Manipur, one year after: what's the situation today? Who's to blame for failing to resolve the troubles? Can the Kuki and Meitei still live together?

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Exactly one year after the start of the troubles in Manipur, we present a Kuki and a Meitei voice answering the same questions about the situation that prevails in the state. From the Meitei community we have the Editor-in-Chief of The Frontier Manipur, Dhiren A Sadokpam. From the Kuki community we have Wilson Lalam Hangshing, the General Secretary of the Kuki People’s Alliance. We put almost identical questions to them giving you, the audience, a chance to compare and contrast their answers and form your own judgement.



Rather than paraphrase and precis their answers, and the contrast and difference between them, I will leave you to hear the two interviews which are only, together, 25 minutes long. Instead I will give you the questions that were put to both Mr. Sadokpam and Mr. Hangshing. In a sense they form the spinal structure of the interview.



1) Let me start by asking exactly one year after the trouble in Manipur began how do you see the situation today?



2) There’s a perception that if you overlook the last two weeks or ten days we’ve seen a sharp decrease in the violence and a tense calm has started to prevail. Do you agree?



3) However, in the second half of April sporadic violence has broken out leading to deaths both of civilians and security officials as well as blowing up of bridges. How do you explain this?



4) One year is very long time for the sort of trouble we have experienced to continue. Who or what is to blame for failing to resolve the issue?



5) How much of the blame and responsibility lies with Biren Singh, who the Kukis have completely lost faith in?



6) How much of the responsibility and blame lies with the Central government and, specifically, Prime Minister Modi, who has failed to visit Manipur even though he has travelled to Tripura, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh?



7) Let me ask you bluntly do you believe the Kukis and Meitis can live together? Can the clock be wound back to the 1st of May 2023 or do you think that’s unlikely if not impossible?



8) Let me end up by asking what you think will be the situation on the 1st of January 2025? Will we have turned a fresh page or will we have fallen even deeper into this crisis?

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