced to ackwoledged as a 'philosopher'!).Mao Ze Dong administerd a crucial shock therapy to the Chinese society.And the Chinese changed(and still is changing).
Thus 'shock therapied' and changing China is more likely to gel with USA(than with Iran,France or India).The reason is that USA is basically a country steeped in Anglo-Saxon tradition which is getting the succour from the timeless Magna Carta.
US and China would have immense compettion betweenthe two of them but still be complementary to each other.Their competition would be characterized by resource and goodwill hunting in Africa and Latin America,cutting-edge cyber wars and the race to space(like the mining of the Moon).But at the end of the day,they would still be complementary to each other.
In contrast,India is a country which is actively exporting casteism all throughout the globe.It is fashionable for every Indian to denounce the Caste System but when they come back to their homes they would gleefully experience casteism in action in the interactions with their 'naukars'.There is 180 degrees differnce between what are known as domestic helps,maids,nannies or baby sitters and what the Indian call the naukars.The relation between the naukars and their Indian master is still acutely medieval and racist.
Unknown to the educated,forward-looking and modern Indians,casteim is firmly etched in their sub-conscious--unconsciously,they are practising casteim in all small things of their daily chores.
Two countries,one so steeped in Casteism and the other,enlightened by the tiemless Magan Carta,have zero common ground to work together.Incidence of the moment,like the containment of China,would be a too fleeting factor to bring any long term comraderie between the two.
In this contexr,it is quite safe to say that USA will desert India at the crucial juncture,when India is beginning to face the make or break moment as the rebellions in its rims start getting critical mass.
UPDATE--4
02-08-11
This is better be the last update of this post.
(How come so many updates keep popping up in my head!!)
I should be brief.
Would the combined stregth of the ruling classes of New Delhi and Washington dare to spend 1 trillion USD here?Would they dare?
In the eventuality when they start looking beyond cooking up empty threats and looking to walk the talk,they would trample upon a subtle subtext.
The SUBTEXT:If New Delhi and co actually start spending such huge money here,it would send out a loud and clear message to all concerned:"The centripetal force in New Delhi is getting nervous and becoming shaky"
So,the above 'all concerned' would most likely to think like this--"As the centripetal force is becoming shaky,we should better be ready for our own footings,our own futures".
Would they dare to spend 1 trillion USD here?
(One prominent civil society organisation called for the reliving of 4th of August rally marking the protest of extension of ceasefire inside Manipur and then,here is a bomb blast all of a sudden,killing 5 innocent people.It's the direct result of letting assault rifles carrying men and women take the law into their hands and of drilling into the Naga minds that Manipuri society is the cause of the failure of the decade old peace talk.This is the direct result of the rule of casteist and racist minds.The rest of the world,especially the US,would be getting to know all such sordid scheme of things hatched by the casteist and racist Indian minds and India would be a pariah in due course of time).
Personally,I can't wait to see if they dare to spend 1 trillion USD here.
(If I start spending 1 million USD,roughly Rs 4.4 crores,everyday for the next 2000 years,I would be able to spend only three quarters of a trillion dollar!On the macro level,we have already seen that the US,which has almost half a billion population and the world's largest economy,needed only about 1 trillion dollar infusion,in the shape of TARP, to check the downward spiral of its economy).
Now, Mr Pranab Mukherjee,the Indian Finance Minister,has just announced that the Central Government in New Delhi would invest 1 trillion dollars in the NE India's infrastructure,mainly roads and communications!
And,Mr Mukherjee chose 23rd of July,which is a hugely momentous day for Manipur, to make the announcement!!He did it on purpose to send out the message that this 1 trillion dollar is the direct response to Gilgit Batistan.
If one puts 1 trillion dollars justaposed to NE India,everybody would be initially assailed by the sense of disbelief and then,finally,blown away by a shock wave.To prevent this,Mr Pranab Mukherjee visited Washington 3 weeks ago and publicly announced the Indian Government's invitation for 1 trillion USD investment for India's infrastructure.Even then,when 1 trillion USD was put justaposed to the infrastructure of the whole of India,there was that sense of disbelief.Who would bring in that kind of money for India's infrastructure?
