Manipur in Mourning – A Story of Pain and Hope

“Why did it happen to us? Out of nowhere, how could things go so bad, so fast?” – lamented many a traumatised victims with whom we had the chance to interact. They had lost everything they owned in the violence that engulfed Manipur on this day exactly two years back. The multi-layered crisis was certainly not triggered suddenly or spontaneously. It sparked numerous viewpoints documented in the form of articles, books, and pamphlets. Several, including Nandita Haksar’s Shooting the Sun, have identified the Meiteis’ demand for ST status as the immediate trigger. A distinct view, prevalent in writings by CHIKUMI (Chin, Kuki, and Mizo) and non-Manipuri writers, focuses on the perceived “discrimination” against Kuki-Zo communities by the “Meitei-led Government”. 

This alleged neglect manifests in development gaps, autonomy denial, and political exclusion, further fuelled by anxieties about demographic changes. They blame the Central Government and the “Anti-Kuki” State Government for complicity and inaction, criticising the media for simplifying the conflict’s deeper roots. While some suggest “Separate Administration” for the Kuki-Zo people, others have emphasised upon broader solutions like redressal of historical injustice, development projects in the Kuki-Zo areas, and fair representation. Inclusive politics and socio-cultural diversity are deemed crucial for reconciliation. Most importantly, addressing issues such as poppy cultivation, land encroachments, and illegal settlements, etc. is extremely important for ensuring lasting peace in the state.

The Manipur crisis of May 3, 2023 is an extremely painful event that found its parallel in Chahi Taret Khuntakpa when the Burmese had attacked Manipur by killing its people, and burnt their houses and temples to drive them out of their own homeland. During the Anglo-Manipuri War of 1891, the British did not attack the people of Manipur, neither did they burn their houses. But, as the ancestors of today’s Manipuris had experienced during Chahi Taret Khuntakpa, illegal immigrants from Myanmar had attacked them this time with sophisticated weapons. The immigrants attacked them and burned down their houses without any provocation. The economy was the most affected, with thousands of homes and properties destroyed beyond recovery and several thousands of people still subject to abject poverty. 

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The crisis gave an opportunity to the people of Manipur and across the world to realise that we are living in a dangerous environment amidst not one, but many civilizational enemies. Because of their long and glorious history as manifested in the Puyas, the Manipuris perhaps thought that they were and are still a great, indefatigable people! But, they were very much mistaken. Illegal immigrants and their powerful militant groups taught them a hard lesson, waking them up from their deep slumber. At the behest of the World Meitei Council (WMC), the crisis also brought together our Manipuri brothers and sisters from all over the world including the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, the Middle East, and the United States to face the challenges that threaten their very existence in the sacred land of their own forefathers. 

These are people from diverse professional backgrounds who have undertaken the initiative to lead Manipur from the front at this time of crisis. They have worked hard with a sense of responsibility and dedication so as to enable the common Manipuri people to present their side of the story at international forums including the UN. They are the real heroes working silently, to save their homeland. However, simplified interpretations that are to be found in many writings on the Manipur violence have tried to reduce the conflict to issues like ST inclusion for the Meiteis, perceived discrimination of the tribals, and development gaps, overlooking other crucial factors. Regrettably, the world was inundated with a false narrative perpetuated through various platforms soon after the violence began. 

The fact that the violence was engineered by a certain section of the people to fulfil their dream of the establishment of a “Separate Homeland” can no longer be overlooked. For a group of people who were migratory by nature, they never owned any “Ancestral Land” in Manipur, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Tripura. History is witness to their trajectory of migrations and violence in the entire North-East. They were forced to settle in an administrative circle and abandon their migratory habits in the modern era. However, inner behavioural traits do not entirely vanish. Like dormant genes in our bodies, these traits somehow manifest, and their predatory actions led to various conflicts over encroachments in the lands of the indigenous landowners. 

