You can hear a lot about Manipur and things going on there. Everyone is overwhelmed by what is happening and why is all this happening there. At the same time, the nation is sad and in shock by the incidents or cruelty women are facing in the state.
You also have to understand the tribal situation, political background, and other factors adding to the tribal conflicts and turning it into a tremendously violent situation. On 3 May 2023, ethnic violence erupted in India’s north-eastern state of Manipur between the Meitei people, a majority that lives in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki-Zo tribal community from the surrounding hills. According to government figures, as of 15 September, 175 people have been killed in the violence. About 1,108 others were injured, 32 are missing. Around 4,786 houses were set on fire. Around 386 religious structures, including temples and churches, were vandalized. The violence left more than 70,000 people displaced from their homes. Unofficial figures are higher.
The proximate cause of the violence was a row over an affirmative action measure. On 14 April 2023, acting on a writ petition, the Manipur High Court ordered the state government to send a recommendation to the central government on the demand for a Scheduled Tribe status by the valley-based Meitei community, a decision later criticized by the Supreme Court.To protest the Meitei demands for the scheduled tribe status, the All Tribal Students’ Union Manipur conducted peaceful protest marches on 3 May. After one of these marches, clashes broke out between Kuki and Meitei groups near the border between the Churachandpur district and Bishnupur district, followed by house burning. The violence quickly spread to the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur town and the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley, targeting the minority community in each area. According to Reuters, 77 Kukis and 10 Meiteis were killed within a week.
In addition to the ST status, other issues had been festering prior to the violence. For nexample, the Kuki people in the hill districts saw themselves as being the target of the state government’s treatment of indigenous land rights concerns. There have been evictions of Kuki communities as a result of efforts to survey forests, which were ostensibly made to stop the cultivation of poppy. The Meitei community has also experienced a rise in insecurity as a result of the flood of refugees from Myanmar following the military coup in 2021, particularly those from the Sagaing region. In one of the instances, the Manipur government have questioned the central security forces, especially the Assam Rifles, of allowing illegal immigration from Myanmar. Many organizations have protested against Assam Rifles of siding with
the Kuki communities, including instance of Manipur police filing FIR against its
personnel for enabling Kuki militants to escape by obstructing the police movements.
When you talk about what all this is about or why it is happening, you have to have a
brief knowledge of the history and root causes of the conflict arose between The Kuki
and Meitei tribes.
Who are the Meitei and Kuki?
The Meitei have roots in Manipur, Myanmar and surrounding areas. The vast majority are Hindu although some follow the Sanamahi religion. The Kukis, mostly Christian, have spread across the north-east of India, and many of those in Manipur can trace their roots back to Myanmar too.
Meiteis mostly live in the Imphal valley, while the Kukis live in the surrounding hills and beyond.
Meitei, Kuki and Naga militias have for decades fought one another over conflicting homeland demands and religious differences, and all sides have clashed with India’s security forces. The latest flare-up, however, is almost entirely between the Meitei and the Kuki.
“This time, the conflict is strictly rooted in ethnicity, not religion,” says Dhiren A
Sadokpam, editor of The Frontier Manipur.
What was the immediate trigger for the violence?
The Kuki have long been recognized as a Scheduled Tribe under Indian law, an affirmative action measure that assures tribal community members access to state-run educational institutions, government jobs and safeguards such as the exclusive right to buy and own land in the state’s recognised tribal areas.
The Meitei also enjoy certain benefits on account of being recognised as a “socially and economically backward class”, and a tiny segment of them as a Scheduled Caste. But they have been demanding the tribal status instead, arguing that it is necessary to “preserve” the community and “save [its] ancestral land, tradition, culture and language”. The demand has gained momentum only in the last few years.
The Kuki, however, argue that the more numerous Meitei are already privileged. The minority fears that if the Meitei get Scheduled Tribe status, they will not only corner the reserved government jobs but also start acquiring land in the hills, displacing Kukis and other tribal communities.
What set off the series of protests culminating in clashes and sexual violence was a Manipur high court ruling in favour of the longstanding Meitei demand. The court made its decision in late March, but it became public only on April 19, when the judgment appeared on the court’s website.
The Supreme Court on May 17 stayed the Manipur court order, calling it “completely factually wrong”, but that did not calm tempers. The violence is also related to the civil war raging in neighbouring Myanmar since shortly after its February 2021 coup. Chin refugees from Myanmar have reportedly been seeking shelter in Manipur (though in fewer numbers than in the adjacent state of Mizoram).
In justifying their demand for Scheduled Tribe status, the Meitei claim that “illegal immigration from Myanmar [and] Bangladesh” is threatening their position.
Radical Meitei outfits such as Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun accuse the Kuki, who share an ethnic heritage with the Chin, of illegally settling refugees in Manipur’s hills (according to official figures, there are 10,000 Chin refugees in the state).
Political background
Okram Ibobi Singh of the Indian National Congress (INC) had been in power for three terms from 2002. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2017 for the first time under the leadership of N. Biren Singh who managed to out-maneuver the INC, the single largest party, and formed a minority government. In the 2022 Manipur Legislative Assembly election, Biren Singh led the BJP to a clear majority increasing the seat tally from 21 (2017) to 32 (2022) in an Assembly of 60 and continued as the Chief Minister. The rise of BJP power in Manipur has empowered the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to incite the Vaishnavite Meitei to assert Hindutva politics against religious minorities.This included giving rise to Meitei-based organisations and increased vigilantism, cultural policing, and anti-minority rhetoric.
China’s manipulation and refugees of Myanmar also also the reason behind the
escalation of situation in the state leading it to such violence.
