Digging one’s own grave: The Radicalised Meiteis must pay a heavy price for what they have done

Meitei, the dominant community in Manipur, is a relatively homogenous society, all speaking the same language, Manipuri (Meitei Lon), as their mother tongue. However, with too many organisations with diverse opinions, they are often disorganised and divided. Beginning with the merger of Manipur with India in 1949, the community leaders were and are always divided on any issue confronting them. 

Back in April 1980, the All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) launched an Anti-Foreigners’ Movement with an aim to deport alleged “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh and Nepalis (Gorkhas) from Nepal. The latter were actually protected by the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship, 1950. The hate campaign against the Nepalis almost turned into an ethnic cleansing pogrom in the 1980s which was soon diverted, due to the backing of Government of India, towards the Pangals (Manipuri Muslims). This resulted in the May Riot of 1993 with about 200 deaths and 400 odd houses razed to the ground. 

Again in 2001, the extension of Indo-Naga ceasefire to all the Naga inhabited areas, which was ferociously opposed by the Meiteis, not only resulted in the death of 18 protesters in Imphal, but also forced more than 40,000 Nagas to flee from Imphal. The fear psychosis created in the minds of the Nagas living in Imphal resulted in the demand for “Alternative Arrangement” in 2010 under the aegis of United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of the Nagas of Manipur, whose objective was to completely severe ties with the “communal” Meitei Government. 

In 2012, the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) was formed, and in 2015, a series of agitation was launched in the name of ILP with the tacit design to further marginalise the minority tribal communities. In the process, the State Assembly was somehow forced to pass three anti-tribal bills. The year-long agitation for and against these bills, though later rejected by the President for being unconstitutional, ended with the death of nine protesters in Lamka and one in Imphal. Meanwhile, the signing of the Framework Agreement on August 3, 2015 had created a lot of apprehension among the Meiteis. 

However, after the Naga People’s Front (NPF) became part of N. Biren Singh’s government in 2017, Meitei CSOs, including Meira Paibis and COCOMI, began frequenting Hebron in a bid to lure the Naga leadership on their side. In a few years time, the Meiteis and the Manipur Nagas found a new bonhomie which culminated with Mr Biren Singh formally declaring Tangkhuls (biggest Manipur Naga tribe) and Meiteis as brothers. 

In the meantime, the radicalised think-tanks within the majority Meitei community began plotting the plan to wage a war against the minority Kuki-Zo community by first vilifying the “Kuki” community and discrediting their histories. Imphal based media houses and Meitei social media handles often took the lead in this campaign, aimed at tarnishing the image of the Kukis. They often ignored the poppy plantations, deforestations, hate speech on social media, and drug peddlers arrested in Naga areas, but those in the Kuki areas were selectively shared en masse. Colonies in Imphal dominated by the Kuki-Zo communities, including churches, were issued show-cause notices or eviction orders one after another, and hills and forests owned by their chiefs became an easy target for the vigilante groups. To make it appear non-communal, some employees who were responsible for issuing the documents were suspended. On February 20, 2023, K.Songjang village in Churachandpur district was forcefully evicted on the ground that it encroached upon a Reserved Forest. In a similar case, three churches belonging to the Kuki-Zo in Tribal Colony, Imphal, were evicted in the wee hours of April 11, 2023, and a Naga church within the same campus was left untouched. Any comment critical of the chief minister on social media was considered an attack on the whole Meitei community, and were despised. Between 2021 and early 2023, about a hundred Kuki youths were either arrested or forced to apologize, for simple Facebook comments and leaked WhatsApp messages. This crusade was accompanied by a mass mobilisation to delegitimise the indigeneity of the Kukis through selective readings of colonial writings and hate campaigns. All these selective targeting of the Kukis pleased both the Meiteis and the Manipur Nagas alike. 

The open campaign to demonise the Kuki-Zo was led by Meitei organisations such as COCOMI, Kangleipak Kanba Lup (KKL), Federation of Haomee (FOH), World Meitei Council (WMC), International Meitei Forum (IMF), Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), and others with the open support of the state government. Simultaneously, the Kukis were branded as illegal immigrants, forest encroachers, poppy cultivators, and drug peddlers. 

As part of the larger plan, Meitei CSOs such as UCM were side-lined for having close ties with the Kuki organisations. The removal of AFSPA and the inclusion of a long stretch of hill areas within the jurisdiction of valley police stations, establishment of new police outposts in the peripheral areas, and many other such policies taken up by the state government were not mere coincidences. 

Whereas the Manipur Nagas were lured with development funds and projects, the Kuki chiefs and landowners were given show-cause notices and eviction orders as done in the valley. In January-February 2023, gun license holders in the Kuki-dominated districts such as Churachandpur and Kangpokpi were asked to deposit their weapons and its licence, for updation and verification. According to The Wire, 8000 gun licences were issued mostly in the valley since Mr. Biren Singh came to power in 2017. Behind the scene, deceitful tribal leaders were lured with instant gratification, and the Kuki armed groups under Suspension of Operations (SoO) were kept in abeyance. 

