MANIPUR has been in the grip of violence for three months. It’s is a small state located in northeastern part of India. Its population is divided in two tribes, Meitei and Kuki. Meitei community constitutes a larger part of the population, most of them practice Hinduism, while majority of Kuki community practice Christianity. The clashes among both communities erupted after the Manipur High Court of India directed the government to consider ‘inclusion of Meitei community in Scheduled Tribes (ST) list, on 20th April, 2023. By getting a status of ST, Meiteis would be able to enjoy the designated privileges attached with the status. However, the root cause of inhuman clashes appears to be religious, rather than ethnic.
Kukis and Meiteis peacefully coexisted before, if there was a clash, it was of Nagas and Kukis, over land in 1992-1997. It is alleged that the policies of Chief Minister Biren Singh, a member of the ruling Party Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), are responsible for brewing hatred amongst the communities. In early April, three churches were demolished by his government on grounds of their illegal construction. After demolition of churches, the disgruntled Christian residents prayed on the debris. The feeling of alienation in Kukis in their own state was already prevalent.
Aggravated by the order of Manipur High Court regarding inclusion of Meitei community in ST status, Kuki community organized a protest. On May 3rd, the All Tribal Student Union, Manipur Student Body called for protest against the impending implementation of the court’s order which turned gruesomely violent. In the first three days of violence, nearly 249 churches were burnt, vehicles were torched and houses were set ablaze. Archbishop of Imphal, Dominic Lumon claimed that attacks were religious in nature. To curtail the flow of information, the internet was shutdown till late July. The conflict took a horrid turn when the internet was restored and a video of Christian Kuki women, who were paraded naked by a mob led by Meitei men, circulated on social media, on July 20th, 2023.
Reportedly, the brother and father of the victims were brutally killed by the mob. The incident took place right after the onset of violence, but the video was circulated later after restoration of internet. It is alleged that police didn’t take any legal action on the FIR registered on 18 May by the victims’ family. The action was taken after the video of this horrific incident went viral. Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi remained silent over Manipur violence that broke on May 3 for two months. He only spoke about it only after a wide outrage over the sexual assault of the Kuki women.
This violence caused a huge human catastrophe; casualties of 140 people, injuries of 500 citizens and internal displacement of nearly 60,000 people. It is alleged that the Chief Minister of Manipur Biren Singh provided a cover over the criminal acts of the Meitei community against the minority Kuki community. He happens to be Meitei himself. Paolinelal Haolip, a BJP member said that his fellow Chief Minister Biren Singh is “anti Kuki.” The people of Manipur disgruntled on government’s inaction in the state attacked and burnt the residence of Union Minister RK Ranjan in Imphal. It is ironic to note that instead of trying to control the violence through law, internet was shut down in the state. The brutalities of the clashes surfaced after restoration of internet.
PM Modi has faced a motion of no-confidence brought by Congress’s Gaurav Gogai, to compel him to speak about Manipur. Since PM Modi’s government has a majority of seats in Lok Sabha, therefore, motion of vote of no confidence could not harm his government, yet bringing up such motion, has discreet implications. Modi’s government tried to brush-up Manipur to avoid international backlash, as it could break the momentum of his international stardom. Motion of vote of no confidence has indeed disseminated information about Manipur in the world. Manipur demonstrate an ugly example of Hindutva politics. A simple protest of Kuki community revealed a spiteful divide created between Hindu Meitei community and Kuki Christian community.
The Indian media is largely portraying the clashes of both communities as ethnic rather than religious. It was an attempt to avoid displeasure in the European countries. Meitei community is primarily Hindu, however, some of Meitei population is Christian. When clashes erupted,Hindu Meitei community burnt down churches of Christian Meitei community. The anger was against the religion, rather than ethnicity. The Hindutva driven politics played by BJP under the leadership of PM Modi has infused religious hatred in Hindus for the non-Hindus. Recently, religious hatred has inflicted harm to Muslim population in Haryana. The politics of hate propagated by PM Modi is seeping into fundamentals of the country, tarnishing its diverse social fabric. Secularism was a strong foundations of India. However, leaders of BJP chant slogans of Hindu Rashtra (A Hindu Nation). Salvation of India lies in secularism; without it human rights of minorities cannot be protected.
—The writer is Research Analyst at Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad.
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