one of life's strangest ironies...

Recently, Isak Muivah, the General Secretary of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN, IM) planned a trip to his hometown, Somdal in Ukhrul district and lo behold, the chaos that oozed out. The entire state of Manipur was suddenly gripped in tension and disorder. Meiteis, the Manipur government and Nagas were hell-bent in getting into rows and riots. Manipur in the news, yet again and normal life got badly affected. The worst hit - petrol and LPG's price rocketed sky high. How much would my poor old parents have to go through at that age with no one to help around?

With schooling from LFS and high school from TGHS, I had friends from all possible communities inhabiting the hills and the valley - kuki, hmar, nagas, kabuis, paites and the list goes on. The best part, all my closest friends happen to be nagas. So when Muivah's supposedly planned visit incident tore apart the state, me and my tangkhul friends joked about me having peace talks with Muivah and my tangkhul friend talking to Ibobi. We shared how the public suffered massively because of the conflict between the meiteis and the nagas. Had we been back home, it would have been a different scenario altogether. I really don't know what is it that binds us - decade long friendship or like-mindedness or something else. It's a pity that the clash of the two communities has bred so much animosity amongst the groups. Thank God that our friendship still stays intact and do not let the forces take over. If only there were more people who thought alike...