Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement that a Manipur High Court order is responsible for the inter-community clashes in the state is an attempt at absolving the government from the responsibility of restoring peace. The HC directive on March 27 on a plea to grant ST status to the Meitei community may have contributed to the worsening of a fraught situation. However, there are multiple reasons for the flare up, and for its toll. The violence began earlier this month, following a tribal solidarity rally against the court order. At least 75 people have been killed since in the clashes involving Meiteis, who dominate the Imphal Valley, and members of the Kuki-Zomi tribes, who reside in the hill districts. The state government, considering the history of tense Valley-hill relations, should have known that the HC order had the potential to stoke unrest. Ultimately, governance is a political task; the onus of enforcing law and order is on the executive.
The Supreme Court has since criticised the HC directive — it said the single judge order was “absolutely wrong”. The rioting stopped after central forces took over the management of law and order, though there were incidents earlier this week. However, the political institutions seem unable to convince the warring parties that they need to talk to each other and address their fears and concerns. Chief Minister Biren Singh and senior ministers have been to Delhi to discuss the situation with Shah and other central leaders. So have MLAs from the hill districts, who have demanded a separate administrative mechanism for their region. Both parties, however, seem uninterested in engaging with the other. This impasse has to end and a process of reconciliation needs to start. The Centre could help by encouraging a conversation among all the stakeholders.
Tensions among tribal groups and between tribal groups and the Valley communities have a long history. The Biren Singh government’s first term was remarkable for the absence of communal tensions though he was in the spotlight for cracking down on dissent. However, after his re-election in 2022, Singh has been accused of fostering an anti-tribal agenda. The government action against poppy cultivation, eviction drives and the allegation that illegal migrants from Myanmar were being given shelter in the hills have vitiated the mood in the hills. The HC directive came in this tense environment. A new fault line, along religious lines, has now emerged. The task before Shah, who has promised to visit Manipur soon, and the local administration, is to steer clear of the multiple fault lines and develop a political framework that transcends the many differences.
