Illegal immigrants & Manipur violence
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: September 06 2023 -

Obvious as it is, Union Home Minister Amit Shah went on record stating on the floor of the Lok Sabha that illegal immigrants have a strong hand in the Manipur violence which erupted on May 3, 2023.

As reported in the Hindu, Mr Shah traced the current series of events to the military junta's takeover in neighbouring Myanmar, which was opposed by the Kuki Democratic Front in that country, and which led to an influx of Kuki refugees into both Mizoram and Manipur.

With none other than the Union Home Minister admitting the grave issue of influx of illegal immigrants from the neighbouring country, that too on the floor of the Parliament, the situation demands a serious re-thinking and also prompt concrete actions.

The indigenous people as well as the Government should have gauged the gravity of the situation when a Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by Tribal Affairs Minister Letpao Haokip found as many as 2,187 illegal immigrants inside Manipur early this year.

According to a report submitted by the Cabinet Sub-Committee to the State Government on April 24, 2023 just 10 days before the Kuki militants launched a fierce offensive against the Meitei civilian population, 1,147 Myanmar immigrants were found in 13 locations in Tengnoupal district, 881 in three locations in Chandel district, 154 in Churachandpur district and five in Kamjong district.

The influx went on even during the height of the violent crisis. Assam Rifles reported that 718 fresh illegal immigrants had entered the New Lajang area in Chandel on July 22-23.

From all these reports, it is very clear that there is large-scale influx of immigrants from Myanmar to Manipur.

If there is migration of people in any direction, there must be certain push and pull factors.

Military coup and subsequent political instability and repression in the neighbouring country may roughly constitute the push factors.

But what are the pull factors? This is one area which demands thorough analysis and introspection by all stakeholders including the Government of India.

The indigenous people's demand for updating the National Register of Citizens or NRC in short with respect to Manipur assumes momentous significance in the backdrop of the growing reports of influx from Myanmar and the ongoing turmoil in the State.

It would be a very costly blunder if the indigenous people's movement against immigration from neighbouring countries is construed as driven by xenophobia.

When migration transforms into exodus and influx between the place of origin and the destination, the process breeds an inherent threat perception.

This has been already noted by Union Home Minister Amit Shah when he stated on the floor of the Lok Sabha that the influx created a deep sense of insecurity among the indigenous people.

Now it's time for the Government of India to take up effective measures so as to prevent any further influx of illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries into India in general and Manipur in particular.

At the same time, all illegal immigrants who are already here in Manipur must be identified without any delay.

Updating the NRC can be one effective tool towards this end.

The same exercise, if done now, may also help in ascertaining the identity of the aggressors who have access to an endless supply of arms and ammunition, as demonstrated by their over four months old politico-military campaign which has not yet shown any sign of ebbing.

To put an end to the protracted violence, it is essential to trace the origins and sources of the weapons and ammunition being used by the aggressors upon Meitei people quite prodigally.

If the arms and ammunition of militant groups under SoO are intact under lock and key as claimed by security agencies, then where do these weapons come from?

It only implies that there is an alternative source of weapons, that too an abundant one.

Do the illegal immigrants have a hand in ensuring interrupted supply of arms and ammunition to the aggressors?