No PM Visit, No Reconciliation Yet: Manipur Mayhem Continues A Year Later

The mayhem in Manipur unfolded in two forms: one was the inter-community unrest (between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo) and the other was the intra-community tension. The ongoing inter-community unrest has become a permanent trend in the state.

The struggling communities have been forced to live with the unrest. In the past year, four separate administrative systems of security and law and order have been established within the state―the Union government, the state government, the Meitei administration and the Kuki-Zo administration, and, the Naga community is moving towards a fifth administrative system.

Law and security in the Kuki-Zo areas, including the buffer zones, rests with the Central security forces. The state police personnel are taking care of the law and security in the Meitei areas. State security forces are deployed in the Moreh Trade Centre and the Manipur-Nagaland Highway. The biggest centre of Myanmar-India border trade in the northeastern states has been closed for a year. Violent clashes continue to occur between the security forces and the community militia organisations. The fencing work has started on the Myanmar border and the deployment of security forces on the border has increased.

A separate and parallel administrative system like Manipur is rarely seen in the world. Within the last year, the separate administrative system of the Kuki-Zo in the state was established and it became a permanent one. After the separation of the Kuki-Zo community, the Meitei community in Imphal, for all practical purposes, has got its own administration. However, for the Meitei community in Thoubal district in outer Manipur, having an administration like Imphal is still just a dream.

There is no separate arrangement as of now for education in the Kuki-Zo areas. People’s militia organisations of all three major communities have been established in the state. Police and government administration are also divided according to areas and communities. The Union government has provided full support to create separate administrative arrangements for the Kuki-Zo community. However, the state government has played the role of a willing and unwilling obstructionist and facilitator for the separate administrative system within Manipur.

Old Problems and New Solutions

The issues that triggered the unrest and violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities were either suppressed or left behind. The issue of the Scheduled Tribe (ST) reservation for the Meiteis, prevention of drug farming and cross-border illegal activities in the Kuki-Zo areas have now disappeared.

As a separate system is being established in the Kuki-Zo region, the inter-community violence and unrest will reduce in the state. However, unrest is increasing within the community in the state. There is a widespread crisis of inflation, health and unemployment in the rural areas. The education system and socio-economic development too have come to a standstill and the displaced people are facing a shortage of daily amenities. The elderly, children and women living in the displaced relief camps are facing problems of health, nutrition and mental depression. However, the highway connecting to Imphal has not been blocked by the Kuki-Zo community in their areas. No family in the camps of displaced people is ready to return to their original places.

Lack of Reconciliation Efforts

On the initiative of the Union government, a 51-member peace committee was formed under the leadership of the Governor. But this peace committee has been mired in controversy from the day of its formation.

Not a single meeting of this committee could be held in Manipur. No initiative of the Union government to control the ongoing unrest and violence seems to be working on the ground for the last year. Any welfare initiative that was taken for peace, security and non-violence, will only be successful if there is neutral politics and government on the ground level.

For the last year, the state government in Manipur has not been neutral and impartial. The politics of appeasement and over-satisfaction of both the Union and state governments did not allow the trust-building measures to gain momentum between the two communities. The stubborn attitude of the leaders of the Kuki-Zo community on the demand for a separate administration also prevented the implementation of the inter-community peace and trust-building measures.

The Meitei community also did not show seriousness in taking positive initiatives towards the Kuki community. Both communities have been busy establishing their own separate systems.

Community, Government and People’s Militia Organisations

Segregation among communities in Manipur has also been promoted by the security corridor (called a buffer zone) located on the borders of Bishnupur and Churachandpur. The main concern of the people in the state is about their future. However, during the Lok Sabha elections, the deployment of security forces was reduced, especially in the buffer zones, due to which six major violent incidents took place in Kangpokpi and Bishnupur districts.

For the first four months of the conflict last year, violent incidents were the result of clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo community organisations. But in the last eight months, incidents of violence have been taking place between armed militia organisations of both communities. Both communities have made unrest and violence a permanent condition in the state.

The Naga, Kuki-Zo and Meitei communities have also strengthened their positions in the areas under their control. These three communities are not being governed under the existing Manipur state administration now, and may not be governed by it in future too. The Naga community’s demand for the greater Nagaland, Kuki-Zo’s demand for separate administration and the Meitei community’s demand for equal rights throughout the state have made their respective positions clear.

No community is willing to make any kind of compromise with the other communities.

Display of Political Strength During Elections

The largest women’s organisation of the Meitei community in the state―Meira Paibi―recently clashed with the Mahar Regiment of the Indian Army in Bishnupur. The Kuki-Zo community wants to change the official name of Churachandpur to Lamka, as the community feels that Manipur now belongs to Meiteis. Armed organisations like the Kuki Liberation Army, the Nationalist Social Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and the Arambai Tenggol, which have strengthened in the last year, are now running a parallel government in their respective areas.

In the Lok Sabha elections, armed organisations of all three communities have influenced the polls in their respective areas. All three communities have demonstrated their political strength in the elections. On April 26, security forces seized a large cache of weapons in east Imphal.

The Way Ahead

It has been one year since the mayhem began but the two warring communities have not taken up the reconciliation initiative. Even the Union government did not announce any new initiatives. The Union Home Minister Amit Shah came to the state twice during the last year, but the Prime Minister has not come till now. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum of Manipur has called for a 12-hour strike on May 3 to mark one year of the Manipur crisis.

On this day, black flags will be displayed in Kuki-Zo houses. Both the communities do not have confidence in the Union and state governments about their future. Rather, the communities are preparing to protect themselves. Looking at the present situation, Manipur state should be redefined. Neutral politics and a government representing all communities should be formed in the state. But it is clear that the valley is incomplete without hills and vice-versa. Both communities must learn to live together as brothers and neighbours.

(Suwa Lal Jangu is an Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Mizoram University)