Three weeks later Secretary of State,Ms Hillary Clinton came to India and after some days of her departure,Mr Pranab Mukherjee announced that that 1 trillion dollars is meant for only NE India and half of that money(ie,500 billion dollars) would come from private sector.If this 'private sector'do not mean US Government-fronted US companies,asking 500 billion dollars as private funding for NE India from anywhere in the globe would only invite smirks and ridicules.So, is this the case of Secretary Clinton giving the go ahead to Minister Mukherjee?
Let's move back in one week's time.There we would find that US sudenly suspending US aids to Pakistan.Then,came the arrest of Mr Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai by FBI.These two events make us stand up and ask:Is US ditching Pakistan as a strategic ally?More pertinently,can US make both Pakistan and India as strategic allies?
To answer this question,we have to go back to the time when the Tamil separatists in Sri Lanka was inflicted a crushing military defeat.Amidst the dust and din of that short war there stood out one significant news:Pakistan supplied military hardware to the Lankan military for the war and there were senior Pakistani military officer 'advising' its Lankan counterpart on the ground.Pakistani strategic thinkers were then betting on a very significant scenario:if they helped the Sri Lankan military in bringing about a crushing military to the LTTE,then the Tamil separatists would have no other options but to shift their base to Tamil Nadu state of India.If one can add Tamil Nadu to the same league as that NE and Kashmir,we would have a vastly altered strategic scenario in the IOndian sub-continent.
In other words,there are very active strategic thinkers in the vicinity of the Indian nation who are betting on the implosion of the Indian nation.
(Did Secretary Clinton get the intel that the shift of base LTTE had already happened?Is this reason why she ditched Bangalore and Mumbai and landed in Chennai to talk pluralism and Sri Lanka?Is this the message she wanted to send out--'Tamils of the world,don't go for the implosion of India'?)
Now,we return to our question:Can US make both Pakistan and India as her strategic allies?The answer is no because Pakistan is going full steam for the implosion of India.US may not much care for the implosion of India per se but it desperately need (a non-imploded)India as a solid counterweight to china.
With US putting 500 billion dollars on the table and with Al Qaeda being pushed into a corner and with the still deeloping Arab Spring in hand,it is now certain that US has just made a historic change in its foreign policy priority--Islamic terrorism comes down to the second place with the containment of China moving up the no 1 slot(with the ripple effect of ditching Pakistan as a strategic ally).
India and US has just committed to jointly and equally spent 1 trillion USD in our homeground to start the containment of China(or,in other words,to start the prevention of implosion of India).We are being sucked into the world of multi-faceted American and Indian strategy of containment of china.
Having come this far,it's now easy to conclude:for both India and US it's worth more than a trillion dollar to contain China.
Now,in our home ground,we have at hand a poignant scenario:on one the hand,there are Indian operatives moving so unobtrusively(so succesful in preventing shock waves to all concerned) and,on the other hand,there is one aging leader fron Somdal,who is so thick skinned not to sense all these world shaking changes taking place around him.
Unknown to our leader from Somdal and lay citizenry of Nagaland,'Nagalim'is a sure recipe for the spark for the implosion of the Indian nation.(My old posts on the home page of this blog).
Now,it's my turn to admit this:it makes me suddenly weary to say this--the definitive battleline of the 21st century is being drawn right under our own nose.
And,it runs directly in the middle of this tiny valley of ours.
UPDATE-1
28-07-11
By now,it's clear that there is something fishy about Mr Pranab Mukherjee and the 1 trillion USD.
I think I need to elaborate on the context in which I wrote the original post.
I was nursing a cold on the 24th.From early morning onwards,I simply switched on the radio and tried to get some rest(staring at the computer screen gave me headache).
