Manipur Continues To Burn, But Centre Yet To Take A Bold Political Step To Restore Normalcy

Homes gutted by arsonists in a Kuki-Zomi-dominated area in Imphal earlier this week.

Source : PTI

Even after three months of ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zomis, the northeastern state of Manipur continues to burn, with no sign of normalcy. To worsen the situation, arms were looted by mobs from two security posts in Bishnupur district this week.

These incidents show that there is no fear of the law. Mobs are doing whatever they like. Armed groups belonging to both Meiteis and Kuki-Zomis are taking advantage of this lawlessness in the state. Let’s not forget that the state has many insurgent groups — from both the Meitei and Kuki-Zomi communities. This state of lawlessness, in addition to the existing ethnic polarization, is a dangerous result of the horrific violence, providing a new lease of life to these militant groups.

But the Chief Minister, N Biren Singh, continues to hold his post. In an ethnically diverse state like Manipur, unfortunately, the chief minister is seen only as a representative of one community, the Meitei community. It is another matter of fact that a section of BJP Meitei MLAs as well as the party’s Meitei MP RK Ranjan Singh, who is also a Union minister, have voiced their dissent against Biren Singh's style of functioning. A Chief Minister has to represent the people of all communities. But in the case of Manipur, he is not seen as the representative of all the communities. This is one of the main reasons for the ongoing ethnic violence.

Surprisingly, the BJP-led Centre is yet to take any bold political step, despite the fact that the situation remains critical in the northeastern state even after three months of violence. Why is the Centre not removing Biren Singh, who is strongly disliked by the Kuki-Zomis, and replacing him with another party MLA? If replacing him with another face is difficult at this moment then the Centre, for the time being, can even impose President’s Rule in the state. These steps would send a strong signal to the people of the state that the Centre is actually serious about bringing normalcy to the state, instead of resorting to cosmetic measures.

To make matters even more complicated, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to speak on the violence, which took at least 150 lives, even after three months. PM Modi’s silence is turning out to be a difficult puzzle to solve. The northeastern state cannot be left to fester in this way, as it can pose security challenges to the country, considering the China factor that may come into play using the advantage of this violence.

Politics Over Corpses?

Following the Manipur High Court’s order and the Centre's request, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum postponed the mass burial of 35 Kuki-Zomi victims for five days in the Churachandpur district, a Kuki-dominated district. The high court ordered to maintain status quo and would hear the matter again on August 9.

The proposed area of mass burial by the ITLF in Churachandpur’s Torbung area raises many questions. Although Churachandpur is a Kuki-majority area, villages in the Torbung area, located on the outskirts of the Meitei-dominated Bishnupur district, have some Meitei settlements. Importantly, Torbung was the epicentre of the ethnic violence. It is in this area where the houses of Meiteis were burned down by Kuki-Zomis, and as a result, the Meiteis living in this area had to flee.

This area, where the ITLF wants to conduct the mass burial of 35 Kuki-Zomi victims, has been inhabited by the Meiteis. That’s the reason why the decision of ITLF has triggered protests in the Meitei-dominated valley. Many Meiteis, angered by the decision, even tried to march to the place only to be stopped by security forces, resulting in clashes between forces and the agitating Meiteis.

This is unfortunate as the ethnic violence has already deepened the existing fault lines between Meiteis and Kuki-Zomis. At this juncture, this initiative taken by the ITLF seems to be a provocative one. It is an act of adding fuel to the fire in the state, which has been burning for the last three months. Such dirty politics over dead bodies shouldn’t be encouraged. Instead, peace efforts should be given priority. This is not only the duty of the state government and the Centre but also the organisations representing various communities.

Pradyot Debbarma's 'Big Things Coming' Hint

This week, Pradyot Debbarma, the ex-chairman of the TIPRA Motha, asked tribal communities to remain united for the next two months as “big things” are expected in two months. He said that for those things to happen, the tribals need to stay united.

Recently, Pradyot and his party TIPRA Motha, along with members of the Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura, an ally of the ruling BJP, met Union Home Ministry's northeast advisor AK Mishra to discuss their demands for a Constitutional solution to the demands of the tribals in the state, including a separate Greater Tipraland. Pradyot, who resigned in July from the post of the chairman of the Tipra  Motha, claimed that the meeting with the Centre was "fruitful".

The Lok Sabha elections are slated to be held in less than a year and the ruling BJP is particularly worried about the East Tripura Lok Sabha constituency, reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. The seat is currently held by BJP's Rebati Tripura, who hasn’t been very active in party affairs after being sidelined during former chief minister Biplab Deb's tenure. Keeping all this in mind, the saffron party has been trying to woo the TIPRA Motha by agreeing to some important demands like more autonomy, including financial autonomy, to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council.

The BJP-led Centre seems to be gradually inching towards that and the statements of Pradyot also indicate so. Since the Tipra Motha became the main Opposition party in the state assembly, there have been allegations that it has been soft towards the BJP-led state government helmed by CM Manik Saha. With Motha now taking a soft stance towards the Centre, it is likely that the saffron party, which has been busy expanding the National Democratic Alliance nationally, is going to induct the Motha into the alliance to boost its chances in the northeastern state in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The author is a political commentator. 

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