Imphal: Thadou Students’ Association appealed to all the people of the state to observe May 3 as “Manipur Peace Day” in memory of all victims of the violence and promote a long-lasting peace in the troubled-torn state.
After critical reflections on Manipur violence, nature and course of the crisis, the devastating impacts on the people, and after thoughtful deliberations and discussions on the commemoration of May 3, one of the darkest days in the history of Manipur and India when the tragic violence broke out last year, the leadership of the Association and Thadou thinkers have decided, with a holistic approach, to observe May 3 as “Manipur Peace Day”, the student body said in a statement on Thursday.
Taking inspiration from the annual observance of August 6, the day the Japanese city of Hiroshima was bombed with the world’s first atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, during WWII, the Association said it also encouraged all to make this day an opportunity to seek and promote peace amid violence, love amid hatred, understanding amid misunderstanding, reconciliation amid rivalry, empathy amid antipathy, justice amid injustice, hope amid hopelessness and light amid darkness.
It further argued that all people of Manipur have been greatly affected by the Manipur violence. But the Thadou community, who have no political agenda whatsoever, have been the most affected, and they want this kind of violence never to happen again in the future to us or anyone else.
TSA has always advocated for peace and non-violent solutions to the ongoing crisis since the beginning of the conflict. We cannot simply wait for other people to come and make peace for us, but it should be the first collective duty and priority of all the people of the state, particularly members and leaders of the communities most affected by the violence, to make efforts to sort out our problems and establish peace in the community, it added.
People of Manipur, particularly those affected by the violence, must show resilience, and on this important day take a firm stance against violence and together strive for peace to rebuild our society with a spirit of mutual respect, love, understanding and reconciliation, the student body said.
It also urged all the aggrieved parties to rethink if commemorating the day in a manner that is antagonistic to each other’s community would either benefit the society in the long run or instead prolong the continuity of the already too long-conflict and bring more harm to the present society and future generations. Manipur has had enough violent conflicts in the past from which we need to learn a lesson on the evil and futility of violence and communalism, it contended.
We cannot change what has happened, but, surely, we can change the meaning of it and start a new chapter and build a better, stronger society, with a brighter future and opportunities for all. Finally, peace is the core element of strong and bold character, not of the weak and timid, a statement issued by the Association said.