With much of the preparation done, the stage was perhaps set for a full blown ethnic cleansing campaign by early 2023. Any attempt to halt this project was to be stopped, by any means necessary. So, when the All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) announced its plan to organise a mass rally on May 3, 2023 against the directive of the high court of Manipur to the state government to send its recommendation for ST status for the Meiteis, the Meitei think-tanks probably thought it was the right time to strike. Immediately, volunteers and Meira Paibis were stationed along the roads connecting Imphal and hill districts on May 2, 2023, and all the Kuki-Zo travelling towards the hill districts were halted. 

This strategy was corroborated by Mr. Pramod Singh, the chief of Meetei Leepun (ML) in his interviews multiple times. He had also stated on his Facebook post, on record a week before the violence started that it was time to annihilate their traditional enemies in the hills. On May 3, the peaceful rally was organised in all the hill districts without any incident of violence. So, in order to ignite the first spark and provoke the Kukis, the Centenary Memorial Gate of Anglo-Kuki War at Lamsang, Churachandpur, was covertly burnt by a few Meitei goons around 3-4 pm. After the Kuki- Zo districts were selectively targeted, soon, the Naga executives of ATSUM slowly disappeared. This was followed by Meitei mobs advancing towards Kangvai in Lamka and Gamgiphai in Kanggui. Later in the evening, the whole Imphal witnessed huge riots, and burning of Kuki-Zo villages in the peripheral areas also began. 

Since day one, the Kuki-Zo have been pointing fingers at Mr Biren Singh, Leishemba Sanajaoba, Arambai Tenggols, Meitei Leepun, and the Meitei CDOs, for spearheading attacks on their lives and properties. They never blamed the whole Meitei community. Also, since Kuki-Zo were not aware about the plan, they did not touch even a single civilian in their dominated areas. In contrast, the Meitei community attacked any Kuki-Zo including women, children and elderly persons in their areas. If it were not for the extreme risk taken by kind-hearted individuals belonging to different communities, particularly the Nagas and Pangals, and the yeomen service rendered by the Indian Army, thousands of Kuki-Zo who were held-up in Imphal could have been killed. 

Yet, rumours circulated among the Meiteis including those fake news about Meitei women being raped and murdered in Churachandpur had indoctrinated the innocent minds. Within a week, the highly charged mobs often led by Arambai Tenggol and Manipur Police Commandos resulted in countless incidents of brutal killing, rape and murder, and destruction of properties in and around Imphal. The Meira Paibis and Arambai Tenggols often led rallies where slogans such as “Kuki tumna hatkadabani” (We will kill all the Kukis) are openly chanted, and popular artist like TAPTA (Jayenta Loukrakpam) releases genocidal songs. 

Apart from these inhumane atrocities, a number of police armouries were raided in which thousands of sophisticated weapons and lakhs of ammunition including explosives were looted. The police, instead of protecting the armouries, helped the mobs in taking away arms and ammunition. Moreover, since AFSPA was lifted from the valley police stations and the current crisis is treated as law and order problem, and since neither Article 355 nor Article 356 were officially implemented, the duty of the central forces including the Indian Army have been limited to assist the state police. 

Within a few weeks time, Imphal was cleansed of Kuki- Zo, and thousands of arms were now in the hands of the Meitei militia. It was then time for the COCOMI to declare “Manipuri National War” on June 7, 2023. The same was echoed by the Meitei CM on more than one occasion as he repeatedly assured that it was his government’s duty to fight on behalf of the people. For this, the whole state force was authorised to lead from the front. 

Meanwhile, the Arambai Tenggol was strengthened with thousands of new recruits taking oath of allegiance every week. These militia groups were often assisted by VBIGs returning from their hideouts in Myanmar. To make things worse, the Pambei faction of UNLF entered into a Peace Agreement with the Centre and the State on November 29, 2023. Since then, the erstwhile outlawed organisation began to move freely in full arms often leading the assault on Kuki-Zo villages located along the peripheral areas. 

Now, the Meiteis, with the open and full support of the state government have done whatever they could. They have totally cut themselves off from the Kuki-Zo. The Nagas, on the other hand, are already impatient of the repeated atrocities meted out to them. Even the Muslims have had enough of inhumane treatments against them. The crime against humanity committed by the Meiteis can neither be forgotten nor erased from history. 

As the Kukis are resolute in their demand for a Separate Administration, the Nagas of Manipur, with the exception of some myopic individuals, would prefer to be politically independent of the Meiteis. Whether the Kukis and Nagas come together as one, or fight as partners, they will soon find a way for a common goal, while Mr Biren Singh and his band will soon be left at the mercy of the Meitei populace to decide their fate. Anyway, the radicalized section within the Meitei community will ultimately pay a heavy price for what they have done to the minority Kuki-Zo and other communities who are not even party to the ongoing ethnic violence.

[Note: Shorter version was published in Thingkho le Malcha (KSO Bulletin) on 10-2-2024]