Helpless Meiteis in their own land, Manipur

Oinam Nabakishore Singh *

Helpless Meiteis in their own land, Manipur :: Pix - TSE / Oinam Nabakishore Singh

Knowing one's history is helpful in knowing oneself. Achievements and failures of one's forefathers even in the long past period will inspire the new generation in their pursuit of goals. This is true for any and all ethnic groups and communities. Meiteis in Manipur are now living in a state of helplessness due to the circumstances prevailing now. They have become metaphorically beggars in their own land now.

The valour and strength of Meitei kings are narrated in the royal chronicles and books of history of Manipur. "Manipur (Meitei Kathe) Settlements in Myanmar" edited by Naing Soe and translated by Nyan Moe & M Burhagohain gives an account of wars between Manipur and Burmese kings in the last six hundred years and settlements of Meitei (called Kathe by Burmese) in many different areas in Burma.

Mutua Bahadur, an eminent scholar on art and craft of different ethnic groups and Meitei settlements in Bangladesh, Myanmar and India writes on page 17-18 of the book mentioned above, "During the reign of the Meitei King Senbi Kiyamba (1467-1508), the borders of Manipur extended till Ningthi Turel (Chindwin River).

According to the map by Henry Yule (1590), the Manipuri borderlands extended till the Chindwin River which is located at the northern point of Manipur. The Manipuri King Gharib Nawaz raided into the territories of Ava and brought Burmese captives back to Manipur".

What is significant in these historical accounts is the spirit of courage and patriotism among the Meitei leaders and common people to defeat any enemy regardless of the strength of the latter. The same spirit was displayed in the Anglo-Manipur war of 1891 fought by Meitei soldiers against the well-armed and organized troops of the British on three fronts.

It has been evident from sacrifices made by thousands of Meitei soldiers that freedom is above everything else. Merger of Manipur State with Dominion of India in 1949 is resented by many people in the State. There are many instances of armed rebellion by Meitei groups on the ground of "loss of independence of Manipur" after merger with the Indian State.

The present arrangement of the relationship between Manipur and Indian Union is rejected by such groups and they claim that "Manipur is under colonial rule of India". It is natural for human beings to look back at their past actions and analyze them if they were responsible for the present state of affairs. Hill areas of Manipur are sparsely populated.

Almost all Meitei population live in the flat valley areas for economic, social and cultural reasons leaving the hill areas to hill dwellers. Chin-Kuki people, who were driven out by more powerful kindred from Chin State in Myanmar and Lushai Hills in India moved to Assam and Manipur over the last two hundred years and settled there.

Manipur kings and successive Governments in the State paid little attention to such migration as it did not harm the economy and social life in the valley.

Better amenities and facilities like job reservation, social safety benefits from the Government, availability of vast swathes of land with forest cover attracted lakhs of migrants mainly from Chin State of Myanmar to Manipur and hundreds of new villages sprang up in the last few decades.

What was seen an innocuous act became more virulent and aggressive. New settlers being migrants, who are ever willing to adopt all kinds of means to survive in the midst of new environment took to illegal ways of making money. They brought the seeds of poppy plants from Myanmar and started widespread plantation of poppy by clearing forests.

When the Government of Manipur destroyed the poppy plantation, they resented the action by the State. Finally, they chose to boycott Manipur Government and drove out Meitei settlers in the foothills and Moreh. In fact, there was no Kuki village at Moreh fifty years back. After the conflict started between Kuki-Chin-Zo people and Meitei people after the Tribal Solidarity March on the 3rd May, 2023, Meitei in the valley have been rendered helpless.

The popular Government of BJP in the State remained both ineffective and servile. The power of maintenance of law and order of the State was virtually handed over to the Security Advisor. Chief Minister of Manipur, Shri N Biren Singh, admitted publicly that he was not given any intelligence on the security situation in the State.

Instead of asserting his authority under the Constitution, Shri N Biren Singh remained silent. It was only when some MLAs of his own party revolted against his leadership that he tendered his resignation. Because of infighting, BJP MLAs could not agree on a new Chief Minister among them as many contenders emerged for the same post.

Consequently, President's Rule was imposed in the State since February 13, 2025. The incident of removal of words, "Manipur State Transport" from the label on the windscreen of the bus of State Government carrying journalists to Ukhrul at Gwaltabi by the soldiers of Mahar Regiment has angered Meiteis.

Banning bus with label "Manipur" is reckoned to be an act by the Government aimed at extinguishing the existence of Manipur. Protests and strikes calling upon the Governor of Manipur to tender apology has affected normal life. After the Governor left Imphal for Delhi during the protests, there is no one in authority to listen to the grievances of the people of the State.

Who is to blame for the present state of affairs ? Are not the MLAs of BJP and its allies responsible for creating a vacuum of governance in the State leaving people without any responsive authority ?

Or, is it the Union Government, which is not responsive to the distress of the people, to blame ?

One may get some solace in the fact that civil society organizations of Meiteis especially COCOMI have spearheaded a movement to retain the unity and integrity of Manipur. People especially women folk have responded to the call of COCOMI to demand apology from Governor.

It is, indeed, heartening to see the loud voice of protests by women folks against the arbitrary acts of Central security forces in the State. It is really unfortunate that we don't have a responsive Government, which understands the sentiment of the people.