Manipur’s misery

MANIPUR has been unravelling for the past year and a half, and there is little reason to hope that things will improve anytime soon. There has been a fresh escalation of violence, with farmers working in paddy fields being targeted by snipers on hilltops. The killing of two women — one was gunned down and the other burnt alive — shows the sheer brazenness of militants. More than 200 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic clashes between Meiteis and Kukis since May last year. The ‘double-engine’ government has miserably failed to restore peace and public order. Nevertheless, Chief Minister N Biren Singh continues to be in the saddle, with the BJP high command stubbornly persisting with him.

Biren’s troubles are mounting, with a Kuki organisation demanding a court-monitored SIT probe into his alleged role in inciting ethnic violence. The outfit has approached the Supreme Court on the basis of some leaked audio clips. With the court asserting that it does not appreciate any attempt to “brush things under the carpet”, the CM’s position has become even more untenable. The onus is on the petitioner to prove the authenticity of these potentially damning clips.

The Centre’s attempts to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table have been fruitless. There is a huge disconnect between the Union Government and the local people, whose concerns and aspirations remain unaddressed. Two of its contentious decisions — fencing the India-Myanmar border and scrapping the Free Movement Regime — have been staunchly opposed by several tribal organisations in Manipur. They have cited a threat to the social, cultural and economic ties between tribal communities living on both sides of the border, but the Centre seems to be in no mood to do a rethink. This intransigence has further alienated residents of the strife-torn state. Leaving Manipur to fend for itself can be perilous for the security of the entire North-East, which has been battling insurgency for decades.