It is therefore no surprise that these people have had a history of violence with almost every single tribe/community in the North-East. And they had been preparing since long to take over lands in Manipur, though these attempts clothed in fancy-sounding constitutional jargons have failed time and again. Thus, the only way that remained for them was to start physical violence, shift all blame to the Government of Manipur, and transform their acts of aggression and war crimes into an “ethnic clash” by provoking the “Majority” Meitei community. Then, in order to achieve their pre-conceived goal, they began following the strategy of propagating lies of victimhood through national and international media houses, begging for help in the name of “Minority”, “Tribal”, “Christians” and what not.

By doing this, they were trying in every way possible to prove that that they can never live at peace with the Meiteis and thus, began going a step further in demanding a “Separate Administration” for themselves. But, they should understand that states cannot be created or divided on ethnic lines. It is untenable, obsolete, deeply problematic, and stands against the spirit of Manipur, democracy, and modern society. We implore the Government of India to approach this issue with fairness and utilise the period of President’s Rule to provide the indigenous communities of Manipur with a platform to voice the truth, without giving way to political compulsions of any kind. They are the actual victims of the orchestrated violence, instigated in an extremely well-planned manner with the help of powerful militant groups. 

Their actions jeopardize the security of Bharat, making this a matter of utmost seriousness. But, the incorrect narrative being parroted in the mainstream media since the beginning of the violence led to consequential harm upon the indigenous communities, and the grave episodes of violence continued with no respite. It is also important to bring to light the impact of various actions undertaken by the Government of Manipur that posed obstacles in the way of realisation of the “Separate Administration” dream, e.g. its withdrawal from the Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreement, crackdown on land encroachments and illegal immigration. The SoO acted as a shield to deepen the separatist project, facilitating armed recruitment, arms deals, and poppy cultivation.

It all began with the floating of the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) that meticulously appropriated terms like “Indigenous” and “Tribal” exclusively for itself. Despite its name, no Nagas, one of the indigenous tribal groups of Manipur and the North-East, is a part of the organization, making clear that it is a purely political platform that aims to project only a certain community as “Minority” and “Victim” in front of people from the rest of the country and the world who still do not have a clear idea of the North-East and more so, the situation in Manipur. Their calculated deployment of rallies, social media manipulation, and violence backed by militants in collusion with their political leaders and officials, poses a significant threat to inter-community relations in Manipur. 

It is simply their propaganda strategy of projecting the violence as a “Majority Meitei” versus a “Minority Tribal” conflict. In this regard, official recognition of the Meitei community as the indigenous/aboriginal people of Manipur, India, in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) is urgently required. The UNDRIP, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007, serves as a foundational document that affirms the rights and protections of indigenous communities worldwide. It was a monumental step towards recognizing and safeguarding the rights of indigenous peoples, and we look forward to the principles enshrined in the said document for guidance during these challenging times. 

The UN must uphold the spirit of the UNDRIP and intervene to address the dire circumstances the indigenous people of Manipur have been facing. The Declaration’s principles resonate with their situation, emphasizing the importance of indigenous rights, protection from violence, and the right to live in dignity and peace. Their forced explusion through terror and persecution in Churachandpur, Tengnoupal, and Kangpokpi districts of Manipur by non-indigenous people who now constitute the majority in these places, are important indicators of “ethnic cleansing” that potentially contribute to crime against humanity and ‘Genocide’ as decided by many international criminal tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunal of Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal of Yugoslavia (ICTY). 

The challenges faced by North-East India, especially Manipur, are connected to historical dynamics, demographic shifts and religious conversions, and current conflicts. The history of Manipur is replete with solid examples of how the illegal immigrants have peddled false narratives right from the time they first set their foot on Manipuri territory till the violence of 2023-2024. Their aspirations for a separate entity, rooted in their historical patterns of migrations and colonial legacies, face challenges from Government initiatives like the ‘War on Drugs’ and territorial integrity efforts. The interplay of these factors, along with the SoO Agreement and drug-related issues, demands a nuanced and comprehensive approach for arriving at long-term and sustainable solutions aimed at conflict resolution and peace-building.