On July 25, Manipur Chief Minister, Biren Singh met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi. While the contents of the discussion are not known to the media, it can be surmised that Shah wants matters in Manipur to be brought under control immediately. On June 29, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi landed at Imphal albeit late in the day – the 56th day since May 3 when violence first broke out in Manipur. Why the Congress leader waited so long before undertaking a trip he terms as a peace mission in Manipur is unknown but better late than never. Meanwhile something had to be orchestrated to take the media gaze away from Rahul Gandhi. So a drama was manufactured of Biren Singh wanting to meet the Governor to submit his resignation as CM. Meanwhile, thousands of women supporters of Biren Singh – perhaps the same group of women who prevented the security forces from arresting 12 militants just the other day, gathered at the CM’s official residence and told him not to resign. It is not known how but the resignation letter was torn and crumpled up but the writing was clear enough for people to read. By then Rahul Gandhi had met the Governor even while the media paid more attention to the resignation burlesque. If Singh was acting to a script he The
On the 57th day violence has not abated and gunfights continue in isolated spaces even while people are still being killed in retaliation. That the peace committee formed recently is a non-starter only makes things murkier. Till date there is no proactive group/groups to attempt a peace-building process in Manipur. Unless the two warring sides find it acceptable to sit across the table and iron out their differences peace is unlikely to follow. The tenacity of the Kuki-Zo people’s demand for a separate administration and the complete breakdown of trust on what is being seen as a Meitei CM who is openly siding with his people and has not shown any empathy for the hill people only aggravates the situation. In fact the CM himself is seen as the one who provoked the conflict when he attempted to take over the forests which were under the custody of tribals and to convert them to reserved forests. Another sore point is the Meitei demand for scheduled tribes status, possibly so they earn the right to buy land in the hills which constitute 90% of the land area of Manipur. The 10% of land in the Imphal Valley accommodating about 53% of the population is bursting at the seams. Why land reforms measures have not been initiated to ensure that the indigenous people of the state get equal share of land is inexplicable. And why all the institutional and other resources are invested in the Valley is also a bone of contention. Unless these thorny issues are addressed peace will remain a temporarily repaired fuse that can blow up at any time. Long term solutions are the need of the hour.
