Why Amit Shah's Manipur Visit Was Crucial Amid Unrest, Growing Distrust Between Communities

As Manipur awaits the return of normalcy, Union Home Minister Amit Shah's visit to the strife-torn state was crucial amid the widening gap between the Kuki and the Meitei communities since the ethnic clashes last month which killed at least 80 people and displaced over 35,000. The Union minister stayed in the state for more than three days. He said there would be an inquiry commission headed by a former judge of the high court and six cases related to the violence would be probed by the CBI.

He not only met with officials and the representatives of political parties but also with representatives of the state’s influential mothers’ group Ima, various Meitei and Kuki groups, intellectuals, and social activists. During his visit, he stressed the importance of dialogue which was evident in his interactions with a cross-section of civil society. He didn’t stop there and announced a governor-headed peace committee that would include various stakeholders from various sides.

There is a clear deep mistrust between the Meiteis and the Kukis, who are particularly angry against chief minister Biren Singh, a Meitei, and his BJP government for allegedly favouring the Meiteis. The truth can’t be denied that the Biren Singh-led state government failed in its duty. Fully aware of the distrust and anger of the Kukis, Shah visited the Kuki-dominated districts of Churachandpur — the epicenter of the ethnic violence — and Kangpokpi. He also visited the Moreh town of Tengnoupal district situated on the border of India-Myanmar. Noticeably, Kukis welcomed Shah with the Tricolour and banners clearly underlining their hopes in the Centre.

Shah also said the Centre was actively working on fencing the porous India-Myanmar border. Significantly, Meiteis have been alleging that the porous border facilitated illegal infiltration of Kukis from Myanmar to the state. He also said it will take action against any militant group violating the Suspension of Operation Act. Currently, the SOO with Kuki militants is implemented in the state and there have been calls by the Meiteis to cancel this pact. He also denied that the integrity of the state is under threat. 

This visit of Amit Shah to the strife-torn northeastern state came very late but the significance of this can’t be denied as the people of the state were waiting for his visit. His interactions with various sections of society, trying to understand the concerns of both sides — Meitieis and Kukis — and his promise of unbiased actions clearly indicate his efforts to restore normalcy in the state.

TIPRA Motha To Organise First Plenary Session To Chalk Out Future Strategy

The royal scion Pradyot Debbarma-led TIPRA Motha has decided to hold the first plenary session this month. It is likely to be held on June 23 and continue till June 24. According to Pradyot, around 1,200 delegates are going to attend this session.

The party, which has 13 MLAs, is the main Opposition party in the state assembly but after the assembly elections, there has been a reduction in the momentum. The party supremo’s appeal to the party’s Members of District Council and Executive Members of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council, MLAs and other leaders was an acceptance of the fact that the party’s activities have reduced. This has been causing confusion among the workers and party supporters. That’s the reason the party has decided to organise the first plenary session not only to strengthen the organisation but also to boost the morale of its workers and supporters.

The session will be held to chalk out a strategy for the Dhanpur bypolls and the next year’s Lok Sabha elections. The party has been facing questions on the issue of “interlocutor”. Pradyot had in the past given dates about visits of the “interlocutor”, appointed by the Centre to look into the issues of the tribal community — but till now the “interlocutor” is yet to visit the state. 
Importantly, chief minister Manik Saha has himself said in the past that he was unaware of any such visit. Importantly, the state government and the Centre are avoiding the word “interlocutor”. This was seen when “interlocutor” AK Mishra was introduced as the advisor to the government of India on northeast affairs to the media and was scheduled to visit the state last month, although he didn’t do that with reports citing Manipur violence as the reason.

Left unhappy with the BJP on the delay of “interlocutor”, recently, Pradyot had pitched for Opposition unity to fight against BJP in the Dhanpur bypolls and the Lok Sabha polls. But this time, this appeal is unlikely to resonate with the CPM, which is the largest Opposition party in terms of vote share. The Left seems to be in no mood to believe in Pradyot’s “anti-BJP stance” and is currently sharpening its attack on his party for helping the BJP in the elections. This session will also elect the party’s Central Committee, the highest decision-making body of the party. It remains to be seen if this session actually strengthens the internal democracy of the party, which is a one-man-run party.

VPP Success In Building Pressure On NPP Government

The National People’s Party-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government with Conrad Sangma as the chief minister at the helm finally agreed to review the 1972 job reservation policy. Following this Voice of the People Party president Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit ended his 10-day fast. The VPP termed it a “people’s victory”.

Since 1972, when Meghalaya was created, 40 per cent of reservation has been kept for each of the two main ethnic communities — Khasis and Garos. The Jaintias, who are the third ethnic community, were added together with the Khasis. According to the VPP, the population of the Khasis and Jaintias is more than the Garos. It is demanding a review of the present reservation policy as it believes that the present system discriminates against the Khasis. It is arguing that the reservations should be proportionate to the population structure of the state.

The new MDA 2.0 government agreeing to review the reservation policy was a big win for VPP politically. This movement has boosted the image of this newly formed party, particularly in the Khasi and Jaintia regions. In this year's assembly elections, the debutant VPP won four seats while contesting 12. All these winning seats fell under the Khasi region. Its movement got people’s support in the Khasi belt, which has 29 seats in the state assembly, and that’s the reason the other influential parties of the belt like the United Democratic Party and the Hill State People’s Democratic Party — these two parties are partners in the MDA government — also came in support for the demands raised by VPP. 

The author is a political commentator. 

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