Will the people of Manipur ever see justice?

Killing after killings, judicial probe after judicial probes, but where is justice? The Sanjit fake encounter case that managed to rocked the state for a while slipped away silently with the victims bearing the pain of the aftermath. The days move on with another encounter, fake or not, and a few more deaths, militants or innocents. People and politicians watch it. So does the GOI offering a deaf ear and blind eye towards the state as if a few more killings are just like another ordinary dealings. In such a situation, what can the people of Manipur do?

So, in trying to raise their voice against the killings of the innocents and demanding justice, strikes and bandhs are called and our respected curfew minister O Ibobi Singh imposed curfews irrespective of the cause to control the people's movement. Again a few more casualties! It's like the vicious cycle that has no end.

Identifying terrorism, insurgency in the northeast and Maoist violence as the three biggest challenges facing the country, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said state governments need to do more to stamp out the threats to India's internal security. With the state's forces having the license to kill, innocent people are being killed in the name of war against terror. If terrorism is to be countered this way than the Government of India is equally responsible for spreading terror in the state.

In the Rabina and Sanjit fake encounter case, CM initially accepted the police version of these cases despite knowing the record of their forces. In 2004, Thangjam Manorama Devi was picked up by the Assam Rifles and found dead 5 hours later. PM promised justice and repeal of AFSPA but nothing as such happened. In such a situation, how can law prevail in the state? Manipur has lost its legitimacy because it can neither provide justice nor safety to its people. Even the life of 5-months old unborn baby is no longer safe in the mother's womb!

While the voluntary shutdown of Pune and Mumbai due to swine flu scare was being widely reported and debated, little is known about the forced shutdown of the large parts of Manipur. And even as media focused on the incident revolving around Shah Rukh Khan's so called detention at Newark Airport in US, thousands of people in Manipur go through such incidents every day. But neither the sate nor the centre cared to look at it.

In 2004, women staged a naked protest when security forces brutally gunned down Thangjam Manorama who they accused of being a militant. It was a desperate appeal for justice from upholders of human rights across the globe. Time and again, women protest of making a sort of protective fence out of their phaneks during Sanjit's fake encounter case. It was an expression of outrage, a cry of desperation and the only way of showing how naked and helpless the people feel in the absence of a rule of law. In 2001 Gujarat made headlines because of the riots that took several lives at once. But in Manipur people die everyday either at the hands of security forces or militants.

But ex-gratias and monetary compensation cannot be regarded as act of justice. If that is the case, then anyone who can afford to give a few bucks can actually start killing people making the state a battle field for the powerful ones. People now wonder how the UPA govt continues to back a CM who has all but failed to govern Manipur. Is it because Ibobi Singh and his IRB (commonly known as Ibobi Reserve Battalion by the local people) go on an overdrive for results whenevevr he is pulled up by the Centre? Or is it because, our CM is so good in turning the table on his favour during any talks with the concerned organisations, associations or groups in silencing the people? Either way, CM knows well how to make any deal in his favour.

And while doing so, justice has lost its meaning and many people are experiencing manifold consequences of violence directly or indirectly. It is high time to bring justice in Manipur through a network of constructive leaders who are not looking for personal and political gains. The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them. And if justice is delayed then justice is denied!

There will be no justice as long as man stands with a knife or gun and destroys those who are weaker than he is.