Manipur violence: A vortex of ethnic struggle, immigration & identity crisis

Manipur government's alleged inaction to address the issue has infuriated the North East Students' Organisation (NESO). Majority Meiteis, however, blamed the influx of outsiders from both inside and outside the country, including people from Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh, for the mess, writes Atonu Choudhurri

Hyderabad:The ethnic fault lines are out in the open after a long lull in Manipur. The northeastern state is now a boiling pot after ethnic conflict reared its ugly head again.

Media limelight usually shuns Manipur, which remains far away from the consciousness just like other states of the northeast unless something untoward strikes the horizon. The volatile northeastern state hogged much limelight after 'Iron Lady' Irom Sharmila, also known as 'mengoubi', or the 'fair one' launched a 16-year hunger strike, the world's longest one, on November 5, 2000.

The photographs of Sharmila, force-fed by food tubes, had been the toast of national and international media, which highlighted her strident opposition against the controversial AFSPA following the recovery of the bullet-riddled body of 32-year-old Thangjam Manorama Devi, who bore the signs of torture and rape near a tribal village in Imphal East on July 11, 2004.

The issue was almost buried after she ended her 16-year-long hunger strike against the security law in order to compete in local elections. Cut to 2023. on Since May 3, the news of violence stated pouring in from the state after the All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) held a solidarity march in all districts opposing the recent Manipur High Court order, which had asked the Manipur State government to send a recommendation to the Centre regarding the demand to include the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (STs) list.

The simmering tension, which is being felt across the state, has disturbed the celebrated filmmaker from Manipur and Padmashree award winner Aribam Shyam Sharma, 89, who is not keeping well these days. He is aggrieved over the turn of events for which, he said, the bucks are wrongly passed on the Meiteis. He said, "We are peace-loving people and want nothing else but peace. It's the responsibility of everybody to ensure peace."

Over the past four days, reports of violence, arson, and mayhem have emerged from various districts in Manipur, including Churachandpur, Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Tengnoupal, and Kangpokpi. In a move that was seen as being distinctly over the top, district magistrates were authorised by the Manipur government to issue shoot-at-sight orders.

On May 4, as the violence escalated, the Centre invoked Article 355 of the Constitution, which is a part of emergency provisions. It empowers the Centre to take necessary steps to protect a State against external aggression or internal disturbances. In the last few days, convoys of trucks belonging to the Army, the Assam Rifles, the Rapid Action Force, and local police personnel have moved into the State and entered several affected areas.

Over a dozen people have been reported killed, hundreds have been wounded, and over 9,000 people belonging to the Kuki and Meitei communities, besides others, have been displaced so far. Defence sources said that around 9,000 people were rescued from violence-hit areas and given shelter. Buildings, homes, and other property, including vehicles, have been destroyed. There is no official confirmation of the number of fatalities yet.

Fissures are open & spillover effect

The unrest forced over 1,600 people to cross the border into Assam's Cachar district and more than 30 people, mostly women and children took shelter in Mizoram's Saitual district. In a spillover of the ethnic violence in Manipur, members of the Kuki and Meitei communities clashed in the Meghalaya capital Shillong on Thursday night and the police have arrested 16 people in connection with the incident.

Security was tightened further in the hill city. Both the states' authorities have arranged temporary shelters at a few government schools and food and other necessary commodities have been provided to them. Two Mizoram districts -- Aizawl and Saitual -- share around a 95 km border with Manipur, which has also 204 km and 225 km inter-state borders with Assam and Nagaland respectively.

Many tribal and non-tribal communities, especially the Meitei, Naga, Kuki, Mizo, Chakma, live in different northeastern states presenting a complex linguistic mosaic with over 200 dialects.

The northeastern region is home to 45.58 million people (2011 Census). The indigenous tribals constitute around 28 per cent of the population and they mostly speak in their mother tongue or their indigenous language.

Any kind of negative incident involving one or two communities in a particular state often has a counter-effect in other states of the region causing ethnic trouble. Besides the insurgency, Naga-Kuki, Meitei versus other tribals, Chakma versus other tribals, and numerous other ethnic conflicts have claimed thousands of lives and damaged huge property during the past many decades in the northeastern region.

The hills account for 90 per cent of the state's area and 10 per cent population while the valley occupies 10 per cent land. In the valley, there are Hindu, non-tribal Meitei communities while the hills are inhabited largely by the Christian Naga and Kuki-Zomi communities.

Manipur government's alleged inaction to address the issue has infuriated the North East Students' Organisation (NESO), an apex body of eight major student organisations of seven northeastern states.

"The government of Manipur has to take into account that these are the indigenous communities of northeast and have inhabited these lands from their forefathers and they are not illegal immigrants from Nepal or Bangladesh," NESO chairman Samuel B. Jyrwa said.

Majority Meiteis, however, blamed the influx of outsiders from both inside and outside the country, including people from Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh, for the mess. They claim the influx has significantly affected the identity, culture, economy, administration and environment of Manipur.