Manipur: Nine Steps Before Normalcy

The emergence of the video from Manipur, showing two women being paraded naked by a crowd of men has brought shame to the country and attracted unwelcome attention from many parts of the world. 

The outrage over the act is well justifiable. More so since the state administration under Chief Minister N Biren Singh had done nothing to arrest and prosecute the accused for 76 long days. 

The state administration suffers from a trust deficit and peace is a distant dream. The ethnic divide between Meiteis and Kukis is complete (read this) and, right now, Manipur stares at fragmentation.

However there’s still a window of opportunity, albeit a small one, open for the Union Government to act decisively and salvage the situation. 

These are the immediate steps that the Union Government needs to take: 

• Lay off Biren Singh

Biren Singh and his administration has stood out for their failure to prevent bloodshed and act against criminals, radicals and terrorists.

Seventy-eight days after violence broke out in Manipur on May 3, the killings may have subsided, but arson continues. Absence of violence, anyway, does not mean peace. 

Also, Biren Singh has lost the trust of the Kukis and even many Meiteis who are fed up with the violence. 

The state administration that Biren Singh heads is widely perceived as partisan and Biren Singh is himself accused of bias towards his fellow Meiteis. 

Sacking him is the first step to restoring normalcy in Manipur. 

• Appoint replacement who is acceptable to all ethnic groups:

To restore the trust of all ethnic groups of Manipur in the state administration, the Union Government has to ensure that Biren Singh’s replacement is a person who is non-controversial and enjoys the respect of all ethnic groups. 

Simply replacing Biren Singh with another senior minister in the cabinet will not do. 

Biren Singh’s replacement should be put on probation and told about him being on probation. The Union Government has to keep close watch on his functioning and conduct for a few months to ensure he does not follow in his predecessor’s footsteps.

• Put curbs on Manipur Police; free hand to central forces, Army:

The Manipur Police is perceived to be partisan, undisciplined and corrupt.

Sacking of Biren Singh should be accompanied by limiting the role of the Manipur Police whose personnel should be confined to their barracks and whose officers should be placed under strict watch to stop them from playing any mischief.

Policing powers and functions should be given to the central armed police forces (CAPFs) and the Assam Rifles, with the Army providing the muscle, whenever necessary, in cracking down on criminals, radicals and terrorists.

• Recover stolen arms:

About 4,000 sophisticated rifles, including INSAS, M16s and AK-47s, as well as small arms, explosives and 50,000 rounds of ammunition were looted from police armouries by Meitei mobs.

Efforts to recover those looted arms have been perfunctory and the state authorities have only issued meek appeals to the criminals to return the looted military hardware. 

The central forces, Assam Rifles and the Army should be given a free hand to recover the looted arms and ammunition and capture the criminals who looted the police armouries.

• Launch full-scale operations against terror groups:

Army and central intelligence agencies have raised the alarm about many terror groups taking advantage of the ethnic strife in the state. 

The primary among these terror groups are the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), United National Liberation Front (UNLF), People’s Revolutionary party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and Manipur People’s Liberation Front (MPLF). 

These groups had been marginalised due to sustained counter-terror operations by the Army and Assam Rifles. But the terror groups are gaining support now. Their resurrection needs to be crushed and the Army and Assam Rifles have to be given a free hand to do so. 

• Crackdown on Kuki groups:

Though Kuki militant groups have been claiming that they are not involved in the attack on Meiteis, the fact remains that they (Kuki militants) form the backbone of the retaliation against Meiteis. 

The Army and the Assam Rifles have to be given the mandate to crackdown on Kukis who possess and wield arms. 

• Impose bans on Meitei radicals:

Two Meitei radical groups--the Arambai Tenggol and the Meitei Leepun--have been at the forefront of attacks on Kukis. The leaders of these two radical and sectarian outfits have been inciting violence. 

These two groups ought to be banned immediately, the leaders imprisoned and a crackdown should be launched on all the members and supporters of the two outfits.

• Prosecute all criminals involved in the violence:

To restore faith in the state machinery, all those--Meiteis and Kukis--who have been involved in the orgy of violence have to be identified, arrested and prosecuted. Manipur is a small state and it will not be difficult at all to identify and arrest all the criminals who indulged in arson and loot, and attacked, maimed, killed and raped innocent civilians. 

Prosecution of all these criminals is necessary to bring closure to the heinous crimes and injustices that have been committed. And such closure is the first step towards a reconciliation. 

• Warn off Church groups and others fishing in troubled waters:

Many Church and Christian groups, as well as political parties and sections of civil society, have been fishing in troubled waters and exacerbating tensions between the two warring communities in Manipur.

Many of these groups and individuals have also been portraying the conflict as a Hindu-Christian conflict to the outside world. 

They need to be warned off and cautioned against indulging in such mischief. The conflict in Manipur is purely an ethnic one and there is no religious angle to it. Those who are giving it a communal colour need to be prosecuted for the great disservice they are doing to Manipur and the nation as a whole. 

Misinformation has to be countered strongly, and at the earliest. False narratives should not be allowed to gain currency. 

These steps will not only ensure return of normalcy in Manipur, but will also restore the faith of all communities in the rule of law. 

Also read—Manipur: Government inaction has fossilised Kuki-Meitei divide; State staring at long-drawn-out hostilities