Government of India has the wrong approach in Manipur. Here’s what it needs to do

The primary concern should no doubt be to put down violence. This should, however, be quickly followed or even accompanied by an effort to address the grievances, find a middle ground, reconcile differences.

The Government of India is, unfortunately, treating the situation primarily as a law and order problem. (PTI Photo)

6 min readDec 16, 2024 12:04 PM IST First published on: Dec 2, 2024 at 06:04 PM IST

Manipur is a classic example of how not to deal with an internal security problem. Not that it is a simple problem. It is an explosive cocktail of ethnic conflicts, tribal insurgency, drug trafficking, and infiltration from across the Myanmar border. The tragedy is that the problem is getting more complex with every passing month. Such a scenario is deeply unfortunate because the country has enormous expertise in dealing with diverse internal security challenges. We look back with pride that, in the past, we defeated one of the most lethal manifestations of terrorism in Punjab, that insurgency in the Northeast has generally been contained, that the Maoist rebellion is on its last legs and that cross-border terrorism in J&K has been kept well within limits.

What has gone wrong in Manipur? The Government of India is, unfortunately, treating the situation primarily as a law and order problem. There was a recrudescence of violence in the state recently. Our response has been to send 90 additional companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to the state and impose the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in the jurisdiction of six police stations in the Valley areas, including at Jiribam. There are, as of date, a total of 288 CAPF companies (CRPF-165, BSF-104, RAF-8, SSB-6, ITBP-5) assisting the state police. In addition, there is the Assam Rifles, which is under the operational control of the Army. The state has been saturated with forces. However, what Manipur needs today is a healing touch. Unfortunately, there is hardly any meaningful political initiative and there are few confidence-building measures. And so, the state is sinking into an abyss.

It was on May 3, 2023, that ethnic violence erupted in Manipur between the Meiteis, a majority that lives in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki-Zo tribals, who inhabit the surrounding Hills. So far, a total of 258 people are reported to have lost their lives in the internecine conflicts and more than 60,000 people have been displaced. A sinister aspect of these conflicts is that 386 religious structures were vandalised by the rioters.

Recently, tensions started building on November 11, when 10 militants of the Hmar tribe were reportedly killed in an encounter with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in the Jiribam district. The militants had attacked the CRPF and a nearby relief camp and allegedly abducted six persons of a Meitei family, three women and three children, who were all killed. On November 16, there were violent protests in Manipur during which houses of ministers and MLAs were attacked for the government’s failure to curb the escalating violence. The very next day, the second-largest ally of the BJP-led Manipur government, the National People’s Party, withdrew support for it for its failure to restore normalcy in the state. NPP leader and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma expressed his distress over things going out of control and suggested that there should have been a change of guard in Imphal.

The Government of India seems to have forgotten the simplest of lessons in dealing with the tribal unrest. The primary concern should no doubt be to put down violence. This should, however, be quickly followed or even accompanied by an effort to address the grievances, find a middle ground, reconcile the differences, form peace committees at different levels, and take such political initiatives which convince the people of the government’s sincerity and inspire confidence. There should be, what is called, the WHAM approach — winning hearts and minds. There were periods of lull in Manipur which could have been utilised to initiate a dialogue between the rival groups and come to some kind of modus vivendi. The Home Minister did make some efforts on these lines in the initial stages, but there was no proper follow-up.

The situation is quite grim and calls for drastic remedial measures without any further delay.

The Prime Minister should visit Manipur at the earliest. The people of Manipur are in fact waiting for him and any initiative from his side is almost certain to be accepted by the warring factions.
The PM should declare President’s Rule in the state and send, as governor, a dynamic police or army officer of integrity who has experience in counter-insurgency, preferably someone who has served in the northeast.
The administration would need to be completely revamped. There are senior officers who are more concerned about saving their skin rather than dealing fearlessly with situations which present formidable hazards. They will have to be replaced.
It should be made clear to all and sundry that there would be no compromise on the integrity of Manipur.
The unified command should go hammer and tongs against three groups of people irrespective of the community or tribe they belong to: Those indulging in or inciting violence; those trying to give a religious colour to the conflict and have been responsible for vandalising temples or churches; and those involved in drug trafficking.
There should be a well-organised attempt to disarm people of the unlicensed and prohibited bore weapons they may have acquired from any source. A time limit should be given and those found holding such weapons after the expiry of that time limit should be booked under the National Security Act.
Peace committees should be formed in every district comprising representatives of every section/group/tribe. There should be a peace committee at the state level also comprising senior leaders of different sections/groups/tribes.

Much precious time has been lost by the Centre. However, as Chanakya said: “We should not fret over the past, nor should we be anxious about the future. Men of discernment deal only with the present moment.” The Government of India could still recover the lost ground and bring back peace and normalcy in the state. It is going to be a long haul, but it is achievable.

The writer was DGP Assam and also Director General of the Border Security Force.