Priyambada
On 3rd May 2023, Manipur saw an eruption of brutal clashes between the dominant Meiteis and the tribal Kuki, Hmar and Zomi people which has claimed almost 100 lives and has resulted in more than 26,000 people being temporarily displaced; the violence continues to this day. The districts worst affected have seen the most severe crackdown by state machinery with shoot-on-sight orders being issued by the government to ‘maintain peace’ amidst ‘extreme cases’.
The Meiteis and Kukis have had a significant history of ethnic clashes since the incorporation of the state of Manipur into India. The 2023 violence is not a one-off incident but in fact an explosion of the building up of tensions over decades. While the nature of the clashes is mostly ethnic conflict, there are communal (Hindu vs Christian) and tribal versus non-tribal aspects to the violence as well. However, friction over land use and ownership with respect to Manipur’s demography and immigration is at the core of their conflict.
The Meiteis are dominant Hindus who live in the Imphal valley and the Kukis who have scheduled tribe (ST) status live in the hill districts of Manipur. The Meiteis as per the state’s Land Reform Act are not allowed to settle in the hill districts where the tribal groups such as Kuki, Hmar and Zomi people stay. This is in accordance with the policies of Scheduled Tribes’ rights to protect their autonomy in the north-east of India. In reaction to this, the dominant Hindu Meiteis have been demanding for ST status for the last two decades and as Prof Thongkholal Haokip from JNU says, “the demand for ST status is a ploy to attenuate the fervent political demands of the Kukis and Naga in, as well as a tacit strategy of the dominant Valley dwellers to make inroads into the hill areas of the state.”
This coupled with the fact that Meiteis are already in the majority, calling the shots in Manipur’s politics, are more educated and thus more affluent, and with greater representation in the state assembly, there is substantial resistance to these demands. Tribal groups have also complained that government spending is unfairly concentrated in the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley.
This resistance saw its peak when the Manipur High Court on 20th April asked the state government to consider the Meiteis’ demand for ST status within four weeks and directed that the recommendation be sent to the Centre for consideration. The All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) took out a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ to protest this decision. The violence began spiralling after this with Meiteis hunting down Kukis in the Valley and attacking them. Kukis in retaliation attacked Meiteis in the hill districts.
Videos of the violence were showcased by the news and circulated by social media leading to fake videos of older incidents being added to the gamut as well, to increase hatred and panic. In the first three days, the hospitals of three districts were overburdened with injured people and the morgues were at capacity. The Indian Army was flown in and along with the CRPF, Manipur Police and the Assam Rifles they killed over 33 people in security operations.
Manipur’s porous border with Myanmar enables immigration into India which saw a spike during the 2021 coup d’état in the border nation, and these people are said to have been living in the reserved forests. The BJP government in an anti-immigrant move started an eviction drive in the forests in February 2021 with the support of Manipur Forest Rules that empower the government to evict any ‘encroachers’ on forest land. While the Manipur government is using the word ‘encroachments’, the tribal communities term it ‘settlements.’ The eviction drive is anti-tribal in nature as it is an attempt to deprive the tribal communities of their ancestral lands. According to Meiteis, the eviction drive is the reason behind the ethnic clashes and not their demand for ST status, thus somewhat legitimising their demand.
Local students from Manipur have alleged that the Chief Minister of Manipur, who is a Meitei himself provided his community with arms during the violence. The number of tribals killed by Meiteis as well as State machinery is disproportionately more than the fatalities on the other side and the crackdowns, curfews and checks have been taking place more strictly in he hill districts of Manipur.
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum also said that valley underground cadres (armed members of Meitei community inflicting violence on tribal people) who were disguised in Manipur police uniforms were the perpetrators. Article 355 of the Indian Constitution that allows for the Union to take any steps to protect the states from internal disturbance as well as Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code to not let an assembly of more than four people take place were issued in Manipur. State wide internet suspension took place for a week, and this has continued sporadically in different areas of Manipur leading to patchy communication between people and their families. The government has said that a compensation of ₹10 lakh will be given to the families of the ones killed however, as it is a continuing state of emergency in a region mostly neglected by the mainland – the doubt remains whether the people affected will receive adequate justice. There have been widespread killings, destruction of property and displacement of people in the thousands – about 46,000 people have been relocated and are living in refugee camps.
The Manipur violence started on 3rd May, the army was deployed almost instantly however, the Home Minister arrived in Manipur for peace-keeping meetings only on the 29th of May. Karnataka elections can be cited as a weak example for slow reaction of the central government, but the results of BJP’s loss came about by 14th May. A deliberate delay in an attempt to let the brutality kill the marginalised or an abject failure of the State is a question that is consistent with this government’s authoritarian oppressive politics.
(The author is a student researcher in the development sector).
