Editor,
As if the psychic disintegration between the Valley and Hills of Manipur since mid-2023 is not unfortunate enough, now many parts of the hilly region have also got segregated into various zones with Nagas and Kukis “forbidden” to step in each other’s territory!
Vividly recollect the journey between Kohima and Imphal undertaken almost 4 decades ago with the NH 2 meandering through the divine picturesque setting of Mao town and districts of Senapati and Kangkopki amidst lofty peaks, lush greenery, cute habitations, streams and valleys.
So, the unfortunate episodes in Manipur indeed arrive as a personal shock in consciousness! What a saga of pain and suffering amidst the unfathomable bounty of nature!
Get remembered of the comment made by the great Bengali author Ashapurna Devi, in her magnum opus ‘Prothom Pratishruti’ (‘The First Promise’, for which she won the Jnanpith award in 1976): “Why are the people of this world in such deep darkness, when there is so much light in the world?”
Kajal Chatterjee
Kolkata
