Looking Northeast: Amid violence, a new resolve on ‘illegal immigrants’ in Manipur. But no easy answers

How this process will be carried out in tribal areas, where there is currently an insurmountable distrust of the State machinery, is still unclear.

With the Centre largely silent on the violence in Manipur, its directions regarding illegal immigrants make one thing apparent: that the state and Central governments are on the same page as far as “influx” into the state is concerned. The BJP government in the state has consistently blamed “waves of illegal immigrants” entering Manipur, allegedly with the help of the Kukis, as one reason for the current violence.

The influx of immigrants from Myanmar, which has seen people leaving in even larger numbers since another military crackdown two years ago, is not a new issue in Manipur. Nor is the belief of the dominant Meitei community that the Kuki-Zomis – who share ethnic affinity with communities across the border – shelter these illegal immigrants.

However, before the violence erupted on May 3 in Manipur, neither the state nor the Centre ever took serious steps to address the issue. Despite years of allegations of infiltration, there is no mechanism to either identify or regulate the immigrants.

Contrast this with neighbouring Mizoram, a state whose people also have close ethnic ties with the Kuki-Chin people of Myanmar. Its Chief Minister, Zoramthanga, has defied the Centre to welcome the immigrants as the “blood brothers and sisters’’ of the Mizo people, housing them in refugee camps and providing them aid. It also has a system in place to register the refugees crossing the border, giving it a clear idea of the numbers involved (over 40,000), their identity, and where they are housed.

Sources also point out that despite this organised response, the nature of immigration itself is transitive and uncertain. In the 1960s, many Mizos would cross over to Myanmar at the height of insurgency in the state; over the years, people from across the border have entered the state to take shelter during outbreaks of unrest in Myanmar, only to return when the situation normalises.

In Manipur, no specific number is available, notwithstanding the state government’s claim of “thousands of illegal immigrants’’. In May, the State Human Rights Commission noted that there are 35 Myanmar nationals housed at a detention centre in Churachandpur district who had been convicted and kept in prison well past their detention period. The commission instructed the Manipur authorities to take up the matter with the Centre, but there has been no movement on this too still.

The problem with acting against illegal immigrants in Manipur has been evident since last year when the state government started an eviction drive in its reserve forests, as part of a process to remove encroachers in different parts of the state. Earlier this year, when this drive reached villages in Churachandpur, a stand-off resulted between the state authorities and the people, with the resultant tension identified as one of the triggers for the ongoing violence. Sources in the government confirmed that the targets were “entire villages’’ that had sprung up over the last couple of years, particularly in Kuki-Zomi dominated areas.

This has only fed into Meitei apprehensions of a change in the demographic composition of Manipur, with the dominant community living for decades in fear of becoming a minority. The Meitei-dominated land (10% of the state’s total area) lies in the middle of rings of mountains that are occupied by tribal communities (comprising the rest 90%).

The Meitei demand of the implementation of an Inner Line Permit in the state to restrict the entry of outsiders was fulfilled by the Modi administration in 2019. In the strong protests by the Kuki-Zomi tribes of Churachandpur against this, there were nine deaths in clashes with the police.

In March this year, the state government also set up a Cabinet sub-committee to look into the issue, which claimed to have identified 2,500 illegal immigrants by the time the violence started.

The illegal immigration issue now might be heading for another twist. In 2021, soon after the Myanmar crackdown saw a new influx into Manipur, COCOMI, an umbrella organisation of Meitei bodies, reached out to the United Naga Council, representing the different Naga tribes in Manipur.

The Meiteis have sought common cause with the Nagas, claiming that the two communities are “original” inhabitants of Manipur, while identifying the Kukis as native to Myanmar and other areas.

In the meeting that ensued between the COCOMI and the Naga Council, talks were held on the implementation of an NRC (National Register of Citizens) in Manipur, and the need for a cut-off date for the state’s “non-indigenous’’ people. Soon after, the Manipur government set 1961 as the cut-off date for “domicile Manipuris”.

The example from nearby Assam shows that implementing an NRC or even setting a cut-off date to identify “natives” are easily said than done.

Nevertheless, in a a recent statement, the United Naga Council reiterated its support to the Manipur government to implement an NRC.