Manipur's Wild West Scenario Is Destroying Social Security

Manipur's Wild West Scenario Is Destroying Social Security

By Salam Rajesh

Women of Manipur demand peace, but not at the cost of their survival.
Photo: Facebook/Public

Manipur today is living under a dark cloud. No one can say clearly who is protecting the people, and where social security has gone, especially for the most vulnerable people living where the valley meets the hills.The violence unleashed by suspected Kuki armed groups is tearing apart the social fabric of different communities in the State. It looks pre-planned and calculated, to divide people and to push a certain political objective. Many fingers are pointing towards the demand for autonomy.Whatever the objective of the militants may be, one question remains troubling. Where do the elected representatives of the Kuki community stand? They are part of a governance system bound by the Constitution of India.

In particular, people are asking about the position of the Deputy Chief Minister who represents the Kangpokpi Assembly Constituency, at a time when he is reportedly linked to the leadership that is causing so much tension on the ground, with killings and burning of homes.This confusion has led to a growing demand for his resignation from the State Government, because his commitment to the social and emotional integrity of Manipur is not clear to the public.

The recent spate of violence targeting different communities looks like an attempt to create mayhem, to force the State and Central Governments to come to the negotiating table on their terms.Violence in Manipur since 1991 onwards has given the State a very bad image to outside investors. Investors fear that violence and uncertainty will disrupt any development work.

This is also true for project companies. They say unreasonable demands and disruptions are hampering their work, especially in railway and national highway development. It is also true that most State Government offices are unable to do their duties properly because of disturbances, both physical and mental, from armed and non-armed groups.

Field activities under State programmes are also stuck for the same reason.Yet, in this volatile situation, it is surprising to see many aspiring candidates coming forward to declare that they will contest elections, as if they are unconcerned about the deaths and sorrow around them.

In my opinion, instead of declaring their intention to contest elections at this critical time, these aspiring candidates should put all their efforts into pressuring both the State and Central Governments to make their stand clear on Manipur.

Less talk on politics, and more work on social security, peace and progress. That is how future leaders can truly win the trust of the people.The killings are real. They must be stopped at the root, by identifying the trouble-makers in their own space. That is why the demand to identify the natives, the so-called indigenes, and to scrutinise the outsiders, has become so important today.

The State and Central leaders should not take the demand for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) lightly. Manipur is slowly turning into a picture of the historic Wild West that people once only read about in comics and saw in western movies. The reported involvement of Myanmar-based Kuki armed groups makes the ground situation even more serious. It raises the urgent question: how fast will the administration fence the entire Manipur-Myanmar international border?

At the same time, the appeal of locals, particularly in Ukhrul District, is also valid. They say full fencing could cut off their traditional passage for fraternal visits between relatives in Manipur and Myanmar. This needs to be seen in a holistic way. Identifying who are natives and who are trespassers needs a proper, methodical process of scrutiny, especially at transit points, if and when the administration finally decides to seal the entire international border.

The inter-State borders are also not free from the entry of unaccounted migrant workers and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and other States of India, particularly Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. The inter-State entry points are not free from the tendency to let people in on the sly, something this writer has himself witnessed at times. It is not clear how truckloads of migrant workers coming from other States are verified at check-points, given the apparently weak monitoring system.

It is therefore clear that, both internally and externally, there is no fool-proof mechanism to monitor and check infiltration in all its forms. Manipur needs a strategic action plan immediately, to stop further disintegration of the State and its people.

 Salam RajeshSource /Credit: Article by Salam Rajesh, shared for public discussion on Bharat2027.