Who gains from Manipur violence and at whose cost? A fact-finding report

As Manipur reached the three-month mark of ongoing unrest, a team led by Dr. Syeda Hameed, a mentor for Bharat Jodo Abhiyan, and including Dr. Roshmi Goswami, a national council member of Bharat Jodo Abhiyan and co-chair of South Asians For Human Rights, along with Jarjum G Ete, co-founder of North East Network, a distinguished member of the All India Union of Forest Working Group, and Angela Rangad, a participant in Thma U Rangli Juki and KAM Meghalaya, conducted a visit to the state. Their observations, reflections and recommendations are as follows. 

Was it the right time to visit Manipur?

Our team consisted of four women, each with distinct origins and affiliations. Three of us were from the Northeast, and one was from Delhi. Our group encompassed diverse ethnicities and religious practices, representing Christian, Hindu, Muslim, and Indigenous tribal faith backgrounds. The initial steps towards engaging with Manipur’s ongoing crisis took shape for one team member during a secluded three-day meeting within a supportive feminist environment. This connection laid the groundwork for our subsequent visit, which was initially intended as a gesture of goodwill.

However, as we traveled through battle-ravaged Manipur, the objective of our visit continued to evolve, incorporating new perspectives and taking different directions. Eventually, it became a ‘mission of listening’. It also marked the first in a series of proposed visits that we are committed to undertaking.

We landed in Imphal on August 3rd, a most contentious day to arrive as it marked three months since the fateful day of May 3rd. The Kuki community had proposed to hold a mass burial programme for their deceased, including 35 individuals, of which 3 were women. These bodies were lying in the Churachandpur district hospital morgue at S. Boljang village.

The proposed burial was becoming an intensely controversial and emotionally charged event. The reason was that both sides, the Kukis primarily led by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) and the Coordination Committee For Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) representing the Meiteis, were claiming the proposed burial grounds.

Mass condolence ceremonies had already taken place at the peace ground in Turbong and other Kuki areas before we arrived at our destination. However, the burial was deferred for another week by the Manipur High Court. The court requested both the Kuki and Meitei communities to maintain the status quo and work towards an amicable settlement during this period.

Starting with this flashpoint of fresh confrontation, the entire period of our visit was indeed a ‘flare-up’ period that was highly charged. Each day brought new challenges of heightened aggressive and combat posturing by all actors – Kuki and Meitei groups, Meira Paibis, armed volunteers, state and Central security forces, and the Military. We were, therefore, literally in the middle of ‘events and incidents.’ It was a lived experience of the ‘Manipur battleground.’ This also determined where we could go and where we could not.

Upon arrival in Imphal, we met a cross-section of Meitei civil society people – old friends with whom we had journeyed together in earlier struggles and movements, as well as new acquaintances. The conversations that evening were very open and trusting, providing some context as well as questions. We were scheduled to visit Churachandpur or, as some like to call it today, Lamka, the very next day after our arrival. However, after the tensions of August 3, we were advised to visit Tengnoupal – another Kuki stronghold District instead. This important District is connected by the Asian highway to Moreh. Here, we witnessed massive community mobilisation, particularly by women, not only to support and run relief camps but also as part of the resistance/defense efforts.

On the following day, August 4th, we decided to leave Imphal at the crack of dawn to head for Churachandpur. Unfortunately, we became caught up in the events of yet another volatile day that this conflict had seen. After negotiating our way through several Meira Paibi barricades, we managed to reach the border village of Kwakta, when our Pangal (Meitei Muslim) driver flatly refused to go any further, even after clearing every other hurdle. The incessant shelling and sniping from the surrounding hills unnerved him. This was the morning when three people had just been killed at 3 am while still sleeping, and the bodies were yet to be retrieved. Meira Paibis from every nook and corner of the Bishnupur district and armed volunteers were pouring in to join the mourning family members and were also readying themselves to protest/retaliate. It was a very charged situation, and yet we might have taken a chance and walked through no man’s land across what everyone there describes as the LOC, where our Kuki friends were waiting to receive us. However, there were people with limitations in our team, and we had to be mindful. Our return journey across Imphal towards our hotel was also fraught with tension, as the anger and anguish about the deaths that day were palpable when we were stopped at every crossing by groups of people, mainly women, who demanded to see our IDs.

Our journey to Kangpokpi the next day was relatively easier and smoother, but what we heard and saw there left us heartbroken.

