Play way to secession

And helping him in this endeavour is East Timor president Xanana Gusmao 8212; the prime leader and unifier in his country8217;s successful struggle for freedom from Indonesia. East Timor became a sovereign nation on May 20, 2002, following a plebiscite under UN supervision, in which the Timorese voted overwhelmingly in favour of sovereignty.

The play, performed as a Shumang Lila 8212; the traditional Manipuri courtyard drama style 8212; portrays Gusmao8217;s struggle to unite the Timorese resistance while hiding in the hills, and then from jail, beginning with the Indonesian occupation of East Timor in December 1975 and ending with the celebrations of a successful plebiscite. Since its release in end-November the play has brought in Manipuris by the thousands across the Imphal valley.

Plebiscite has been a topic of much public discussion since militant outfit United National Liberation Front UNLF chief Sanayaima first vouched for plebiscite as the only option to peacefully settle the long-burning separatist movement in this small North-Eastern state bordering Myanmar. However, this movement has been subject to much fracturing as the number of separatist groups kept increasing over the last two decades.

8220;What Manipur needs is a Gusmao, who will successfully unite the underground movement here and find a final solution,8217;8217; says Ningthouja. And Shumang Lila, he adds, is the best and most evocative way to reach out to the Manipuri public.

Research for the play was a time-consuming process, says documentalist S. Manojkumar. It started with establishing contact with President Gusmao. After several unresponded emails, Manojkumar finally got a reply from the President8217;s office acknowledging his email. 8220;From then on, I corresponded with them over email and got a positive response for help in researching East Timor8217;s freedom struggle. Gusmao corresponded with us through his media relations officer Lusitania Lopes, and sent us literature, CDs, photos, and recordings of patriotic songs which helped Ningthouja write the play,8221; he says.

8220;We are also in correspondence with First Lady Kristy Sword Gusmao, an Australian who met and fell in love with Gusmao while she was a research student in Indonesia. Her insight has been very valuable. Ever since the play opened, the President and First Lady are eager to see a video of the play, and we are in the process of arranging that.8221;

As Ningthouja points out, the similarities between East Timor and Manipur are striking. East Timor, a small former colony of Portugal, was freed from Portuguese rule on November 28, 1975, only to be annexed by Indonesia nine days later. Since then, several revolutionary groups carried on an armed insurgency against the Indonesian government. Gusmao8217;s persona slowly brought warring factions around and presented a unified voice that was hard to ignore. Finally, on August 30, 1999, a UN-sponsored referendum ended Indonesia8217;s hold over East Timor.

Manipur, formerly under British rule, was included as Indian territory in 1949 following an agreement signed by the Government of India and the Manipur king, but this agreement has not gone down well with a large section of the population. Decades of armed insurgency and thousands of deaths later, Manipuris are now demanding plebiscite under UN supervision for self-determination, a line that GoI has refused to acknowledge.

Ningthouja is not new to writing Shumang Lila scripts based on international issues. His past works include World Trade Centre depicting the 9/11 tragedy, a play on Afghanistan, and his most noted work Lidicee Gee Gulap The Roses of Lidicee, which depicts the tragedy in Lidicee 8212; a village near Prague in erstwhile Czechoslovakia 8212; that was decimated to the last person by Hitler8217;s Nazis. The worldwide tribute to Lidicee came in the form of roses that covered its mass graves, eventually taking root, and grow there till date.

8220;Dissatisfaction among the masses comes from the rulers. We need to find unity among ourselves first 8212; all the people living in Manipur and not just the majority Meiteis. Gusmao8217;s gift to his country was a free East Timor. The play is about how he got around to giving that gift to his countrymen,8221; adds Ningthouja.

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