Entire India’s head hung with shame after a video was found circulating on social media, showing two Kuki women being paraded naked by a mob, is from May 4, a day after the ongoing clashes in Manipur began. The incident occurred in Phainom village in Kangpokpi district. This breaks all levels of humanity.
This came to light when the video carrying this inhuman and most unacceptable incident became public after 78 days. Till then, the State government was totally mum and took no action. The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the harrowing video. Shortly after Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said that such an incident is unacceptable, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh tweeted that one arrest has been made.
Later in the day, speaking to a TV channel, Biren had the audacity to say that “hundreds of similar cases have happened.” If hundreds of such incidents have happened, what has the government done about it? simply nothing. This incident also once again proves that ‘Beti Bachao’ is a slogan that is used as a political propaganda during elections by the BJP.
Slogans don’t ensure good governance, actions do. But the action from the government has been absent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence was more conspicuous for the preceding 75 days of violence, till the video surfaced. The BJP’s much-touted ‘double engine’ model of governance seems to have broken down utterly in Manipur, both at the state and central levels.
Clashes between the majority Meitei community and the Kuki community have been ongoing in Manipur since May 3. The violence began after a solidarity march held by tribal groups against the demand to grant Scheduled Tribe status to the Meitei community.
Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of the state’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals — Nagas and Kukis — constitute another 40 percent of the population and reside in the hill districts.
So far, at least 140 people have been killed, many more have been injured and nearly 50,000 displaced. Over 3,000 weapons, automatic guns to grenades, have been looted, including from police armouries, more than 200 churches and 17 temples destroyed, and numerous houses and properties burnt or razed to the ground.
The perpetrators and victims of the violence come from both communities — the Meitei, who are the majority in the Imphal valley and mostly Hindu, and the Kuki tribes, who are primarily Christians and inhabit the state’s hill districts.
The peace committee formed by the central government to initiate dialogue between the communities collapsed before it even took off. Neither the Meitei nor the Kuki want to participate in talks until the fighting comes under control. But the State and central governments have proved to be completely incompetent in controlling the violence.
During his visit to Manipur, Amit Shah blamed a “hasty” order of the Manipur High Court for the conflict. This HC order in April had suggested granting Scheduled Tribe status to the Meiteis — their longstanding demand. For many Kukis, this was unacceptable and seen as a threat to their own ST benefits.
On 3 May, a protest rally against this order, organised by the All-Tribal Students’ Union Manipur (ATSUM) in the hill district of Churachandpur, quickly escalated into widespread clashes.
While the Kukis had long claimed that the Biren Singh-led BJP government was targeting them and their land in the name of drives against forest encroachment and poppy cultivation, the Meitei had been protesting over a takeover of the hills by perceived “militants” and “outsiders”— a narrative propagated by the CM himself in public statements.
This ongoing violence in the north-eastern State is a security nightmare as Manipur shares its borders with Myanmar. China is also nearby. As much as 398 km of our borders are porous and unguarded. Indian forces have been fighting a bloody battle against militants in Manipur and Nagaland since last many years. But instead of dousing the flames of ethnic violence, the Centre and State have slept over it.
The ground is fertile for the militants to run amok in the North East, with direct involvement of China and Myanmar. The political apathy towards this danger is difficult to understand. China is looking for an opportunity to seize Arunachal Pradesh.
This uprising will prove to be a fertile ground for the enemies of the country to get a foothold deep inside our territory and foment trouble. Hate has won in Manipur. India will have to pay a very heavy price for this.
It may be pertinent to mention here that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which was revoked under political pressure, should be restored with immediate effect, till the civil government is capable of handling such an explosive issue. The government has weaponised and allowed hate to win in Manipur, as it has done in various other parts of the country. This establishment has lost the moral authority to be in power.
