Manipur violence: Amit Shah’s advice to chief minister Biren Singh raises eyebrows

‘The CM is the CM of Manipur, not of the valley alone, just like Amit Shahji is the home minister of India, not of Manipur hills’

(Left) Manipur Biren Singh with Amit Shah: File Photo

Umanand Jaiswal, TT, Guwahati,  27.06.23: The apparent division of responsibilities worked out by the Centre and the BJP-run Manipur government is “unacceptable, irritating and logically incorrect”, a conglomerate of leading civil society organisations in the northeastern state said on Monday.

After meeting Amit Shah in New Delhi on Sunday, Manipur chief minister Biren Singh had said in a statement issued by the chief minister’s office that “the Union home minister has assured to take maximum responsibility for the hill districts and at the same time instructed the government to ensure that peace is restored in the valley with cooperation of the civil society organisations, including Meira Paibis”.

In Manipur, the majority Meiteis are largely concentrated in the valley while the Kuki community mostly lives in the hills. Having lost confidence in the state dispensation after the violence since May 3, many Kukis have been demanding a “separate administration”.

On Monday, Longjam Ratankumar Singh, the assistant coordinator of the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), representing several civil society organisations, told The Telegraph that the chief minister’s statement on dealing with the present turmoil “is unacceptable, quite irritating and logically incorrect”.

“This is because the problem of the hills and valley has to be dealt with as a whole, not separately, because the hills do not exist without the valley and vice-versa. The CM is the CM of Manipur, not of the valley alone, just like Amit Shahji is the home minister of India, not of Manipur hills,” Ratankumar Singh said.

“They may have a strategy to deal with the situation but they should not have disclosed it in public because the hills and valley can’t be separated,” Ratankumar Singh said.

He said both the Centre and the state government should take steps to “stop the aggression” by armed Kuki militants and groups. The COCOMI, he said, is sure that once the “attacks” from the hills are stopped, the situation will normalise itself. The COCOMI is a valley-based confederation with a considerable representation from the Meiteis.

The Opposition Congress described the plan as “divisive in nature” and wants chief minister Singh to apologise to the people of Manipur because the proposal will “only add fuel to the ongoing fire” that engulfed the state on May 3, claiming at least 131 lives and displacing 60,000. The situation remains volatile.

Manipur Congress president K. Meghachandra said the chief minister’s statement was condemnable and “divisive in nature".

“People see the state as one united entity and not separately as ‘hill’ and ‘valley’.The chief minister seemed to be speaking along the lines of separation of administration. People are condemning it because it is a sentimental issue,” Meghachandra said, adding that the Congress wants the removal of the chief minister.

The ruling BJP sees the new arrangement as a positive development. Manipur BJP spokesperson Elangbam Johnson said the arrangement announced by the chief minister on Sunday night would “help” deal with the current situation.

“This arrangement is to deal with the law and order situation, a step to restore peace. Nothing much must be read into it. There are (Kuki) MLAs who have spoken out against the CM. They may feel uncomfortable sitting together. This is an effort at creating a conducive atmosphere. After some time, we can expect a joint sitting of leaders of both communities. We can also see the start of the peace committee,” Johnson said.

On the new arrangement being seen as a lack of confidence in Biren Singh or a step towards separate administration as demanded by the Kukicommunity, Johnson said these were all “negative speculation” fuelled by the Opposition and vested interests. The Indigenous TribalLeaders’ Forum (ITLF), made up of recognised tribes in the Kuki-Zo majority Churachandpur district, rejected any offer of dialogue with the chief minister.

“The CM’s intention of reaching out to stakeholders following a meeting with home minister Amit Shah comes too late. After the loss of so many innocent lives and property and the untold hardships faced by the KukiZo tribals, there is no point in talking about peace without a political solution,” the ITLF said in a statement.

According to the ITLF, around 106 tribals have been killed, 201 villages and over 5,000 houses have been burnt and 355 churches destroyed while 41,425 tribals have been displaced by the conflict. Kukis are mostly Christian whileMeiteis are mostly Hindu.

“We have reached a point where the Kuki-Zo community can no longer live together with the Meiteis. N. Biren Singh, the perpetrator of the current ethnic violence..., cannot be the harbinger of peace. All tribals and a large section of his ownMeitei community have lost faith in his leadership and his government,” the ITLF said. The forum added that it was now “crucial” for the Centre to “concentrate” on finding a solution to the demands of theKuki-Zo tribals, including “our political aspiration of total separation from Manipur”.