During the discussion on the headlines of Imphal dailies on 7.30 am news bulletin on AIR imphal,1 trillion USD was laready mentioned along with the 200 million USD as road development project from ADB.
I was stunned at the mention of the 1 trillion USD.
On the FM channel of AIR Imphal,1 trillion USD was mentioned all throughout the news headlines of the day.
Now,cut to night.
I was preparing supper with the radio still playing.There came Samachar Sandhya and it mentioned the 1 trillion USD.Then, the News at Nine--1 trillion USD was still there.
By now,I was totally intrigued.
But,as I was stunned by the magnitude of the money involved,I had in mind to check the veracity of the news on the Web the next morning.
As I was thinking like this,there came Spotlight.They featured a discussion on the 1 trillion USD investment in NE.The discussants were Mr Vir Bhadra Singh,the former Governor and one Sharma,a senior journalist.
After hearing out the discussion,I could not wait for next morning.I quickly ate my supper and wrote the original post.
I was excited at the idea of beating the establishe media,which I throughly expected,would be all splattered by the news next morning.
UPDATE-2
29-07-11
Now,how come the news was blanked out in all news channels?
we are presented with two scenarios here:
1)The wise men and women of the editorial offices of media house across India were quick to see through the 1 trillion dollar crap(pun intended) of Mr Pranab Mukherjee.
OK.It's fine.
But if they were quick to come that position,why didn't they expose the crap fo the number two man in UPA2,who is virtually the deputy prime minister?
Besides the normal duty of exposing such craps,I think there are sizable body within the media fraternity who would be in glee to get the golden chance of going after Mr Mukherjee for his faux pas and demanding axing him from the government.
That did not happen.
2)The second scenario is that the ruling class in New Delhi quitely sounded out the 'heads' of the media houses(through back channel)not to publish the news."Our NATIONAL INTEREST is at stake",they might might have said in persuading the media houses not to publish the news(so as to make it a Manipur-only news--Manipuri dailies did publish it).
This may seem to be an extreme viewpoint.
But we have to remember two things here:
---when confronted with the matters of NATIONAL INTERST(like NE) there is no Indian journalist,no Indian politician,no Inidan businessman,no Indian diplomat,no Indian intellectual--they are just a monolithic Bharatya bloc.
---All thses are possible because India is a young nation-only 66 years old.
The Indian politicians can still harness the energies(is it patriotism?) spewed out at the formative moment of the nation.
Personally,I'll put my money on the second scenario.
If we are to accept the second scenario and we re-read this update together with the original post,it would be crystal clear that the sole objective of '1 trillion USD' is to send out threats to Manipuri society.They are saying--if Manipuri society dares to bank on China for its course of action,we will rope in US and together,we would be more than a match for China.They are saying--beware,we are willing to sink as much as 1 trillion USD.
The ruling class in New Delhi is threatening the Manipuri society.
UPDATE--3
31-o7-ii
Coming as an update,this might seem to be an afterthought.But it is not.I thought of incorporating this in my original post but I decided that it would make the post too long and make to lose its focus.
Let's make a list:
Iran,Germany,Egypt,France,India.
I always think that there is some underlying bond amongst these countries.They seem to send out one common identifying characteristic.
What might be that characteristic?
I've been trying to find that answer for so many years.Do all of these countries exhibit the 'middle kingdom' syndrome?Is it the identifying characteristic of these countires?
Even if we have to accept it as true,still a question remains to be settled--"what about the original 'middle kingdomness' and Mandarinate"?
I think the differntiating factor here is the Great Helmsman,Mao Ze Dong(whom even the skeptical Henry Kissinger was forced to ackwoledged as a 'philosopher'!).Mao Ze Dong administerd a crucial shock therapy to the Chinese society.And the Chinese changed(and still is changing).
Thus 'shock therapied' and changing China is more likely to gel with USA(than with Iran,France or India).The reason is that USA is basically a country steeped in Anglo-Saxon tradition which is getting the succour from the timeless Magna Carta.
