Small but significant steps are being taken now by the state government and the Kuki-Zo organizations to bring back normalcy in the state of Manipur. It is the first sign the ice is thawing.
Firstly, illegally procured firearms looted from the police armories are being recovered with regular frequency. Secondly, the willingness of all societies in Manipur, including the Kuki-Zo organizations, to get the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) conducted is a significant positive development.
Thirdly, the significant development is the desire expressed by displaced Kuki-Zo families sheltering in the Kangpokpi area to return to Imphal. It can be read as a signal to the state government that steps for normalization may be taken up now.
Fourthly, inference can be made from the utterances that an empowered territorial council in the lines of the Bodoland Territorial Council under Article 244-A for the Kuki-Zo may be an acceptable step in lieu of a separate administration.
Narrowing down the problems to these four points is a big step forward toward the normalization of the crisis faced by Manipur as a state. Recovery of looted guns, to make all civilians feel safe, would depend much on the will and determination of the state government. The outcome of these efforts would be a litmus test for the state government about its sincerity and seriousness to normalize the law and order situation.
Under no circumstances can civilians on both sides remain armed, and the looted guns would need to be recovered fully at a faster pace on a war footing within given timelines.
The tricky issue about NRC is the choice of the cut-off year. Some cut-off years like 1951 and 1961 have been suggested earlier, but the determining factor would be the availability of detailed household records of Manipur from the relevant Census period with the Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India (RG&CCI) and the Office of Registrar General of Citizen Registration (RGCR).
The village-wise register of citizens is to be drawn up from the relevant Census records. Also, a current National Population Register (NPR) is to be prepared. The state government should, therefore, in consultation with the RG&CCI and RGCR, with reference to lessons derived from the pitfalls faced by the Assam government (the only state that has implemented NRC) in the implementation of NRC, consider a cut-off year with the least difficulties for implementation of NRC in Manipur.
This exercise will be a long-drawn-out affair and will result in the deportation of foreigners/illegal immigrants.
Although the desire of displaced womenfolk in Kangpokpi to return to Imphal is a significant step of willingness to let ‘bygones be bygones,’ this feeling also needs to be expressed by the Kuki-Zo people in Churachandpur and Moreh towns where Meitei families were displaced in the ethnic conflict and also voiced similarly by the CSOs of the valley districts.
A normalcy restoration plan for the safe return of internally displaced persons (IDP) of both communities is required, and it should have an assurance from the CSOs of both communities not to take the law into their own hands with an expressed intent to restrain and disengage their radical elements.
The plan should consider having outposts of security forces in all sensitive areas, buttressed by properly constituted peace committees of the state government chaired by senior officers of district administration, including members from security forces.
The posting policy of the state government would need to be revisited and modified to ensure that there are persons of both communities posted in sensitive locations, particularly in police stations, health centers, and hospitals to ensure there is no discrimination and ill-treatment of minority communities in that particular locality/village.
The world around us has progressed on all fronts, and the internet is replete with information for citizens to discern from their environment whether they deserve better treatment. The 73rd Amendment 1992 added a new Part IX to the Constitution titled “The Panchayats” covering provisions from Article 243 to 243(O), and a new Eleventh Schedule covering 29 subjects were brought within the functions of the Panchayats. This facility has been implemented in the valley districts of Manipur since 1994, giving them an empowered local self-government.
A similar local self-government provision was made for tribal areas in the Sixth Schedule under Article 244 of the Constitution of India. The Sixth Schedule was designed to protect the indigenous and tribal groups by establishing autonomous district councils or ADCs for the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram to safeguard the rights of the tribal population in these states.
They are the Karbi-Anglong District, Bodoland Territorial Council, and Dima Hasao Autonomous District Council in Assam, Mara Autonomous District Council (MADC), Lai Autonomous District Council (LADC), and Chakma Autonomous District Council (originally Pwi-Lakher Regional Council, now trifurcated) in Mizoram, Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council, and Garo Hills Autonomous District Council in Meghalaya, and Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council in Tripura.
This special provision is provided under Articles 244-A, 244(2), and 275(1) of the Constitution. The existing district councils of Manipur are neither in the Fifth Schedule nor in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India and are essentially a state law made by Parliament in 1971 when Manipur was a Part C state of India without legislative powers.
The tribes of Manipur have seen the facilities enjoyed by other tribes living under the ten autonomous district councils across four northeastern states who have been given Sixth Schedule and the special provisions for Nagaland under Article 371-A.
Having noticed that the world has changed around them while the tribes in the Hill Areas of Manipur are suppressed and subjugated ever since Manipur became part of the Union of India, while the Bodo people have been given an empowered Bodoland Territorial Council in 2003 under Article 244-A of the Constitution, the tribes have been demanding the inclusion of their areas in the Sixth Schedule.
The Kuki-Zo tribes, if offered such a political settlement against their demand, may most probably settle for a similar local self-government mechanism.
The path towards normalcy is clear. There are many stakeholders involved to be consulted toward the goal for peace. The Indo-Naga Peace Talks and the issues involved around them would need to be kept in perspective as there are certain sensitivities concerning the land of the Naga tribes in the Hill Areas of Manipur which can potentially become a stumbling block and a trigger for conflict.
However, for most positive-thinking people who want peace and to maintain Manipur’s integrity may see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. This hope should be the driving force for all progressive thinking people to strive for a solution to end the Manipur crisis.
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