The cost of failure to take timely action and rein in conflict in Manipur

Oinam Nabakishore *

Expert panelists in discussions and debates on electronic media on the present conflict over the last fourteen and a half months have clearly stated that it is the duty of the State (read Manipur Government led by Shri Nongthombam Biren Singh) to protect the lives and properties of the people of the State. Such statements are universally true across history and worldwide.

Any political scientist will proclaim that the first and foremost duty of a State is to fight against any external aggression, and maintain peace and tranquility in its territory. There is neither peace nor tranquility for the last fourteen and a half months in this earlier tranquil State. Who is to blame for the present state of affairs ?

When one looks back at history, one will see rise and fall of civilizations. When the ruler is strong and ambitious, territories expand and people witness prosperity in the kingdom. When there is infighting for power among the offspring or challenges from others, kingdoms and empires collapse.

It was in 1891 when the internal politics for power of the princes of Manipur led to a coup and dethroning of the then Maharaj Surchandra and Manipur lost its freedom to the British. The ongoing conflict in Manipur, if allowed to be prolonged, will only facilitate its disintegration. Those who demand for Separate Administration will have their cases strengthened with passage of conflict.

Running the administration of a State is like a performance by a musical orchestra. Beautiful music are produced in the theatre by the musicians on various instruments in the orchestra, where each musician plays his or her respective notes/tunes at appropriate time to render a composite melodious tune.

In a similar way, each organ of the Government has to contribute to the governance so as to ensure peace and tranquility, which is sine qua non for performance all works including development works.

Just as the conductor in an orchestra leads and directs the musicians according to a composition of the music to be created, Chief Minister of Manipur, who is in-charge of the Home Department is required to work like a conductor of an orchestra. He has to be attentive, educated, experienced, confident and understand the nitty-gritty of administration.

He has to listen to the advice of trained and experienced civil servants, when confronted with serious law and order situation. Sometimes, the ego of a leader comes in between the counsel of civil servants and his own understanding and judgement.

Unfortunately, over the last few years, civil servants too have chosen the path of least resistance to the whims and fancies of politicians with the sole objective of saving their own chairs. They will tell Ministers what the latter want to hear; otherwise they will choose to remain silent in order to not to hurt their pride.

The series of action of destruction of poppy plants in the name of “War on Drugs” by the State security forces after the beginning of the new BJP Government installed in March, 2022 hurt the economic interest of many people, who have invested in poppy plantation. Such wide-scale destruction of poppy plant before the harvest spelt doom in terms of present and future income streams for Tribal Chiefs, who have huge stakes in such plantation.

It may be worthwhile to look at the economic benefits to the people engaged in poppy plantation. Being a labour intensive operation, a large number of labour drawn from Nepali, Myanmarese and Kuki-Zo community are engaged in harvesting of opium resin from each pod of poppy over many days by paying handsome daily wages.

However, actual profit of poppy plantation is assumed to be shared by tribal chiefs, owner of the vast tracts of land, and investors and drug lords, who process opium into value added products and traffic them to international markets.

As such the Government of Manipur is seen to be working against the interest of tribal chiefs and drug lords. The boycott of the State Government manifested by way of vandalization of a new open gym to be inaugurated by him at Churachandpur by the Kuki-Zo tribal civil society organizations was obvious and it predicted the things to follow.

The State Government machinery at the grassroot level and at the top, chose to ignore the approaching tornado. In the Tribal Solidarity March on 3rd May, 2023, many participants were seen brandishing sophisticated arms in full view of the security personnel. The Arms Act, 1959, which prohibits possession of prohibited arms without license was openly flouted in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh under the nose of the police forces.

Inaction on the part of the State or Central forces emboldened the Kuki-Zo people to openly move with unlicensed arms in their hands in the run up to the violence in borders between Bishnu-pur and Churachandpur districts in the afternoon of 3rd May, 2023.

The pertinent question to the State Government, which is responsible for the maintenance of law and order, is why it failed to act in time and remained a mute spectator. No effort whatsoever was made by the State police in Churachandpur district to prevent the movement of the Kuki-Zo militants towards the border with Bishnupur at Torbung and adjoining villages to attack on the Meitei settlements there.

No shot was fired when many Meitei houses were set on fire in order to drive away the residents from there. This was followed by burning of houses in Meitei settlements in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Tengnoupa districts in the evening of the 23rd May, 2023.

In retaliation, Meitei radicals started identifying Kuki-Zo community members on the roads and localities in Imphal since the late evening of that fateful day. In the following days, it was free for all-Meitei and Kuki Zo settlements were systematically burnt down and killing of innocent people belonging to both communities commenced from the 4 th May, 2023.

The State and Central security forces never used forces to stop the mayhem in the valley and Kuki inhabited hill districts. Only visible work done by them was evacuation of the residents to safer places.

The question in the mind of many discerning citizens is whether the State Government took any effective measures to prevent the violence, arson and killing on both sides. If not, what was stopping the State from discharging its most basic duty of maintenance of law and order and protecting the lives and properties of the people.

The Commissions of Enquiry constituted by the Supreme Court will answer the question raised herein. However, prima facie, no adequate measures in terms of prevention of a huge gathering with open display of arms by the Kuki Zo militants at Churachandpur or the retaliation from the valley the following day were ever taken by the State Government.

Failure to take timely action by the State Government led to much wider conflict engulfing the two communities for more than fourteen and a half months. The price for the failure by the Government is being paid by the innocent people on both sides-death of more than 220 persons, arson of more than 5000 houses and displacement of more than 60,000.

The last question to the Government, both at the Centre and State, is how long people of Manipur, who are suffering on account of the ongoing conflict, are to wait for resolving the crisis to return to the condition that existed before the 3rd May, 2023.