Manipur: An Aflame Conundrum

Manipur is burning! What started off as a dissent against the honourable Manipur High Court’s order to seek a recommendation on granting the Meiteis the status of Scheduled Tribe (ST) under India’s affirmative action policy is now spreading flares across the state. However, the current uprising has linkages that can be traced back to the already existing tensions between the two communities. 

Representational Collage
Source: (L-R) PTI, Economic Times, Arul Horizon via Indian Express, Business Standard

The state of Manipur, situated in India’s North East Region (NER) and sharing international boundaries with Myanmar has been experiencing unprecedented violent exchanges between its two ethnic communities i.e., Meiteis and Kukis for the past two months. These sporadic yet vicious clashes have claimed more than 100 lives so far. Given the increasing acts of ethnic violence, people are resorting to relief camps or fleeing away to safer places either within or outside the state. According to the State Information and Public Relations Minister, Dr. R K Ranjan, the situation has displaced 50,648 people who are presently sheltered at 349 relief camps in the capital city of Imphal and in a few hill districts.

The conflict broke out on May 3, 2023, after the All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) carried out a solidarity march against the Manipur High Court's order (dated April 19) to grant Meiteis Scheduled Tribes (ST) status. A concern slugged for the past ten years, it directed the state government to push for the Meitei community’s demand for its inclusion in the Scheduled Tribes list and accordingly, send a recommendation to the Centre that considers their proposal. This sparked a revival of the existing schisms between the Meities, residing in the valley, and the Kukis, residing in the hill districts, which resulted in a series of violent confrontation between them. The violence-hit areas have witnessed damage to buildings, houses, and vehicles, severely affecting civilian life and their access to resources. Since then, the state saw a suspension of internet services which is reported to continue till the afternoon of July 5. However, the occurrence of this unrest has underlying reasons that have been in play for several years. The current provocation can be partly accounted for arising from them.

An art student in Mumbai makes a painting to represent the conflict
Source: PTI

Similar to the rest of North East India, Manipur also presents a conglomeration of different communities. The Meitei community, constituting around 60 percent of the state’s population, is a predominant ethnic group. They reside in the valley which constitutes 10% percent of the geographical area of the state. They are socially, politically, and economically better off, holding significant positions in public offices. The tribals, inclusive of Kukis and Nagas, reside in the rest of the hill districts and comprise 40 percent of the population. The Kukis constitute 25 percent of this tribal population. The current clash between the communities can be attributed to multiple reasons, one of them being the plain versus hill tension. The Kukis fear that granting ST status to the already affluent Meiteis could result in the latter having an advantage over the hill lands. Moreover, the Kukis and the tribals feel most of the developmental benefits are being directed towards the valley region, inclusive of their feeling of unfairness towards 40 out of the 60 legislative assembly seats being dominated by Meiteis despite them constituting over half of the population. On the other hand, the Meiteis have long been at the forefront of this demand, owing to several economic and cultural reasons. Based on their ST status during the colonial era, they claim that they weren't included in the President’s Constitution (STs) Order, 1950. Decades later, this has resurfaced again and is heavily contested. 

Representational Image
Source: EastMojo

In addition to this, Manipur faces a critical land issue. The increasing population in tribal villages has led to an expansion of settlements to the forested areas that hold ancestral value to the tribals. The state government has often taken a tough stance towards this and engaged in the eviction of these hill settlements on grounds of encroachment upon protected forest areas. However, this has led to massive protests, adding to the current state of unrest.

The response to the conflict has been complex arising out of the aggravated situation. A few of the Kuki leaders have demanded a ‘separate administration’ and both communities are experiencing nuances of existential threat due to immediate and underlying concerns, some of them being militant-induced atrocities and existing community-centric anxieties. In light of the state government’s response to the volatile situation, there is a brewing dissent against the state leadership. In June, the Union Government set up a three-member inquiry committee to assess the ongoing violence and also held an all-party meeting in the same month to take stock of the crisis. 

Recently, the Chief of Defence Staff General of India, Anil Chauhan, highlighted that Manipur’s violence or ‘civil war’ has several facets, from economic to communal. It shouldn’t be mistaken as an insurgency as it's evidently a political issue and should be resolved accordingly. 

In the hope for a rapid de-escalation of the situation, the utmost priority of the Centre and the Manipur government should be to proactively employ restoration mechanisms that revive normalcy and facilitate a dialogue between both communities for the redressal of their grievances effectively. 

 By Alankrita Dutta