US and China would have immense compettion betweenthe two of them but still be complementary to each other.Their competition would be characterized by resource and goodwill hunting in Africa and Latin America,cutting-edge cyber wars and the race to space(like the mining of the Moon).But at the end of the day,they would still be complementary to each other.
In contrast,India is a country which is actively exporting casteism all throughout the globe.It is fashionable for every Indian to denounce the Caste System but when they come back to their homes they would gleefully experience casteism in action in the interactions with their 'naukars'.There is 180 degrees differnce between what are known as domestic helps,maids,nannies or baby sitters and what the Indian call the naukars.The relation between the naukars and their Indian master is still acutely medieval and racist.
Unknown to the educated,forward-looking and modern Indians,casteim is firmly etched in their sub-conscious--unconsciously,they are practising casteim in all small things of their daily chores.
Two countries,one so steeped in Casteism and the other,enlightened by the tiemless Magan Carta,have zero common ground to work together.Incidence of the moment,like the containment of China,would be a too fleeting factor to bring any long term comraderie between the two.
In this contexr,it is quite safe to say that USA will desert India at the crucial juncture,when India is beginning to face the make or break moment as the rebellions in its rims start getting critical mass.
UPDATE--4
02-08-11
This is better be the last update of this post.
(How come so many updates keep popping up in my head!!)
I should be brief.
Would the combined stregth of the ruling classes of New Delhi and Washington dare to spend 1 trillion USD here?Would they dare?
In the eventuality when they start looking beyond cooking up empty threats and looking to walk the talk,they would trample upon a subtle subtext.
The SUBTEXT:If New Delhi and co actually start spending such huge money here,it would send out a loud and clear message to all concerned:"The centripetal force in New Delhi is getting nervous and becoming shaky"
So,the above 'all concerned' would most likely to think like this--"As the centripetal force is becoming shaky,we should better be ready for our own footings,our own futures".
Would they dare to spend 1 trillion USD here?
(One prominent civil society organisation called for the reliving of 4th of August rally marking the protest of extension of ceasefire inside Manipur and then,here is a bomb blast all of a sudden,killing 5 innocent people.It's the direct result of letting assault rifles carrying men and women take the law into their hands and of drilling into the Naga minds that Manipuri society is the cause of the failure of the decade old peace talk.This is the direct result of the rule of casteist and racist minds.The rest of the world,especially the US,would be getting to know all such sordid scheme of things hatched by the casteist and racist Indian minds and India would be a pariah in due course of time).
Personally,I can't wait to see if they dare to spend 1 trillion USD here.
Monday, June 13, 2011
The 10th of June and China
The Poknapham daily of Imphal, quoting PTI,ran an innocuos looking two-lines news on its 11th June 2011 issue.The news,on its page no 2,headlines as 'China does not support India's Maoist'.My translation for the 2 lines--
"Expressing its disapproval of the Left Wing Extremist,who are trying to overthrow the (Indian) State,Communist Party of China today stated that China has no lines of communications with the Maoists.
In one of the rare press briefings for the foreign media in Beijing,Vice Minsiter,Ai Ping,who is also a top official of CPC,said- 'CPC does not communicate with unlawful and violent Extremists'."
As they are 2 lines only,I would quote verbatim the Poknapham's story in Manipuri as well--
" Sarkar uthainaba haiduna Left Wing Extremists groupssingna khutlai paiduna ihou houba amadi hingsa touba asi yaningde,Indiada khutlai paiduna lan houriba Maoistsingga Chinaga e-pao phaonaba leite haina ngasi sarkar pairiba Communist Party of China(CPC)na phondok-khre/
Beijingda foreign mediagidamak sinkhiba yamna tangna thokpa briefing amada CPCgi top officialsu oiriba Chinagi Vice Minister,Ai Pingna 'CPCdi ainna yadaba,hingsagi thabak touba Extremistsingga pao phaonade' haina phongdok-khre/"
As we have to read Poknapham's stories as PDF files I don't like going there and hence,no links here.But they have their site at www.poknapham.in.The particular story was on the issue dated 11th June 2011 and it was on page no 2.
