Silence of PM on Manipur crisis
- Children of a Lesser God ? -

Laiphrakpam ongbi Nirmala Laishram *

During the last State Assembly elections of Manipur in 2022, there was a beeline of Central Ministers, both Cabinet and State, awaiting to visit Manipur. All the Ministers of the ruling regime during their visits highlighted achievements of the saffron party in rebuilding and reshaping the golden land Manipur.

Unfortunately the State has been witnessing foreign sponsored militants cum politically motivated clashes between Zomi-Kuki-Chin-Hmar tribes vs Meitei tribe for nearly two months and there appears to be no respite.

The unfortunate clashes on daily basis have left more than 100 people killed, 500 plus injured, 5000 plus houses torched and about 50,000 people rendered homeless. The State law and order machinery has failed and the people of this ‘golden land’ are suffering.

To add fuel to the crisis 10 MLAs belonging to Kuki community and various Kuki-Chin CSOs are making an unreasonable demand for a separate administration for Kuki dominated areas. Now when people of the beleaguered State require a healing touch from our honourable Prime Minister, he remains a mute spectator, who otherwise is a good orator and expresses his ideas, views and opinion through ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on monthly basis.

When the people of this State are eagerly awaiting his intervention or at least a healing balm-consoling words, there was none from him in any forums including in the last episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’.

Does the Prime Minister feel Manipur is a lesser part of India ?

The silence signifies miniscule importance of Manipur as the State has only 2 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming general elections 2024 as compared to heavy weights like Uttar Pradesh or Odisha where he made an impromptu visit after the tragic rail accident on June 2.

Had the weightage of peoples representatives in India been like the USA where all the 50 States have two senates from each State irrespective of size of the population and where required can veto proposed Bills approved by the House of Representatives, then perhaps the Hon’ble Prime Minster of this great Nation would have intervened during this critical crisis of Manipur.

It is almost one month since the Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah visited the State and his healing balm cum blood money to the families of those killed and injured personnel announced during his visit has failed.

Instead, the Myanmar based terrorists and Kuki militant groups under SoO are becoming bolder and louder day by day indulging in rampant firing, both flat trajectory and area weapons, against defenceless Meitei villagers, besides fortifying cum constructing bunkers in new areas other than their designated camps laid down in SoO agreement.

When the actions of the Union Home Minister have failed to douse the fire in Manipur the onus is on the Prime Minster to intervene immediately, instead he left on five days visit to USA and Egypt without giving an audience even for few minutes to the elected MPs and MLAs of Manipur who are camping in Delhi for last one week or so.

The indifferent attitude of the Prime Minister in not granting audience by sparing few moments, instead leaving for abroad visit is unfortunate. Now the Union Home Minister has called for an all-party meet on June 24th, which could have been done so as soon as he landed at New Delhi post his visit to Manipur in first week of June 2023.

It is a different story that these MLAs and MPs, taking credit for the scheduled all party meet, are preferring to be in Delhi under the garb of meeting the Prime Minister instead of facing the wrath of the public as the people feel that they are not doing enough to control the situation. The fury of angry public in Manipur is worse then a severe storm or earth quake, when unleashed the angry public of Manipur can shake the earth.

In 2008 the conflict involving Bodos and Muslims in Udalguri in Assam left more than 100 people dead and about 1.5 lakh people of various communities refugees in relief camps at Darang, Udalguri, Kharupetia and other places.

However, the violence was doused within a month due to immediate intervention of security forces and timely ground visit of the then Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh, hordes of his Ministers of UPA-2 regime and other political parties, besides other personalities of India. The situation was stabilised by the security forces enabling political cum social dialogue at the political level to resolve the differences between the two communities.

The recent explosive revelations in the form of a letter of June 07th, 2019 addressed to Shri Amit Shah about nexus between UKLF and UPF (both Kuki militant organisations under SoO) with the Saffron Party which was attached as an Exhibit in the affidavit filed in an NIA Court on June 08, 2023 by none other than the Chairman of UKLF has cornered the ruling regime.

In the affidavit it is alleged that the two Kuki militant groups had a tacit agreement with then representatives of BJP viz. Ram Madhav and Himanta Biswa Sarma which ultimately helped two BJP candidates win the Assembly elections in 2017, besides helping the saffron party in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Though, affidavit has not revealed what the Saffron Party has agreed in return, in all probability, with the Centre remaining a mute spectator hesitating to abrogate SoO, would have promised a separate administration, if not for a separate land, for Kuki dominated areas viz. Churachandpur, Chandel and Kangpokpi and peripheral foothill areas around Imphal valley connecting these districts.

If this was the hidden agenda and if the Union Home Minister has any inkling to honour the deal then the Central ruling regime will be playing with fire and must be prepared for the worst situation which may lead to a full-scale civil war in Manipur.

The Manipuris are very sentimental of their ancestral territory, which is a 3000 years old civilization, spanning from Chindwin river (Ningthi) in the East to Barak valley cum Brahmaputra valley in the West and South West. Many lives have been sacrificed in the past to maintain sanctity and integrity of the sacred land, the last being June 18th uprising in 2001 where 18 warriors martyred their lives for the integrity of Manipur.

Despite adequate revelations by various CSOs, people’s elected representatives and electronic medias about indulgence of Kuki militants in violating CFGR and acts of terrorism on daily basis by the Myanmar based militants viz. KNA-B, PDF and KNA, no punitive actions are being taken by the Central Govt.

Why is the External Affairs Minister Mr S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Mr Ajit Doval silent on these issues. Now is the time they must take confidence of their counterparts in Myanmar and warn other countries tacitly supporting the violence in Manipur and initiate full scale punitive actions against the terrorists.

The Prime Minister must break his ‘mourn barat’ with regard to the situation in Manipur, unless the ruling regime headed by Shri Narendra Modi is waiting for the situation to further deteriorate and exploit it for political gains for the upcoming 2024 general elections.

By further remaining silent, he will be playing with the lives of innocent citizens of Manipur, instead he must immediately intervene and bring the situation under control.