Dropping bombs on targeted villages using drones constitutes an ominous dimension to the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.
A fresh wave of violence, marked by a drone bomb attack on Meitei-dominated villages by suspected Kuki militants, has escalated tensions in an already volatile region that has been desperately waiting for an amicable political solution for a long time.
This is the first time that drones were used to drop bombs on civilians and security forces, clearly an act of terror. This new mode of attack must ring alarm bells in the security establishment.
The Centre is guilty of turning a blind eye for too long to the raging ethnic conflict between the Kuki and Meitei communities. The latest attacks, resulting in the death of two villagers, come as a grim reminder of how an unresolved social cauldron is tearing apart this sensitive northeast state.
There is an urgent need for the union government to intervene and initiate a dialogue between the warring communities.
The politics in Manipur is all about carefully navigating the ethnic fault lines and managing the deeply entrenched questions of identity and contested history.
Since the region has been neglected for decades, it became a fertile ground for political exploitation of ethnic differences and turning them into insurgencies as a way to bargain for power. The lack of adequate infrastructure, education and employment opportunities has been the bane of the region. Manipur, like most of north-eastern India, is an amalgamation of multiple cultures, faiths and ethnicities, many with a history of mistrust and violence.
The cause of the present crisis can be traced back to the demand by the Meitei community—an overwhelming majority of them Hindus—for Scheduled Tribe status and a strong pushback by Kukis, who are mostly Christians inhabiting the hilly regions. Instead of addressing the elephant in the room, the central and state governments sought to frame the conflict as a law-and-order problem.
Though Chief Minister N Biren Singh recently exuded confidence in the restoration of peace in the state within the next six months, the continued unrest, in the aftermath of the Kuki militant attacks, exposes the fragility of that promise.
Unless both sides are made to sit across the table for talks facilitated by the Centre, the hostilities are bound to crop up periodically. The state government is found wanting on several fronts and owes an explanation as to why it has failed to rise above identity politics and work towards building bridges between ethnic groups.
Given the limitations of the security operations in a state marked by sharp ethnic divisions and a high trust deficit, there is an urgent need for a political solution involving both the state and central governments. Manipur desperately needs a healing touch and an administration that is sensitive to reconciling the differences among various ethnic groups.
An honest attempt must be made to find answers to identity — social, economic, aspirational — and resource-sharing issues troubling different communities.
In the sharply divided atmosphere in the state, the Centre will have to take the lead in assuaging the local communities. There are multiple triggers for the ongoing clashes—land rights, illegal immigration and the Manipur High Court’s directive on Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community. Unless the fundamental character of the ongoing ethnic conflict is understood, finding optimal solutions will remain elusive.
The state must re-establish its authority and become the leading arbitrator in resolving differences between ethnic groups. Instability in Manipur can lead to unrest in the entire North-East, which has been a hotbed of insurgency for decades.
The NDA government has repeatedly claimed that extremist incidents have come down drastically in the region over the last ten years. However, all the good work will come to nought if the raging conflagration is not doused at the earliest. The long-standing disputes between migrants and indigenous people have further exacerbated the crisis.
The Manipur crisis calls for a long-term strategy that reassures the communities of their physical, social, cultural, and economic security. The ongoing violence, if allowed to continue unchecked, will only deepen the fault lines. In 1993, it had the highest per capita income among the eight North East states but today it remains the lowest. The solution for peaceful co-existence has to be found by the people of Manipur themselves.
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