After Mishandling Manipur For 16 Months, Centre Should Return Reins Of State To Chief Minister Biren Singh

The Union Government — more specifically, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) — has been in charge of the law and order machinery in strife-torn Manipur for the past 16 months. And it has failed miserably in its task, as the recent resurgence of violence in the state amply demonstrates.

Immediately after ethnic clashes, triggered by unprovoked but well-planned attacks on Meiteis by Kukis, broke out in the state on 3 May, the MHA stepped in and divested the state’s democratically-elected Chief Minister, Nongthombam Biren Singh, of crucial powers in handling the law and order machinery in the state. 

The MHA foisted a former director general (DG) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Kuldeip Singh, as the security advisor to the state and made him the chairman of the ‘unified command’ comprising the state police, army and central security forces deployed in the state. 

That, effectively, placed control of the entire security apparatus of the state in the hands of the former CRPF chief who also brought in a Tripura cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, Rajiv Singh, and made him the new police chief of the state. Rajiv Singh was, at that time, serving as the inspector general (IG) of CRPF and had zero experience or knowledge of the complex state of Manipur. 

Chief Minister Biren Singh, rendered toothless by the Union government, has since then had very little control over the state’s own police force, leave aside the Indian Army, Assam Rifles and other Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) like the CRPF and BSF (Border Security Force) that are deployed in the state. 

But this arrangement has failed to yield results. The twin objectives set by the MHA — ending ethnic violence in the state and bridging the divide between the Meiteis and Kukis — has not been achieved. 

Admittedly, there was a lull in violence between the two communities for several months even though the war of words between the Meiteis and Kukis continued, thus deepening the mistrust and divide between them. 

Interlocutors appointed by the MHA, and they included senior officers of central intelligence agencies, failed to get credible representatives of the two warring communities to sit together for a meaningful dialogue that could have ended the ethnic violence. 

The lull in violence, as it has turned out now, was only a temporary one. Kuki terror groups used this period to gather expertise in handling sophisticated weapons that they have received from their sister outfits in Myanmar. 

It is no secret that the ranks of Kuki terror outfits were strengthened by fresh recruits from among illegal Kuki-Chin immigrants from Myanmar. Kuki-Chin ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) of Myanmar have provided training and expertise to Manipur’s Kuki terrorists to handle sophisticated weapons and drones that are now being used with devastating effect against Meiteis. 

The Kuki terror outfits of Manipur have gained in strength only because the Union government has failed to jettison the faulty policy (a legacy of the earlier Congress regimes) of arming and training these outfits and using them as a counter against Naga and Meitei militant groups. 

The Assam Rifles, in particular, was closely involved in this task of propping up and then using the Kuki terror outfits to counter Naga and Meitei militants. 

The Assam Rifles, which was tasked with guarding the India-Myanmar border, looked the other way as tens of thousands of illegal Kuki-Chin immigrants entered Manipur from Myanmar, settled down in forests in the hill districts, started cultivating poppy and got involved in the narcotics business. 

The demographic change brought about by the illegal Kuki-Chin immigrants has complicated the already complex ethnic balance in the state. 

The Kuki terror outfits, which started controlling the narcotic business and made huge sums of money from it, were accorded further protection by an inexplicable ‘Suspension of Operations’ (SOO) agreement that the Union and state governments signed with them a few years ago. Inexplicable because the Kuki terror outfits were never engaged in hostilities with security forces. In fact, it is an open secret that these outfits had enjoyed the patronage of the Assam Rifles. 

Since there were no ‘operations’ carried out by the Kuki terror outfits against the security forces and no counter-operations by security forces against the Kuki terrorists, where was the need to conclude a ‘Suspension of Operations’ with the outfits? 

The SOO agreement was signed in August 2008 and according to senior state officials, the Manmohan Singh regime strong-armed the then Congress government in Manipur into co-signing the agreement. 

Earlier last year, the Biren Singh government unilaterally revoked the SOO agreement, but the Union government did not do so. The Kuki terror outfits, thus, continue to enjoy the covert patronage of the Assam Rifles. 

This covert patronage, and its manifestation in the reluctance (if not refusal) of the Assam Rifles and other central forces to take strong and punitive action in crushing the Kuki terror outfits, has led to widespread resentment against and distrust of the central forces among Meiteis. 

The central forces are now being blamed by the Meiteis for allowing the Kuki terror outfits to gain strength and the courage to launch brazen attacks on Meiteis using armed drones and firing lethal rockets from launchers. 

The recent escalation in violence and the widening gulf between the two warring communities reflects a complete failure of whatever strategies that have been framed and implemented by the MHA in tackling the volatile situation in Manipur. 

Taking away control of the law and order machinery from the democratically-elected Chief Minister of the state and placing it in the hands of a retired IPS officer who is not answerable to the long-suffering people of the state has clearly not worked. 

It is high time the Union government realises its mistake and does what is right: return control of the law and order machinery to the Chief Minister and make him the chairman of the unified command. 

The Union government should also allow the state government full freedom to tackle the situation and place all central forces deployed in Manipur under the command of the Chief Minister, as is the norm in the rest of the country. 

The abject mishandling of the situation in Manipur has incensed the Meiteis, the majority community in the state. The Meiteis are demanding that the reins of the unified command be handed over to the Chief Minister, a demand that was raised by Biren Singh himself in two consecutive meetings with state governor Lakshman Acharya Saturday (7 September) evening and Sunday (8 September) morning.

This demand has to be met. The MHA can no longer afford to meddle directly in the state, especially since those meddling in Manipur’s affairs from faraway New Delhi have little knowledge of the complex ground realities in the state. 

Also read: New Delhi Can No Longer Delay Tough Action Against Kuki Militants Who Now Pose A Threat To National Security

Eradicating Kuki Militancy In Manipur Must Now Be A Priority For The Modi Government