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The crisis is so stark, but there seems no will on the part of the state and central governments to find a solution, or a reconciliation mechanism between the warring communities. Manipur and its people have been left to their tragic fate
By Kush Vyas
The endless cycle of gory violence, revenge, murder and rape continues in Manipur, even as underground armed groups run amok, while the Centre has yet again chosen to look the other way. A female school teacher in a village school, 31, was allegedly burnt alive after being brutally assaulted by militants in Jirbam district. Around 20 houses were burnt. Her husband has filed a complaint with the police stating that she was raped and murdered by armed Meitei militants.
In another case, a woman farmer from the Meitei community in Bishnupur distct was shot dead by alleged Kuki-Zo militants who entered the area from Churachandpur district. Significantly, Bishnupur is dominated by the Meitei community, while Churchandpur is largely inhabited by the tribal Kuki-Zo community. The Chief Minister, Biren Singh of the BJP, belongs to the dominant Meitei community, who control the levers of power. He and his government is widely perceived to be partisan, one-sided and unable to control the violence.
Meanwhile, in an unprecedented incident, three children and three women from the Meitei community were abducted by armed men in Jiribam district, even while there have been reports of an encounter with the CRPF. Ironically, those kidnapped were part of a refugee camp located near a CRPF camp for protection.
Meanwhile, reportedly, in the clashes in Manipur these days, rockets and drones are being used. This seems to be a new phase of this bloody conflict. According to the police, no bombs, drones or rockets are being used, but the ground situation seems more complex.
The dispute between the Meitei and Kuki communities have escalated into the formation of many underground armed organisations such as the Kuki National Army (KNA) and Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), and Meitei militarnt organisations, with full access to sophisticated arms and weapons. Earlier, weapons were robbed from the camps of police and security forces.
The drug angle, and the golden triangle around the borders of Bangladesh and Myanmar, makes the situation more murky. Manipur is a border state in the North-east, and that makes the sitution extreemly delicate.
In Manipur, in the plains such as in capital Imphal, the Meiteis live, while in the hilly and forest areas, the Kuki tribes live. In the upper part of Manipur, Nagas have set up habitation.
The Manipur government introduced the Land Reform Act of 1960, in which non-tribals, including Meiteis and people living in the plains, had no right to buy any land in the hilly areas, while Kukis were categorised as a scheduled tribe. In the current Manipur legislative assembly, of the 60 seats, 20 belong to the hills, and 40 seats belong to the plains. Almost 57 per cent of the state’s population live in the plains, while 43 per cent live in the hilly areas.
The socio-economic differences are stark. The plains are rich, the hills are poor. The people in the plains have political and social power, the inhabitants of the hills and forests are in the margins.
When the Meiteis started demanding ST status recently, the Kuki raised objections to it. They thought that this was a ploy to capture their land and forests, and thereby displace them, or turn them into slave labourers in the occupied land.
This conflict has now turned into an endless narrative of daily violence, often, with ordinary citizens as victims, even while the state and central government seem to have totally failed to find any solution to the crisis. Scores of people have been killed, women have been assaulted, and thousands have been turned into refugees in their own land.
The crisis and tragedy is so stark, but there seems no will on the part of the government to find a solution, or a reconciliation mechanism between the warring communities. Manipur and its people have been left to their fate.
Kush Vyas is a student of Class 10, Dr BR Ambedkar School of Specialized Excellence (SoSE), Andrews Ganj, Delhi Board of Secondary Education, Delhi government.