It’s exactly 149 days today that the violence in Manipur has erupted and there is no sign of it abating anytime soon. Lives and livelihoods both in the Kuki-Zo inhabited hill areas and the Meitei inhabited valley have been severely disrupted. Internet shutdown which was lifted for two days was again reimposed on September 26 for the next five days. This happened after a picture of two young people, a girl aged 17 years and the boy aged 20 who had gone missing since July this year surfaced after the internet was restored. The duo were last seen on CCTV camera riding off on a two wheeler into an area that is apparently Kuki dominated. What begs the question is why at the height of the conflict when tension was at its height would two Meiteis go into a Kuki dominated area. This incident has been taken so seriously by the Manipur CM Biren Singh that the Special Director CBI was flown in to take over the investigation.
In the meantime the students in Imphal protested the death of the duo but their protest march was disrupted by security personnel. Internet shutdown is a major faultline in this country since this technology is today used for online banking and several other purposes such as online education, online meetings and for conducting all kinds of businesses and online purchases as well. For over 5 months now the Kuki-Zo people have had to stay away from Imphal valley for fear of being killed. The living spaces of the two communities are now divided by bunkers which resemble a war zone. The reasons for the outbreak of the conflict are still not yet out in the public domain because the three-member fact-finding team headed by a retired High Court Judge is pending. There are claims and counter-claims from both sides as to the reasons for the violence that has now claimed over 170 lives and displaced at least 70, 000 people.
What has caused consternation is that violence has been allowed to continue for so long under a Chief Minister who, from all accounts failed to handle the situation. If the Constitution was followed to the letter then a breakdown of law and order in any state for over 3 days should have been followed by President’s Rule which means that the central government would take over the reins of governance and restore order without fear or favour. This was not done in the present case and the situation is such that travelling out of Manipur from the hills requires a tortuous road journey via Nagaland or Mizoram. Such is the divide that even volunteers wanting to travel to the hills for relief work are subjected to strict scrutiny at several points and sometimes held up at the Imphal airport for hours.This situation is unprecedented and requires adept handling. The question is why is the Centre turning a blind eye to the sufferings of people in Manipur? And why is the Prime Minister of the country so insensitive as to not visit the troubled state which is in need of healing? It’s a curious situation and a political game that smacks of unconcern for what happens in India’s North East, except during elections.
