The mayhem in Manipur continues unabated for over four months now. The BJP government at centre and state both are sharpening polarization through ethnic identity politics. There has been vandalism of home s, arson and attack on properties, churches and temples across the five hill districts and some hill districts Chu rachandpur, Tengnoupal, Kangkopi and others. The state o f Manipur unde r complete lawlessness, has been in the grip of ethnic violence resulting in de aths ove r hundre ds, displacement of tens of thousands of people and awful crimes against women.
Recently, a video that displayed two Kuki Zo wome n be ing se xually harassed, stripped and paraded by a group of men went viral, that outraged the entire nation. Reportedly the dreadful incident took place on 4 May and that on 18 May a FIR against unknown armed miscreants was filed in Kangkopi district of Manipur. The FIR was lodged three smonths ago, but no action was taken, no arrests were made despite the charges of kidnapping, gang rape and murder. It is only after this chilling video went viral that a few arrests were made and on the eve of the parliament session Modi was compelled to shed crocodile tears after maintaining months long criminal silence. He did so outside the parliament on the opening day expressing shock and sorrow at what was done to the two women, and then he immediately sought to divert and trivialize the issue by flagging how such crimes against women must be firmly put down in state s like Raj asthan, Chattishgarh and Manipur! The opposition alliance unitedly brought a no confidence motion agai nst the Government and compelled the ruling dispensation to hold a debate in the Lokesava, albeit Modi spoke in the parliament but again he trivialized the issue by training guns at opposition alliance and eliciting irrelevant issues.
Background of the Conflict:
Manipur is constituted by three major groups: the Meitei, the Naga tribes and the Chin-Kuki-Mizo tribes. The Meitei are predominantly Hindu, represent about 51% of the state’s population and dwell in the Imphal valley that occupies roughly 10% of the state’s land. The latter two groups represent 21% of the state’s population each, are predominantly Christian, and live in the hills surrounding the Imphal valley that occupy about 90% of Manipur’s land. The conflict stems from decades of conte statio n over land an d natu ral resou rces, fuel ling de ep-seate d resentment among both the Meiteis and Kukis.
A long history of mutual suspicion between ethnic groups in the Imphal valley and the surrounding hills ignited into a violent conflict afte r the BJP-le d Manipur government started a drive to evict tribal villagers from reserved forests. The eviction drive, which began in February, 2023, declare d the forest dwelle rs as encroachers and was seen as anti-tribal. It caused alarm and discontent not only among the Kukis, who we re directl y affected, but also among other tribals who have villages within reserved forest areas. In March, 2023, a violent clash occurred in Kangpokpi when protesters tried to hold a rally against “encroachment of tribal land in the name of reserved forests, protected forests and wildlife sanctuary”. In that incident five persons were injured. The Singh government instead of showing restrain wi thdre w the tripartite Suspension of Operations (SoO) talks with two Kuki-based militant outfits – the Kuki National Army and the Zomi Revolutionary Army. The SoO deal was a ce asefire arrangement inked by the Centre, the state government and Kuki outfits that began more than a decade ago. The cabinet reiterated that the “state government will not compromise on steps taken to protect the state government’s forest resources and for eradicating poppy cultivation”. Just after this three churches in Imphal’s Tribal Colony area were demolished on April 11 for being “illegal constructions” on government l and, leading to more discontent.
The violence is also related to the civil war raging in neighbouring Myanmar since shortly after its February 2021 coup. Chin refugees from Myanmar have reportedly been seeking shelter in Manipur. Radical Meitei outfits such as Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun accuse the Kuki, who share an ethnic h e ritage with the Chin, of illegally settling refugees in Manipur’s hills. Biren Singh, has echoed these allegations as well as others, implying that the Kuki are involved in the illegal drug trade, including poppy cultivation, in collaboration with transnational networks operating from Myanmar. These allegations added to longstanding animosity between the two communities. The Meitei have long alleged that the Kuki are no t indi ge nous to Manipur but were resettled in the state by the Bri tish from the nearby hil ls of Myanmar in the nineteenth century. Immediate Trigger for the conflict: The immediate trigger for the ongoing conflict was an orde r passed by the Manipur High Court on March 27, 2023 on a petition filled by the Manipur Tribes Union directing the state government to consider th e demand for inclusio n of Meities in the ST list within a month. Kuki and Naga groups were unhappy with the court order. The Meitei also enjoy certain benefits on account of being recognised as a “socially and economically backward class”, and a tiny segment of them as a Scheduled Caste. The Kuki, however, argue that the numerous Meitei are already privileged. The minority fears that if the Meitei get Scheduled Tribe status, they will not only corner the reserved government jobs but also start acquiring land in the hills, displacing Kukis and other tribal communities.
The violence erupted between the Meitei and the Kuki-Zo community on May 3 after several hill tribal groups staged a rally in the Churachandpur district against a host of issues, including the demand by several Meitei groups to be included in the list of STs. The violence was allegedly provoked after a few unidentified people attempted to burn the Anglo-Kuki centenary gate at Churachandpur, which was built to commemorate the 1917-1919 revolt against British. Meanwhile, in Imphal, Meitei mobs descended upon Kuki households by the e ve ning of May 3, they targe te d neighborhoods such as New Lambulane, which has a sizable Kuki population. It is sixteen weeks now since violence erupted in Manipur on May 3. Armed clashes, Killings and arson attacks have ravaged the state. Despite tens of thousands central armed police forces having been deployed in the state along with the army, incidents of attacks by armed Kuki and Meitei groups continue to occur.
