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Manipur : Electioneering for final phase at its peak

	February 19, 2007

Campaigning is at its peak for the third and final phase of Assembly elections in Manipur. While the ruling Congress has fielded all its top guns, including party chief Sonia Gandhi, and several central ministers, the opposition Manipur People’s Party is relying on regional leadership headed by former Chief Minister R.K. Deorendra Singh. Atrocities committed by security forces and the demand for the repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act are the major issue in the current elections.



Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who could not campaign for his party during the first two phases in two of the hill and four valley districts, is expected to address a rally at the district headquarters of Tamenglong, which has three Assembly constituencies.



The first phase of polling was held in 19 constituencies of Ukhrul, Senapati and Thoubal districts on February 8. The remaining 12 constituencies will vote in the final phase this week on February 23.



Sonia Gandhi who has been in the Manipur poll arena since early this month, has been defending her party’s performance at various election rallies in the state.



“Voting for the Congress is voting for a better future, where every Manipuri can live with dignity and security. So you come out in large numbers to vote for the Congress,” she said in Tuibuong.



“The historical Kangla Fort has been handed over to the people and our government is also sensitive and responsive to the demand of the people for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. A beginning has been made by removing the act from seven Assembly constituencies,” she said at Tuibuong, under Saikot constituency.



Since Sonia last visited Manipur on February 5, the state has witnessed a series of protests over the death of A. Shyamchand Singh, shot by police commandos hours after a peaceful first phase of polling. His family and neighbours say Shyamchand was a private tutor who had stepped out of home to buy medicines for his wife, but the police insist that he was a militant and had died in an encounter.



The Congress president made no mention of the incident either at Tuibuong or at Khopum in Tamenglong district. She only repeated the Congress’s “sensitivity” to the situation in Manipur.



She was silent on the topic of “territorial integrity”.



Earlier, during the second phase of polling on Feb. 14, the three valley districts of Manipur registered a high voter turnout despite heavy rain. The estimated turnout was 70 per cent.



Contrary to apprehensions, there was no major incident of violence in any of the 29 constituencies, spread across Imphal East, Imphal West and Bishenpur districts.



The prominent candidates whose political fate was sealed in the electronic voting machines in the second phase included three former Chief Ministers - R.K. Dorendro Singh in the Yaiskul constituency, Wahengbam Nipamacha Singh in the Wangoi constituency and Radhabinod Koijam in the Thangmeiband constituency.







Will vote here, but their hearts are in Israel



They will vote in Churachandpur on February 23 to elect a new government in Manipur, but their heart lies in Israel. A community of around 700 people here call themselves Bnei Menashe or the descendants of Menashe, one of the Biblical lost tribes who were believed to have been exiled from Israel during the Assyrian reign over 2,700 years ago.



Over the past few years, nearly 800 members of the community here and in Mizoram have opted for aliyah (immigration) to Israel. They are settled mostly at Kiryat Arba, Gush Katif, Beit El and Ofrah.



Churachandpur has one of the largest concentrations of the Bnei Menashes, scattered across Mizoram, Manipur and Myanmar. It is here that the community set up its first synagogue in the early eighties. There are eight synagogues in and around Churachandpur at present.



Along with Israelis, the community celebrates Yom Ha’afzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, every year.



Amishav, a Jerusalem-based organisation trying to trace the “lost tribes”, also opened a centre here in 2005. The organisation is assisting members of the community in migrating to Israel and studying Judaism and Zionism.



“Yes, I will migrate to Israel. So will the other people of my community,” says Benny Khongshai of Tuibuong. His daughter Hatneilam is among the “blessed few” who have already made the passage to Israel. After converting to Judaism, she changed her name to Zeremiah and even married an Israeli.



Churachandpur, once the hotbed of ethnic strife, is one of the most backward areas of the region. For the Bnei Menashes, migrating to Israel is not merely a return to the Holy Land; it is also the “land of milk and honey that promises a better life,” said K.E. Singson, a tailor.



Like Singson, the rest of the community does not expect much from the elections in Manipur after decades of being neglected.



“No, we do not have any specific demand from the political leadership,” says Khongshai, mirroring his tribesmen’s indifference towards the electoral process.



“I only wish that I can migrate to my homeland before I die,” says another member of the community. He recalls being ecstatic when he heard that Sephardic chief rabbi Shlomo Amar had officially recognised his community as the descendants of Menashe.



But will he exercise his franchise ?



“Yes, I will vote, as I have been doing over the years. You can say it has become a habit. But I also know that none of the promises made by our candidate will be fulfilled. They are liars,” he says.



But what about those who are not from the Bnei Menashe community ?



“They can at least hope to migrate to Israel for a better future. For others in Churachandpur, there is nothing to look forward to except the false promises of politicians,” says Thangkhomang Haokip of Vengnom, near the district headquarters.



The district has six Assembly constituencies, all of which will go to the polls on February 23.