Choosing information over propaganda and its price.

Once during my college days,I tried to read a Puya.I could not even understand the first word.Even then I came to realize it's a specialist's job to read Puyas.But,like most people,the Puyas are still really intrigueing.

After posting my next to last post(which talked of three-way fight in present day Manipur),a thought has been keeping on nagging me.Is this three-way fight what the Puyas talk of as 'po ahum chainani'? I even don't know if it's an extract from a Puya but the general blelief is it is.

Even if it's all made up in my minds,this morning's headlines nonetheless tell us that one group of the three-way fight would be the 'constitutionalist'.

Much more intriguing than the fancyful links to the Puyas is the sudden realization that the likes of the person not less the super powerful,Mr Barack Obama, throws their weights behind the 'constitutuionalist'.

Barack Obama? Seriously?

Let the series of events of the past week answer it for themselves.

It turned out that Mr Barack Obama phoned his Chinese counterpart just when the clash between the Burmese soldiers and the rebels was raging near the border with China.The phone call indirectly told the Chinese president what the Americans (together with the Indians) could pulls of nasty things at their borders.Still not convinced that the particular Obama phone call is not just a simple one,loaded with indirect meaning?Then we have to remember how the Pakistan Prime Minister suddenly developed this irresistible desire to make a phone call to Mr Barack Obama.To make things even more interesting,this mysterious desire of the Pakistan prime minister began tormenting him with 48 hours of the Obama's call to the Chinese president!But it's only starting to get interesting!!For one thing,what the Pakistan prime minister told Mr Obama during the most interesting(even historic!) phone call?Get ready the answer--Mr Nawaz Sharif actually told the American president that he opposed the elevation of India to the security council of the UN!

Even if US and India were co-ordinating the rebel attacks on Burmese soldiers,what's the point in dragging in the name of Mr Obama here?

Two dates are the keys.

1)The 9th of Feb 2015.It's the date on which attack on Burmese army started.It's also the day on which the armed wing of the oldest rebel group in Manipur was born some twenty years ago.The attack on the Burmese army on this day meant as an eye for an eye reprisal for Burmese army's attack on the Kachin's stronghold at Laiza.

2)The 13th of Feb 2015.It's the day on which we first heard of the attack of the 9th.It's not an incident that Mr Rajnath Singh,India's home minister was staying the night of the 13th in Imphal.

So,if we read together the above two points,it's clear that US and India are co-ordinating in counterattacks on the oldest rebel group of Manipur.They are openly saying--'We don't have any liking for present uneven competition meted out to all other group by the oldest rebel group--so,we have started attacking the oldest rebel group--in this context,it's imperative that you should come out and co-ordinate with us in attacking this particular rebel group'.

More than the rebel groups themselves,US and India are coordinating in influencing sections of people within the Manipuri society.The timing of the visit of Rajnath Singh bears testimony to the fact the they are throwing their weights behind the 'constitionalist'(Does it mean that they would get their demand of getting a particular law enacted?I don't think so.The 'constitutionalsit' as they are today are still not acceptable to New Delhi.They want much more waterdown version.The coming
months would see New Delhi's attempts to wear down the 'constitutionalist' to their liking).

But one thing is quite certain that our compatriots like Shans,chins etc are getting more than what the 'constitutionalist' of Manipur are demanding.They are virtually independent.But they are still wallowing in the morass of smuggling,gambling and prostitution.They are selling themselves to the rising mass of China's middle class.Why don't they attempt a rise just like the Chinese are doing in front of their own eyes?

We have a similar question here also.Why don't the sophisticates in our society abandon the fine arts of pocketing New Deli's subsidy?Why don't they make a start for creative wealth making?Would the 'constitutionalist' much trumpeted Act would help us in taking the above paths?

So,what prevents us from taking that path?

To my mind,nothing short of 'enlightenment' would prepare us to take to that path.Unlike what the 'constitutionalsit' are thinking 'enlightenment' is not easy.It was shown in Europe that it was blood and tumult all the way.If we go with the 'constitutionlast' scheme of thing 'enlightenment' entail a lot signing on the official looking papers,shaking of hands and then announcing that 'we are all enlightened from this day onwards'.But history shows us that it did not work like that way.

But who would want bloodshed?Why history always demand such a huge dose of blood letting?

These are very profound questions and I'm quite certain that I'm not equal to the task of answering them.But,as the situation in Manipur is hotting up,it's everybody's responsibility  to try answer these questions.With my limited knowledge,I'm tryingmy best.(I know it's the queer case of unknown blogger trying to be bit philosophical!)

