Lamka-Then and Now (A Reflection)

Land of peace

That had once been the epithet used to describe my native place – Lamka – otherwise officially known as Churachandpur. I refuse to call it Churachandpur as it is a name imposed on my beloved Lamka by the powers that be against wishes of the local people. Lamka – the place where I grew up and which gives me so many memories – some sad and some sweet. Bittersweet may be the appropriate word here. The place that once was the only peaceful district in the otherwise trouble-torn Manipur – an oasis in the desert. Where different communities lived in peace and harmony.

The older generation would always look back in nostalgia of the days gone by - when Lamka was an oasis of peace in the trouble-torn desert of Manipur. “Those were the days…” is the usual refrain of a lot of people. The 1980s and the early 1990s were indeed the golden era of Lamka. I was a young teenager in the early 1990s and I fondly remember roaming the streets of Lamka along with friends without fear and without any care or worry. To paraphrase Rabindranath Tagore it was indeed a place “where the mind is without fear”. We would roam with friends along Tedim Road or even to Tuibuang at night. We would shout at the top of our voices singing love songs and what not! We had no cares or worries and we were very content with our lives. No gunshots, no murders or senseless killings. How I cherish those memories!

But since the mid-1990s winds of change have swept across Lamka. Sadly a change for the worse. It started with kidnappings and demands for ransom money and these eventually led to senseless and mindless killings. The culmination of all these was the Kuki-Zomi ethnic conflict which resulted in the death and destruction of many lives and property on either side. Eventually peace accord was signed and the ethnic conflict came to an end.

But sadly enough Lamka has still not returned to normalcy and is still not the place it once was. Killings and gunshots have become the order of the day. And it seems like all these troubles are here to stay, for a long, long time…

Is Secularism Dead?

Here is an article I wrote on www.e-pao.net, a web portal of Manipur about the Vengnuam firing incident. Hope you enjoy the post.

For the residents of Newlamka, life will never be the same again after 20th August, 2006. The painful memories and the trauma they had been through that night would remain with them for a long, long time.

For it was on that fateful night at around 7:30 pm that security forces belonging to the 3rd Rajputana Rifles attacked EBC Church, Vengnuam, New Lamka and fired indiscriminately at innocent churchgoers attending the sacramental service.

The firing resulted in the death of one Mr Thawngkhanlian s/o Rev. S. Ginjam and injuring many others. The deceased is the chairman of Baptist Youth Fellowship (the youth wing of the church), EBCC, Vengnuam and also the editor of a local weekly paper, Voice of Newlamka.

May it be known to the world that EBCC Vengnuam has never and will never harbour any insurgents/militants inside its premises, as alleged by the army. The army should stop concocting "cock and bull" stories and immediately apologise to the people for their misdeeds.

The attack on a religious place by state actors is a blatant violation of the secular provisions of the Constitution of India which they have sworn to uphold and protect at all costs.

This incident is an act of terrorism on the part of the security forces which has no parallel in the history of India. Nowhere has a religious place been attacked by the security forces expect maybe in the infamous "Operation Bluestar" to flush out Sikh militants from the Golden Temple.

Operation Bluestar can be justified as militants are present inside the premises. Operation Vengnuam can never be justified as no insurgents/militants are present inside its premises. The perpetrators of this crime should not be made to go scot-free and the guilty should be given appropriate punishment.

Or is secularism dead?

It may be mentioned here that this is not the first instance that EBC Church Vengnuam was attacked by security forces. On 1st June 2004, combined forces of IRB and police commandos of Bishnupur had attacked the church and beaten up choir members of the church for no apparent reason.

The latest incident is a grim reminder of this incident and the fact that the security forces could not be trusted anymore.

The attack on the church has angered the public and condemnation has poured in from all quarters. In fact there is a rhyme doing the rounds in New Lamka area which goes like this:

Captain Shekhar go away(Tune: Rain, rain go away)

Captain Shekhar, Captain Shekhar go away
Never come again another day
Faithful Christians want to pray
Shekhar, Shekhar go away

(PS. Captain Shekhar is alleged to be the man behind this incident)
Hello, is anybody listening????

Vengnuam Incident

Security forces believed to be belonging to the Rajputana Rifles fired indiscriminately towards EBCC Church, Vengnuam, New Lamka on Sunday, August 20, 2006 at around 7:30 pm. Mr Thawngkhanlian s/o Rev. S. Ginjam was killed in the firing and four others injured. Among the injured Mr Thangmuanlal succumbed to his injuries on Monday, August 21, 2006.

It may be mentioned here that deceased Mr Thawngkhanlian was the chairman of Baptist Youth Fellowship, EBCC, Vengnuam and editor of Voice of New Lamka, a local weekly newspaper.

The incident is condemned by all and sundry.