ITANAGAR, 23 Jun: A group of 72 leading citizens from Assam has expressed astonishment over the stoic silence maintained by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the prevailing situation in Manipur.
“We are bewildered why the prime minister of India hasn’t uttered a word yet about the situation in Manipur. He should intervene and help bring peace and normality to the state at the earliest,” they said in a joint press statement.
The group, called Axom Nagarik Samaj, includes noted author Nirupama Borgohain, intellectual Hiren Gohain, former Axom Sahitya Sabha president Nagen Saikia, filmmaker Jahnu Baruah, Rajya Sabha member Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, former Guwahati Archbishop Thomas Menomparampil, and environmentalist Jadav Payeng.
“We are greatly disturbed that our neighbouring state Manipur is in turmoil. There is an atmosphere of overwhelming fear, despair and uncertainty in the state. The state has been reduced to a level of statelessness,” they said.
The fratricidal violence has been continuing in the state for more than a month now.
Already more than 100 people have died in the violence and hundreds of houses have been burnt and damaged. Thousands of people have fled their homes. People are being sheltered in more than 300 relief camps and they need humanitarian assistance from all quarters, it said.
It said that the people in Manipur are utterly frustrated and are “suffering from a deep sense of insecurity.”
“We are feeling sad at the extreme uncertainty prevailing in Manipur, and our heart goes out to the suffering people of the state. We firmly believe that violence can bring no solution to the present problem of Manipur. Indeed it will make it worse and only serve vested interests that do not want a solution,” the group said, and appealed to both the Meiteis and the Kukis to immediately shun violence and maintain calm and peace.
“Let us understand that mutual violence and hatred will take us nowhere. It will only bring more misery and suffering to the people of both the communities. The violence must stop forthwith,” it said.
The group said that the state and the central governments have an important role to play, and that both the governments have to endeavour to create an atmosphere conducive to building peace.
