The gruesome video of the two tribal women, sexually molested and raped has done what the cries of thousands of Kuki-Zomi tribals have failed. Today the country is aware that the state of Manipur has been burning since May 3.
Contrary to the claims of the Solicitor General that the government is handling the situation at a very mature level, more than 6,000 FIRs await investigation.
Lately through the judicious interference of the Supreme Court, a sense of closure may begin to prevail for the victims. A quick recap of the series of events may help understand the situation with more clarity.
On April 11, three churches that stood for almost five decades were officially demolished before sunrise in Imphal. This followed the state’s declaration of huge swathes of tribal areas as ‘protected forests’ without adherence to due process and mandatory consultations, leading to razing down of some villages in quick succession without any facilities of rehabilitation for the concerned villagers.
Undoubtedly these evictions resulted in a hill-wide protest rally against the high-handed actions of the state government in March 2023. Meanwhile, on March 27, the Manipur High Court issued an order directing the Manipur government to send recommendations to the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs for inclusion of Meiteis in the ST list.
On June 19, the Supreme Court observed that inclusion or exclusion of any community in the reservation list was Parliament’s prerogative, on which the President or the High Court have no say. It was against this order of the Manipur HC in March, that a tribal solidarity peace rally was organised by the All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM).
The partisan attitude of the state government time and again, made it rather clear that the underlying intention of the state was to take over tribal landholdings which, even if Constitutionally protected, were no longer safe. The abrupt spark to the mayhem on May 3 was the destruction of the Anglo-Kuki War Memorial Gate in Leisang followed by the burning of Kangvai village by Meitei mobs who ran amok before one could apprehend the situation.
In less than 48 hours, the state witnessed rampant looting, burning of tribal inhabited villages, houses of Kuki Zomi tribals and ransacking over 300 churches particularly in the Imphal valley by the Meitei groups.
Military reinforcement tactic was adopted to crush the violence that undoubtedly exposed a long underlying fault line on ethnicity within the state.
Suspension on internet connection continues. Nine out of 16 districts in the state are under curfew. There is no official death toll but images from hospital morgues have begun to surface which clearly shows the number of deaths to be numerous.
It is pertinent to note that in 2015, amendment to 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 in a “special session” of the Assembly resulting in the death of nine tribal protestors, seven of who were killed in the police firings.
Over 600 days, as a sign of profound protest, the dead bodies were seen as “martyrs” serving as a renewed force of unity amongst the tribal to resist
any attempt to permeate into tribal lands.
The sense of neglect in the tribal areas has been obvious. Ranging from budget allocation to lack of infrastructures, hospitals, institute of learning etc given that even the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) under Article 371 ( C) for tribal area governance have remained redundant since 1973.
After over 21 years since inception, ADCs were briefly revived when elections were held in 2010. But again, elections have been pending since May 31, 2020. Instead, the government symbolically reinstated the dissolved ADCs by retaining the chairpersons as “caretakers”.
The manner in which the violence has unfolded since May follows a structural pattern wherein the looting and burning of villages, houses and churches have been simultaneous. The failure to control this clearly portrays the absence of political will towards accountability by the Chief Minister Biren Singh who continues in his position till day.
This indicates a peculiar situation from a Constitutional law point of view, that in the absence formal proclamation under Article 355 and imposing of President’s Rule, the deployment of over 40,000 central paramilitary forces in the state under the unified command of Kuldiep Singh, security advisor to Singh, raises intense apprehension if these forces are to function merely as an aid to the partisan attitude of the state in maintaining “law and order”.
The Constitution empowers the President with the necessary powers to meet emergencies. Article 352 authorises the President to proclaim Emergency on being “satisfied that a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India, or of any part of the territory thereof is threatened, whether by war or external aggression or internal disturbance”.
In such a situation, the Central executive is empowered to give directions to any State as to the manner in which it should exercise its executive power. Article 355 imposes a two-fold duty on the Union: Protection to the state against external aggression and internal disturbance, and to ensure that every state is governed constitutionally.
Article 356 is particularly designed to meet situations where a State government may act to subvert the Constitution and the democratic ideals set forth therein. An inalienable precondition for the imposition of President’s Rule (PR) is the receipt of a report from the concerned Governor on the failure of the state to function in accordance with the constitutional principles.
Clearly, if there is internal disturbance rendering it impossible for the state to function constitutionally, the duty is discharged by the declaration of an emergency under Art. 352.
What is astonishing is the reluctance of the Central Government to douse the fires in Manipur, even after three months. What is the reason for this reluctance?