To my mind.it's everything to do with putting yourself in direct bonding with that of state of being where  there is primacy of information.You are trying to make sense of the information being gathered by your senses in real time.You have to act quickly on them.Otherwise,you get killed.So,there is a lot of blood.It's the stark conditions for a duelist.For enlightenment you yourself have to be a duelist fighting a series of battles with the status quo.

Until and unless you pass through that of being you can never bond with the primacy of information with the result that you are likely to be swayed by the petty propaganda flying around you.

But the tragedy here is that unless you are ready to spill your own blood as price of that experience,you can never bond with that state of being--you can  never understand what a true information is--you can never let that part inside of you grow up that will enable you to distinguish between information and propaganda--you can never get 'enlightened'.

I'm using the metaphor of an individual self for the purpose of easy reasoning.Even though individual self has other means for attaining 'enlightenment',besides being a duelist,the collective self of a society has had this compulsion of going through the above mentioned state of being.This is hard lesson we learn from history.

Isn't it the sufficient reason why history demand such a huge dose of bloodletting?

Rajnath Singh visit:forcing a re-alignment in Manipur?

It's really surprising for me to notice such a quick arrival of another very fine-grained attacking move.It's barely a week since we witnessed the first fine-grained attacking move(my last post).This time the move is being executed by Mr Rajnath Singh,India's home minister.

Going by his publicly known schedule,his first priority is Moreh.He will fly there immediately after arrival here in Imphal.

But the most interesting part is that he would be meeting leaders of civil society organizations.In this engagement,the recent highway blockade in Tengnoupal is most likely to come up.As is almost customary in such situation,the home minsiter is most likely to respond that he would look into the grievance of the villagers of Tengnoupal against the Assam Rifles troopers there.

But within two weeks timeframe the most eagerly awaited piece of legislation(which New Delhi wants to nip in the bud by deploying numerous highway blockades in the hills) would come up for discussion on the floors of the Manipur Legislative Assenbly.By design,in Tengnoupal nothing would change in spite of home minsiter's assurance.That's just right moment for starting a bockade along the Imphal-Moreh highway.

The home minister is so carefully creating this right moment.

2)The home minister himself is presenting in person in Manipur to give the most easiest way for the Manipur chief minster to 'consult' him on the coming legislation.Would the Manipur chief minster take this opporutnity?

If so,would he invite the agitators as well to join the 'consultation' session with the home minsiter?

Would the agitators also willingly join the 'consultation' session?

To my mind,the answer to this last question would have an immense impact on the political scenario in Manipur.So immense that it would tantamount to having gotten a complete and decisive re-alignment in the tortured Manipuri political discourse,thereby making it clearer where the battleline would run.

3)If we read the above two points carefully enough,we should not be able to miss out on this crucial point--Mr Rajnath Singh's Manipur visit is actually a very fine-grained attacking move.The unspoken part of the visit is the profound message sent out to the agitators--"Come to my lap--come to the comfortable lap of New Delhi".

Will the agitators happily accept this invitation?


Postscript:In another major surprising development,the US president actually called up the Chinsese president over the phone to discuss cyber warfare.This happened barely  one week after the plane crash in Taiwan,which we believe to be target of the West's cyber warfare(my last post).Is the US president owning up this cowardly attack on the civilian passenger plane?Here is the link.


UPDATE
13-02-15(10.30 pm)

News just in--nearly 50 Burmese soldiers killed in clashes with rebels near border with China.Burma formally  notifies China about the clashes because thousands of civilians are fleeing into China.

What's most interesting  for us is that the news reaches us here in Imphal the same night in which Rajnath Singh is also staying there (even though it had started on the 9th Feb and still continuing).

Here is the VOA news link.

The battleline and the coming faultline:would they become collinear?

Within a few days of the public declarartion of the battleline, India also publicly leaped up on the comfortable lap of the US of A.Remember how the India's prime minister breathlessly announced the coming the American president to the 26th Jan ceremony while the Chinese troops were still in Pune.

As the US president was landing in New Delhi,the Houthi inusrgents in Yemen surrounded the Presidential Palace,trapping the president himself inside,who is a close ally of the USA.The message was quite clear---"Even if both US And India have banded together,we are still more than ready for battle".

Another 'we are also ready for battle' came out in full public view in yet another state visit--this time,the just concluded State visit of India's foreign minsiter to China.This is discernible in four different ways--

1)The same morning when India's foreign minsiter was to leave for Beijing,there was the test fire of the cannisterized version of the Agni 5 ICBM.And even the most naive knows  that Agni 5 is specially developed with China firmly in mind.