During our short visit, we interacted with and had wide-ranging discussions with a cross-section of people (Meitei, Kuki Zo, as well as Naga). We met organisations, women and student leaders, concerned individuals, experts from human rights and environmental movements, peace activists and negotiators, journalists, researchers, filmmakers, writers, and theater personalities, students, relief providers, church workers, and others. We also met survivors of sexual violence, assault, and killings, families of disappeared people, displaced people, and individual voices against the drug cartel. There were several narratives—some more dominant than others and also constantly changing as the situation on the ground changed.

Anguished narratives

The most striking expression cutting across both the Kukis and Meitei people we interacted with, regardless of their situation, was their unequivocal assertion that the present regime, both at the Centre and in the state, is clearly and solely responsible for the continued violence and complete anarchy in the state. People were unanimous in saying that if the violence had been controlled and reined in the first few days of its outburst in May, it would not have accelerated the way it did, and they would not be in the present state that they are in. They also pointed out that many of the sexual violations and killings that happened after the 3rd and 4th of May could perhaps have been avoided. The issue of command responsibility and state accountability rang loud and clear from every quarter and category of people.

In Kwakta, when we knelt down to pay our condolences to the grief-stricken widow of Prem Kumar Yumnam, who was brutally killed just a few hours earlier, she screamed out, ‘If Narendra Modi had controlled this violence three months ago, my husband would be alive today. Why is he still silent?’ Both sides believe that the violence and aggression have been deliberately left to fester, and as new elements are added, the situation gets aggravated every single day. The Manipur crisis is therefore a clear indication of both the culpability and incapability of the BJP government led by Narendra Modi. Additionally, the PM’s petulant and arrogant silence, along with the lack of empathy for the affected people, shows a complete disregard for the state of Manipur and is deeply insulting to its people.

State institutions have collapsed, and there is a clear sense of state inaction, with bodies lying in the morgues and the state not enabling a process of identification and closure for grieving families. Instead, the BJP regime (Cf: Tushar Mehta’s claims) is seen indulging in its typical diversionary blame game by labeling the unclaimed bodies as those belonging to illegal immigrants, while families wait in anguish and grief.

Concerns were also raised about undertrials in the jails in Imphal and other Meitei-dominated districts, with Kukis having no access to their loved ones and not even knowing if they are still alive. As one person pointed out, the state has been ‘strategically absent’. This strategic absence seems to have become the DNA of the ruling regime when they are unable or unwilling to take action, either because of incapability or calculations around some electoral gains or losses. People simply do not seem to matter.

The question of the state’s strategic absence and the Manipur government’s culpability was particularly glaring in the incidents of violence against the Kuki Zo community. While we had read about the extent and depth of the violations that had taken place since May 3, the firsthand accounts of brutality and mayhem were extremely shocking, especially accounts of sexual violence and the complete breakdown of any norms of humanity. Serious doubts were also raised about the partisan and communal role played by higher-ups in the administration.

Another narrative is that the core issue is not even the formation of a separate Kuki administration or clash with militants in different locations, but that it is essentially a geo-political conflict driven by people with a deep-rooted political agenda. The ‘strategic absence’ and silence of the Centre seem to lend credibility to this narrative. Along the same narrative, a question that was raised by several people, including those who have been directly affected, is “Who gains?” from allowing this impasse to continue and the violence to fester. Is this lingering conflict a cover-up or a diversion from other things that are going on? Linkages to poppy cultivation and the drug cartel, and drug money being used for electioneering, were made by several people – some alluded to it, while others were very vocal, with former police officer Thounaojam Brinda going public with evidence and asking, ‘Is CM Biren Fighting a War against Drugs or For Drugs?’ She spoke to us at length about the various aspects and operational strategies of the drug mafia and the inextricable nexus with the seats of power and the involvement of the higher-ups of all the communities. As the impasse continues, there is a growing realisation on both sides of the divide that ultimately, all communities are expendable.

On the ground, the ties between the two communities in conflict seem to have been severely snapped, at least for now. Colleagues and friends who had lived together and worked together still maintain contact, but the strains of everyday strife are pressing down, and here and there, fissures and doubt were visible. Amongst the women on both sides, this breakdown of ties is deeply felt. There is immense sadness, grief, and regret for the loss of lives and the incidences of barbaric violence. There is also huge rage and anger. It is very early yet and too fraught to talk about peace. For now, the need is to focus on the practical requirements that have arisen and to find ways to build trust through a sense of urgent concerns common to both sides of the divide. But most importantly, it is for a cessation of violence and hostilities. Most felt that this was possible only with the removal of CM Biren Singh. The call for his removal came from both communities and debunked the narrative that he has unanimous support from the Meiteis.

