MANIPUR

The author of this blog is Ritika Sharma. She is the Founder of the blog, HUMAN.DROITS, and is also an LL.M. Candidate at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. She can be reached at ritika4523@gmail.com. 

The recent incident in Manipur still revolves in the minds of Indian men and women. We don't know till when the memory of this incident would remain fresh in our minds, but one thing is clear now society will always remain double-faced. On one hand, they want women to be wrapped in clothing from head to foot, and on the other, they would take away these clothes as a mark of revenge or just for their pleasure. A lot of people compared this incident with the attempt to disrobing of Draupadi in Mahabharata.

Now that we all are aware of the communal violence prevailing between the Kuki and the Meitei community of Manipur, this blog attempts to shed light upon the root cause of the conflict between the two. 

As I often say in my blog conversations, communal and ethnic rifts are prevalent for centuries now. I have examined several communal conflicts in my previous blogs such as rifts between Ethiopia and Tigray, Sudan's political cum communal armed conflict, etc. I will now discuss MANIPUR.  India, being a diverse country, time and again, face clashes between the two religions. But this incident is about the northeastern tribal communities.

Let's understand this. 

Demographics

First of all, it is crucial to understand the demographics of Manipur which is basically divided between the inhabitants of Hills and Valleys. Meiteis live in Imphal Valley and the Kukis and Nagas which are tribal communities reside in the Hills. Meiteis largely belong to the Hindu religion, while most of the tribal people are Christians. Overall, it can be said that Meiteis have better representation in the state and are comparatively more educated than other communities. Previously, the state has also witnessed communal and religious tensions between the Naga and Kuki tribes and also between the Meitei Hindus and Meitei Muslims. 

Detention of migrants from Myanmar

The Manipur government detained the 'illegal migrants' from Myanmar. However, the people belonging to the Kuki community share ethnic ties with these Kuki-Chin-Mizo communities residing in Manipur and Mizoram. This led to disappointments within the Kuki community against the state government.

Forcible evictions from the forests

The Manipur government initiated the land survey of reserve forests, protected areas, wetlands, and wildlife. This led to evictions of the land encroached on by the villagers, thereby further disappointing the Kuki community who identify the Chin refugees as the members of their tribe. 

Arrests and destruction of poppy crops

Since 2017, a lot of people were arrested under the NDPS Act, of 1985 due to the illegal cultivation of poppy crops. This resulted in the destruction of the livelihoods of many people from the tribes. They were not even awarded any amount of compensation. This led to several protests in the Kuki-dominated regions. 

Withdrawal of suspension of operations (SoO) agreement

Responding to the protests, the Manipur government claimed that the Kuki community is illegally cultivating the poppy crops and is also engaged in helping the illegal immigrants from Myanmar, thus in March 2023, the government withdrew the Suspension of Operations Agreement.

This agreement was signed in August 2008 to collaborate with the Kuki-led organisations who were asking for a separate Kukiland. The SoO led to the formation of the "Kukiland Territorial Council"  which acted as a separate administrative body for the tribe. 

High Court's directive

The Meitei community successfully got a positive response from the Manipur High Court on consideration of their Scheduled Tribes status. This triggered the historical tensions between the Meitei and Kuki tribes and led to the clashes and violence in May 2023. 

The Meitei community was demanding tribal status for years because of two main reasons:

• Firstly, they cannot buy land in hill areas because of the exclusive rights of tribals.
• Secondly, they are getting marginalised in their ancestral lands and their population is also declining. (India Today) 

However, the decision of the Manipur High Court infuriated the tribal communities (Nagas and Kukis) as the Meitei community already has greater representation (i.e., 40 out of 60 representatives) in the state assembly. This coupled with the fact that the Meitei community already has OBC status led to worries of the tribal community who feared fewer opportunities in the future. 

Concluding Remarks

The European Parliament also passed a resolution calling on Indian authorities to pay attention to the Manipur situation and protect the rights of minorities. 

Evidently, the Kuki community is worried about their declining representation and feels that the state government is siding with the Meitei community (also due to the fact that CM Biren belongs to the Meitei community). The protests, clashes, and violence signify their distress. However, the situation needs immediate solutions which should be the combination of the political, communal, and social considerations.