Manipur’s ordeal

MANIPUR has been in the throes of an ethnic crisis ever since clashes broke out on May 3 last year. A ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organised that day in protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status had triggered clashes between the valley-based Meiteis and the tribal Kukis, who live in the hills. The conflict has claimed more than 200 lives and displaced thousands of people in the BJP-ruled state. Both the Central and state governments have neither been able to resolve the differences between the warring communities nor restore peace and normalcy. Despite an incessant clamour for the removal of Chief Minister N Biren Singh over alleged misgovernance and incompetence, the BJP has stubbornly persisted with him.

In his address on Independence Day last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared that the entire nation was with Manipur and that the Central and state governments were making every effort to find a solution to the vexed issue. He had also claimed that the situation in the violence-hit state was improving. However, the PM has not visited the state after trouble broke out, drawing flak from Opposition parties, which have accused him of abandoning the people of Manipur.

Since this northeastern state is not electorally significant in the national scheme of things — it sends just two MPs to the Lok Sabha — it has been reduced to a mere footnote during campaigning. Still, it is commendable that the Manipuris’ nightmarish ordeal has not shaken their faith in democracy. A high turnout of 81 per cent was recorded at six polling stations in Outer Manipur Lok Sabha constituency during repolling on April 30. Miscreants’ attempts to disrupt voting by damaging EVMs and threatening voters have proved futile. The resilience of the state’s people should spur the powers that be to heal their wounds. Things have been allowed to drift for too long — it’s time to make amends for the sake of peace and stability in the beleaguered border state.