Role of RSS in Ethnic Conflicts in Manipur:
RSS has been making its inroads in North Eastern states for long. They made their debut in North-East barely just 10 months before independence. The Sangh’s early North-e aste rn leade rs were Dadarao Parmarth, Vasantrao Oak, and Krishna Paranjpe. On October 27, 1946, they arrived in undivided Assam from where they went on to establish the first shakhas in the region, in Guwahati, Dibrugarh, and Shillong. For expanding their base in North-East they displayed a rare degree of Pragmatism. It has, for instance, put the issue of beef, which is part of the diet for a large section of the people here, on the back-burner, even as it runs a virulent and vigorous campaig n against its consumption elsewhere in the country. RSS has always pitte d tribal and indigenous communities each other to float their divisive tactics. In 1998, a BJP-led government came to power at the Centre, giving the RSS an opportunity to further e xpan d in the region. In 2018, RSS organised a massive rally at Guwahati, inviting traditional tribal kings and heads of the different tribes, the rally was addressed by Mohan Bhagwat. Particularly in Manipur, the RSS always pitted Meitei people against Kukis. In an article published by RSS mo uthpie ce Org anizer, has expose d their Mephistophe lian motive s. The article written by one Nirendra Dev published on January 9, 2023 stated, “The valley is a stronghold of the Meitei population, mostly Bishnupriya Hindus. However, the saffron party has announced that it will contest all 60 seats and has set a target of 40 seats for itself. The baying statement has been made while acknowledging that N Biren Singh, the chief minister of Manipur, also has “an image of a ‘protector’ of Meitei interests”.
A few weeks before May 3rd, when the orgy of violence erupted, Manipur chief minister Biren Singh publicly declare d in an interview to the Org anizer that the indigenous people( read Meities) have been reduced to the status of second class citizen after ‘foreigner Kuki immigrants’ took control of social, economic and political affairs. The Meitei-Kuki conflict is also being given a religious communal colour by merging ethnic with religious identities. Biren Singh echoed the RSS propaganda of illegal immigrants flooding the North- East and Assam, he even characterizes Kuki groups as terrorists.
Inaction of Central Government and State government:
No such riot can persist for a day unless it is sponsore d and sancti oned by the government, that exactly is happening in Manipur. Despite of having strong security presence, the incidents of killings, gun battle, arms robbery, arson, gang rape are being con ti nued unabate d. O ne only wonder if Manipur Police and the state and union governments would have continued to maintain an attitude of studied ignorance towards Manipur’s volatile situation had this two months long viral vi de o no t surfaced on social media. The colossal failures of the state government are the lackluster efforts of the union ministry of home affairs, which, in what can only be cal le d a bizarre inte rpre tation of federalism, took the tokenistic step of deputing a chi ef minister from a neighboring state to monitor the law and order situation in Manipur. BJP’s North East strong man and Assam chief minister was deputed to Manipur to take stock of the situation! One could easily remember that Union Home minister Amit Shah visited the state on May 29, a full 26 days after the violence engulfed the state. His visit and the measures announced have not stemmed the violence. Since May 3, Prime minister has maintained a criminal silence on Manipur. He has not spoken a single word for 79 days about the situation nor appealed for peace and restoration of normalcy. On the o th er hand Chie f minister Biren Singh also openly patronises the Rambai Tenggol, a Meitei extremist outfit whose men were reported to be directly involved in the attacks on Kuki wome n i n the valley. All the arms of administration openly endorses targeted ethnic conflict with an aim to further polarization. As the chief minister, having access to the vast sources of information, he should have ensured that the state is not caught in the trap laid down by the rightist forces and vested interest.
Left Interventions:
The Left parties has been continuously demanding that with the state government in shambles and no clear line of authority established, the first step necessary is a political one, that is removal of the Biren Singh, without such a step there can be no way out of the mess. Soon after the May 3 incidents, the state administration convened a all party meeting on May 6, that was attended by CITU state general Secretary and CPI(M) state secretary Santa Kshetrimayum and other leaders, on that very first meeting Left leaders emphasized on the urgent intervention of the entire state police network and zero tolerance towards any form of violence, Left parties demanded to distribute sufficient relief materials to the affected areas, recovering snatched weapons from militants, they also raised the matter of reclaiming service weapons that were seized from the state police and arme d forces by ce rtain individuals. A delegation of Left parties met Governor Anushya Ukiley and put forth the suggestions to find a peaceful resolution to the ethnic violence. A delegation of Left parliamen tarian s inclu di ng Bikash Bhattacharjee , Binoy Viswam, k Subbarayan, P santosh Kumar and John Brittas went on a three day visit in the first week of July to various affected areas and refugee camps and held meetings with a diverse cross section of the people. The left parliamentarian delegation also met Governor and appraised h er ground situation. They shared the various insights and feedback gathered during their visit and the Governor was requested to act upholding her constitutional duties. The CITU, AIKS and AIAWU observed a day of solidarity on July 25 with the people of Manipur demanding an end to thi s headless violence and restoration of peace and normalcy. Our comrades observed Solidarity with Manipur by conducting protest march, demonstrations, and street corner meetings.
Way Forward
Entire India has lost trust and confidence on Chief Minister Biren Singh. Despite of this, Prime minister and home minister want him to continue as chief minister, that vindicates their indifference to the situation. The prime minister’s statement after months of deafe ning silence , trivialized the incident, the enormity of the violence in Manipur and also the partisan role to the chief minister. The principle of accountability has been buried up deep by the double engine government. Without removal of chief minister the desired goals of restoring peace and normalcy cannot be achieved. The Manipur CM must go first, and then the process of reconciliation and bringing normalcy and a peaceful solution the ethnic problems could be realized. India is looking forward towards restoration of peace in Manipu r and pe rman ent settlement of the ethnic conflicts in North East. And to achieve that, the fight against RSS will in the core of struggle.
(Author is All India Working Committee member, CITU)
