Manipur, located in northeast India, has become a hotbed for active ethnic riots since 3 May 2023. The animosity is majorly between two ethnic groups of the state, namely the Kuki and Meitei. Manipur is home to 39 ethnic communities and is often showcased as an exemplary state of India, depicting religious and ethnic coexistence. Still, ethnic and tribal rivalries have become rather violent in the past as well. In the current intense clashes, the state has responded somewhat similarly to it in, for instance, Jammu and Kashmir, deploying thousands of troops and paramilitary forces with discretionary instructions to “shoot at sight” and suspending the internet. Considering the current clashes have been going on for the past two months and there has been fresh violence almost daily since the riots erupted, the present scenario in Manipur requires attention.
Bordering Myanmar, Manipur is a hill state. The Meitei people, along with the other non-tribal population, is concentrated in the more prosperous lowlands or Imphal Valley, which constitutes 10% of the central area of Manipur. The non-tribals are not allowed to reside in the hilly part of the state. Kuki and Naga tribes are concentrated in hilly areas, making up 90% land of the hill state. The tribal people, contrarily, are also allowed to take up space in the valley. In February, the Manipur high court asked the state government to weigh the possibility of granting Meitei, the majority ethnic group in the state, special Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. ST status entails a set of special privileges already enjoyed by the Kuki tribe, constituting 16% of the local population. Overall, the total tribal population is 40%. Communities having ST status get government quotas for education and jobs as well as economic subsidies. The ST status would allow the Meitei community not only these privileges but also the authority to reside in the state’s hilly areas and, as Kuki people fear, push the tribals out.
Given the loss of lives and property and the location of the clashing state, it is imperative that Prime Minister Narendra Modi considers the problem and personally addresses the issue at hand. His silence on the matter is no longer ignorable.
A couple of other factors also compound the irritability of the Kuki tribe. One is the Manipur government’s crackdown on narcotics drive and poppy fields of the Kukis, which is a significant source of their living. The tribe is also unhappy with the current government’s idea to implement a National Register of Citizens (NRC), as the northeastern tribes frequently travel to and back from Myanmar. The state aims to distinguish old Kuki from new Kuki immigrants from Myanmar this way.
Nevertheless, the ongoing chaos ensued as the All Tribal Student’s Union of Manipur (ATSUM) undertook a “Tribal Solidarity March” against the Meitei demand for ST status and the high court orders in this regard. The marching protest got violent as the two sides came face to face and clashed. The Kuki militants attacked the local villagers, primarily the Meitei settlements, and opened fire on the locals. The scenario depicts a breach of trust among the coexisting communities and consequent mass migration. Thus, the current clash reveals the long-held tension between the tribal and non-tribal people of the hills and valley, respectively.
The recent riots are also equated with ethnic cleansing by certain sections of society. According to Reuters, up to 150 people have lost their lives in the riots, while 240 have suffered injuries. Many people have lost their homes, and an estimated 40,000 have been displaced during the clashes spanning the last two months.
Leaders from various political parties have visited the region to interact with the stakeholders. It is noticeable that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to comment on the matter despite the intensity of the riots. From the federal administration, Home Minister Amit Shah summoned N. Biren Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur, to New Delhi and ordered to fuel the attempts to restore long-term peace in the state. Two Kuki outfits have finally, after a couple of months, removed the road blockade on NH-2 following the appeal by the Home Minister. Yet overall, unable to salvage the situation, the CM of Manipur appeared ready to step down. However, he was convinced otherwise as thousands of women stopped his convoy on his way to resigning.
Per recent information, the violence is adversely affecting the lives of people even in the nearby areas, with injuries reported in Bishnupur and Churachandpur. Thousands of displaced locals are housed in the 349 relief camps established by Manipur government. The situation is aggravated by the easy access to weapons in Manipur, given the involvement of all major groups, Meiteis, Kukis, and Nagas, in insurgency over the years. Therefore, joint combing operations are underway to recover weapons. Also, people have robbed 4573 arms from police munition stores. Of the total weapons looted, the security officials have recovered 990. The Indian Army has stated that miscreants are dressing up as security officials to pose as troops and cause trouble in the area. Unidentified gunmen have been attacking the locals. Around 250 churches have been plundered. The scenario is hopeless to the point that the locals are opting to seek refuge in Myanmar, where the military leadership is bombing its own people.
Gauging from how far and wide the clashes have persisted, neither the national media nor the political leadership seems to have been aware of the gravity of the situation, at least initially. Given the loss of lives and property and the location of the clashing state, it is imperative that Prime Minister Narendra Modi considers the problem and personally addresses the issue at hand. His silence on the matter is no longer ignorable.
Notwithstanding the presence of security personnel in the region, there is fresh violence nearly every day. Despite the constant efforts, peace is yet to be restored. The Manipur riots can have consequences for India with respect to the nearby border with China. Though the clashes continue with unparalleled frequency, any urgency to regain normalcy is seemingly scant. The ideological and political leadership needs to step up; otherwise, the situation and damage might become too great to redress.
