Meitei SC Judge, pilgrims barred from entering 'Kuki territory'

Yambem Laba *

The good news was that the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India, which has been taking a proactive role in trying to stem the rot in Manipur, which began from 3 May 2023, had sent a team of its Judges to visit the State for an on-the-spot study of the problems. A five-member delegation led by Justice BB Kavai landed on 22 March.

The bad news was that the Supreme Court got the rude shock that the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction in Kuki-dominated areas of Manipur. This became evident when the first Supreme Court Judge from Manipur, Nongmeikapam Koteshwor Singh, could not be with the team on its visit to Churachandpur to visit the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp where the Kukis displaced from Imphal were staying.

The only reason attributed for this was that Justice Koteshwao was a Meitei. He was openly told by the Churachandpur District Bar Association not to visit the district; although politely worded , it was clear that he was not welcomed by virtue of being a Meitei. The Hon'ble Judge, using his own wise counsel, decided not to make an issue out of it and stayed put in Imphal.

The schism between the two communities is so deep and wide that Supreme Court Judges are no exceptions. The Meitei people of Manipur, who after descending from the hills and settling down in the valley a few thousand years back, have always held the hills dear and sacred to their hearts.

Every year they would trek up to hilltops, namely Koubru and Thangjing around the Manipuri New Year in April to pay obeisance to Lord Koubru and Lord Thanjing, who are still revered as ruling deities even after embracing the Hindu faith about 400 years back.

But by 1830 the then British Government came up with the idea of plugging the exposed frontiers of Manipur by permitting the Kukis from Burma to settle down in Manipur, and they were settled in Kangpokpi and Churachandpur, which are now Kuki-dominated districts, one in the north and one in the south. Both the shrines of Koubru and Thangjing are located in these two districts.

Meiteis in the thousands who had been trekking up these mountains for centuries suddenly halted the ritual since 2023 when the conflict erupted between the two communities. But with the firing having ceased for the last two months or so and with the imposition of President's Rule in the State and a semblance of normalcy having returned to Manipur, the Meiteis started preparing for the annual rituals of pilgrimage to the abodes of the deities.

But to the Kukis, the Meiteis remained as persona non grata to their territories, so to Justice Koteshwor, they had issued politely worded 'don't come'. Then hundreds of Kukis gathered at the foothill of Thangjing Hill to be on sentry duty to prevent any Meitei pilgrims from making their journey to the shrines and even posted it on social media.

Fortunately, there was no standoff, and like the Hon'ble Supreme Court judge, who as an individual Meitei decided against making the pilgrimage, collectively the Meiteis also decided to call off the pilgrimage this year.

However, highly peeved by the failure of the Meitei pilgrims to make their `yatra', Manipur's Rajya Sabha MP Leishemba Sanajaoba, who is also the titular king of Manipur and still the customary ruler of the Meitei community, lashed out against his own BJP Govt at the Centre.

It might be recalled that over 260 people have been killed, 60,000 people displaced, thousands of houses reduced to cinder and many villages erased from the face of the earth since trouble erupted on 3 May 2023. Leishemba was echoing the feelings of many people who were hoping for normalcy, at least to be able to carry out pilgrimages, after Biren Singh threw in the towel and President's Rule was imposed.

Of come, Home Minister Amit Shah has gone on record saying that the Centre has no intention of continuing President's Rule in Manipur and would immediately lift it the moment the Kukis and the Meiteis come to an understanding. He was stating this following the debate on the floor of the Lok Sabha to approve the imposition of the President's Rule in the State.

This was shortly after the Ministry of Home Affairs arranged for a meeting between the Kukis and the Meiteis, represented by the Civil Society Organisations. Representing the Meiteis was the Federation of Civil Societies (FOCS) and the All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation (AMUCO).

They met their Kuld Counterparts in New Delhi. The meeting on 5 April was not expected to yield a fmal blueprint for reconciliation, but the meeting was significant. Though it was an 'agree to disagree' conclusion, the ice was broken for the first time since the turmoil began.

The last time the MHA had summoned Meitei legislators and the 10 warring Kuki MLAs for a tete-a-tete, both sides stayed put in different rooms and never met face to face, probably fearing a backlash back home from the general public or their voters. But the meeting ended on a positive note as both sides agreed to meet again in the future.

On the other hand, two months after President's Rule was imposed, Governor Ajay Bhalla seems not to be keeping promises made by Amit Shah that the highways will be opened to the public. At the moment the Meitei population is bottled up in the valley, with airways being the only way out of the State, and airlines reaping a fortune through exorbitant pricing of their fares.

Governor Bhalla did announce two bus services, one to Senapati via Kangpokpi and the other to Churachandpur. There were no passengers, but the bus to Senapati got halted at Kangpokpi and was burnt, while the one to Churachandpur returned to Imphal, not even touching its destination. And although the State has been able to recover arms and ammunition from Kuki militants, none of the two dozen-odd Kuki militant groups have been reined in.

Also, so far the Centre has not appointed any Advisor to the Governor, as is normally the convention. Perhaps the State administration is anticipating an early swearing-in of a popular Government. But all said and done, it's high time for the Centre to take a firm stand and restore the house back in order instead of waiting for the BJP Legislators to elect a leader to lead the next Government.


Views are personal