Imphal abdication: Biren Singh government has become part of the problem

More than 120 people have been killed in the ethnic violence that has overtaken Manipur. The state’s faultlines came alive once again in the first week of May after a tribal rally against the Meitei demand for Scheduled Tribe status triggered violence. Ever since, the state government has not stepped up to its responsibility to douse the fires, re-establish peace. On the contrary, in its conduct and in its speech, it has appeared partisan, even as Meiteis leave the Kuki-dominated hill districts and Kukis take flight from the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley. Nearly 4,000 houses belonging to both communities — including that of Union minister R K Ranjan Singh — have been torched. An estimated 45,000 people have been displaced on both sides of the divide and are living in relief camps. The atmosphere of distrust is making it difficult for security forces to operate.

The Kukis believe that the state police constabularies, including the Manipur Rifles, favour the Meiteis. The latter have accused the Assam Rifles, the longest-serving paramilitary force in the state, of turning a blind eye to illegal poppy cultivation in the Kuki-dominated hills. Friction has also surfaced within the security forces with the police accusing the paramilitary forces of interfering in their work. All evidence points to a deep and wide socio-political crisis, with armed mobs controlling the streets and highways and the administration conspicuous by its absence. In this grim situation, the state calls out for a political imagination that assuages the concerns of all ethnic groups and assures them of fairness and equality. Given the negative perceptions about the state government, it is up to the Centre to expand the ambit of the talks by involving representatives of all parties. Yet, despite the Biren Singh government’s serial abdications, the Centre was late in reaching out. Home Minister Amit Shah took more than three weeks to visit the state. The formation of a three-member inquiry committee, headed by retired Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Ajay Lamba, to establish the causes of the crisis was a welcome step; but another initiative of setting up a peace committee headed by state governor Anusuiya Uikey is proving to be a non-starter. Kuki representatives have refused to associate with the committee citing the presence of CM Biren Singh. Singh, who had reached out to the hill communities in his first term, touched a raw nerve amongst the Kukis by ordering demolitions of what his government termed as illegal encroachments on public land — these included Kuki churches in Imphal. The state government also withdrew from a Suspension of Operations agreement with Kuki groups and failed to anticipate the unrest caused by the controversial Manipur High Court decision on ST status to the Meiteis.

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India has a record of bringing rebels to the discussion table, turning them into stake-holders, including in the Northeast. Manipur is also crucial to the Centre’s Look East vision. The chief minister is part of the problem, the Centre cannot prevaricate or keep brushing things under his carpet. Everyone in Manipur, whatever their ethnicity, deserves better.