The Kukis across the board reiterated their demand for separate administration, as trust has been broken and they no longer feel safe to be under the same jurisdiction as the Meiteis. No doubt, the demand for separate administration precedes the May 3rd outbreak of violence, but since then and whatever has happened during this three-month period strengthens the demand and the resolve of the Kukis to be separate.

Our visit to the relief camps and our conversations with family members, women support groups of the disappeared, and a survivor of sexual violence have provided practical and insightful gendered insights that are being included in the section on Relief and Rehabilitation. The meeting with a survivor of sexual violence and learning about her story and its aftermath from her detailed FIR and the accounts of people around her was especially painful and profoundly shook us. Her mother (a person who worked as a cleaner in Imphal) was emphatic about seeking justice, advocating for life imprisonment for the perpetrators but not capital punishment. The silence and blank expression on the face of the survivor – a mere child barely 18 years of age – spoke volumes. We endeavored to draw her out, and eventually, we caught a hint of an impish smile when we encouraged her to reflect on her own desires and express what she wants rather than what others want for her. She was able to articulate her wishes, and that was sufficient.

The role and power of women on both sides of the divide are simply astounding and also very complicated. As one of our team members put it, she has never seen this kind of spirit and resistance across the country. We encountered Kuki women enduring the pelting rain and thick fog at Tengnoupal day in and day out, blocking the movement of RAF Commando trucks on the Trans Asian highway to the border town of Moreh. We also witnessed the sensitivity and gentleness of a group of young women who encircled a young survivor of sexual violence and her family, moving them out from a very public relief camp and helping to establish a home in a beautiful and secure homestead. This environment enabled healing, liberated them from constant media and public attention, and provided daily support to the entire family.

We experienced the absolutely formidable force and power of the Meira Paibis as they enforced a public curfew in Meitei districts, blocked access to Kuki-dominated areas, or organised/participated in collective mourning for a slain youth from the security forces. We witnessed their power, but we have returned with troubling as well as complex questions about their ‘agency’ in a strong patriarchal society like theirs. What was quite evident, though, was that unlike women from the Kuki and Naga communities, the Meira Paibis and the Meiteis, in general, do not appear to fall under any unified command structure and therefore defy any attempts at discipline.

In our team itself, there were disagreements about this structure of the Meira Paibis, but it was obvious that while a loose and amorphous structure allows for autonomy and resilience at the local level, as each Leikai or locality has its own group of Meira Paibis with different operating styles and norms, it can also be hugely chaotic and unrestrained. A keen sense of justice and defiance against subjugation or oppression is deeply embedded in the political consciousness of Meitei women in general and in the Meira Paibis, in particular. Due to the lack of autonomy within the four walls of their homes, the expression of this political consciousness in the public space is immensely important to the Meira Paibis and to their sense of being, and this is their driving force. While this is their strength, it is also their vulnerability, as vested interests from even within their ranks can easily manipulate it in various ways.

There is enough evidence coming in to show that ‘lines were crossed’ and extremely negative roles were played by sections of Meira Paibis in the present conflict, and that at certain moments of the conflict, there was manipulation. There can be no justification for these roles, but neither can there be sweeping generalisations and condemnation for all. The question then becomes how to ‘channelise’ this political consciousness and this resistance to stay focused on a community-enhancing rather than community-dividing approach, which can form the core of peace-building efforts. It is a daunting task but not impossible, and very tiny steps have already been quietly initiated at the local level by women who do not wish to be named or identified.

 

On the Kuki side, we also met and interacted at length with young women who had been educated at universities outside Manipur but were now back in their villages. These women provided a refreshingly different and gendered perspective and analysis of the conflict, the ethnic divide, and the stereotypical role of men, including men from their own community. They were enraged that men who cannot manage their personal lives are entrusted with managing the country and the mess that men, as ‘decision makers’ from Delhi down to the local level, have created. They discussed the challenges women face in being caught in between and having to attend to and clean up the ‘mess’.

These women were grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to interact with our team, air their frustrations, and share their thoughts. They were fed up with answering mechanical questions posed to them by visiting media teams and others. They also discussed at length and in a balanced and unbiased manner the role that social media and fake news have played in fueling the conflict. Many of the older women also felt that the strategy of the Biren Singh government, which involved appointing advisors from outside with right-wing links, was a critical contributory factor to the present catastrophe. This strategy stood in contrast to listening to voices from the ground and was responsible for determining the hate-filled political narrative of the state in general.

What should we be thinking about?

