Opinion Flashpoint Manipur and Pawar play in Maharashtra

Multiple fault lines have come alive in Manipur. The latest trigger for the violence seems to have been a High Court directive on the demand for Meiteis to be granted ST status.

The Centre will ensure that justice is given to all who suffered in the clashes which broke out in the state, but "people must hold a dialogue to ensure peace in the state," Shah said. (PTI Photo/File)

Amrith Lal

May 8, 2023 05:30 PM IST First published on: May 7, 2023 at 08:08 PM IST

Dear reader,

At least 50 people have died in clashes between Meiteis and Kukis in Manipur. Army has been deployed to contain the violence. Chief Minister N Biren Singh held an all-party meeting on Saturday and appealed for calm. As the Indian Express editorial said, multiple fault lines have come alive. The latest trigger for the violence seems to have been a High Court directive on the demand for Meiteis to be granted ST status. The hill population, predominantly Naga and Kiki tribes, object to this demand. Demography and geography complicate the situation in Manipur. For instance, the Meiteis, who are reportedly over 60 per cent of the population inhabit the Imphal Valley, which is just about 10 per cent of the state. Forested hills are home to the Naga and Kuki tribes, who are a minority in a state that is politically and culturally dominated by the Meiteis. All parties fear domination by the other and erasure of identity. The Naga and Kuki tribes also have kinship relations with people across the state and international borders. Cartographers, ignorant or insensitive to these ties, drew lines which, during the building of a nation state, hardened to resemble walls and fences. Competition for resources, particularly land, and the urge to impose singular identities and dominate further diminish the trust among different communities. Electoral politics rarely addressed these issues. Like in most parts of northeastern India, governance has been framed by security concerns. The BJP government in Imphal has ruled with an iron hand and censored independent voices, who could perhaps have started a conversation to rebuild trust.

The first step in Manipur is to usher in peace. The government must take the lead to facilitate a dialogue among people on the contentious issues — ST status to Meiteis, demolitions, notification of reserved forests, management of refugees and so on. People must recognise the need to, and show the will to, co-exist with their differences — of ethnicity, faith, language, traditions. The transnational character of many tribes are not to be frowned upon. The state government in neighbouring Mizoram recognised this early when refugees started to come in from Myanmar after the coup. Imphal, reportedly, was indifferent to the Kukis’ concern regarding their kin in Myanmar. There is a civil war raging in Myanmar and it will have some consequences across the border too. That many militant groups base themselves in Myanmar and strike in Manipur and Nagaland complicates the picture.

Also Read | Manipur riots: The chilling methods in the madness

In the past few years, the Centre has sought to “integrate” the Northeast by reducing the emphasis on draconian laws such as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and building infrastructure. The reduction in militancy led to repeal of the AFSPA from many police station limits in the region. It helped build trust between the government and people. The botched military operations in Oting, Nagaland did not flare up and cause a breakdown of the Naga talks because the Centre was quick to promise a fair probe and fix responsibility. However, the refusal to give sanction to prosecute security personnel responsible for the killings have been a source of unease among local people. The government needs to act, and be seen as acting, as a fair arbitrator while negotiating peace.

Also Read | People vs people, absence of leaders, paucity of mediators – why this Manipur violence is different

Meanwhile, in distant Karnataka, the Congress and the BJP has been engaged in a polarising campaign with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah leading the charge. The BJP has been irked by the Congress manifesto, which dumped the sangh parivar affiliate Bajrang Dal and the banned Islamist outfit, the Popular Front of India, in the same basket. An equally important narrative in the assembly election campaign has been the promise of quotas. The Congress has tried to counter the BJP’s attempt at social engineering through sub quotas and denial of reservations to Muslims by championing a new deal on social justice. It has promised to raise quotas to 75 per cent. There was no scrutiny of the development initiatives promised in the manifestos as the focus remained on faith versus caste narrative.

Express Opinion | Congress gets it wrong again

Competing with Manipur and Karnataka for headlines was Sharad Pawar, who caused a flutter by announcing that he was quitting as NCP president. He founded the NCP in 1999 after questioning Sonia Gandhi’s leadership of the Congress. However, Pawar has stayed on the side of the Congress all these years. It is speculated that the resignation drama — he has since withdrawn the resignation —was staged by Pawar to nip in the bud attempts by his nephew and senior leader, Ajit Pawar, to negotiate an alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra. Politics in this large state, which sends 48 MPs to the Lok Sabha, is going through a churn. The Shiv Sena and the Congress were the principal adversaries in Maharashtra politics for many years. The BJP now senses an opportunity to establish its hegemony in Maharashtra. The Sena has lost ground since the passing of Bal Thackeray and under Uddhav Thackeray. Hindutva had replaced its nativist ideological outlook even under the senior Thackeray. However, the BJP underestimated Pawar’s ability to manoeuvre the political situation to his advantage. He recognises that no single party is in a position to dominate state politics and the next generation of leaders — Uddhav, Devendra Fadnavis or Ajit Pawar — are yet to command pan-state following. In fact, Maharashtra’s regional diversity makes it near impossible for a single leader to dominate state politics. The Congress system in the state was a coalition of many regional leaders, who often reluctantly backed one of them to the chief’s post. Pawar had followed this model while building the NCP despite his acceptance across the state. Despite this, the party has come to resemble a family enterprise. Pawar will have to manage this contradiction if the NCP is to grow in the coming years.

Also Read | With U-turn, master strategist Sharad Pawar complicates Ajit Pawar’s plans — and BJP-Shinde’s design

If Pawar has shown everyone who is the boss in the NCP, he has also signalled his keenness for a big role in national politics. The Maha Vikas Aghadi that has the Sena and the Congress sharing space and power was his idea. If a broad Opposition front that includes the Congress, TMC, NCP, Sena, BRS, DMK, SP, RJD, JD(S), BJD and the communist Left has to be stitched together as an anti-BJP platform, Pawar is the man for the job. He knows that even if others are unwilling to acknowledge. Now, he has turned the crisis in his party into an opportunity to announce that he is game to draw on a canvas larger than Maharashtra.

Thank you.

Amrith

Amrith Lal is Deputy Editor with the Opinion team