What’s going on in Manipur?

A dive into one of the worst outbreaks of violence in India in the last couple of decades

I refrained from commenting on the situation in Manipur for the last several weeks for a very good reason. I wanted to dig deeper and understand some of the fundamental issues rather than lazily labelling it as a tribal conflict.

That turned out to be a wise move. What on surface appeared to be a violent clash between two communities is at its root, a complex conflict over scarcity of resource – in this case, land. But this one word alone hardly captures the range of issues at the periphery, including primal rights on tribal and forest lands, demographic change, illegal immigration, the drug trade, the extent of judicial reach and increasing religious polarisation in north-east.

I expected a situation of this intensity to result in a swift, strong response. But I wonder if part of the reason for the seeming inaction of the central government is a deliberate decision to move softly-softly, to reduce chances of any possible blowback & negative coverage during the few weeks leading up to the PM’s state visit to the USA.

If this is true, we will likely see a stronger, more forceful central intervention to control the violence. I think the period between now and end-July is likely to be when this unfolds. I will try and revisit this post in a month’s time to see if my hunch was right.

In the meantime, below is a collection of links on the still evolving & volatile situation.

As many of you already know, the clashes have at their root far more than just a claim to a particular status (that of a scheduled tribe) by the Meiteis. At its heart, are historical grievances, distrust, under-development and fears of demographic imbalance as a result of illegal immigration.

First, here is a little bit of background about the HC order (asking the state government to declare Meiteis as a scheduled tribe) that is being cited as the immediate trigger to the violence that engulfs the state today. Strangely, “the Supreme Court did not stay the (HC’s) order while acknowledging that it was indeed wrong, because of a technicality…”.

To understand how this status (of a scheduled tribe) intersects with the issue of land, consider the fact that the Meiteis (53% of the population, as per 2011 census) are concentrated in and around the Imphal valley, which is just 10% of the territory of Manipur. The valley is not only the most densely populated part of the state but it has also seen the most development, leading to resentment among the hill tribes (primarily Kukis who are c. 28% of the population). The hill tribes (including the Nagas) nevertheless occupy 90% of the territory of the state (although large parts are uninhabitable or remote and inaccessible).

This “unequal” distribution of the land – and the fact that while the hill tribes can buy land freely in the valley, the Meiteis cannot do so in the hills, is the main impetus behind the demand (by Meiteis) to seek scheduled tribe (ST) status. As M Manihar Singh, the petitioner in the case (on which the Manipur HC recently made a judgement) says, “We (the Meitei) are the indigenous people of Manipur and we cannot have access to majority of the land in the state. Kukis are not indigenous people of Manipur….We will be able to protect our land if we are also ST”.

Obviously, things are hardly so simple. Here is a Kuki point of view on the clashes by Kham Khan Suan Hausing: “Kuki-Meitei conflict is more than just an ethnic clash“. The Kukis fear losing their exclusive access to land reserved for tribals in the hills and allege discrimination on the part of authorities when it comes to protecting their traditional rights in the region on land (by declaring parts of the land as reserved or protected forests and by portraying Kukis as illegal encroachers on forest lands)

The Meiteis allege that Kukis are encouraging or at least, accepting, illegal migrants from Myanmar (mostly from the same tribe) and allowing them to settle in their villages, thus adding to the population but also being able to make a stronger claim on additional land.

This report (Conflict management) mentions “anecdotal evidence suggests the Kuki community has grown exponentially over past years, which the Biren Singh administration has been at pains to emphasise has been due to illegal immigration from Myanmar“. It further states” “Interestingly, this time around, the Naga (mainly Tangkhul) tribes in Manipur who have in the past had differences with the Meitei have also raised the issue of illegal immigration and the threat it poses to traditional Naga lands.”

Although it is tempting to dismiss illegal immigration as a permanent bogeyman as far as north-east is concerned, reports (and fears) of a demographic shift do have a basis in reality (e.g., see this, ‘They’re taking over our hills’: Manipur groups want NRC to weed out Myanmar refugees.)

The hills have also seen illegal poppy cultivation thus creating a public perception of Kukis being associated with this trade, although this report mentions that almost 40% of those arrested for drugs-related offences as per “an official report of Narcotics and Borders Affairs (2017-2022)” were actually Meitei-Pangal (or Meitei Muslims). Of “the total of 2438 arrests: Kuki (824), Meitei (367), Meitei-Pangal (1067) and 180 belonging to other different communities.”

For a bit of historical context, read this article (“Why Kuki-Meitei Conflict In Manipur Is More Than Just An Ethnic Clash”) that has a brief mention of how the British were at least partly responsible for the current affairs as they meddled into established practices and interactions between communities.

It also mentions that the Kukis are in a sense, “latecomers” to Manipur and were encouraged to settle in the region by the British. “In history, there’s no denying that the Nagas and the Meiteis were here in Manipur from the beginning. If you look at historical records and older chronicles, Kukis were hardly mentioned. In fact, it was with the influx of the British that Kukis started settling in these regions. The British always had the idea of balancing one tribe against the other. So Kuki villages were allowed to be set up adjacent to Naga villages or Naga-dominated areas like Thangkhul. That’s how the hills became a mixed population area and despite inter-tribe rivalries, Kukis became an established part of the Manipuri population.”

All this would have been pretty tragic as is but it becomes worse. Apparently, 40% of Manipur’s population falls below the poverty line, which might partially explain the anger and the mob violence. Unsurprisingly, it might also be the most violence-prone State in the North East, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the total incidents of violence in the region (reference has not been validated).

To top all this, apparently the Registrar-General of India has refused to say whether Meiteis could be considered a scheduled tribe based on its current criteria. The reason? Because it might “prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence”.

Additional links:

This report in the Telegraph by Devadeep Purohit (“As conflict in Manipur reaches 26th day, a look at the ‘plot’ that keeps the fire burning”) cites some of reasons behind the present conflict;

In Manipur, police armouries stand empty. Mobs stormed them, looted weapons, ‘rode off on scooters’ and

More than 6 weeks on, Manipur is still ablaze. It’s a saga of failures, from state govt to Centre .

Map courtesy: Burning Compass

* This is less far-fetched than it seems with some reports already blaming the BJP’s “Communal Politics” for the present situation.

Related Posts: One Country, many Worlds..and a forgotten Manipur and Living in a Blockade: A first-hand account from Manipur