Many young people who have fled strife-torn Manipur to seek refuge in Calcutta attended a peace convention on Wednesday evening.
One of them was Gandhi Singh, 38. He was so named by his parents because as a boy, his “bald head and large ears” would resemble those of the Father of the Nation.
Singh and his wife arrived in Calcutta late last month. A resident of Kakching district, around 40km from Imphal, Singh looked after a family business that traded in tools used to make jewellery, like pliers and hammers.
Most of his bulk buyers are in and around Churachandpur district, one of the worst-hit by the violence, which has so far claimed over
180 lives and driven thousands
out of their homes.
“They owe me a lot of money. But their homes are torched and many of them have taken shelter in camps. They are not in a position to pay me. A lot of money is stuck. I thought of coming to Calcutta to earn some money,” said Singh.
He has been living in a guesthouse owned by a friend in Rajarhat, near Tata Medical Center.
“I am looking for any job, whether that of a salesman or a security guard. My wife is a trained beautician. She is also looking for a job,” said Singh.
Another man from Churachandpur, who requested not to be named, said he arrived in Calcutta a week ago.
He has been working at a Salt Lake shop selling mobiles and spare parts. The shop is owned by a Manipuri man, an old aquaintance of his.
“I worked at a godown. Nothing remains of it now. It has been destroyed in the violence,” he said.
Wednesday’s convention was organised by a cluster of organisations that campaign for human rights.
“What is happening in Manipur today will spread to Mizoram tomorrow, Assam the day after and eventually reach Calcutta and engulf the whole country one day. The politics of division has to be resisted,” said Biplab Bhattacharya of Jan Andolan, the organiser of the convention at Mahabodhi Society, off College Square.
Sarjit Singh, who hails from Imphal, has been living in Calcutta for over 20 years.
Sarjit Singh is an electrical contractor who used to travel between Manipur and Calcutta for work. He has not visited Manipur since May, when the violence erupted.
“We had a family home in Moreh (a town in Chandel district, bordering Myanmar). The home was torched in the conflict. Thankfully, my family members were in Imphal then,” he said.
His business in Manipur was “as good as over”.
But Sarjit Singh did not blame any community for the violence. Neither did he blame politicians.
“We, the people, are to blame as a whole. We have elected these politicians. The current crisis holds a mirror to the times we live in,” he said.