On May 3, the city of Imphal, the capital of Manipur, was calm. So calm, that it was deemed safe for someone as important as the Vice President. In the next 24 hours, mobile internet was suspended, reports of deaths emerged, and Manipur was plunged into darkness. By the morning of May 5, the Army had been called in and by May 5 evening, all forms of internet had been snapped.
You are likely to struggle if you try to understand what conspired in these 48 hours without trying to understand what has been conspiring in the state for the past few months. And if I may, please do not start with the idea that this is a 'communal clash'. It is socio-political, cultural, geographical and territorial, but not communal. Media publications that are calling it so have once again managed to implant their false, mainland binaries on complicated ground realities in the Northeast.
Unrest In Churachandpur
Since the beginning of this year, there has been unrest among the residents of Churachandpur, one of the hill districts of Manipur, who are mostly Kukis and follow the Christian faith.
On February 20, the village of K. Songjang in Churachandpur was notified of eviction, blamed for being built along the Churachandpur-Khoupum Protected Forest stretch. The village was illegally built and according to the government most houses appeared to have come up after 2021. The houses were thus declared illegal and bulldozed. Further, on February 15, 2023, the Deputy Commissioner of Churachandpur District, Manipur, ordered a verification drive to identify “illegal immigrants” in several villages under the Churachandpur and Mualnuam sub-divisions in south Manipur.
The DC’s office further stated that the respective village chiefs/village authorities were informed to ensure the attendance of all residents to procure their biometrics. Now, the forest department issued a detailed response to the claims that it was being anti-tribal, which sounded extremely reasonable and factual. However, such a response did little to assuage the anger among tribals, who saw the eviction followed by the biometric identification as profiling and targeting their autonomy.
Illegal Immigration Claims
The biometric identification came in response to claims that following the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, several people, especially Kukis, had migrated from the troubled regions to Manipur, especially the district of Churachandpur. The Chief Minister N Biren Singh, for example, has squarely blamed such immigrants for almost all of the state's evils: from deforestation to poppy cultivation. Now, such a claim is easy to make and easier to believe because this essentially absolves the state and its legal residents of all wrongdoings.
But what happens when every person from one community, in this case, the Kukis, a community with no state of their own and a community with a long transnational history, is seen as a threat?
It is against the threat of large-scale illegal immigration that the demands for an Assam-like NRC have found large-scale acceptance. Now, one must understand the NRC demand, the protection of indigenous cultures and traditions and of course, land, has backing among all northeast communities, not just in Manipur.
The Meitei ST Demand
In Manipur, however, the demand becomes even more significant because the Hills and the Imphal Valley have distinct cultures and traditions. While the Imphal valley is home to a majority Meitei population, most of whom follow Hindu traditions, the Hills are home to tribes that follow the Christian faith. The current situation, despite what some might believe, is not because of the NRC demand.
The tipping point, chronologically, was the ST demand for the Meiteis, which the state's tribals are opposing tooth and nail. Again, this is not a new demand: as early as 2013, in response to demands made by the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee for the inclusion, the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs wrote to the Manipur government “requesting for specific recommendation along with the latest socio-economic survey and ethnographic report”.
In fact, the Manipur government had neglected to act on Meitei inclusion in the ST list, the Manipur high court had noted in its April 19 order. If indigenity is a claim to ST status, the Meiteis have every right to claim the ST status. Dhiren Sadokpam perhaps explains the issue best. Sadokpam, the Editor-in-Chief of The Frontier Manipur, argued that looking at the ST demand from an "oppressor vs oppressed" binary, which is the case in the mainland, made little sense in Manipur.
No New Northeast Dawn
On May 3, the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur organised a massive rally in Churachandpur, even as the CM was busy hosting the Vice President. The fallout of the rally was a wave of violence that has since engulfed large parts of the state, even though the Naga regions of Manipur have remained almost completely calm.
The ensuing violence has hurt both the Meteis and the Kukis and even those with no stake in the violence. Yet, online, this too has become a war between ideologies, religion, tribal vs anti-tribal and of course, China vs India. Anyone with access to Google can read hundreds of stories and arrive at their own conclusion.
Do not believe that the problems of the Northeast are in its past. Despite what some may claim, there is no "new dawn" in the Northeast. From Assam to Arunachal, questions on land ownership, identity, and protection of indigenous cultures and traditions remain as strong as ever. Manipur's story could end up being replicated in every Northeast state unless we begin, with extreme sincerity, to address these issues.
Amit Kumar is executive editor of Eastmojo.com, a Northeast-based news portal. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.