‘Not there yet, but BJP makes a start on bridging Manipur hill-valley divide’

Relationship between the Imphal valley, the seat of government in the state, and Manipur’s tribal hill areas has always been strained. The hills lag on various development parameters, and blame it on years of neglect by the state.

During the Okram Ibobi Singh-led Congress government of 15 years, this gap seemed to widen. Besides the Inner Line Permit demand raised by Meiteis and the government’s bid to bring three contentious “anti-tribal” Bills in 2015, the creation of seven new districts in the hill areas had caused tension, including in the Kuki-Paitei-dominated Churachandpur hills.

Ibobi’s firm stance on the territorial integrity of Manipur came into conflict with the Naga demand of a homeland. So antagonistic was this relationship that, ahead of the 2017 elections, Ibobi was not allowed to enter Ukhrul.

One of the first announcements by the Biren government was upgradation of the village-level Shirui Festival to an extravagant one, sponsored by the Department of Tourism. On May 12, days to go before the festival, the CM tweeted: “I am going, are you?”

The significance was not lost on anyone, as Biren, a Meitei, donned Tangkhul Naga headgear for the festival inauguration, and spoke of the importance of communitarian bonds and equal development.

Over the next year, Biren made it a point to hold Cabinet meetings in hill districts. In May 2018, his hill-valley reconciliation project was dubbed ‘Go To Hills’, with the agenda being to “reach out to citizens at their doorstep”.

“It gave us hope,” says Kasar, a student leader.

Ahead of the second phase of the Manipur election – which covers a majority of the hill districts, including Ukhrul, Senapati, Chandel– it is this hope that Biren and the BJP are banking on.

But the campaign’s impact on the ground remains ambiguous. At Ukhrul’s Pettigrew College, the only government college in the district, a teacher derides ‘Go To Hills’ as an “eyewash”. “Ours is the second-oldest government college in Manipur (set up around 50 years ago). But it is in a shambles… There is shortage of everything, classrooms, water,” she says.

Even Kasar feels that the government campaign turned out to be “nothing more than officials handing out forms for old age pension, Aadhaar etc”.

The Congress’s sitting MLA and candidate from Ukhrul constituency, Alfred K Arthur, says the BJP government had not done anything “specifically” for the hills. “Whatever they did for the valley, they gave something out of that to the hills,” he says. “There is no real development, nor power with the hills.”

For long, the hills have complained about the lack of executive powers with the Autonomous District Councils (ADCs), tribal bodies empowered under the Constitution for administration of the hill areas of Manipur. In August 2021, the hill areas committee – represented by 18 legislators from the hill districts, across party lines – sought repeal of the Manipur (Hill Areas) District Council Act, 1971, and introduction of Manipur (Hill Areas) Autonomous District Council Bill, 2021, or the ADC Bill, to “provide more autonomy”. The Biren government never tabled the Bill.

In Kangpokpi district’s Saikul, the Kuki Student Union’s Goupu Chongloi says if the government really cared for the hills, “they would have at least tabled the Bill”.

In remote Kamjong district’s Phungyar constituency, bordering Myanmar, a social worker describes the BJP initiative as “a start, but not enough”. “Yes, there has been improvement in roads, but that’s more because our local MLA, Leishiyo Keishing, (from the Naga People’s Front) has been active,” he says.

However, he feels, the BJP has a good chance. “Ultimately, they are pumping a lot of money. In these areas, there is no livelihood, and since the BJP is ruling at the Centre, people see merit in associating themselves (with it),” he says, adding that this could change if the BJP loses power at the Centre.

The other factor in the BJP’s favour, he says, is its alliance with the NPF. “The last five years have been peaceful, no bandhs and blockades, because the NPF, which is popular with the Nagas, did the troubleshooting in the hills,” he says.

Biren concedes there is a long way to go “development-wise” in the hills. But, he told The Indian Express, the BJP government tried, “step by step”. Change can only come gradually, he said, adding: “Look how bandhs and blockades have stopped… We have at least managed to bridge the communication gap.”

To this, the social worker from Phungyar agrees. “Congress ministers would barely ever come to the hills. But since 2017, every other month, there is a Cabinet or a Union minister here. People feel acknowledged.”