The Central government has started having “positive discussions” on the conflict in Manipur and it is a “great achievement” that resolution of the crisis is part of the 100-day plan of the new National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said on Friday. He added he has “full confidence” that the Centre understands the issues in Manipur.
This comes on a day when the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), one of the most influential civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Imphal valley, took out a mass rally where thousands of people, including several Meira Paibi groups, protested against the Central government’s handling of the conflict, accused it of being involved in the “extermination of indigenous peoples of Manipur”, and raised slogans against any compromise on the integrity of Manipur’s borders.
In an interaction with The Hindu later on Friday, Mr. Singh said of the protests earlier in the day, “I am listening to the people. We cannot reveal what the Centre is planning at the moment. The public’s anger will subside once these plans reveal themselves. The public is angry and wants a quick solution. Everyone does. But this issue is so complex that you cannot rush it.”
The Chief Minister added he is confident that the Centre will not succumb to any demands that threaten the territorial integrity of Manipur.
Ever since the conflict broke out on May 3, 2023, the Kuki-Zo community has insisted that the only way to bring peace back is to carve out a separate administration for their people in the form of a Union Territory with a legislature under Article 239A of the Indian Constitution.
Opinion: Alter the status quo: on the conflict in Manipur
Soon after the violence broke out, a Unified Command was set up in the State to take security-related decisions, which reported to the Centre. This command is being headed by Security Adviser Kuldiep Singh, appointed as such by the Manipur government, according to the notification.
However, since this apparatus had begun functioning, the people of Manipur, and newly-elected Congress MP of Inner Manipur, A. Bimol Akoijam, have routinely asked who is in-charge of the law and order situation in the State, if it is the State government or the Centre, and who should be held accountable.
On this apparatus, the CM told The Hindu, “This centralisation of the command for the last one year has been done for the good [of people]. But the effectiveness of this structure has to be seen on the ground, then people will be happy. The people in the field here have to start dealing with the ground realities here from time to time. Some excesses, legally, if needed, might be necessary.”
The CM added that the border-fencing work along the Indo-Myanmar border in Manipur had started and that the State government was already in the process of identifying and clearing land for the said work.
On rumours that some MLAs from Manipur were now calling for Mr. Singh’s resignation, the CM categorically denied it. He said, “Almost 35 MLAs had met with me on Thursday and the decision was taken to seek an appointment for a meeting with the Prime Minister and Home Minister. That is all.”
Earlier in the day, at the mass rally attended by thousands from across Imphal, Moirang and Bishnupur districts, among others, the COCOMI and allied Meitei organisations raised calls for an end to the “divide and rule policy of India”, and also demanded that all combing operations and weapon recovery be suspended till the armed conflict is brought to an end.
The rally, which started from the Thau Ground and proceeded to the Khumanlampak Stadium, was also attended by hundreds of students from top schools and colleges of the city as they marched with banners in their school uniforms. Their slogans included calls to “eliminate all Kukis, uproot Kukis from Manipur”, while others called for “justice” and to “root out Kuki narco-terrorism from Manipur”.
Responding to the sloganeering at the rally, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, a Kuki-Zo CSO in Churachandpur, issued a statement, calling these calls “horrifying”, adding that these “reflected the views and attitude of the majority of the Meitei”.
“It is evident that Kuki-Zo and Meitei cannot coexist. We must be separated. Total separation is the only solution,” the ITLF said.
Imphal West Independent MLA Nishikanta Singh Sapam, who also attended the rally, said, “The people are clearly feeling that the need is to be able to protect themselves because the administration has failed them. And in the middle of this, they are also feeling like combing operations are only being done in the valley to recover weapons but not in the Hills.”
After the ‘Save Manipur Rally’, COCOMI Coordinator Th. Somorendro also put out a “People’s Resolution”, which also contained some of the demands mentioned earlier. The resolution called for an end to the Suspension of Operation pact with Kuki-Zo groups, and expediting the process of implementing the National Register of Citizens so that “foreign illegal immigrants”, majorly including the “Narco-terrorist sections among the Chin-Kukis” can be deported at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Meitei Coordinating Committee (DMCC), a conglomerate of some Meitei CSOs in Delhi, held a press conference in the capital, calling for the Prime Minister’s attention to the Central forces “siding with Kuki militants”.