The Parliament’s monsoon session has been repeatedly stalled by the Opposition over the viral video showing sexual assault of women in Manipur. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made his point very clear when he said the incident had “shamed India” and that “no guilty will be spared and what happened with the daughters of Manipur can never be forgiven”. Prime Minister Modi condemned the alleged sexual assault of women in Manipur state as “shameful” and promised tough action. The Home minister has continued his regular visits and is monitoring the condition in the state. Every cabinet minister has been directed by the PM to visit the state and restore normalcy. The issues of Manipur are not merely a clash between two warring communities. The wound is much deeper. There has been colonial and post-colonial design of religious conversions and neglect of the Hindu community. The porous borders of almost 1,600 km with Myanmar brings the external powers at the doorstep. The poppy cultivations in the area have increased four-fold in the last few years. Chinese incursion has stepped in through Myanmar’s borders. Christian missionaries are aggressively pushing and funding the local communities and scheming large-scale conversions. Illegal migrants, along with a large number of Rohingyas, are sheltered in the violence-prone areas of Manipur, adding and fueling the fire. The best and most suitable institution of parliamentary governance is the Parliament. Debate and discussion should have continued to find out an amicable solution. But the Opposition chose the other way, focusing merely on PM Modi’s statement in Parliament on Manipur. Issues of the northeast have improved significantly since Modi became the prime minister.
Reasons of Current Crisis
The current crisis in Manipur emerged when the Manipur High Court, on 20 April 2023, recommended including the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes’ (ST) list. This development raised concerns among the Kukis, who feared that granting ST status to the Meiteis would allow them to purchase land in the hilly areas, which is currently prohibited. Tensions boiled over when Kukis began protesting against demands from the Meiteis to be given official tribal status, which the Kukis argued would strengthen their already strong influence on government and society, allowing them to buy land or settle in predominantly Kuki areas. But there are myriad underlying reasons. The Kukis say a war on drugs waged by the Meitei-led government is a screen to uproot their communities. Chief Minister Biren Singh has acted tough against drug cartels. Illegal migration from Myanmar has heightened tensions. Meitei, Kuki and Naga militias have for decades fought one another over conflicting homeland demands and religious differences, and all sides have clashed with India’s security forces. The latest flare-up, however, is almost entirely between the Meiteis and Kukis. The Meiteis have roots in Manipur, Myanmar and surrounding areas. The vast majority are Hindu. The Kukis, mostly Christian, have spread across the north-east of India, and many of those in Manipur can trace their roots back to Myanmar too. Meiteis mostly live in the Imphal valley, while the Kukis live in the surrounding hills and beyond.
India’s north-eastern states have a history of ethnic rivalries dating back to before the country became independent in 1947. In Manipur, violence has erupted between the Meitei and the Kuki communities earlier too. Poppy cultivation and drug trafficking have a direct connection to the ethnic violence in Manipur.
Conversion Issue
The most pinching issues of Manipur is religious conversion which has been completely ignored by the mainstream media. Manipur and major parts of Northeastern India is place of Hindu culture, which has a strong imprint in the areas. The origin of the ongoing conflict in Manipur can be traced back to the continuous conversions of tribal and Hindus in the region. Manipur, known as the “city of jewels” has a rich history dating back to the times of the Mahabharata. Hinduism has been the predominant religion in the region, with many of the kings being Vaishnavas. Manipuri dance, a renowned classical dance form, depicts the Raas Leela of Krishna, serving as a reminder of the deep-rooted influence of Vaishnavism in the area.
However, the situation began to change with the arrival of the British in the late 19th century, along with an influx of missionaries. These conversions in Manipur started later compared to Nagaland and Mizoram since it was a relatively untapped region that caught the attention of missionaries. William Pettigrew, a British Christian minister from the Arthington Aborigines Missionary group, arrived in India in 1894. It continued even after end of the British regime.
Over time, the demographic composition of Manipur underwent significant changes. The Kuki population, aided by illegal influx from Burma, increased to 41%, equaling the number of Hindu Meities and altering the region’s demography. While Kukis attained Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and were predominantly Christian, Hindus were categorized as Other Backward Classes (OBC), and their access to land and resources remained limited. Meiteis, the Hindu population, were confined to the Imphal Valley, comprising only 10% of the state’s land, while the tribal communities controlled the reserved hilly regions that constituted the remaining 90%. Christian tribals faced no restrictions in settling in the valley and even dominated government jobs, supported by continuous donations from American Baptist churches. These disparities and the influx of illicit funds led some Kukis to take up arms, forming militant groups with the goal of eliminating Hindus and demanding a separate homeland.
Conclusion
Manipur issue is connected with national security. The demands of Kuki for a separate administrative unit is dangerous and creates a vicious trap. It will lead to the demand for multiple states in future. The external factors are equally fatal, combined with drug peddlers. The ex-Army chief General M.M. Naravane pointed out the involvement of foreign agencies in the Manipur violence “cannot be ruled out”, as he flagged the “Chinese aid to various insurgent groups”. Therefore, there is utmost need and care to see the Manipur issue from nationalist perspectives. The politicking and narrow lane of party politics will flare up the violence. Colonial set up and post-independent political order had already damaged the identity of northeastern states, diversity flared up at the cost of national unity and integration. The debates in Parliament should bring into notice of all these factors which are necessary for not merely resolving the current Manipur issue, but to resolve the centuries old wound.
Prof Satish Kumar, Faculty of Political Science, IGNOU.