AA Edit | Nagas & Manipur Turmoil: Centre Acts Truant Again

The border state of Manipur has been on the boil for the last three years, and it now shows all signs of getting worse with the entry of the Naga tribespeople into the scene. The state’s social harmony had already been vitiated by the violence between the mainstream majority Meitei community in the plains and the Kuki-Zo tribe in the hill region of the state, and it could deteriorate further with the latest developments. The Union government should abdicate its hands-off policy and actively help the state administration get a proper grasp of the underlying issues and come up with short- and long-term solutions.

The reverberations of the mayhem that started on May 3, 2023, with a march by the Kuki-Zo tribals against a high court direction extending reservation to the Meitei community have not ended with reports of violent clashes between the Nagas and the Kukis being the latest to come in. The first report was of a blast in a Naga hamlet which claimed the lives of two children and the second was about the finding of the bodies of six Nagas who were among those kidnapped allegedly by Kukis a few days ago.

India is known for its diversity; and the northeastern region of India is a kaleidoscope of every possible shade of human life. The various communities that live in the Northeast have developed their lifestyles over thousands of years. These may have similarities as well as differences. Modern governance practices, especially democracy, is the best available option to accommodate this diversity, and India has been, to a great extent, successfully managed these diversities. In fact, the country has showcased those diversities as an integral part of its social life and a reason for its survival as a republic.

Then there are social and political vultures who would see an opportunity in every instance of social decay. They see every fault line in society as a soft spot to drive a wedge in and make the most of it. They are ardent followers of the “divide and rule” policy, the tool of every totalitarian, undemocratic structure everywhere. They make merry when communities who have to stand together give in to internecine fights. India had witnessed such callousness in the past when disruptions broke out in Punjab, Kashmir and the Northeast and paid for its follies.

Such inaction on the part of the Union government is seen in Manipur today. The state government is trying its best to bring the warring factions to the table even by inviting the wrath of the majority community, the armed forces are into awareness creation about the need to abstain from violence though it is beyond their brief and they have risen to the occasion. It is now time for the Union government to step in and tell the parties that violence is not an option for getting their grievances redressed. It must convince the warring people that it will listen to them without the accompaniment of intermittent firing and that silence is the best background score while listening to people. The Union government which can take a more balanced and reasonable approach than those on the ground must play its legitimate role. The people in the border state have a right to live in peace, and it must shoulder its share of the responsibility.