Meira Paibis present factual account of Manipur to PM
Source: The Sangai Express

New Delhi, June 20 2023: Since the Prime Minister has no time to visit the State which is burning since May 3, we have come to Delhi to meet him, said Meira Paibis representing the Khwairamband Ema Keithel Joint Coordinating Committee for Peace.

A day after a protest demonstration was staged at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, the 75 Meira Paibi (women) posed a series of questions to the Prime Minister on the Centre's failure to bring peace and restore normalcy in Manipur and talked about a memorandum they submitted yesterday.

Even after more than 45 days, the Central Government has failed to contain the violence and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has "not spoken a single word on the Manipur crisis," said the womenfolk.

"While Manipur has been suffering since May 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has no time to visit the State.

He has not said a single word.

Since he has no time to come to Manipur, we, 75 women representatives of the Khwairamband Ema Keithel Joint Coordinating Committee For Peace have therefore come to Delhi to meet the Hon'ble Prime Minister," they said.

Meira Paibis present factual account of Manipur to PM

The people of Manipur are completely dismayed by the silence being maintained by the Prime Minister, they said.

In the memorandum they submitted to the PM yesterday, the committee said that the violence that started on the day of ATSUM's so-called "Solidarity March" on May 3 has killed nearly 120 people and injured more than 500 .

Hundreds of houses have been burnt down and more than 50,000 displaced people are staying in more than 360 relief camps opened across Manipur without adequate support from the Government of India.

Puncturing the claims and reports that the conflict was 'Meitei Vs Tribal' and 'Hindu Vs Christian', the committee pointed out that no other community was/is involved in the conflict.

ATSUM's 'Solidarity March' was staged in all hill (tribal) districts.

While the present tension between the Meiteis and the Kukis was triggered when the march turned violent, it was peaceful in non-Kuki dominated tribal areas of Manipur, said the committee.

Talking about the Centre 'lopsided measures and intervention', the committee said the failure on part of the Union Minister of Home Affairs to regulate and control the Kuki armed groups under SoO (Suspension of Operation) and bring back normalcy despite his 3 days stay in Manipur from May 29 to June 1 has made the people of Manipur more apprehensive.

"We, the mothers of Manipur strongly condemn Union Home Minister Amit Shah's exclusivist talks with elected Members of Manipur Legislative Assembly (MLAs) on community line i.e the meeting held with Naga MLAs and Kuki MLAs in the recent past," the committee said.

Further, the 'prejudiced role' being played by the Central Security Forces including the Assam Rifles and Rapid Action Force has worsened the situation.

Despite the recent deployment of more than 40,000 Central Security Forces, peace continues to be elusive.

A section of the Central Security Forces is regularly seen obstructing the normal functioning of the State Police.

They have also reportedly 'sided' with the Kukis and remained as mute spectators when Kuki armed miscreants attacked villages.

These are apparently 'no more mere allegations' as the video and photographic images showing the prejudice of the Central Forces are available in plenty in the public domain, the committee said.

Manipur is facing a humanitarian crisis at present and the Central Government has completely failed to even lift the blockade imposed on the National Highways depriving the people of all communities of their right to life, food, medicine and livelihood.

The involvement of Kuki armed groups under SoO, and Kuki public in continued blocking of the lifeline like National Highway-2 for more than 40 days calls for a befitting condemnation and strict action, the committee said.

For the democratic and economic prosperity of every community co-inhabiting Manipur, time has come for shedding exclusive ethnic demands and communal laws as espoused in the name of Zo-Kuki.

The Zo-Kuki greater homeland mobilisation is among the key causes of the present tension not only in Manipur but also in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and North East India as it challenges the historically established political bodies in the region, it said.

"The case of Manipur is even more significant in this case.

Manipur became a part of the post-British State of India in 1949.Manipur enacted its own independent Constitution in 1947, conducted democratic elections in 1948 and subsequently had a democratic Government until it was merged into the Union of India on October 15, 1949.Manipur was an established Asiatic power having international treaty relations with the British, the Avas and the Ahoms.

There are 35 historically co-existing ethnic communities in Manipur including tribes belonging to Kukis.

These ethnic communities belong to the same ethno-linguistic family and are typographically intertwined and connected.

The history of ethnic distrust in Manipur is rather nascent largely due to the British colonial division of hill and valley and subsequent appropriation by the post-colonial State in India.

"With 3 million population, Manipur is in a fragile geo-political environment having an international border of 398 Km with Myanmar.

Moreover, the North Eastern region of India is a landlocked and economically less developed mountainous borderland having nearly 1600 Km international border with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, and Myanmar.

The North East region is poorly connected to mainland India by a mere 22 Km stretch called 'the chicken neck'.

Manipur is a hill State with an approximate 8% low lying area also known as the 'valley'.

It is, therefore, infeasible, and uncalled for to divide Manipur into hill and valley in the hill State of Manipur," said the committee.

Manipur has been facing a unique problem with all of the State's 90 percent of the population residing in the 10 percent of the valley land in Imphal and surrounding areas.

While people of all communities in Manipur can stay and buy land in the valley region, the Meiteis cannot buy any land in the hills, which constitutes 90 percent of the State's land.

This imbalance in the right to possession of land has caused a rift between the valley dwellers Meiteis and the hill dwellers created by the 'discriminatory and divisive laws' enacted by the Government of India, the committee said.

Asking if Manipur is not a part of India, the committee urged the Government of India to ensure peace in the State and protect its territorial and administrative integrity.

The Government must hold the Kuki militants accountable for the present violence by withdrawing from the tripartite SoO and it should disarm Meetei youths only after abrogating SoO with Kuki militants.

The Government must stop divisive politics and dividing people on community line in Manipur, said the committee.