For the past two months, one of the most remote states of India, Manipur, is getting blazed in the heat of communal-cum-ethnic violence. Constitutional experts are vouching for President’s rule as the Manipur Chief Minister continues to fuel outrage rather than curtailing it. What is more shocking is that the Prime Minister of India has not yet uttered a word to arbitrate or even address the people during the horrendous bloodshed in the region.
In this article, we will highlight the root cause of Manipur’s unrest and how the forceful imposition of India’s majoritarian politics has proven fatal to the region’s fragile balance of power.
History of the conflict in Manipur
The conflict in Manipur is that of a peculiar kind, not the kind which the people of ‘mainland India’ can relate to. To understand the context of this unrest, we need to familiarise ourselves with the region’s geographical and historical differences. For centuries, this state has witnessed a very delicate balance of power between two tribes. These two tribes are:
- The Valley Tribe, known as “Meiteis,” are well-off and have had an unchallenged dominance in regional politics. They comprise 65 percent of the total population, but inhabit only 10 percent of the total land in Manipur. Most of them follow Vaishnawite Hinduism.
- The Hill Tribe can get classified into 30 tribal sects, of which the “Nagas” and “Kukis” constitute a prominent majority. They comprise the remaining 35 percent of the population and inhabit 90 percent of the total land. A majority of them follow Christianity.
The geographical difference between the two groups has been stark, and it has been difficult for them to agree on matters like sharing their natural resources. The Meities inhabited the cultivable lowlands and had a better opportunity to establish their economic superiority. The economic growth of the Kukis and Nagas, however, got limited to the rugged hilly terrain.
During India’s colonial past, the Britishers’ divide-and-rule policy got manifested through their notorious “Land Settlement Policy.” Owing to this policy, the two groups were allowed to operate only on fixed patches of land. For the people of the valley, such policy was not a matter of concern, as every inch of their land was fertile. The Hill people, who predominantly practiced the “Jhoom culture” (Slash-and-Burn), were left high and dry.
How the delicate balance of power between the tribes got thwarted under the trend of majoritarianism
The first legislative elections in Manipur were held in 1972. Due to their numbers and access to a better standard of living, the Meiteis exercised their upper hand and bagged two-thirds of the seats in the Manipur Legislative Assembly.
The Meiteis’ dominance in the state’s regional politics can get ascertained from the fact that 22 of the 24 Chief Ministers till date belonged to their community. On top of that, as the tribe predominantly followed Hinduism, they were culturally closer to the rest of India than the Hill tribes.
The communal difference between the tribes got more pronounced as the BJP government fielded N. Biren Singh (an ex-Congress politician) as their chief ministerial candidate for the elections. Biren Singh, a seasoned politician and the Chief Minister of Manipur, belongs to the Meitei community.
Biren Singh employs a reformed Bulldozer Raj
Through his electoral campaign, Biren Singh has illustrated his concerns on matters of illegal infiltration of the Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh. He previously hailed from the Congress party, but ever since he embraced the saffron outfit, his electoral campaign has adopted a new phrase into Manipur’s politics. “Meitei Khatre Me Hain“… or, Meiteis are in Danger was a slogan he carried with him. He alleged that the infiltrators in the hilly terrains had been illegally encroaching upon the state’s forest reserves and cultivating heroine.
Lashing out at the Nagas and Kukis, the Chief Minister said, “I will declare war against you people.” Upon receiving orders from the Chief Minister’s Office, the law enforcers of Manipur reached the remote K Songjang Village and ordered the residents to vacate their ancestral land. After this, the natives gathered in the Kuki-dominated Churachan district to protest against such forced evacuation. The authorities kept demolishing their villages and settlements, and the Biren Singh Government declared their protests unconstitutional.
Imphal High Court ratifies the claim for a reservation to the Meiteis
As CM Biren Singh had prompted, the Meitei community became fearful of the illegal encroachment by migrants from Myanmar. Under public demand and pressure from the Biren Singh Government, several petitioners appealed before the Honourable Imphal High Court demanding Scheduled Tribe status for the Meiteis.
The petitioners claimed that the population of Meiteis had fallen from 65 to 44 percent over the last five decades. The non-Meiteis (who enjoyed the Scheduled Tribe status) countered by showing data regarding the prevalence of Meitei politicians’ dominance in Manipur. They were anxious about losing the little edge that they held while competing against the dominating Meiteis.
Upon receiving the petition, a single bench comprising Justice M.V. Muralidaran ruled in favor of the Meiteis. This single piece of judgment proved a massive force in disrupting the anxiousness of the Hill tribes. Later the Supreme Court pulled the Imphal High Court judgment by reminding them that they were not entitled to seek any change in the Scheduled Tribe list.
The All Tribal Students’ Union organized a Tribal Solidarity March amidst the rising tensions in the State. The peaceful protest soon turned violent when a tribal woman got allegedly attacked by the Manipuri Police. Bits and pieces of violence from all across the state consolidated into a full-out civil unrest.
Manipur as it stands today
Reports suggest that over a hundred people have lost their lives, and fifty-thousand have gotten displaced in an ongoing civil war that has completed two months since its inception. There are traces of cross-border militancy from Myanmar, as thousands of automatic rifles were discovered over the last few days. Even the Indian Armed Forces are facing difficulties while attempting to restore normalcy in the region. Constitutional experts are vouching for President’s rule as the Manipuri Chief Minister’s competence had gotten shredded to pieces.
Slumber of the Modi-Shah Government
As India watches, one of its most prominent states falls into anarchy. Neither the Central leadership nor its local bulwarks are willing to take accountability for the political disaster. The Prime Minister of India is quiet when the country expects him to settle the crisis.
The Opposition parties are trying to pitch the actions of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s active persuasion for arbitrating peace in the valley via an all-party consensus in 2001. However, nothing appears to break the perennial slumber of the Mo-Shah government.
Chief Minister Biren Singh is making no effort to visit the riot-affected areas of his state, and the Home Minister looks incompetent and ill-informed about the gravity of the situation.
Is this what happens when the politics of mainland India gets deliberately imposed on the fragile North East? Biren Singh’s staunch support for implementing NRC had already unnerved the Kukis and the Nagas. The fiasco of reservation and narco-terrorism proved to be the final nail in the coffin.
The way forward
Today, only an all-party consensus and dialogue can fix the valley’s discontentment and rage. Prime Minister Modi’s silence on this matter is only exacerbating the situation. The Union Government must act like an impartial authority by empathizing with the victims instead of giving a clean chit to Biren Singh.
This horrific incidents need to serve as an eye-opener for the rest of India. If we pride ourselves on Mary Kom’s historic achievements, we should also express concern about the Union Government’s dealings in her home state.
If we truly consider the North-East an intrinsic part of our great nation, we must empathize with their problems and stand in solidarity. To conclude, we must evaluate our stand based on a profound quote: Patriotism lies in supporting the people, not the ones in power.