The Biren Singh 2.0 factor in one of Manipur’s worst ethnic clashes

Armed with an absolute majority, the BJP CM has been more aggressive; seen as more partial to Naga tribes, he has let resentments brew in Kuki-dominant areas

Imphal: Vehicles in flames after violence broke out during the 'Tribal Solidarity March' called by All Tribal Student Union Manipur (ATSUM), in Imphal, Thursday, May 4, 2023. (PTI Photo)

Written by: Tora Agarwala

6 min readGuwahatiMay 10, 2023 10:36 AM IST First published on: May 8, 2023 at 06:31 PM IST

Nearly 60 dead, thousands displaced, homes razed to the ground, places of worship torched, a legislator brutally assaulted by a mob. These have been in the images of Manipur over the last few days.

While the state is no stranger to violence, the events of the last few days are unprecedented and will likely go down in history as one of its worst ethnic conflagrations.

The “tribal solidarity march” on May 3 — to protest against the inclusion of the numerically dominant Meitei Community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category — was just the tipping point. Political commentators say that the flare-up was long coming, especially in the backdrop of the actions of the Biren Singh-led BJP government in Manipur, particularly in its second term. From the crackdown on poppy plantations and eviction drives, to frequent allegations that the Kukis of Churachandpur were sheltering “foreigners” from Myanmar, the state’s southern hill — home to the community — had been on the simmer.

Strikingly, the present tensions follow a period of relative peace under Biren’s BJP government. In fact, the BJP went into the 2022 Assembly elections citing Biren’s governance record in the last five years. Manipur under Biren, the party claimed, had been “peaceful”, devoid of bandhs, blockades, and large-scale ethnic violence.

Indeed, Biren, in his first term as CM, stood out for his outreach to the state’s hill tribes. His flagship “Go To Hills” programme – an outreach initiative to ensure that people in remote places avail benefits of various welfare schemes – had its skeptics, but even critics acknowledged its symbolic significance.

So, what explains this sudden turnaround? Commentators attribute it to a mix of Meitei majoritarian politics, ethnic Kuki aspirations and the CM’s unwillingness to engage with them.

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Biren 2.0

Observers say Biren’s tribal outreach initiatives were largely restricted to the Naga communities in the state’s northern hills. The Kukis and the Nagas — Manipur’s two most significant tribal communities — do not see eye-to-eye. Their contentious relationship is a function of their imagined ethnic homelands overlapping with each other.

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While they do at times rally together — the opposition to the Meitei’s ST demand being one such occasion — one of the worst episodes of ethnic violence the state was between the two communities in the 1990s.

The Meites and the Nagas have also had their shares of conflicts, but both communities tend to view the Kukis as not being “indigenous” to Manipur.

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A government source in Imphal said that “despite his genuine efforts at bringing the hills into the fold,” the CM, like the larger Meitei community he belongs to, was “uncomfortable about what he believed to be the continuous stream of Chin people coming into Churachandpur especially after the Myanmar coup of 2021″.

Imphal: Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh holds a meeting with the representatives of Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), in light of the prevailing situation in Manipur, in Imphal, Saturday, May 6, 2023. (PTI Photo)

The Kuki-Zomi tribes are originally from Kuki-Chin hills in Myanmar, and both communities on either side of the border share deep ethnic bonds. “The CM reflects the larger line of Meitei thinking: that the Kukis were out to capture lands,” the source added.

Adding to the tensions was the CM’s crackdown over the last two years on poppy plantations in Churachandpur hills allegedly owned by “drug lords”. This diktat, BJP sources say, “came straight from the Centre which believed money from the area was fuelling cross-border insurgencies”.

The past year saw Biren take an aggressive stand on the matter — whether it was land surveys and multiple eviction drives in areas where Kukis had settled in order to “protect” reserved forests; at least three church demolitions; and a push for a National Register of Citizens (NRC) to weed out “illegal immigrants”, among others.

Following the unrest over evictions in Churachandpur in March, Biren suddenly pulled out of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki armed umbrella outfits called the United People’s Front (UPF) and Kuki National Organisation (KNO). This was seen as another aggressive unilateral movement reflecting his disconnect with the Kuki groups.

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The final blow was the renewed Meitei push for the ST demand. While it stemmed out of a High Court order and is potentially damaging to all existing tribal groups, it added fuel to the fire.

The CM’s belligerence in the second term, sources say, stemmed from the absolute majority he now enjoyed in the Assembly (32 out of 60 seats).

“Encouraged by the absolute majority he was voted to power in the second term, he was more confident, a more aggressive Biren,” a BJP leader said.

A rebellion within

However, Biren’s rivals — many from his own community — were to throw a spanner in the works. Even before things spiralled, he was having to contend a power struggle within the party.

Imphal: Army personnel rescue people from a violence-hit area of Manipur, Saturday, May 6, 2023. (PTI Photo)

A section of Meitei legislators wanted him out. Sources said that Kuki legislators, already facing heat from the ground, made common cause with them. In the last month, both groups were in Delhi trying to meet the central leadership to demand a change in Manipur’s leadership.

Some even say the Kuki legislators, driven by political ambitions, did not make enough effort to quell the fires. “They kept the pot boiling…and did little to calm frayed nerves, or guide the public,” said a politician from the BJP.

However, others feel that it was the CM who should have known better and engaged with the Kuki civil society organisations. “In a place known for its sensitive ethnic faultlines, outreach buffers/channels need to be maintained with all groups…you cannot take peace for granted in Manipur,” said a source in Imphal.