Fault Lines in Imphal

Why in News?

• Since 3rd May, Manipur is in the grasp of large-scale communal riots between Meitei and Kuki groups.
• These developments are worrying and have exposed the total collapse of law and order.

 

The Kukis and Meiteis:

• The Kuki people are an ethnic group in the South-eastern part of Mizoram and Manipur in India.The Kuki constitute one of several hill tribes within India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In Northeast India, they are present in all states except Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people are the predominant ethnic group of Manipur in Northeast India. They represent about 53% of Manipur's population.

 

Some fifty tribes of Kuki peoples in India are recognised as scheduled tribes

Background of Kuki-Meitei Divide

• The friction started escalating with the advent of the Naga national movement in the 1950s, and the call for an independent Naga nation.
• The Naga insurgency was countered by the rise of insurgent groups among the Meiteis and Kuki-Zomi.
• Kuki-Zomi groups began to militarise, and the Kukis launched their own movement for ‘Kukiland’. However, the Kuki-Zomi demand was for a state within India.
• The Kukiland demand created a rift between the Kuki and Meitei communities.
• The Naga-Kuki clashes of 1993 resulted in cornering of Kukis in one district (Churachandpur) and this led to a sense of insecurity amongst Kukis.

 

The Reason Behind the Recent Unrest

• Last month, the Manipur High Court asked the state government to send a recommendation to the Centre within four weeks on the demand for ST status by the Metei community.
• A 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised (tribals who account for about 40 per cent of the state’s population) to protest the demand of non-tribal Meiteis.
• The violence started with the retaliatory destruction of the Anglo-Kuki War Memorial Gate by Meitei mobs.

 

Why the State government should be held Responsible for the Riots?

• Exclusivistand biased policies over the years set the preparatory ground for these riots.
• Concerted attempts both by the state government and valley-based civil society organisations (CSOs) to dilute the intra-state constitutional asymmetry under Art 371C.
• Attempt to undermine the historical protection for tribal land rights.
  • After several attempts to extend the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1961 (MLR&LR Act) to the hill areas, a controversial Bill (along with two others) was introduced by the state in 2015 to amend this law.
  • These Bills precipitated an unprecedented tribal uprising.
• A series of discriminatory developmental and land-related policies.
  • The declaration of large swathes of land in Kuki-Zomi-Hmar inhabited areas in Southern Manipur as Reserved Forest (RF), Protected Forest (PF), Wildlife Sanctuary (WS), and Wetlands without following established procedures.
  • These policies have direct bearing on existing tribal land rights.
• Lawless law enforcement
  • A series of evictions took place in the past couple of months and several villages and churches in Imphal were razed without following the due process after the Manipur high court dismissed the appeal against state’s refusal to regularise Dak Chitha (land document).

 

Consequence of State Govt's Discriminatory Policies

• Existing asymmetrical institutions like the District Councils and the Hill Areas Committee (HAC), mandated under Article 371C of the Indian Constitution to protect tribal rights and interests, were rendered toothless.
• Further rift between Meitei and Tribals
  • The recent resolutions by the HAC [which tried to negate any action of the state to declare areas as RF, PF, and WS, without its input] invited condemnation from various Meitei CSOs.
  • As civil society groups, both in the hills and valley, became more vocal and aggressive to push their radicalised communal agenda they opened up new sites of conflict.

 

Way Forward

• A mechanism is immediately required to reach out to people across ethnic divides.
• Taking lessons from Jammu and Kashmir there is a need for public dialogue to work on contentious issues and maintain law and order.
• The Union government must take actions to stop infiltration from Myanmar to maintain the demography of the state.

 

Conclusion

Violence in Manipur could have been avoided if the government had stayed above the bias towards the dominant group and not formulated controversial policies which hurt tribals.

 

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Q) What is Article 371C? 

Article 371C came into existence by the 27th amendment of the constitution in 1971. This article deals with the Special Provision with Respect to the state of Manipur. This article authorises the President to provide for the creation of a committee of Manipur Legislative Assembly consisting of members elected from hill areas of the state. The central government can give directions to the state government as to the administration of Hill Areas. 

 

Q) Why is there a sudden increase in infiltration from Myanmar?

Over a period of time, a larger number of Myanmarese people have been crossing border into India illegally. There is a sudden increase in numbers due to military crackdown on civil protestors. Manipur alone shares 390 km of Porous border. This illegal crossings have an effect on demography of the state.

 

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Source: The Indian Express