June 18 Uprising: Manipur's Tiananmen Square bloodshed?


One of the advantages of having anniversaries, centenaries, and other periodical observations is that they arrive - without fail. Yesterday, MSAD led students to a candle vigil in Delhi, first at Jantar Mantar and at India Gate later, in rememberance of the 18 martyrs of the Great June Uprising and as affirmation of the collective will that the cause for which they sacrificed thier lives will be continued to its logical conclusion. Long live the martyrs.
In hindsight, the June 18 event was to Manipur what Tiananmen Square bloodshed was to China's democratic assertion of popular voice. The candle weilding students in the Capital might have just managed to hammer that message to the Indian observers.
And with this, observation of Manipur's most significant event in recent memory has just gone countrywide, a manisfestation indeed of the fact that youngsters living away from the state are more politically concious, zealous about thier roots and always prapared to raise thier ethnic flag aloft, whenever any opportunity presents itself. A positive trend, I will say.