Trust Between Meiteis And Kukis Is In Shambles

What Manipur is witnessing today is what many states have witnessed in the recent past. It can be countered that the scale of violence is beyond comprehension but many of the processes at work are the same.

It is a sordid tale of pushing people towards polarisation to achieve political, ideological and economic goals. It is a tale of paving the way for plundering the wealth endowed by nature for a few select corporate entities. And it all begins by shredding the social fabric once again in this tiny hill state.

It is not that the people do not understand what is going on but their battle for survival has pushed everything to the backburner. Ethnic strife is nothing new to the North East but the manner it has been ‘sponsored’ is something that continues to baffle the people.

There are many questions that come to the fore. Could the people see these horrors coming? Why is it that it is the women who have been subjected to the most ghastly violence when the general perception about the state is that of a rare region where matriarchal values are held in high esteem? There are layers and layers that need to be understood.

“Going by the scale of violence that has been allowed to take place since the first week of May, the trust between the Meiteis and the Kuki Zo community is in shambles. It will take years for them to come together, even if the violence stops immediately. What is actually happening in the hills has not been reported till now,” pointed out a social activist from the North East who is well versed with the dynamics of the state.

Sources point out that the people from the hills who want to flee to neighbouring Assam have been taking a longer route through Mizoram. They are travelling in fear for over 20 hours as they have been unable to take flights from Imphal.

“We never expected things to escalate to this level. The two communities have lived together, even persons from one community have married those from the other. We have been close culturally. What is happening is a well planned strategic move,” pointed out Lalboi Neihsial who is the vice president of the World Kuki Zo Intellectual Council.

He explained that over the last two decades there have been regular attempts made to take over the hill tracts in the state where the Kuki and Naga tribes are in majority.

“This process was triggered by the scientists of the Geological Survey of India discovering a huge amount of oil and mineral wealth in the hills. The hills have oil, natural gas, minerals and even ruby and sapphire reserves. We are aware of the negotiations that have taken place with many corporate houses to tap these resources.

“At the same time there is the international dimension of India’s strategic aspirations where it is keen to connect with Myanmar, Laos and Thailand through both roadways and railways. This is obviously to contain China and its interests in the region.

“But the question here is that why are things being hidden from the rightful owners and inhabitants of these hills,” Neihsial questioned while pointing towards the repeated attempts to deny the rights embedded in the Article 371 of the Indian constitution for the communities.

The Kukis have been stating that they are numerically at a loss in the state. The Meities account for around 50% of the population and the Nagas account for another more than 25%.

The overwhelming numerical strength of the Meities who are predominantly Hindus has also translated into the majoritarian communal politics. With the tribals largely following Christianity, this numerical ‘imbalance’ has given yet another dimension to the ethnic strife.

They have been accusing the successive state governments of trying to use the mechanism of declaring reserved and protected forests to deny them their rights. This according to them goes with the amendment made to the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act in 1975 that has hurt their traditional rights and interests.

In a memorandum addressed to the Secretary General of the United Nations earlier this month, the World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council has stated, “The Government of Manipur encroached on Kuki Tribal Lands through the mechanism of Reserved Forest (RF) Protected Forest (PF) and Wild Life Sanctuaries (WLS). For this purpose, the Department of Forest, Government of Manipur has been continuously encroaching on the lands belonging to the Kukis and Nagas, totally disregarding the norms for proper land acquisition.

“For instance, there was no public notification for claims and objections, if any, from public and tribal chiefs within stipulated period(s) of time, etc. In this regard, the Government of Manipur published gazettes randomly and passed several laws in the Meitei majority Manipur Legislative Assembly Session (41 Meitei MLAs and 19 Tribal MLAs).

“All Tribal lands in the Hills of Kangpokpi, Tamenglong Noney, Tengnoupal Chandel, Churachandpur and Pherzawl District are never given any compensation(s) and are unilaterally declared as Reserved Forest, Protected Forest and Wildlife Sanctuary respectively. Adding salt to the wounds of tribal sentiments, even plain portions where district headquarters towns are located too were declared as wetlands, (as if ethnic Kukis can live in the air between Heaven and Earth).”

Similar memorandums have also been addressed to the European Union and other international bodies.

According to the Kukis the present government under Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has a lot to explain when it comes to the rise of Meitei militia in the last few years that has been openly calling for Kuki genocide. On Wednesday, Singh had reportedly stated that his government is not against the Kuki community but the drug cartels operating in the state.

“Till Today, the genocide activities of Meitei Leepun and Arambai Tenggol (militia organizations) along with state forces are taking up offensive activities in different parts of Manipur, bordering the hill districts in Manipur of Kuki dominated regions. It is pertinent to state that these radicalised groups and state armed forces are continuing their genocidal activities and burnt houses in the villages in Manipur,” the WKZIC memorandum stated.