2)The next day when the Indian Foreign minister was settling down for business in Beijing,massive demonstrations mysteriously materialized in the streets of Hong Kong.

3)The sane day day,Maoists in Chhatisgarh suddenly attacked a police patrol party,killing two policemen.

4)We are still in the same day and this time around,a Lt Gen,commanding the 3rd Corp of India's military had had a narrow escape when his chopper crashed at his Corp headquarters at Dimapur.

To top it all,there was even a scenario of 'one crash' for 'another crash'!To avenge the chopper crash at Dimapur,there was a plane crash in Taiwan--a plane which had roughly 1/3 of its passengers as the Mainland Chinese.Incidentally,nearly 1/3 of the total passengers were also killed.(As the pilot of the plane was found killed still clutching the joystick,there is ground to believe that some malicious programs might have infected the onboard computers which,in turn,overided the manual commands of the pilot.This progam might be as stealthy and dangerous as Stuxnet,which was jointly written by US And Israeli governments,both thriving democracies in their respective regions!This time around,India,which is not only the largest democracy but also an IT powerhouse,might have contributed to the joint exercise of writing a plane killing computer virus!!).

Now,we come to the most intersting part.The plane crash was carefully timed to happen in the early hours of the 4th Feb '15.So,what's so special about the 4th of Feb?

It's the day on which there was a general strike in Manipur,which had taken everyone by surprise(because it was in support of a blockade of the Imphal-Moreh national highway and supporting a national highway blockade is unthinkable in the tortured political discourse of Manipur).More so,it was called by none other than one venerable organization which was born out of the massive protest against the then imminent territorial disintegrity of Manipur as the direct result of the Indo-Naga peace accord,more than a decade ago.

It's now clear that the plane crash in Taiwan was carefully timed to kill two birds with one stone--one,to avenge the chopper crash at Dimapur and,another,to serve as the symbolic counter-offensive to an offensive move happened on the 4th Feb ie the general strike.

So,the general strike on the 4th Feb was actually a very fine-grained offensive act.

The above statement is the embodiment of the enormous twist and turns inside the 'batteground Manipur',which most likely leaves everybody's head spinning.So,let's slow down a bit and re-started from the beginning.

1)The just concluded India's foreign minister's China visit was preambled by by the road blockade along the Imphal-Moreh national highway.The foreign minser was saying---"As I'm travelling towards the centre of the East,it's being graphically shown that Manipur's 'Nongpokthong' is at the mercy of New Delhi--we can shut it off completely or thrown it open ajar at the timing of our choosing".

2)But the Indian State achieved the blocading off the 'Nongpokthong' by letting the blockaders targetting one of its own arm--the Indian military.Isn't it the classic case of the spectacular execution of 'smudging the battleline' tactics?(my last post).

So,calling a general strike on the 4th Feb supporting the blockaders amounts to the acceptance of the principle of 'smudgign the battleline',isn't it? Really a queer case of organized valley groups supporting a hightway blockade in the hills,isn't it?

To unravel this seeming paradox we need to go back some week's timeline.There we will find out that one of the most easily overlooked news would make the most pronounced impact on the current state of the geo-political scenario.

Here is the most overlooked news.The students' wing of the most tortured agitation currrently active in Manipur gave a public demand for calling a special session of the State Legislative Assembly to discuss and enact a law tailored to their demands.New Delhi reacted almost immediately.It suddenly gave additional charge to the Manipur governor,which gave them the excuse for physical absence of the governor from Imphal for a prolonged duration.

What does it tell us? It tells us that New Delhi is expecting faultline to develop between the wishes of Manipuri people and the Constitution of India in the coming days.Seen in this light what had happened along the Imphal-Moreh national highway during Ms Sushma Swaraj visit to China is also a spadework by New Delhi--New Delhi is planning to nip the developing faultline by deploying various blocakades along the highways in the hills of Manipur.

Now comes the time to unravel the seeming paradox.Imagine someone trying to use both this spadework of New Delhi and genetic codes of the yet to be born faultline to creatre a scenario where the coming faultline would become collinaer with the already visble battleline.So,it's now clear that the seeming paradox contains a lot more deeper meanings in it.

Having come to this far,it's our duty to truthfully catalog of what have been unfolding in front of our own eyes.We are seeing the contours of a three-way fight.

1)One group is dreaming of casting a spell on the genetic codes of the yet to be born faultline so that it would not be inimical to the constitution of India.

2)The second group is fairly certain that any faultline would be inimical to the Constitution of India in due course of time and so,it should be nipped in the bud.

3)The third group is readying battleplans with both above two groups so that the coming faultline would become collinear with the already visible battleline.