The sine quo non of this post is the 10th of June. In my mind,the Commumist Party of China is trying to send profound messages when they held 'one of the rare press briefings for foreign media' on the 10th of June to talk specifically about the Maoists of India.There is need for figuring out what the 10th of June is.
Meanwhile,I'll proceed further.
Any discerning reader of Imphal dailies can vouchsafe for this--all the actors in Manipur's social and political space agree that there is no other practical steps as the response to the impending blockades of Imphal Valley(my last post) except for taking steps to make the international community to speak out,and if possible,to take actions,against it.
Yes,as my last post have dealt with in depth,the Chinese soldiers in Gilgit Batistan is one of the actions taken by international community,may be,by a part of the International community.As I said in that post,it's the early days for the competing interest groups comprising the Meetei society to have,or,in many cases,trying to have,any 'communications'with the international community.Yes,Gilgit Batistan bears testinomy to the fact that one, or the formations, of the interst groups,have succeeded in establishing that 'communications'with the international community.Now,its natural that other competing interest groups should scramble to have such 'comunications'with the international community.
Again,any discerning reader of Imphal dailies can vouchsafe for this--many inetrest groups are trying to establish the 'communications'with the international community by lobbying the Maoists who are labelled as Left Wing Extremists by the Indian State.
As in all other societies,the Meetei society is not homogenous--it's the equilibrium of the networks of competing interest groups.Mainly because of the political journey of the last 50-60 years,some of the interest groups are more comfortable with things,norms and ideas of our immediate Western neighbourhood.That's why they are lobbying the Maoists for that crucial 'communications'with the international community.
These interest groups are travelling in direct opposite to the way propounded by the Puyas since several centuries--'The Eastern Gate should be opened',in other words,all the roads(including the steps to establish 'communications'with the international community) should lead towards the East.
Now, the rebuff for those interest groups comes directly from Beijing.Beijing now categorically states that they have no 'communications'with the Maoist of India.
Ah!the Puyas!!
I stand amazed at the farsighted musings of the Puyas.
"Expressing its disapproval of the Left Wing Extremist,who are trying to overthrow the (Indian) State,Communist Party of China today stated that China has no lines of communications with the Maoists.
In one of the rare press briefings for the foreign media in Beijing,Vice Minsiter,Ai Ping,who is also a top official of CPC,said- 'CPC does not communicate with unlawful and violent Extremists'."
As they are 2 lines only,I would quote verbatim the Poknapham's story in Manipuri as well--
" Sarkar uthainaba haiduna Left Wing Extremists groupssingna khutlai paiduna ihou houba amadi hingsa touba asi yaningde,Indiada khutlai paiduna lan houriba Maoistsingga Chinaga e-pao phaonaba leite haina ngasi sarkar pairiba Communist Party of China(CPC)na phondok-khre/
Beijingda foreign mediagidamak sinkhiba yamna tangna thokpa briefing amada CPCgi top officialsu oiriba Chinagi Vice Minister,Ai Pingna 'CPCdi ainna yadaba,hingsagi thabak touba Extremistsingga pao phaonade' haina phongdok-khre/"
As we have to read Poknapham's stories as PDF files I don't like going there and hence,no links here.But they have their site at www.poknapham.in.The particular story was on the issue dated 11th June 2011 and it was on page no 2.
The sine quo non of this post is the 10th of June. In my mind,the Commumist Party of China is trying to send profound messages when they held 'one of the rare press briefings for foreign media' on the 10th of June to talk specifically about the Maoists of India.There is need for figuring out what the 10th of June is.
Meanwhile,I'll proceed further.
