Three months of Manipur violence: 5 unanswered questions

It has been three months since ethnic violence started in one of India’s most sensitive border states - Manipur. There were a large number of instances involving murder, rape, arson, loot, and ethnic cleansing. The fingers were raised on the state government too. Even the Supreme Court took cognizance of the events and openly rebuked the state administration for its incompetence and failure in establishing peace.

It is an alarming fact that more than 6.5 thousand FIRs have been registered in Manipur in the past three months and the police could arrest only a handful of culprits and that too after the video of two Kuki girls was made viral. Overall, the number of arrested people is very less, and while Manipur state police are giving all possible excuses for not being able to arrest the accused, central forces and Indian Army are helpless in the absence of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in the valley area.

Three months of violence, three months of pain, three months of being a refugee in forests, three months of hardship, and three months of seeing their near and dear ones killed have created a big psychological impact on the minds of the people of Manipur. Although the Supreme Court and central government did take some of the events seriously and are taking positive steps toward normalcy in the state there are a few unanswered questions. These are burning questions and it is high time that the government must answer them too.

Looted weapons- it was revealed that in the first few days of violence, a large number of weapons were looted from armories of state police& various private gun shops. These weapons include machine guns, mortars, grenade launchers, Kalashnikov Rifles, INSAS rifles, Pistols, and other automatic weapons. As per certain media reports, more than 4500 weapons and over 5 Lakhs of ammunition were looted from a total of 37 locations. A big chunk of it was looted from just three places. 1598 from the 7^th Battalion of Manipur Rifles, 446 from the Manipur Police Training Centre, and 463 from the 8th Battalion of IRB.  In addition to this, another 1000+ were looted from various police stations & reserve battalions, and about 800-900 were looted from private arms shops. Surprisingly, out of this entire lot, barely 1600 weapons have been recovered till now and the rest close to 2900 weapons are still at large. Although the State or central government has not given any detailed estimate if we believe media reports, over 2600+ weapons (Mostly automatic) are presently held with Meitei militia groups like ArambaiTengglol&MeeteiLeepun while around 200 (Primarily the ones looted from private gun shops in Churachandpur) are with Kuki groups. It is alarming to know that certain valley-based terrorist groups (Mostly Meitei) like PLA, UNLF, KYKL, PREPAK & KCP who have been waging against India for the last three decades are now having access to these weapons. This is a serious threat to national security, and no one is talking about it. So, it is extremely urgent for the Supreme Court to take up this issue too before it is too late and make the concerned people accountable for it. Recovery of all these weapons and ammunition is an urgent need before they become a threat to our national security.

Action against the rumor-mongers- The entire violence was the result of large-scale rumor-mongering and peddling of fake narratives. Right from the very first day when images and videos of victims of a road accident were circulated as an attack on the particular community to the video statements of people claiming rape of Meitei women leading to the unfortunate rape & killing of many innocent Kuki girls, fake narratives were everywhere and central as well as Manipur state government failed to arrest even a single fake news peddler. They thought that by banning the internet, they can contain such activities but that was a big misconception. Only mobile internet was banned in the state, but people used broadband, landline-based wi-fi, and even dial-up networks to remain on social media. We know of instances where people & even government offices having broadband Wi-Fi networks opened their Wi-Fi for everyone. Even today when three months have passed, the flow of fake narratives has not yet stopped, and the government has totally failed to contain it. If fake news peddlers were caught and punished in the first few days, violence would have not spread to this level.

Partiality in rehabilitation and no compensation to the victims- In the last three months, nearly two hundred people have lost their lives while tens of thousands have been rendered homeless. As per a Reuters report, the biggest brunt was faced by the minority Kuki community which constitutes about 70% of the total killed and nearly 80% of displaced people. The irony is that despite this openly available data, nearly 90% of the rehabilitation camps were set up in Meitei-dominated areas itself which reflects the partial attitude of the state government towards a community. Not only that but there is also no announcement of any compensation to the kin of those killed in the violence. We all agree that money cannot bring back the dead ones, but it can certainly give some support to the family so that they can start a new life. It is high time that Central as well as State governments should immediately announce a compensation policy for those who lost their families and for those who lost their homes. It will help in healing their wounds.

How to contain the organized womenfolk- Meirapaibi – The role of Meitei womenfolk commonly called as the “Torchbearers” or “Meirapaibis” in the three months of violence needs to be analyzed in detail. There have been a large number of cases where these women escorted the armed rioters to go to minority villages and carry out violence. They were the ones who stopped central security forces from reaching the place of violence using all possible means. When a mother and her child were being taken in an ambulance to the hospital, these “Meirapaibis” were the ones who burnt both of them to death mercilessly. Not only this, but they also forced Indian Army to release hardcore terrorists involved in the killing of Indian Army soldiers from their custody and these women were the ones who instigated the Meitei mob to rape the Kuki girls. In light of all this, it becomes pertinent to think about why these so-called “Meirapaibis” are increasingly becoming a menace and what should be done to control them. Remember, Manipur is a sensitive border state and a pillar of India’s ambitious “Eastern Highway” and having such a violent organization in the state will be disastrous in the coming times.

Detailed investigation of organized violence&possibility of an external hand – The way violence erupted and was carried out in an organized way. The way fake narratives were peddled and the people were instigated to kill an entire community. The way organized militia groups started attacking the nearby colonies in no time, it is difficult to believe that it happened spontaneously. Such incidents cannot happen unless there is a long preparation involved and in view of India’s “Eastern Highway” and approach to ASEAN, a foreign hand cannot be denied. A detailed court-monitored investigation is required not only in the case of sexual violence but for the overall sectarian conflict too with a perspective that there may be involvement of external powers. It is the need of the day and the government of India as well as the supreme judiciary must think over it.

Three months is a long time and the victims of ethnic violence in Manipur are awaiting justice. The dead ones lying in morgue are awaiting their cremation and tens of thousands of people are staying in forests as their homes are destroyed. While it is good that the supreme court has taken note of sexual violence and a few other incidents, there are questions unanswered and till they are answered, we cannot think of peace in Manipur. 

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