There is no doubt that the women were victimised owing to their Kuki-Zomi ethnicity.
In a response to an RTI seeking reasons for non imposition of PR, on August 1, the Ministry of Home Affairs categorically pleaded ignorance to any notification issued under Article 355 between January to June 13, 2023. The failure of the “double engine” government by the BJP is unquestionably clear.
The complicity and partisan attitude of N. Biren Singh’s leadership has manifested sharply beyond reasonable doubt. There has been no effort by the state towards any trust building mechanisms.
The new extreme revivalist and militant outfits like the Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun calling out on national media for ‘annihilation’ ‘blowing up’, and countless examples of hate speech, against the tribal Kuki Zomi communities have not been reprimanded to say the least.
The Civil Society Organisations standing for Manipur’s ‘integrity’, the COCOMI has proclaimed a ‘Manipuri National War’ against the entire Kuki-Zomi community as ‘narco-terrorists’. The Meira Paibis have adopted the tactics of acting as human shields, and threatening to disrobe themselves to shame the security forces to prevent them from discharging their duty in preventing attacks by militant groups against the minority community.
In one case, 12 cadres of a proscribed separatist organisation along with a ‘most wanted’ terrorist mastermind of a 2015 attack against an Indian Army unit that killed 18 soldiers were released at the intervention of a local legislator and Meira Paibi women. Shockingly, there are documented cases of even Meira Paibi women, some caught on camera, calling for the rape of Kuki-Zomi women (reportedly on the basis of disinformation of similar acts elsewhere).
On August 1, the Supreme Court’s remark on the “complete failure” of the state machinery was certainly a departure from the claims of the Solicitor General (SG) who in all his reports to the Court, on the ground situation in Manipur, has continuously claimed that normalcy was returning.
The SC pointed to the “tardy” attitude of the State Police towards the 6000+ FIRs that await investigation. The SC’s question on the state’s failure to act is itself a welcome break from the lull of an otherwise partisan narrative in this context.
In pursuant to the observations made by the Apex court, in the latest hearing on August 7, a committee headed by Justice Gita Mittal (former Chief Justice of J&K High Court), Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi (former Bombay HC judge) and Justice Asha Menon (former Delhi HC judge) has been constituted to “look at diverse aspects on humanitarian nature”. This could not have been better timed, towards restoring the rule of law and some confidence building to begin with.
The suggested judicial oversight on the investigation of the numerous FIRs relating to sexual violence by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in addition to five officers not below the rank of Dy. SP drawn from other States to assist the CBI, the Apex Court is well deserving of applause, in cautiously diving into the nature of the crimes in the given situation of the State and not generalising the crimes is a clear endeavour to ensure that “there is a sense of faith and an overall feeling of objectivity”.
With regard to other FIRs pending investigation, the cases are to be divided under 42 Special Investigation Teams (SITs) to be supervised by police officers of the DIG rank, and at least one inspector from another State Police force. Hopefully, now a sense of justice and perhaps closure (even in the absence of incriminating videos as evidence) may begin to prevail for victims subjected to the savagery of attacks which are unprecedented.
These include, the custodial death of 22-year-old Hanglalmuan arrested for a Facebook post on April 29, and later informed by the police to have been killed by the mob on May 3, on the way to Manipur Central Jail in Imphal; the rape and killing of two girls employed in a car wash in Imphal; the seven-year-old boy hit by a bullet inside a camp, accompanied by his mother and another woman, burnt alive in an ambulance on their way to a medical centre on June 4; the beheading of 22-year old David Thiek on July 3, whose killer’s seen in a photo walking around with the severed head; gunning down of a 62-year-old Schizophrenic woman suspected of being ‘a suicide bomber’.
In all these cases and many more FIRs had been duly registered. Any deliberate attempt on the part of a government to stifle the voice of democracy is perhaps more dangerous than occasional violation of the letters of the Constitution
The spirit of the Constitution is not an abstract sentiment mildly desired. Vibhuti Narain Rai, author of the book ‘Shahar Mein Curfew’, says “in communal violence, the police are never seen to be a friend by the minorities. And if at all the police and administration are unable to control a riot within 24 hours, it only indicates the lack of political will.” This undoubtedly has been the case since May 2023.
Nevertheless, the wisdom of the Supreme Court in handling the state of affairs with utmost diligence is promising for many who may now begin to feel hopeful.
Dr. Mercy K Khaute Guite teaches at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. Views expressed here are the writer’s own.