Bimol Akoijam, the Sociology professor from JNU, became a known face in the country after he was elected to the Parliament from Manipur. The Congress MP became the voice of the strife-torn north-east state soon after a speech he made in Lok Sabha went viral. A filmmaker, Akoijam was in Kerala to inaugurate the Kadamakudy International Film Festival, organised by the local people of the village known for its serene backwater beauty.
He speaks to Onmanorama on the situation in Manipur.
Excerpts:
It has been over a year since the riot broke out in Manipur. Still ,we get to hear multiple versions of what happened there. What happened in your state? By now, even you would be clearer.
I was clear from day one. In fact, many of my friends said I wrote about it way back in 2015. It was not a prophecy. I've been looking into this social movement for a long time. So I knew that this could happen and it happened. Once the communit-level clashes happened, there'll be spatial rearrangement and population shift will happen. And there will be a scar even if we come together.
That's something that I have written in 2015.
So I was never under confusions. What struck me is the blatant character in which the Indian state has allowed this to happen. Anybody in this country will know that such kind of violence would not last long unless the government is complicit through its own inaction.
What triggered your fears?
Actually, it's not fear because there has been this identity-based mobilisation and there has been some effort to create an ethno-nationalist and tribal identity discourse-based movement. It has been aggravated by various circumstances and forces, including political players.
Churachandpur, for example, for the first time, there was no one from that district in the cabinet.
When it comes to Manipur violence, we hear two prominent narratives. One – it’s a communal violence targetting Christians. The BJP counters it saying it’s an ethnic clash which has nothing to do with religion. Which is true?
Number one, you know there are various factors. So fundamentally, I'm saying it is a mobilisation based on the ethno-nationalist project and using tribal identity as a base which challenges the very idea of Manipur. And Meitei as a majority community historically gets abdicated in the evolution of Manipur as a state. They are central to the narrative. So they have this sense of ownership of what you can call the idea of Manipur. So they feel threatened by that.
So that's a clash between those two. And incidentally, I know most of these scheduled tribes are Christians but not all of them. Some stick to their traditional religion, but by far very few of them do.
And among the Kukis, it's also a conglomeration of tribes. Some of them follow Judaism as a religion, so not necessarily as a Christian.
There are a lot of Christians among the Meiteis also and they're a multi-religious community. In fact, the Christian population among my Meiteis could be larger than any of these tribal communities. So in that sense, it's not a clash between religious groups.
But BJP's involvement must be investigated because there were reports that they had made some promises to some of these tribal groups. In fact, one of the leaders of a Kuki armed group in an affidavit to the court says that the BJP had promised to support their political demands in case the armed groups support the party in the elections. So the possible link of BJP in inciting some of these issues cannot be ruled out. The suspicion comes because they have not cracked down on this violence.
I get a feeling that there is a larger geo-political dimension to the issue – vested interests who thrive on drugs. The drug mafias might include elements from outside the state and local operators. India’s counter insurgency strategies – all these factors get implicated. The basic dimension becomes this ethno-nationalist mobilisation which threatens the idea of Manipur. People are playing games. There are multiple factors. The politicians have their own interests and they have exploited all this. That’s why it has blown out of proportion. The state did not crack down. I think either it’s intentional with certain things but it’s absolutely irresponsible. The state can’t allow this to happen.
The BJP has been doing a lot of explaining, but they haven’t still answered why the PM does not visit the affected areas.
The BJP keeps on asking why should the PM visit Manipur. But he is visiting Kerala and many places where tragedies happened. The expectation that the PM should visit Manipur is natural and justifiable. It’s a mystery why he did not visit when the bureaucracy is divided on communal lines and when one community can’t go to another community’s area. How can this be allowed to happen? Absolutely irresponsible and unexpected behaviour from the PM.
Even if PM Modi doesn’t visit, what’s stopping the Centre from cracking down on the violence?
My suspicion is that there could be a geo-strategic policy to divide and destroy Manipur to serve certain political aims. Because they have promised some people separate administration facilities since they helped them in the elections. Or is it that the Indian state says that they are trying to counter these armed political groups who demand separation? This is true once the Manipur get fractured your argument for Manipur is also weakened and all kinds of calculations.
But, that is too much when you use the life and dignity and property of the citizens as a guinea pig. I mean these are reasons that I can think of why the government of India does not act. Otherwise they must come out.
Why did a country like India allow this thing to happen? As many as 60,000 people are homeless. Has it happened in this country in the post-colonial period? No, it hasn't happened. You make hue and cry about pandits from Kashmir and this is even not like that.
What actually led to your decision to contest election? How did it happen?
I was fed up with what I saw around me. So I thought, instead of complaining, I would join (politics) and take charge of it; let me give it a shot. That's all. That's what I'm trying to do.
I started doing what I believe I should be doing -- setting up Manipur's issues from the right perspective.
What actually drew to you the Congress party?
Congress is the opposite of the BJP. Ideologically, the Congress celebrate diversity and secularism. Also,f I need an organisation to back me up.
Tell us something about your film career.
I have been in love with cinema since a long time back. Since the 1980s, when I was a student, I attended film workshops. My first movie came very late in 2004. Then I made my feature film which was released in 2014.
I've been teaching films as part of social science courses and serving as a jury member.
I'm in love with cinema. It's another medium through which I express my political concerns; my philosophical take on life and commentary on my society and larger global issues.
