Commentary | Rachan Daimary & Jyotirmay Das, Ethnic Conflict in Manipur: The Tribal/Non-Tribal Divide
India’s North Eastern Region (NER) shares its international border with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, and Nepal. The Region is a melting pot of ethnicities and different strands of politics as it is home to a diverse mix of ethnic communities speaking different languages and practising distinct cultures. Furthermore, each community, ‘tribal’ or ‘non-tribal’, has its own politico-historical background, which is not only unique to one another but also does not align with the overall Midland-Indian political perspective. The potpourri of issues in the Region and the callousness with which the Centre deals with them every time further makes the situation in NER extremely volatile.
Once again, NER is reeling under a major communal clash at this very moment. Many lives have been lost and properties destroyed in the last few days. Seeing the matter going out of hand, the Government of India (GoI) has enforced Article 355 in the state and deployed the Rapid Action Force of the Central Reserve Police Force to control the violence and bring peace to the state. Till now more than 14400 arm forces have been deployed.
On 19 April 2023, the High Court of Manipur directed the State Government to submit recommendations to the Union Government for the inclusion of the Meitei/Meetei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST), under the provision of the Indian Constitution and consider the case within four weeks. Of the total population of Manipur, 53% are Hindu Meiteis. They are grouped within the Other Backward Classes (OBC). The rest of the 47% are either STs like the various Naga and Kuki tribes, Scheduled Castes (SC) such as Lois, Yaithabi, and others, and the Meitei Pangal Muslims who are also categorized within the OBCs. There are some other minority communities too.
Compared to these communities, the Hindu Meiteis are considered the most dominant in the state. They have enjoyed a privileged position throughout history. They are overwhelmingly engaged in different sectors, be it public or private. They are socially and economically well off than most communities in the state of Manipur. The Hindu Meiteis predominantly populate the Imphal valley. The surrounding hills are inhabited by the Christian Nagas and Kukis. But in recent times, resource crunch, issues of land encroachment, and differential treatment in education and jobs due to caste-based reservations have resulted in antagonism between the different communities living in the state. This antagonism has resulted in the Hindu Meiteis demanding ST status. Subsequently, other communities in the state are opposing it, especially the Kukis. The latter fear that they will be overpowered by the Meitei majority in matters of land ownership, education, job, and state-sponsored benefits. This opposing view has escalated to a full-fledged riot between the Hindu Meiteis and the Christian Kuki-Zomi-Naga groups. The violence which started in Churachandpur district has eventually engulfed the entire state of Manipur.
The Nexus Between Revolutionists and Drug Dealers
The All Tribal Students’ Union (ATSUM), opposed the proposal of sending a recommendation for the Meitei/Meetie community to be included in the ST list citing “Meitei Tribes as Hindu.” ATSUM organized a "Tribal Solidarity March” against the Meitei across Manipur on 3 May 2023. The march took a violent turn. Churachandpur district, in particular, exhibited some intriguing turn of events. One march in the district was reportedly infiltrated by armed heroin producers and smugglers from Myanmar along with Kuki revolutionists. It was reported that they marched with AK and AR series rifles. These armed miscreants torched houses and villages of the Meiteis in many parts of the district. A Meitei village, which was built in 250 AD during the Khoyum Tompok rule, has been destroyed. The armed rebels and the illegal poppy dealers had a major stake in the violence that was meted out on the Meitei populace. The Meiteis also retaliated against this upsurge of violence. Since 3 May 2023, after the fateful march in Churachandpur, there have been numerous instances of violence and arson in various parts of Manipur.
This brings in a crucial angle to the whole conflict: the role of illegal Myanmarese drug traders. For the last few years, the governments, both at the Centre and State, have been very hard on the illegal drug trade. Stories in the media are making the rounds about mass poppy plantations, where the hills of Manipur have emerged as the epicentres. The Government of Manipur (GoM) alleges that the plantations are being carried out on reserved forest lands and the illegal Myanmarese migrants are heavily invested in them, both as producers and smugglers.
