Fear of a Manipur-like crisis in Maharashtra
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: July 31, 2024 -

FAR away from the tiny north eastern Indian state of Manipur, which has been roiled by an unprecedented ethnic violence that broke out on May 3 last year after people of Kuki-Chin community clashed with the Meetei/Meitei after a rally conducted to oppose ruling by the Manipur High Court pertaining to the latter's demand for recognition as scheduled tribe (ST); it is interesting to note that Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar has ignited a political row when he said that a 'Manipur-like' situation could potentially erupt even in Maharashtra.

Addressing a Social Unity Conference in Navi Mumbai on Sunday evening, Pawar slammed the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mishandling of the ethnic clash in Manipur, which has so far claimed hundreds of precious human lives and led to displacement of thousands of families on both sides of the clash, forcing them to seek shelter in relief camps. In his address, Pawar said, "The prime minister never felt the need to visit Manipur in the wake of social disturbances in the north-eastern state and console people. Such incidents also occurred in neighbouring states, especially in Karnataka.

There is a concern in the state (Maharashtra) in recent period that such a thing will happen. Everyone should work to create 'eksangha rashtra' (united nation) going beyond caste, creed and religion."

Not stopping with that, Pawar went on to highlight how a small state, where people lived in harmony for generations, has become restless and a conflict between two communities saw houses being set afire, destruction of houses, and abuse of women. People of the two communities, who have been living together and maintaining dialogue for generations, are now unwilling to speak with each other.

This is indeed a fair assessment of the current situation in Manipur and he hit on the nail, when reminding "It is the responsibility of rulers to resolve and address such a huge crisis and assure people, foster unity and maintain law and order.

Unfortunately, today's rulers have not even looked at this crisis. Despite so much turmoil, the Prime Minister of the country didn't feel the need to visit Manipur and console people".

Predictably, these stinging remarks from Pawar have not gone down well with the Maharashtra unit of BJP, which is power in that state.

On Monday, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekar Bawankule slammed Pawar and described his remarks as inappropriate.

Talking to reporters in Nagpur, Bawankule said, "He (Pawar) used language that could instigate riots, but the people of Maharashtra are intelligent and won't resort to rioting. Some people are trying to create a rift between communities and staging agitations."

He also demanded Pawar to explain the motive behind talking about the possibility of a 'Manipur-like' situation in Maharashtra.

It is true that Pawar did not specify the reason for his assessment during his address in the Navi Mumbai event.

But coming as it is days after he flagged the "rift" among communities over the Maratha-OBC quota tussle and recent criticism by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who dubbed the veteran Maratha politician a "corruption ringleader," one can clearly see from where his apprehension has stemmed.

As a matter of fact, Pawar is not alone when it comes to expressing concern of a potential Manipur-like situation erupting in Maharashtra.

Way back in September, 2023, All Indian Maratha Mahasangh, which is an umbrella body of the Maratha community, had warned the BJP-led Maharashtra government that "if it does not want to turn Maharashtra into a Manipur, then it should immediately resolve the perennial Maratha reservation issue as early as possible".

Having said that, we, nonetheless, feel that the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president as well as the pro-Maratha reservation lobby group have fallen short in their respective 'fair' assessments of the crisis in Manipur by ascribing the nearly 15 months long ethnic violence solely to the ST status demand of the Meetei/Meitei.

The truth is, it was just an opportune moment that the Kuki-Chin people had been waiting for to trigger the conflict so as to push their hidden agenda of creating a separate homeland based on the false hope given by some central leaders of the BJP during election time to secure their support.