Any discerning reader of Imphal dailies can vouchsafe for this--all the actors in Manipur's social and political space agree that there is no other practical steps as the response to the impending blockades of Imphal Valley(my last post) except for taking steps to make the international community to speak out,and if possible,to take actions,against it.
Yes,as my last post have dealt with in depth,the Chinese soldiers in Gilgit Batistan is one of the actions taken by international community,may be,by a part of the International community.As I said in that post,it's the early days for the competing interest groups comprising the Meetei society to have,or,in many cases,trying to have,any 'communications'with the international community.Yes,Gilgit Batistan bears testinomy to the fact that one, or the formations, of the interst groups,have succeeded in establishing that 'communications'with the international community.Now,its natural that other competing interest groups should scramble to have such 'comunications'with the international community.
Again,any discerning reader of Imphal dailies can vouchsafe for this--many inetrest groups are trying to establish the 'communications'with the international community by lobbying the Maoists who are labelled as Left Wing Extremists by the Indian State.
As in all other societies,the Meetei society is not homogenous--it's the equilibrium of the networks of competing interest groups.Mainly because of the political journey of the last 50-60 years,some of the interest groups are more comfortable with things,norms and ideas of our immediate Western neighbourhood.That's why they are lobbying the Maoists for that crucial 'communications'with the international community.
These interest groups are travelling in direct opposite to the way propounded by the Puyas since several centuries--'The Eastern Gate should be opened',in other words,all the roads(including the steps to establish 'communications'with the international community) should lead towards the East.
Now, the rebuff for those interest groups comes directly from Beijing.Beijing now categorically states that they have no 'communications'with the Maoist of India.
Ah!the Puyas!!
I stand amazed at the farsighted musings of the Puyas.
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Now,it's out in the open:the Prime Minister is the prime mover in plans to blockade Imphal valley
It has taken the whole weight of the high prestige of the office of the prime Ministership itself and the high-voltage charade of review of the 'incomplete projects of Manipur'to push down the yet another deadline of repairing the the National Highway 53 or Jiri Lambi to 2013.
With the personal supervision of its own Prime Minsiter,the Indian State,on the sly,awarded itself with another two and half years to engineer a ethnic war between the Meeteis and the Nagas(my last post).
The Prime Minster of the largest democracy of the world has just stooped so low to personally supervise the clubbing of the repairing the Jiri Lambi with the larger 'projects' of Manipur so that they can NOW say that some components of the 'projects',by dints of their size(total budget,Rs3500 crores),like the building of State Assembly,make headways while some others,like the repairing of the Jiri Lambi,lag behind.
If we re-read the following old posts of this blog,it would be quite cleat that the Meetei society has just started reasserting its rightful geo-political role,however niche it might be,in the context of the whole Asian scene.Their first few steps brought thousands of Chinese soldiers very near to the borders of the Indian State in the Gilgit Batistan region of Kashmir.This presents us the prognosis:the re-assertion the rightful geo-political role by the Meetei society is likely to bring forward,as Mao Ze Dong was wont to say,"world -shaking events".
Now, the Indian State is putting its all out efforts to nip this re-assertion of the Meetei society in the bud. The surest(and the most cost effective) way to achieve this is to force the Meetei society to get bogged down in a debilitating ethnic war with the Nagas,courtesy of the personal agenda of the Naga leader called Mr Thuingalen Muivah.The key components of this evil plan lies in the health of the two National Highways--NH 39 And NH 53.The Nagas have the complete control over NH 39 and the Indian State is going to complete the circle by not making the other Highway,NH 53,motorable.
The degree of nervousness of the Indian state can be gauged by the presence of so many senior cabinet ministers in the high-voltage charade termed the 'review meeting' chaired by the Prime Minsiter himself at his Race Course Road official residence.
But for the poor common people of this tiny valley,it does not matter much how and why the highest political officer of the Indian state was stagemanaging a charade or by the numbers of the grey heads of the cabinet ministers in the charade or by the meaningless number like 2013.All the same, they would be held prisoners in their households by the ever-tightening blockades in the two highways by the Nagas,with the constant blessings from the Indian state.
