By T. Gouzadou, Ex-Minister
In the beginning God created heaven, and earth. He gave our ancestors a part of it which is called Manipur, and we have been living in this beautiful land, We have to believe that God can take away Manipur from us. To enable us to continue to live in it in peace and to maintain territorial integrity of Manipur we the people of Manipur have to show our gratitude to God in obeying His commandments as the Holy Scripture says,"Everyone must obey the State authorities, because no authority exists without God's permission, and the existing authorities have been put there by God. Whoever opposes the existing authority opposes what God has ordered, and anyone who does so will bring judgement on himself"(Romans 13:1-2). Disloyalty to the government is the result of pride. God resists the proud.
We have to examine ourselves to know whether we are proud in the eyes of God, God hates pride, and punishes it severely. He often punishes secret pride by withdrawing His assistance from the proud man. And deprived of God's aid, the proud man falls into grievous sins leading to his humiliation. Thus the proud Roman Empire fell and became nothing. The proud Napoleon, Emperor of France, who had the courage to say" Impossible is a word to be found in the dictionary of fools", lost his power and the British had sent him to St Helena, where he, died.
If we say that Manipur had never been a part of "India before 15 October 1949, Manipur tribals also may like wise say that ''sinc Meiteis have never settled in the hills of Manipur before or after independence, the hills had not been parts of Manipur before the British conquered Manipur. Even after independence Meiteis are reluctant to be posted to hill areas, As for Instance during thee year 1986-87 while, Rishang Keishing was the Chief Minister, there was a special recruitment for science teachers. About 200 teachers were appointed on the condition that they should serve in high schools located in hill districts.I still remember it because at that time I was also a Member, of Legislative Assembly. Perhaps all of them might have been transferred to valley areas leaving behind their schools without science teachers.
"If all the Meitei government employees have the willingness to live with their wives and children in their places of posting in hill-districts there should have been better understanding and cordial relation between hills and plains. Their reluctance to do so has widened the gap between Meiteis and tribals.Thus we have failed to utilise many good years to make relation between Meiteis and tribals. Nowadays due-to insurgency problems even the tribals are reluctant to serve in the hills.
Tradition is very important and it should be given due importance. Meitei tradition says that on the occasion of Meitei marriage a cloth called "Tangkhul Leirumphi" is always included as a compulsory item of gift, though quite small, of the parents to their daughter bride, This particular tradition is a proof of relationship between Meiteis and Tangkhuls. Among the tribals of Manipur it is only the Tangkhuls who have had the chance to become Chief Ministers of Manipur, We remember that Major B,Khathing was the Minister in charge of Hill administration in 1948-49, Thus we may presume that God wants Tangkhul's to play a bigrole for unity and prosperity of Manipur. Therefore it may not be wrong to say that it is best for them to remain united with Meiteis, However, if the Meitei insurgents continue to fight for sovereignty of Manipur, the Nagas of Manipur will naturally like to support the policy of integration of Naga inhabited areas in the North-east India and the Non-Nagas tribes also shall have to think for their future status. Love is the most powerful weapon to win the hearts of the minority groups.
It is the will of God that Manipur be a part of India. If any Manipuri is fit, he can get the highest post of the country. We must be grateful to the Government of India for all the helps Manipur has received so far. The destiny of Manipur greatly depends on all of us. Let any organisation shun any kind of violence to make Manipur a land of peace. As the Government of India and NSCN(IM) talks are going on, the time has come for the people of Manipur to win the goodwill of the Government of India to protect the territorial integrity of Manipur.
In the beginning God created heaven, and earth. He gave our ancestors a part of it which is called Manipur, and we have been living in this beautiful land, We have to believe that God can take away Manipur from us. To enable us to continue to live in it in peace and to maintain territorial integrity of Manipur we the people of Manipur have to show our gratitude to God in obeying His commandments as the Holy Scripture says,"Everyone must obey the State authorities, because no authority exists without God's permission, and the existing authorities have been put there by God. Whoever opposes the existing authority opposes what God has ordered, and anyone who does so will bring judgement on himself"(Romans 13:1-2). Disloyalty to the government is the result of pride. God resists the proud.
We have to examine ourselves to know whether we are proud in the eyes of God, God hates pride, and punishes it severely. He often punishes secret pride by withdrawing His assistance from the proud man. And deprived of God's aid, the proud man falls into grievous sins leading to his humiliation. Thus the proud Roman Empire fell and became nothing. The proud Napoleon, Emperor of France, who had the courage to say" Impossible is a word to be found in the dictionary of fools", lost his power and the British had sent him to St Helena, where he, died.
If we say that Manipur had never been a part of "India before 15 October 1949, Manipur tribals also may like wise say that ''sinc Meiteis have never settled in the hills of Manipur before or after independence, the hills had not been parts of Manipur before the British conquered Manipur. Even after independence Meiteis are reluctant to be posted to hill areas, As for Instance during thee year 1986-87 while, Rishang Keishing was the Chief Minister, there was a special recruitment for science teachers. About 200 teachers were appointed on the condition that they should serve in high schools located in hill districts.I still remember it because at that time I was also a Member, of Legislative Assembly. Perhaps all of them might have been transferred to valley areas leaving behind their schools without science teachers.
"If all the Meitei government employees have the willingness to live with their wives and children in their places of posting in hill-districts there should have been better understanding and cordial relation between hills and plains. Their reluctance to do so has widened the gap between Meiteis and tribals.Thus we have failed to utilise many good years to make relation between Meiteis and tribals. Nowadays due-to insurgency problems even the tribals are reluctant to serve in the hills.
Tradition is very important and it should be given due importance. Meitei tradition says that on the occasion of Meitei marriage a cloth called "Tangkhul Leirumphi" is always included as a compulsory item of gift, though quite small, of the parents to their daughter bride, This particular tradition is a proof of relationship between Meiteis and Tangkhuls. Among the tribals of Manipur it is only the Tangkhuls who have had the chance to become Chief Ministers of Manipur, We remember that Major B,Khathing was the Minister in charge of Hill administration in 1948-49, Thus we may presume that God wants Tangkhul's to play a bigrole for unity and prosperity of Manipur. Therefore it may not be wrong to say that it is best for them to remain united with Meiteis, However, if the Meitei insurgents continue to fight for sovereignty of Manipur, the Nagas of Manipur will naturally like to support the policy of integration of Naga inhabited areas in the North-east India and the Non-Nagas tribes also shall have to think for their future status. Love is the most powerful weapon to win the hearts of the minority groups.
It is the will of God that Manipur be a part of India. If any Manipuri is fit, he can get the highest post of the country. We must be grateful to the Government of India for all the helps Manipur has received so far. The destiny of Manipur greatly depends on all of us. Let any organisation shun any kind of violence to make Manipur a land of peace. As the Government of India and NSCN(IM) talks are going on, the time has come for the people of Manipur to win the goodwill of the Government of India to protect the territorial integrity of Manipur.
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