by In a 2009 interview, historian Lokendra Arambam, former President of the Apunba Lup (a conglomerate of 32 civil society organisations in the state of Manipur) told me that when it comes to Manipur, "the government of India is interested in the land and not in the people." In 2006, just three years before Arambam's remark, Henry V Jardine, US Consulate General, Calcutta, returned from Manipur, which borders Myanmar, and sent a confidential and detailed cable to Washington DC (Source: The Hindu, March 21, 2011):
"In ConGen's many interactions, even with some government officials, a reoccurring comment was that Manipur was less a state and more a colony of India. The general use of the AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act) meant that the Manipuris did not have the same rights of other Indian citizens and restrictions on travel to the state added to
More about Elections 2012 Blogs
Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa start voting for the Assembly elections beginning at the end of January and going on till March 3. While any election is crucial in a democratic state, Elections 2012 become especially significant because of UP, India's most populated - and politically the most significant - state. It is at the battleground UP that the much anticipated and awaited fight between the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and BSP supremo and incumbent CM Mayawati will happen, probably resulting in one of the most exciting turnarounds ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2014. To keep a close watch at the developments in UP as well as the other four states going to polls, IBNLive.com has invited some of the best political analysts and reporters on the ground to share their opinion, forecasts and insights. Elections 2012 Blog is your definitive space for all you need to know on the forthcoming Battle for the States.
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.