It takes only a small spark to create a bonfire in states where inter-tribal rivalries are embedded in their histories. What happened since May 3, last was impregnated for several months if not years. There are certain intrinsic geographical and historical anomalies that are seemingly too late to correct. The Imphal valley where 67% of the population resides, mainly the Meitei people who make up 53% of the population is an oval shaped valley measuring approximately 2238 sq km in a total land area of 22,347 sq km. This means that 67 % percent of people live in 10 % of the geographical area of Manipur whereas 90% is the hilly region where the tribals comprising Nagas, Kuki- Zomi people have lived for centuries. The Meiteis adopted the Vaishnavism form of Hinduism in the 18th century. It is for this reason that the Meiteis are not considered Scheduled Tribes despite being of Tibeto-Burman origin like the other tribes occupying Manipur.
In March this year the single bench of the Manipur High Court acting on a petition for including Meiteis in the list of Scheduled Tribes directed the State Government to begin the process and write to the relevant authorities so the matter can be taken up by the Union Government and passed by Parliament. This was what incensed the tribals whose grouse is that all development has happened in the Imphal valley; all institutions of higher learning including the Manipur University, the Regional Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) and the Central Agricultural University are in Imphal Valley thereby providing more access to higher education to the Meiteis.
Another trigger point is the attempt by the State Government to identify what it calls the illegal immigrants who are basically of Kuki-Chin origin and who have close ethnic ties with the Kukis residing in Churachandpur area. On May 2, Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh also announced that the Inner Line Permits to Manipur would now include the face recognition system since the number of illegal immigrants has gone up and about 410 Myanmar nationals without valid documents were in jail. This did not go down well with the Kukis as their ethnic brethren were being considered refugees. What has irked the Kuki people however is that the Government has surveyed the forest areas which are inherently owned by the tribals, with the intent of converting them to reserved forests without any process of consultation. Also the Manipur Government intends to expand the area under marijuana cultivation as the Government is in the process of legalising it for use in medicinal and industrial purposes. Government is also aware that large hectares are under poppy cultivation, the raw material for opium and intends to put an end to this. Many drug lords would be affected if that happens so this is also at the root of the conflict. How the conflagration started is because of a solidarity march by tribal students’ bodies in the hill districts. The violence started when some miscreants burnt a portion of the Anglo-Kuki War Memorial gate at Churachandpur. The tension persists with no sign of any peace committees coming forward to douse the fires of hatred.
