Shiv Temple Vandalisation In Manipur's Naga-Dominated District Shows Violence Is Far From Over

Security personnel use tear gas to disperse protestors demanding action over the militant attacks in Imphal earlier this month.

Source : PTI

This week, a temple dedicated to Lord Shiv, named Shri Shri Pashupati Nath Mandir, in the Senapati district of strife-torn Manipur was attacked. It was the second time in recent times that this particular Hindu temple had been targeted. This second attack left the temple partially damaged. Naga organisations — the Naga People’s Organisation (NPO) and the Karong-Senapati Town Committee (KSTC) — issued a joint statement condemning the attack on the temple.

The northeastern state of Manipur has been waiting for normalcy since last year’s ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki-Zomi communities, which left more than 200 dead and displaced more than 50,000 people. However, the hill districts dominated by Nagas remained untouched by this ethnic violence. Senapati district, where the Bhagwan Shiv temple is located, is one of the Naga-majority districts in the state.

Reports of #Hindu Shiva temple destroyed in Senapati district, #Manipur. Alleged arson carried out by suspected #KukiTerrorists on 25 Sep at 1 AM in Naga dominated area. Are they trying to spread the cycle of violence? or futher complicating the crisis #HindusUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/v78MtxF94M

— Lemna Tharoi (@SeoyahhArmy) September 25, 2024

While it is premature to identify the group behind the attack without evidence, one thing is clear: the motive behind this attack is to spread the fire of ethnic violence to the Naga-dominated areas as well. It should be noted that in June of this year, the violence reached the Jiribam district, which has a diverse ethnic population and was previously untouched by last year’s conflict.

The state government, led by Biren Singh, has already been facing criticism for its inability to contain the violence and restore normalcy, even after more than a year. In addition, the government recently drew flak for its unsubstantiated claim that 900 Kuki terrorists had entered the state from Myanmar.

Obviously, the restoration of normalcy will take time, as the ethnic violence has caused irreparable damage. The scars will remain for decades. For now, the least the state government can do is ensure that the violence does not spread to relatively peaceful areas, such as the Naga-dominated regions.

Why Drag Feet Over Frontier Nagaland Territory Issue?

This week, Nagaland government spokesperson and minister Temjen Imna Along, a BJP representative in the Neiphiu Rio-led cabinet, urged the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) and the Eastern Nagaland Legislators Union (ENLU) to reach a consensus on the issue of Frontier Nagaland Territory (FNT). His statement came after ENPO reiterated its request for feedback from the Nagaland government on the draft Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) concerning FNT.

ENPO, the apex body of the seven Naga tribes in the region, alleged that the state government has yet to provide feedback on the draft sent by the Centre. It believes that this lack of urgency is responsible for the delay in resolving the issue.

While urging consensus on the FNT issue is valid, the state government should not forget that the people of Eastern Nagaland, the state’s most underdeveloped region, wholeheartedly support the demand for FNT. This was evident when ENPO called for a boycott of the Lok Sabha polls, resulting in zero voting in the region. Similarly, no candidates contested the Urban Local Body elections in the region, leaving the urban bodies unelected.

These boycotts demonstrate the significant support for the FNT demand among the people of the region. While discussions between ENPO and ENLU are welcome, ENLU should keep in mind that the support of the region’s people lies with ENPO, and it must respect their voice.

Given the overwhelming public support for ENPO’s demand, it would be in the best interest of the Neiphiu Rio-led Nagaland government to expedite a solution acceptable to both ENPO and the people of Eastern Nagaland. The government should respect the democratic expression displayed through the poll boycotts. The deadlock has already delayed urban local body elections, hampering urban governance in the region. There should be no further delays.

It is important to note that the eastern region includes six districts of the state — Khiphire, Longleng, Mon, Tuensang, Noklak, and Shamator — inhabited by seven Naga tribes: Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Phom, Tikhir, Sangtam, and Yimkhiung.

'584' Militants 'Surrender' In Tripura, But There's A Problem

This week, "584 militants" belonging to the Nationalist Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) surrendered at the 7th Battalion Headquarters of the Tripura State Rifles in Sepahijala district’s Jampuijala. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha was present during the surrender ceremony and later declared that the state was now completely free from insurgency.

This surrender followed the recent signing of a peace pact between the NLFT, ATTF, the state government, and the Centre, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. According to the pact, Shah stated that the Centre had allocated a package of Rs 250 crore to facilitate the rehabilitation of the militants.

However, the surrender of such a large number of militants raised eyebrows. These militant organisations, notorious for terrorising civilians, had already been weakened in the late 2000s. During this time, the northeastern state, under the leadership of Manik Sarkar and the CPM-led Left Front government, successfully defeated militancy and restored peace.

Although NLFT continued to operate from the jungles of Bangladesh, its strength was significantly reduced. ATTF, on the other hand, became nearly non-existent after its leader, Ranjit Debbarma — now an MLA from Pradyot Debbarma’s TIPRA Motha — was pushed into India by Bangladesh in 2012. NLFT was weakened further after one of its factions, NLFT(SD) led by Sabir Kumar Debbarma, signed a peace pact with the state government and the Centre in 2019, leaving two factions: NLFT(BM) led by Bishwa Mohan Debbarma, and NLFT(PD) led by Parimal Debbarma.

In reality, these groups — whether NLFT (BM), NLFT (PD), NLFT (ORI), or ATTF — had been weakened to faint shadows of what they had been in the 1990s and 2000s.While the Centre’s peace pact is commendable, as even small groups should not be allowed to grow, particularly given the rise of anti-India forces in neighbouring Bangladesh, the sheer number of militants "surrendering militants" has sparked speculations about the presence of fake or previously surrendered militants at the programme.

There are allegations that the BJP orchestrated this controversial surrender program to benefit its ally TIPRA Motha, led by royal scion Pradyot Debbarma, who was also involved in the peace talks. This is seen as a political strategy to boost his image among the tribals, especially since Pradyot’s popularity has suffered after his party joined the BJP-led state government. For the BJP, which is still a weak force in the hills, relying on Pradyot is essential to prevent a CPI-M resurgence in the region.

The author is a political commentator.

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