When that crunch come,the common people of the tiny valley might start making the first step in re-looking the ever-present entity called the Indian State.
Is it the largest democracy in the world espousing the ideals of unversal franchise and federalism?
Is it the inheritor of a civilization which constantly reminds us with its dispassionate search of the atman?
Is it the inheritor of the evil itself which condon the scheming to blocade a tiny valley by its highest political executive in,as Tehelka would have put it,in plain sight?!
If they come this far,they might even deign to remember their long forgotten but rightful geo-political role in Asia, giving a new life to this question--
Is it the right time to use this rightful geo-political tool to exorcise the evil called the Indian state,which at the moment is scheming to blockade a tiny valley called Imphal in ..er..well..well..let's say it,PLAIN SIGHT?!!
It was in New Delhi(somewhere in Race Course Road!) and it was in PLAIN SIGHT!!
With the personal supervision of its own Prime Minsiter,the Indian State,on the sly,awarded itself with another two and half years to engineer a ethnic war between the Meeteis and the Nagas(my last post).
The Prime Minster of the largest democracy of the world has just stooped so low to personally supervise the clubbing of the repairing the Jiri Lambi with the larger 'projects' of Manipur so that they can NOW say that some components of the 'projects',by dints of their size(total budget,Rs3500 crores),like the building of State Assembly,make headways while some others,like the repairing of the Jiri Lambi,lag behind.
If we re-read the following old posts of this blog,it would be quite cleat that the Meetei society has just started reasserting its rightful geo-political role,however niche it might be,in the context of the whole Asian scene.Their first few steps brought thousands of Chinese soldiers very near to the borders of the Indian State in the Gilgit Batistan region of Kashmir.This presents us the prognosis:the re-assertion the rightful geo-political role by the Meetei society is likely to bring forward,as Mao Ze Dong was wont to say,"world -shaking events".
Now, the Indian State is putting its all out efforts to nip this re-assertion of the Meetei society in the bud. The surest(and the most cost effective) way to achieve this is to force the Meetei society to get bogged down in a debilitating ethnic war with the Nagas,courtesy of the personal agenda of the Naga leader called Mr Thuingalen Muivah.The key components of this evil plan lies in the health of the two National Highways--NH 39 And NH 53.The Nagas have the complete control over NH 39 and the Indian State is going to complete the circle by not making the other Highway,NH 53,motorable.
The degree of nervousness of the Indian state can be gauged by the presence of so many senior cabinet ministers in the high-voltage charade termed the 'review meeting' chaired by the Prime Minsiter himself at his Race Course Road official residence.
But for the poor common people of this tiny valley,it does not matter much how and why the highest political officer of the Indian state was stagemanaging a charade or by the numbers of the grey heads of the cabinet ministers in the charade or by the meaningless number like 2013.All the same, they would be held prisoners in their households by the ever-tightening blockades in the two highways by the Nagas,with the constant blessings from the Indian state.
When that crunch come,the common people of the tiny valley might start making the first step in re-looking the ever-present entity called the Indian State.
Is it the largest democracy in the world espousing the ideals of unversal franchise and federalism?
Is it the inheritor of a civilization which constantly reminds us with its dispassionate search of the atman?
Is it the inheritor of the evil itself which condon the scheming to blocade a tiny valley by its highest political executive in,as Tehelka would have put it,in plain sight?!
If they come this far,they might even deign to remember their long forgotten but rightful geo-political role in Asia, giving a new life to this question--
Is it the right time to use this rightful geo-political tool to exorcise the evil called the Indian state,which at the moment is scheming to blockade a tiny valley called Imphal in ..er..well..well..let's say it,PLAIN SIGHT?!!
It was in New Delhi(somewhere in Race Course Road!) and it was in PLAIN SIGHT!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)