Skip to main content

Militants, with ten times number of arms compared to those in J&K, 'roaming freely' in Manipur

By Sandeep Pandey* 

The violence which shows no sign of abating in the ongoing Meitei-Kuki conflict in Manipur is a matter of concern. The alienation of the two communities and hatred generated for each other is unprecedented. The Meiteis cannot leave Manipur by road because the next district North on the way to Kohima in Nagaland is Kangpokpi, a Kuki dominated area where the young Kuki men and women are guarding the district borders and would not let any Meitei pass through the national highway. 
So, any Meitei who has to leave Manipur has to use the air way. Similarly, Meira Paibis, the Meitei mothers’ organization, would not let any Kuki enter Imphal coming in the opposite direction. Any Kuki living in Churachandpur, 60 km South from Imphal can only leave Manipur by air way via Aijwal in Mizoram, which is a good day’s drive on a difficult mountain road. Sometimes it may take upto 17-20 hours.
Imagine a pregnant woman using this route. There is a weekly helicopter service between Churachandpur and Aijwal but that is not very regular. And how many common people can use these expensive ways of travel? Clearly the fundamental right guaranteed to citizens under the Constitution, of being able to move about freely in the country, is being violated. The conflict has taken a heavy toll on the lives of common Meiteis and Kukis, many of whom languish in relief camps and face an uncertain future.
One single factor which sticks out is the failure of the Manipur and Union governments to curb violence. Both Meiteis and Kukis say that had the Chief Minister N. Biren Singh wanted to control the violence he could have done so within the first two days of it starting on 3 May, 2023. A nagging question remains why was the government reluctant then or remains even now? The CM has raised concerns about narco-terrorism and targeted poppy cultivation by Kukis. 
But what action has been taken by the Union government to check drug trafficking across the international border with Myanmar or for that matter at Mundra port in Gujarat and Pathankot in Punjab? If the drug trafficking stops obviously poppy cultivation will stop. Many people, even among the establishment believed that Biren Singh would be replaced after the Lok Sabha elections. But that has not happened. Had it been an opposition party run state, by now President’s rule would have been imposed. 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited close to two dozen countries since the violence erupted on 3 May last year but hasn’t found time to visit Manipur. Except for mentioning it once, that too under persistent vociferous demand of the opposition, he hasn’t found it necessary to reveal his mind (Man ki Baat) on Manipur. We are told he is playing a role in bringing about peace between Russia and Ukraine and various world leaders are requesting him to take an initiative. 
He also probably has some advice to offer to Palestinian and Israeli leadership. But he has not demonstrated the same concern for Manipur, in spite of continuous voicing by the people of Manipur, and this puts a big question mark on his intentions as well as the condescending attitude of ignoring the problem of Manipur. 
He or his party colleagues never cease boasting about how militancy in Jammu and Kashmir has been curbed since the dilution of Article 370 but don’t seem to care about militants, with ten times the number of arms compared to those present in J&K, roaming about freely openly displaying them in Manipur, endangering the lives of common people.
To make matters worse the security establishment is confounding the people. Meiteis have recently questioned the role of Army in not being able to provide protection to citizens and have demanded their removal. First the Security Advisor to the Manipur claimed, based on inputs from CM office, that 900 trained Kuki militants with sophisticated arms had entered India and then retracted it. 
Such statements from either CM office or Security Advisor, especially as the CM has been consistently harping on the immigration from across the border changing the demographics of the state will only serve to instill fear in the minds of people. This also puts  the role of security establishment under question. What was the need for Security Advisor to rush and hold a press conference to share an unverified news only to withdraw it and tell the people ‘not to believe in any rumours and unverified news?’ 
Was the news of Kuki militants being proferred so that people don’t question the role of Army and accept its presence to save them from the cross border militants? The government should be held accountable for being negligent in performing its basic duty of making the people feel secure, violation of another fundamental right of right to life under the Constitution. The government in Manipur seems to have abdicated its role of governance and has become a party to the conflict.
To resolve the conflict between the two communities a political process of dialogue will be necessary. Whether Meiteis will get a Scheduled Tribe status or Kukis will get a separate administration are questions which will have to be settled by the Union government. For any dialogue to take place peace will have to be restored. Both sides will have to end violence.
The common Kukis and Meiteis have a right to live with peace, justice and dignity and their fundamental rights under the Constitution need to be protected.
---
*General Secretary, Socialist Party (India)

Comments

TRENDING

Campaign group urges INDIA alliance to release Jharkhand manifesto to counter BJP’s 'divisive' agenda

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan, an advocacy group, has issued a press release urging the INDIA alliance to release a Jharkhand-specific manifesto to counter the BJP’s "divisive" electoral agenda. With just two weeks remaining before the assembly elections, the INDIA coalition has yet to announce its plans and priorities for the state. Meanwhile, the BJP's campaign, according to the press release, is centered around communalism, divisiveness, and distraction from Jharkhand's core issues.

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor*  Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.

Israel's 'war crime': 18,000 children died not just from bomb explosions but also starvation

By Sandeep Pandey*  Last year 6 years old Madiha was a guest during Diwali at our home in Lucknow. Listening to the sound of fire crackers bursting outside she remarked, ‘It appears as if we’re in Gaza.’ She has probably no idea of the extent of damage and loss of life that has taken place in Palestine but can relate to sound of crackers as bombs exploding over Gaza.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

How pseudo-liberals 'went wrong' in judging DY Chandrachud as Chief Justice India

By Shamsul Islam*  DY Chandrachud took charge as Chief Justice of the Indian Supreme Court (SC) on November 09, 2022. On this occasion many of the pseudo-liberals who claimed to be defenders of the democratic-secular polity of India manifested great happiness. They declared that the time of SC being an appendage of the RSS-BJP government headed by PM Modi was over as Justice Chandrachud was a liberal judge committed to the democratic-secular polity of India. 

In the pantheon of Indian cricket, VVS Laxman as symbol of elegance, resilience, unselfish brilliance

By Harsh Thakor*  On November 1st, legendary Indian cricketer VVS Laxman celebrates his 50th birthday. Known for his elegance, Laxman turned impossible matches on their heads with a style that captivated cricket fans worldwide. He wielded his bat like an artist’s brush, finding gaps on the field with surgical precision, creating innings as meticulously as a sculptor carves a masterpiece. Born in Hyderabad, Laxman inherited the stylistic lineage of local icons ML Jaisimha and Mohammad Azharuddin, blending it with a grace reminiscent of Gundappa Viswanath.