Imphal: The ethnic clashes over the past few weeks in Manipur have exposed the fault lines within the state bureaucracy. According to serving and retired senior government officials that ThePrint spoke to, the civil and police administration has become divided along community lines.
They noted that the division between the non-tribal Meiteis and tribal Kuki officers and staff has reached an unprecedented level of prominence across levels of the state administration — be it senior, mid-level or junior.
Following the outbreak of violence in Imphal on 3 May and 4 May, several senior government officials have informed ThePrint that, apart from a few exceptions, most Kuki officials from the civil and police administration have taken temporary leave. Many of them have either returned to their homes in the hill districts or have left Manipur altogether.
“The Old Secretariat, from where most of the bureaucracy functions, has been literally emptied of Kuki officers. It will be difficult to find a Kuki official here in the aftermath of the violence. They are scared. The fear psychosis prevailing in Imphal is such that it is not just the mid-level and junior officials that have gone on leave. Even senior Kuki officers have. We have never seen something like this happen in bureaucracy,” said a senior IAS officer, a Meitei, who wished to not be named.
The officer added, “It’s a sad reflection of the situation here. You (the state government) cannot even make your own Kuki officers feel secure so that they stay back, leave alone the general Kuki public.”
ThePrint visited the office of the newly-appointed Manipur chief secretary Vineet Joshi, the topmost bureaucrat in the state, but could not meet him. Manipur Home Commissioner T. Ranjit Singh, whose office was visited by ThePrint, refused to comment for the story.
However, a senior state government official, who wished to not be named, said that, “It’s time for members of both communities to come together, sit and initiate a dialogue to bring about a solution and restore normalcy in the state.”
Govt quarters of top Kuki police officers attacked
In the violence that rocked Imphal in the beginning of May — following the Tribal Solidarity March to oppose the demand for inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category — government quarters of many officials from the Kuki community were attacked.
These include the quarters of the seniormost IPS officer of the state, Director General of Police (DGP) P. Doungel, Additional DGP Clay Khongsai, and several other Kuki officials from the Manipur Civil Services.
According to two senior government officials, who wished to not be named, a violent mob had assembled outside Doungel and Khongsai’s homes. They had hurled stones, damaged the vehicles parked outside and attempted to forcefully enter the premises by using iron rods and sticks to break open the gates. In response, the security personnel stationed at the premises had to resort to firing warning shots to scatter the mob. Additionally, the home of another IPS officer, who was recently promoted, was set on fire.
ThePrint reached Doungel via call for a comment but did not receive a response, and Khongsai refused to comment for the story.
While Doungel, his brother and DGP (Prisons) Christopher Doungel, along with four additional DGPs, including Khongsai and Additional DGP L. Kailun, have chosen to remain in Imphal, a significant number of senior police officers — of the rank of SP and above — have left the city, said a senior police officer of Kuki ethnicity to ThePrint.
He added that though within the police force, he does not sense any animosity between a Kuki and a Meitei, the fear among the Kuki police personnel has grown. “This is sad. Because as police officers, we are trained never to differentiate along community or caste lines. We have to go by the rule book and have to be balanced.”
A second IPS officer, a Meitei, said that most junior-level personnel, which includes the constabulary and riflemen, have fled from Imphal, adding that their fear is understandable considering the mob attack on the quarters of some of the most senior police officers.
At the junior level, approximately 20 per cent of the personnel are Kukis, the percentage is higher at the senior level, the officer said.
A senior Manipur Civil Services officer, a Kuki, who left Imphal with his family told ThePrint that he was home when the mob entered Dewlahland — an upscale Imphal locality where several senior serving and retired bureaucrats live — and started attacking the homes of Kukis. “I called up some Meitei colleagues and with their help reached the Assam Rifles camp with my family and relatives. Two days later, we flew to Guwahati,” the officer added.
In Manipur, Kukis dominate the hills, while Meiteis hold the majority in the valley, which includes Imphal. According to the 2011 Census, Meiteis make up around 15 lakh of the state’s 28 lakh population, with 8 lakh Kukis, 6 lakh Naga, and others, including Manipuri Muslims, forming the rest.
‘Mistrust between Meiteis & Kukis doesn’t reflect well’
State government officials told ThePrint that while some Meitei officers remain unbiased and who even helped shelter their Kuki colleagues during violence, transporting them to Assam Rifles camp, there is a growing trust deficit in recent times.
A Meitei Manipur Civil Services officer told ThePrint, “It is sad… It is common to hear officials talk about how the top positions in the civil and police administration has been cornered by the Kukis and how they have an edge in IAS and IPS because of ST reservation.”
It’s not just the Meitei officials who have complaints about being left behind, though. Kuki officials, too, have expressed dissatisfaction with the government led by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, a Meitei.
“Look at how DGP Doungel has been sidelined. He is the topmost police officer of Manipur but today he does not have any powers. No files go to him. Other Kuki officers have also been sidelined,” a Kuki officer said to ThePrint.
Joykumar Singh, a retired DGP and former deputy CM in the first term of Biren Singh government told ThePrint that this divide does not augur well.
“They are government officers first and foremost, not Meitei or Kuki. The civil and police administrations are supposed to go by the rule book and ensure law and order. If they themselves are not feeling safe, what message does it send to the public?” he said. “If Kuki officers are running away from Imphal despite a Kuki DGP, it does not reflect well at all.”
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: Tripartite ceasefire pact to settle Kuki issues operational, says security adviser to Manipur CM