• Manipur has witnessed several episodes of violent conflicts over the years. But this time, civilisational control and norms seem to have been lost, and lines of control crossed like never before. If this is a ‘war’, as has been pointed out by both sides, then the basic principles of the Geneva Convention as well as the principles of the Meitei War principles and the Tribal war principles which predate Geneva have been grossly violated. The fact that lines have been crossed is indeed alarming as is indicated by the numerous cases of brutal sexual violence as well as the fact that ambulances carrying the injured were waylaid and attacked even as convention dictates that hospitals and health services be exempt from attacks in even the most brutal of wars. These tragic instances raise the question as to why such lines were crossed? In any process of peace building this question will have to be thoroughly probed and factored in.
  
•  Killings and death is inevitable in a ‘war’ or in the process of ‘defense’ but what is not acceptable and was strongly condemned across sections  is the levels of barbarity. We were able to initiate some conversations on the levels of barbarity with the Meiteis but it was only with the more progressive people. More in-depth engagement is required and with a wider cross section of people of both the communities including with the Meira Paibis.
  
• The systematic clamp down on civil society organisations and dissenting local voices by the BJP government, and the promotion and patronisation of vigilante groups that toe the political line has obliterated or systematically suppressed an important section of credible voices that help to maintain a level of checks and balances that keeps together the social fabric of communities.  In conflict affected Manipur this has always been of particular significance. The BJP regime’s coercive approach has enabled the hijacking of rational and societal building voices by the divisive and hate filled agenda of the state supported non state groups. The blanket impunity provided to such forces and select CSOs  by the State has totally emboldened such groups, given them a sense of complete security and enabled them and not the progressive voices to control the narrative.
  
• There is a huge proliferation of  arms and ammunition ranging from light machine and combat guns to mortars and rocket launchers. We were told that the arms were both looted or handed over upon production of ‘aadhaar cards’ from the police stations and depots!  We saw people moving around with AK 47s casually slung over their shoulders clad in casuals or in military fatigues! As army fatigues were also looted and widely distributed, oftentimes it was difficult to distinguish between a civilian in ‘defense’ role versus state security forces! The availability of this level of arms and ammunition in a state with an extensive international border is deeply disturbing and totally incomprehensible from a National Security point of view. It totally defies one’s understanding and sense of ‘internal security’  and of the responsibility of the Government in question to be in control. In Manipur today who is in control has become a guessing game. 
  
• The issue of ‘toxic masculinity’ and the need to form  a network of exposed young men from both communities to work against it was also raised by a PhD researcher – a young man from the Meitei community.
  
• We encountered shelling, gunshots and aggressive tear gassing at different places and at different moments of our visit. One night we were housed with a friend and his family and prevented from going back to our hotel by the relentless onslaught of peppered tear gas and gunshots and witnessed the reaction and trauma of his little children. We wondered about the collective trauma of children across the ethnic divides in Manipur for the last three months!  And yet instead of working towards finding a sincere solution, it is whataboutery that members of the ruling regime indulge in. What if their own children were caught up in such a   situation was our question?  
  
• The issue of illegal migration of people from across the 1700 km long border with Myanmar was repeatedly mentioned as a key trigger of the present conflict by the Meiteis. There were allegations by both sides that border management which lies with the Centre is pathetically run or deliberately mismanaged. Picking up on the question of poor management of the border issues, the Kuki leaders pointed out  that with the ongoing war in Myanmar and the extensive human rights violations by the military junta, crossing over of refugees from Myanmar is inevitable.  India needs to urgently formulate a clear Refugee Policy guided by International standards and play a role on Refugee protection as an Asian leader. They further reiterated that there should be clear guidelines to identify refugees so that genuine Indian citizens are not repeatedly harassed. 
  
• The immediate as well as long term fallout of the present conflict is the issue of internally displaced people, which needs urgent attention. In the relief camps, apart from the conditions of the relief camps itself and the horror that drove people to these camps, the large looming question on everyone’s face was about their uncertain future and status. The issue of IDPs has repeatedly been raised by human rights and relief workers in the past and the situation in Manipur certainly calls for urgently pushing for an IDP policy to be drafted and adopted. 
  
• There is undoubtedly an angle of dwindling land resources and increased populations making claims on the limited land and the tension around this. An opinion that was expressed from the Meitei as well as the Nagas was that perhaps  there is a need to stop the ‘recognition’ of new villages.
  