Only 500 of the more than 5,000 Hindu Meiteis and followers of the Sanamahi faith living in the predominantly Christian district of Churachandpur have been evacuated. The rest are being kept captive by Kuki revolutionists with the assistance of armed Kuki civilians. The Suspension of Operations (SoO) Agreement is now in effect between the GoI, GoM, and the Kuki rebels. As a result, Indian paramilitary troops like the Assam Rifles cooperate with the rebels by offering them guns, housing, and food. There is irrefutable evidence of the Assam Rifles providing weapons and ammo to the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) members at Dolaithabi in the Kangpokpi area. The whole act was recorded on surveillance drone videos, which were broadcast by ISTV, a local TV news channel on 7 May 2023. More than 500 homes were destroyed by Kuki insurgents on 3 May at Ikou, Dolaithabi, and Pukhao in Imphal East. Similarly, in a Christian-dominated neighborhood of Moreh town located in the Tengnoupal district, armed Kukis have set practically every Meitei home, business, hotel, and car on fire. Some Meitei survivors have sought sanctuary in Myanmar, but the majority have taken up residence in the Assam Rifles Camp in Khudengtabi. None of them could be moved to safer locations as Kuki insurgents have blocked off transportation and rescue efforts by digging a sizable canal near Khudengtabi on Asian Highway No. 1.
During the ensuing violence, Kuki militants have destroyed the Shiva Temple at Koubrou, Kangpokpi district, and several Sanamahi abodes, including household deities across the state. The violence spread to the foothills of the valley districts, where several Meitei houses were burned by Kuki militants. In retaliation, the Meiteis have vandalized, burned, or destroyed several houses belonging to the Kukis in the municipal areas of Imphal East and West. They have also destroyed or burned down several churches. The affected Kukis were safely sheltered at the campus of the Manipur Rifles and Tulihal Airport. Except for victims who have nowhere to go, all of them have been safely escorted back to their homes.
The Imagining of a Kuki Homeland
The onslaught against the Meiteis in different parts of Manipur was pre-planned and well-organized. Unfolding events show that this is a pre-mediated move spearheaded by the Kuki SoO (Suspension of Operation) militants supported by Kuki high-ranking government officials and Kuki CSOs (ATSUM, KSO, Manipur Tribal Forum Delhi, Kuki Inpi Manipur, etc.). The Meiteis claim that the pogrom was orchestrated by the Kukis to give them a free hand in grabbing land and property belonging to the Meiteis. At the same time, it was instigated by select politicians from the warring Kuki community. On the other hand, responses from both sides were sporadic and directionless akin to mob response for survival. These factors have strengthened the imagination of a Kuki nationhood that needs a definite territory to forge an independent Kuki country. Several Kuki SoO outfits use the word "homeland" in this context. Meities believe, the Kukis are migratory in nature and do not have an ancestral land in Manipur or elsewhere in India. They were brought to Manipur by the British as porters and mercenaries only in the mid-18th century, during the reign of Maharaja Nar Singh of Manipur. Thus, they have been either settling on the land of other communities or illegally encroaching upon Reserve Forests and Protected Forest lands. Time and again, the Kukis have been accused by the Meiteis and other communities of grabbing land in Manipur to achieve their dream of a homeland, as Myanmar and Bangladesh vehemently oppose the claim to the extent of expelling the militants from their respective territories. The claim for an independent Kuki country includes territories in Myanmar (Chin Hills), Bangladesh (Chittagong tract), and India (Manipur and Assam). It is worth noting that two SoO militant groups, the Zomi Revolutionary Organisation (ZRO) and its military wing, the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA), as well as the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and its military wing, the Kuki National Army (KNA), have their origins in Myanmar.
The Way Forward
Till now 20000 people have left the state and taken refuge in the adjoining states of Assam, Nagaland, and Mizoram. Many others are staying in the Army camps within the state. In a recent outbreak, more than 40 extremists have been killed in a joint operation by the Indian army. The Internet service has been suspended in the state. There is an environment of fear looming over the whole state. Measures like instilling fear among the common populace and checking militancy through force can diffuse the conflict only for a few days. The high officials sitting at Delhi and Imphal must appoint an interlocutor or a team of interlocutors and representatives from both communities at the earliest and hold a talk which can guarantee a long-term solution to the Meitei-Kuki issue. Both the Union and State Governments must take some stern recourse to resolve the issue but through a balanced and calculated approach. They must ensure that no more loss of life takes place, whether of civilians or revolutionists and that both the Kuki and Meitei communities’ faith in democracy and egalitarianism is restored.
Dr. Rachan Daimary and Jyotirmay Das are Assistant Professors at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Faculty of Arts, Manipal University Jaipur, India.
To cite this essay, please use the entry suggested below:
Rachan Daimary and Jyotirmay Das, “Ethnic Conflict in Manipur: The Tribal/Non-Tribal Divide,” criticalasianstudies.org Commentary Board, June 21, 2023; https://doi.org/10.52698/TNWX2971.