Manipur Violence

Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh has apologised to the people of his state for the loss of lives due to the ethnic violence during the last 20 months. The ethno-religious conflict has devastated the lives of the people. Manipur comprises of nearly 34 to 35 recognised tribes with their ethnic identities. Biren Singh has apologised on New Year’s Eve with a hope for peace and prosperity in Manipur. Manipuri society has been polarised to the worst possible extent with people facing genocidal attrition. The state has been witnessing an open confrontation between Meitei and Kuku groups. These clashes have been catalysed by religious overtones. Meitei’s have been accusing that Kuki’s are being patronised by the evangelical forces to change the demography of Manipur. The Home Ministry’s annual report for 2023-2024 has underlined that 77 per cent have taken place in Manipur alone in 2023 when it comes to the statistics of the North Eastern states of India. Out of 243 incidents of violence in the North East, 187 incidents have occurred in Manipur. These incidents have taken the toll of both the civilians and the security forces deputed to restore the law and order in the state. Till November 2024,the number of incidents related violence have been reported up to 2023.Counterinsurgency operations in 2023 led to elimination of 33 insurgents,184 insurgents were arrested besides the recovery of 49 weapons. It is pertinent to mention that the insurgency in Manipur has the patronisation from Myanmar. One of the major insurgent groups United Liberation Front (UNLF) has been conducting its terrorist activities from there. Though the Central Government and the State Government had inked a peace agreement with one of the factions of UNLF but still there is no halt to the secessionist activities. One thing is clear that Manipur needs a multi-pronged policy to tackle the terrorist onslaught that is thriving on the ethnic conflict and has been exploited in the name of religion, leading to social disintegration. Foreign powers have been meddling in the ethnic tensions and this has led to the continuous ethno-religious conflict that has kept both development and peace hostage. Last year witnessed an unprecedented violence that was nothing short of genocide with law and order totally missing. What makes the situation worse in Manipur is that the ethnic violence is being orchestrated by the private armies that have the patronage of foreign powers with fascist evangelical objectives to alter the demography of Manipur. This has created desperation among the indigenous groups, who feel that their tribal identity is being attacked and their cultural space is being shrinked. This insecurity needs to be addressed so that subversive powers that want to keep Manipur boiling must be given no chance to exploit the religious fault lines. Last year this unprecedented violence had caused desperation across the nation and there were apprehensions of polarisation that could affect the public opinion seeking justice for the persecuted people. Social media was flooded with the posts and the groups were created that resented the foreign interference in Manipur and its indigenous culture. It is an open secret now that China has been catalysing the subversive activities in Manipur. As it wants to destabilise India’s North East to keep India embroiled in the internal conflict. As it suits its strategic imperative to stop the Indian rise. Things don’t stop at that. Even the West has been fishing in Manipur to harvest the souls through its various evangelical missions by altering the demography to subvert the indigenous culture. Central Government must devise a proactive policy that addresses all these issues comprehensively this year. So that peace and harmony is restored in Manipur at the earliest.