'There are 7,000 guns which are in the hands of the armed militia of the Kuki and Meitei communities.'
Manipur is on the boil once again.
It has been more than a year since the two major ethnic communities of Manipur, Meitei and Kuki, have been at loggerheads, leading to a civil war kind of situation in the north east state.
The trouble began in April 2023 when the Manipur high court directed the state to include the Meitei community in the scheduled tribes list.
The Kukis and Nagas, both Scheduled Tribes, felt the judgment, by declaring the Meiteis as scheduled tribes, would give them right to own lands in hills presently inhabited by the Kukis and Nagas.
The anger snowballed into riots after which there has been no sign of the violence ebbing.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who hails from the Meitei community, has failed to restore peace.
In recent days mobs have burned down three BJP MLAs' homes and that of one independent MLA.
The mob also stormed Biren Singh's ancestral residence in Imphal and tried to burn it down.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com spoke to Magsaysay Award winner Professor Sandeep Pandey to understand why violence continues to escalate in Manipur.
A PhD in mechanical engineering from University of California, Berkeley, US, Professor Pandey is general secretary of the Socialist Party of India and has been trying to restore peace in Manipur with the help of civil groups.
Dr Pandey, who has given up both his Magsaysay award and US degrees to protest US involvement in Israel's war against Palestine, has been to Manipur three times in the last one year and intends to hold a two-day fast in Imphal (Meitei area) and another two days in Churachandpur (Kuki area).
What has caused the eruption of violence in Manipur again?
This violence is going on from May 3, 2023. In the beginning the Meitei community was dominant in the cycle of violence as more Kukis had died. The Kukis were not prepared for the violence. Gradually, there was an alienation of Kukis in Manipur and they were kicked out of Imphal city and other places by the Meiteis.
The Kukis then drove out Meitei people from their respective areas and then it became a complete segregation between the two communities.
The state government, which should be neutral in such a case, has taken sides with the Meitei community, blaming the Kuki community for being involved in the drugs business. This is not true as sections of every community, be it Kuki, Meitei, Pangal or Nagas.
The worst point is that nobody is speaking to the Kuki community in Manipur from the government side.
But are there no BJP MLAs who are from the Kuki community?
Yes, but they too are not being approached to find a peaceful solution.
In the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta says the government is trying to work out a peace formula by involving Kuki MLAs in peace talks. However, Kuki MLAs say he is lying. Nobody is talking to them since the violence began on May 3, 2023.
The chief minister, Biren Singh, has never met them. Now, the Kukis are frustrated as nobody is talking to them.
Is that the reason for the new wave of violence?
The new wave of violence has begun after one Kuki woman was killed at Jiribam. After which the Kukis killed one woman in Bishnupur. Post that came news of six children and women from the Meitei community being killed.
CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) later retaliated by killing 10 Kuki youth. Later, these 10 Kuki youth' dead bodies were taken to Silchar in Assam.
Hmar, a sub tribe of Kukis, protested demanding that the 10 dead bodies of Kuki youth be returned, and it is beyond my understanding why the government delayed in handing over dead bodies to the Kukis from the Silchar Medical College Hospital. By doing so the government has complicated the matter more.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had to intervene and allow mass burial to people killed in ethnic strife. Mass burial was done at Churachandpur where the dead people got a burial ground.
What is the reaction of the Meiteis since Chief Minister Biren Singh is from the community?
They too are unhappy with the state government.
In the 2024 elections, both the Lok Sabha seats of Manipur were won by the Congress. Meiteis too now say that till the time Biren Singh is the chief minister, the problem won't be resolved.
I fail to understand why the government is not imposing President's rule in Manipur. This is beyond our comprehension.
BJP MLAs' homes have been attacked. Who are the perpetrators?
Meitei community people have attacked BJP MLAs' homes.
They are saying their community people are dying and the BJP government is unable to stop the killings.
The Supreme Court should take a firm stance and remove Biren Singh as chief minister.
But even the CRPF is unable to control the situation.
The state government is not allowing the CRPF to do anything on the ground.
Can you imagine in any part of India there being police and army check posts, and besides them there are check posts of private armies? The answer is, no.
But in Manipur the Kuki and Meitei communities have their private army check posts. The police and military personnel on the ground check your identification card and at the same time Kuki and Meitei armed guards on the ground too check your identification card.
This cannot be imagined in one's wildest dreams happening in any other part of India.
There are 7,000 guns on the streets which are in the hands of civilians guarding their respective places as armed militia of the Kuki and Meitei communities.
There are arms and ammunition which have been looted from the local police but the police have not recovered those arms yet.
If this happens in Mumbai then the police can recover in minutes the arms that were stolen.
Sadly, a situation of anarchy exists in Manipur.
- Part 2 of the Interview: 'Manipur Govt Wants AFSPA In Kuki, Naga Areas But Not In Meitei Areas'
