New Delhi: As ethnic violence in Manipur continues unabated, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has initiated Track-3 of the backchannel talk process by roping in interlocutors from the neutral communities of Meiti Pangal and Naga to broker peace between the sparring Meiteis and the Kukis. Following directives from the Home Ministry, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh has appealed to leaders of these two communities in the State to talk with the Kuki and Meitei leaders and bring an end to this ongoing violence continuing since May 3.
“Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh already had a talk with the Manipur Muslim Welfare Organisation (MMWO) and the Naga community leaders on Wednesday and appealed to them to initiate talks with Kukis and Meiteis,” a senior official in the Home Ministry told ETV Bharat. Meitei Pangal is Manipur's indigenous Muslim community, which is represented by the MMWO, an influential Civil Society organisation. It is also among the four main ethnic groups that inhabit Manipur, along with Meiteis, Nagas and Kukis. This Muslim community is the second-largest ethnic block after the Meiteis in Manipur’s valley areas.
The Nagas, on the other hand, are the second largest ethnic group of the state after the Meiteis. The Kukis come third. Nagas and Kukis are mainly Christians and enjoy Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. Meiteis in Manipur represent around 53 per cent of the population, followed by various Naga ethnic groups at least 24 per cent and various Kuki/Zo tribes at 16 per cent. The Muslim population in the State is around 8.40 per cent.
Significantly, Meiti Pangal and Naga are roped in to initiate the talk process because of their neutral stand in the present crisis. These two groups have earlier played peace broker roles in different conflicts in the State. The Meitei Pangal and Naga community have already set up Peace Committees across Manipur.
“We have met Kuki Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) leaders in Nagaland and Assam to persuade them to end the ongoing ethnic conflict. Representatives of Naga and Pangal communities together met leaders of Meitei CSOs. We are hoping to see positive developments in the coming days,” said Korimayum Boboy, MMWO leader.
He emphasised on the need for dialogue and understanding between the communities involved in the present conflict. The official said that MMWO during their meeting with the Manipur Chief Minister also raised the issue of security of the 13,700-odd indigenous Muslims of Manipur, who are residing in the hills. At least 130 people have lost their lives and more than 60,000 displaced from their homes in Manipur ever since the ethnic clash between Meiteis and Kukis broke out more than two months.
The Track 3 initiative of the Home Ministry comes after its previous attempts to bring peace in the volatile Manipur failed to achieve major success. Under the Track 1 initiative, the Home Ministry roped in senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionaries to talk with the Kukis groups. Under Track 2 initiative, Home Ministry officials, including the additional secretary for Northeast Piyush Goyal, and advisor (Northeast) AK Mishra had two rounds of discussions with Meitei groups.
Meanwhile, Kuki Inpi Manipur, an influential Kuki Organisation, has reiterated their demand to the Centre to expedite separate administration in the form of creation of a new State for the tribals under Article 3 of the Constitution for lasting peace in the region. However, demand for a separate administration has already been rejected by the Meitei communities and the Manipur government.
