May 3 Manipur: A Date with Divergence, a Cry for Healing
As Manipur marks two years of ethnic unrest, civil society groups from both hills and valley regions plan separate mobilisations on May 3 — one calling for unity and dialogue, the other observing it as Separation Day.
As the clock ticks towards 3 May, Manipur finds itself standing at a crossroads – bruised, divided, and yet, yearning for peace. It’s been two years since the state was plunged into an ethnic conflict that tore through its delicate social fabric like a bull in a china shop. And now, as that grim anniversary approaches, civil society organisations from both the hills and the valley have issued rallying calls – echoing not in harmony, but in parallel.
In the Imphal valley, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) has called for a people’s convention for unity and dialogue. Their hope? To gather minds – scholars, intellectuals, leaders – under one roof to chart a roadmap out of this seemingly never-ending quagmire. “This is not a time for silence,” said COCOMI President Khuraijam Athouba during a press briefing. And one can hardly disagree – silence, after all, has only allowed wounds to fester.
COCOMI’s vision is of an inclusive dialogue, a space where all voices can speak freely and be heard – a far cry from the top-down governance models that have too often ignored Manipur’s complexities. President’s Rule, Athouba declared, is no silver bullet. “It merely replaced a popular government without addressing core issues,” he remarked, dismissing it as a sticking plaster on a bullet wound.
More provocatively, Athouba took a dig at the Centre’s perceived double standards – pointing to how terrorists are dealt with in Kashmir with an iron hand, while infiltrators from across the Myanmar border in Manipur are treated with kid gloves. “Are these good terrorists, then?” he asked bitterly – the sarcasm cutting deeper than any sword.
But while COCOMI speaks of unity and healing, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) in the hills has declared 3 May as “Separation Day.” Their message? Two years have passed since they felt completely alienated – socially, politically, emotionally – from the Meitei community. At the Wall of Remembrance in Tuibuong, they will gather not to debate but to grieve.
There, amidst flickering candles and solemn prayers, the Jangnadopna ceremony will honour the dead – those who paid the ultimate price during the unrest. In a public notice, ITLF urged people to attend the ceremony with “hearts heavy with remembrance but spirits unbroken.” They called the day one of mourning and reflection – a moment to look back, but also to strengthen their resolve for what lies ahead.
One cannot help but feel the poignancy of it all – two communities, on the same day, seeking meaning from the same tragedy but in utterly divergent ways. It’s a bit like watching a family that once shared the same hearth now sitting at opposite ends of a long, cold table, each with their own candle, flickering uncertainly.
And so, 3 May looms large not just as a date on the calendar, but as a mirror to Manipur’s present state – divided, yes, but not beyond hope. For even as these calls to mobilise come wrapped in different colours – unity in the valley, separation in the hills – they stem from a common ache, a shared desire to stop the bleeding.
Whether this day will become a turning point or simply another chapter in a tragic saga remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the people of Manipur, battered though they may be, haven’t thrown in the towel just yet.
There’s a long road ahead, filled with potholes, pitfalls, and painful conversations. But if the people – not just their leaders – can find the courage to reach out across the divide, to listen before they speak, to remember before they retaliate – then perhaps, just perhaps, there is light at the end of this rather gloomy tunnel.
After all, even in the darkest of times, as they say in these isles, every cloud has a silver lining – and Manipur, for all its trials, deserves nothing less.
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