Molly Charles-Reflections

Placing Social Distance (Us and Them) within Security Approach and Peace Approach        The Time for Art of War is Over, it is Time for Peace We guard our borders with intensity that can evoke envy in any species, the passion associated with a line of demarcation, largely hypothetical which few citizens would have seen or conceptualized beyond maps, is remarkable. Yet, we treat human beings within the borders as disposable ‘products’ whose aspirations need to be addressed as when their expression of dissatisfaction crosses the limit of  violence palatable to our 'sensitive souls'. India can blame its neighbors for acts of violence but can we as Indians state with a clear conscience that we asserted the rights of all our co-citizens, especially those who differed in their physical attributes from us or those whom we perceived to be of lower stature or those who we could never accept because of their historical desire to have more constitutional independence than us.

Internal Conflict in Manipur-Beyond Conventional Approach                             We take pride in being the enlightened species on planet earth and yet in our efforts to secure national boundaries or assert the uniqueness or superiority of our ethnicity we would transgress any ethical boundary to have the winning edge. That is a feeling that has gained strength during my recent visit to Manipur and hence this note. When security measures focus primarily on violence; its means, methods, and analysis or countermeasures it ignores - silent spectators in the conflict zone,  active impressionable minds that are being molded for life. Manipur, a state in the north eastern region of India has been in a conflict situation for over four decades. The state has a population of over 2.5 million residing in 22.327 Sq. Kms of land 90% of the land is designated as hilly terrain and 67% of the population reside in rural areas. The population in the valley is comprised of Meiteis, Muslims