New Delhi: “Are we (Manipur) a part of India?” wonders Ratan Thiyam.
A celebrated theatre personality and playwright from Manipur, Thiyam is “anguished” by Narendra Modi government’s response to the violence that has gripped the “small state” for close to two months now.
In an exclusive conversation with ThePrint, Thiyam said his home state is losing time as the clashes there have consumed many lives, left many women widowed and rendered children orphans.
Thiyam was nominated by the central government as a member of the peace committee set up to resolve the ongoing conflict in Manipur. However, he withdrew from the committee.
“First, they never asked me whether I will be able to participate in the committee. But, most important is, what are you really going to do in a peace committee when the Centre has to decide what to do?”
Many of Thiyam’s theatrical works have reflected Manipur’s anxiety due to internal conflicts in the state. The state has witnessed violence in the past, but the present one is unprecedented, said Thiyam, who is also the recipient of the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi award and the Padma Shri. “And, yet the Prime Minister has maintained silence,” he said.
“He has not spoken a single word (on Manipur). When a government is running this country, it is the government’s responsibility to look after the people — good or bad, merits or demerits. It is their duty. In spite of having such a leader, why is it (central government intervention) not happening?” he asked.
Instead of taking the peace committee route, Thiyam suggested the central government should come down to look into the ground situation and “discuss the things”. “The reconciliation process should have been done earlier, but in the past 45 to 50 days, nothing has happened,” he lamented.
Speaking about Modi’s last visit to Manipur — which was a year ago, Thiyam said, “He spoke so beautifully about Manipur then. But this time he has not come out.”
According to him, Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the state failed to bring any solution. However, he strongly believes that the PM’s intervention could resolve the situation in the state and bring peace. “A package of Rs 100 crore was announced (after Shah’s visit). That has nothing to do with peace. We need a human package. Before building houses, we need to build many other things,” Thiyam added.
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‘Even BJP at Centre has spoken about state govt’s failure’
He also spoke to ThePrint about the failure of the state government, which, said Thiyam, has come to everyone’s notice.
“Even a BJP minister (from the central government) has spoken on it. It means quite a lot. His statement gives the entire scenario of what is happening in Manipur,” the playwright said. “As an artist, I can only request the Centre to do something quickly. Or, it will be too late.”
Thiyam also has complaints against the mainstream media, which, he feels, has ignored the situation in Manipur. “When a dacoit dies, all (TV) channels go on talking about it. They show it for 15 days or so. But in our case for a month there was nothing. Nobody is really thinking about giving exposure to this (Manipur violence),” he said.
Manipur being a conflict zone has strongly influenced Thiyam’s productions. He said he works on his productions with a desire to study the evolving world, human spirituality, and also to understand how the system is “going wrong day-by-day”.
In his works, Thiyam emphasises the importance of adhering to the customs inherited from one’s ancestors, not solely in a religious context but in terms of their essence.
“My ideas cannot penetrate, but as an artist I can make a small contribution (to end the violence). My heart is broken now, looking at the tears of the widows, orphans, people living in relief camps. It is difficult to tolerate for people who are even a little bit sensible,” he said.
On his part, Thiyam said, he is trying to build support from India’s artistic community so that some “treatment therapy” can be given to the people of Manipur.
He remains optimistic about peace returning to the state. “We have lived peacefully in the past too. The 35 communities in Manipur have been living together. Being an artist, I am an optimist. A human being cannot hate human beings all the time,” he said.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: In Manipur govts have manufactured dystopia for decades, not peace. It’s showing now