• The clear cut agenda of bringing about a communal divide along religious lines by the right wing Hindutva forces was strongly pointed out by the Kuki side with documented evidence. On the Meitei side, while the role of the Meitei Leepun and the Arambai Tenggol (which appears to be more like Biren Singh’s private army) is loud and clear, opinions are divided about the actual control and power of the communal forces over the Meitei ethos. Some are reluctant to give them more importance and power than they actually have, some wonder whether they can be used while yet others see them being at the root of the hate filled agenda. Whatever be the various opinions, the insidious inroads of Indian right wing forces into Meitei society, having a clearcut agenda especially in districts like Bishenpur, where there are large numbers of followers of the indigenous Sanamahi faith cannot be trivialized. They are there with their agenda advancing stealthily, fraying and diluting the social fabric of the Meitei ethos and sense of pride.
  
• Narco Terrorism is a phrase that is bandied around by all and sundry but it is also an issue of great concern. That there is a nexus between the politically powerful, the corporate world, elections and drug cartels is obvious enough but it is an extremely murky and violent world and beyond the reach of common analysis. 

Surviving on relief and rehabilitation

We visited relief camps in Moirang, Tengnoupal, and Kangpokpi. The camps in Moirang mostly housed Meitei people, while the camps in the other two places accommodated displaced people belonging to Kuki-Zo communities. These camps were set up on school and college premises, which has led to a halt in educational activities in these spaces for the past 3 months.

The presence of the state appeared to be absent or minimal in the relief camps. We were informed that when the conflict began, much of the relief arrangements were being carried out by community groups, particularly in the localities where these camps were established. In fact, it is only now, 3 months later, that the state is attempting to intervene by providing relief. However, the relief efforts are still far from satisfactory. The living conditions in the camps remain difficult.

Only two substantial meals, consisting mostly of rice and dal, are served twice a day, with little provided in between—there is not even morning tea, which the people have expressed is very challenging, especially for the elderly and the children. Children have no access to other snacks. Mattresses have been placed on the floors of the rooms, and with the rainy weather, the rooms double up as spaces for drying clothes. This creates a damp atmosphere and poses health risks.

There is no privacy. Men, women, and children are sharing the same space. Pregnant and lactating mothers are also not provided a separate space. Mothers and pregnant women lacked necessities such as thermos and hot water bags, which were then provided by community groups in some places. Public Distribution System (PDS) provisions have not reached the camps. In fact, PDS has not reached the districts in the past 3 months.

There are no dedicated health services in the camps, only informal arrangements with local medicine shops to provide necessary medicines. No psychosocial counselling is being offered, and as one of the camp residents expressed, she feels that she has no one to share her sorrow with, even though there are many people in the camps.

Education has come to a complete halt, which is a significant concern, especially for parents of those in classes 10 and 12. There are worries about their board exams and their preparations for the same.

Many camp members have also expressed the need for work and some camp residents are compelled to leave the camps in search of work. Some community groups have initiated livelihood activities in some camps but have expressed that this is merely a stop gap arrangement.

Some persons who arrived at the camps have subsequently also moved out of the camps and are residing with relatives in the state or outside the state.

A big question that is left unanswered is rehabilitation. How and when can those in the camps safely return? How will they rebuild their homes that have been destroyed?  Many including community relief camp committee members are raising this concern.

Given the observations and information gathered after interactions with those in the camps and the volunteers and community groups the following suggestions are being made:

Can there by any final thoughts on Manipur? 

People return from the Manipur battleground with a high level of despondency. Our team experienced the same sadness, depression, and sense of futility. The strange refusal of the Prime Minister to say anything until pushed speaks volumes about the apathy of the Central government towards the state and the suffering of the people on both sides of the conflict. At another level, however, it also appears to be part of a larger militaristic strategy of wearing out opponents by making them ‘wait’ it out. We could see fatigue on the faces of women on both sides who were out protesting or grappling with emerging crises on a daily basis. The class and economic dimensions of people’s suffering and how they will rebuild their lives are also quite apparent. Without a doubt, it is the poor, primarily the rural poor, who will face the greatest challenge in rebuilding their lives for a long time to come.

The message that people and communities are expendable was clear and seemed to run through all state actions or inaction. Yet, at the end of the day, we could not help but be affected by the ‘spirit’ of the people and their continued ‘resistance’ against all odds. We heard numerous accounts of people from different communities helping each other during the height of the violence. These voices have mostly been drowned out by the overwhelming narrative of violence but need to be acknowledged and heard. Finally, it is Regina’s words that we carry with us. She said, “We have hope, and we cling to it, for it cannot be taken away from us. Hope is all that we have left after our houses and homes have been burned, our fields have been destroyed, our places of worship are gone, and our social lives have been ripped apart.” We parted with hope, knowing that we would find more voices like hers in the times ahead and that we would join hands to heal and rebuild.

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