A song dedicated to Manipuris fighting for ILPS' implementation

"Khollao - The voice from the void", a social awareness music video, has been launched to pay respect to late Sapam Robinhood and to all people of Manipur who are fighting for the implementation of Inner Line Permit System (ILPS).

Inner Line Permit is an official travel document issued by the central government to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected/restricted area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens, not residents of those states, to obtain a permit for entering the restricted areas.

Protests broke out in the state after a student named Sapam Robinhood was killed by police last week during a march demanding a stringent law to check the influx of immigrants.

Published on Monday, "Khollao" is a joint venture of Manipur-based music band tracxta and Dustin Thangjam in association with khonjel.org, an online information hub that focusses on the northeastern state.

"The documentary music video 'Khollao - The voice from the void' is a collective effort. The vocals is of Rocky Karam. The lyrics were written by Biswanath Moirangthem and Yogesh Thangjam. Paotinlen (Armstrong Kom), Telheiba and Biswanath jointly composed and edited the music of the song," Dustin told IANS.

He said the over seven-minute long video, which has been viewed over a thousand times on YouTube, is not "a political propaganda against the government of Manipur or the central government".

"The people of Manipur need a voice to end all this chaos, we are giving that voice to our people," added Dustin, who believes "the government should listen to the hues and cries of the people".

"The voice coming out from a void - the void left in a family because of losing a dear one due to a conflict, the void felt due to human rights violations, the void in our hearts due to fear of getting our identity disappear from the page of history.

"We believe the government should consider this as the right time to take up the ILPS before the Manipuri culture and identity loses its hold and disperse in the thin air like what happened to the indigenous people of Tripura," said Dustin.

It's not just them, but others too who are trying their bit to create mass awareness about the situation in Manipur.

Rock Music Manipur (RMM), a community of hard rock enthusiasts, is also taking help of musicians to create a song related to the issue.

"RMM are bringing in artists from across different genres in one platform, and is writing a song for ILP and the ongoing unrest in Manipur," Ringo Pebam, member of RMM, told IANS.

Another member of RMM Rohen Chingakham, also a band manager, shared that as many as 40 musicians from the state have shown interest in compiling a track regarding the same.

"The song is yet to be composed. Initially, I wanted to compose a song with the band The Wishess, which I am managing, but I thought it will be great if I can do with all the musicians from various communities," said Chingakham.