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Tryst
With Destiny
When the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru delivered the famous Tryst with Destiny address to the Nation on August 15, to herald the independence Day, it would not have crossed his mind that one day it would be boycotted in the entire North East region of the country by a number of underground organizations.
However many a moon has passed and a lot of water has flown down the Ganges ever since Panditji made the famous speech and to the people of the North East today, especially Manipur, August 15 is not a day to celebrate but to stay within the safe confines of one’s house.
So even as Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees is set to address the Nation from the historic Red Fort in New Delhi to celebrate the 55th year of India’s independence, the whole of North East region is set to resemble a ghost town with not a soul on the streets, save for the security personnel and the few on emergency and essential services.
For the last few decades or so, the days preceding August 15 have come to mean tightened security all around the capital city and in some cases a visible rise in the violence graph with the underground organizations working over time to strike out at least once to coincide with the Independence Day celebration of the country. This situation is also repeated every January 26 or rather Republic Day.
Not everything was like this before. There was a time in the history of Manipur, when August 15 meant taking a day off with the family, not necessarily to celebrate Independence Day, but at least to take in a movie or to catch up with old friends, Ditto too on January 26, when Republic Day meant march past competition between schools with hordes of people turning out to watch the school students and the other contingents take part in the march past.
Why have all these things now suddenly become history? In Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the BJP, we have a Prime Minister and a party that can afford the luxury of dissociating itself with all the ills that have plagued the country for the greater part of the period since India gained independence. By this extension, the Prime Minister and the BJP are placed in a position to try and work out a solution to the militancy problems besetting the entire North East region of the country.
True, the peace process between the Government of India and the two factions of the NSCN is still on but what Vajpayee and his Cabinet colleagues should realize is the plain point that only working out a solution with the Naga rebels will not mean solving the problems of the North East region. At best it may only mean peace in Nagaland . True, the Government has been maintaining that the problem in the North East region is a political issue and the only solution is through a political dialogue. But the question is, hasn’t this been said before ?
What we expect from a party that has not been tainted with all the ills afflicting the Indian polity and economy is at least some sincere and fresh attempts. Yes, the problem of militancy in the North East, particularly in Manipur calls for a political settlement. While everyone seems to have realized this fact, the tragic point to note is the absence of any attempt to bring about a political solution. If the BJP leadership really understands the meaning of the spirit behind celebrating Independence Day then they should also try to understand and study the spirit behind the boycott call given on this day by a number of underground organizations in this region.
Surely, the fact that a part of the country will not be taking part in the Independence Day celebrating of the country should be a disturbing thought. We are sure the Father of the Nation and Nehru did not have such a situation in mind when India made her tryst with destiny 55 years back.
(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)
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