New Delhi: Putting a big question mark on Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s assertion that peace will be restored in strife-torn Manipur within six months, an emissary appointed by him to bridge the gap between the Meitei and Kuki-Zomi communities said it was “difficult to mediate amid violence” in an “environment which is not conducive for talks”.
BJP MLA Dinganglung Gangmei’s remarks came hours after Manipur was in the grip of fresh violence Sunday, which flew in the face of the CM’s claim that normalcy was returning. In a media statement, the Manipur government said “Kuki militants” attacked a village in Imphal West district “using drone, bombs and sophisticated weapons”, killing two people including a woman.
Expressing his anguish over the raging conflict which has lasted nearly 16 months now, claiming nearly 230 lives, injuring hundreds and displacing thousands, Gangmei, who is a Naga by ethnicity and represents Nungba constituency in the Manipur Assembly, said the need of the hour was for the Union government to “show decisiveness” in restoring peace as “we cannot let people die like this”.
The former IAS, who quit the services to join politics in 2022, is also the chairperson of the Hill Areas Committee of the Manipur Assembly constituted under Article 371C of the Constitution.
In March, Biren Singh had informed the Manipur Assembly that a “reconciliation team” had been set up under the leadership of Gangmei. Last week, he told PTI that the Nungba MLA will act as an emissary.
On Sunday, Gangmei told ThePrint that while he has reached out to both sides for talks, “it is difficult to mediate when there is violence.”
“I cannot imagine that this is happening even after 18 months. The environment is not conducive for talks. The atmosphere is very charged. Just when the situation appeared to improve, there was another flare up.”
An alumnus of the Delhi University and the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Gangmei said it was incumbent upon the Centre to handle the situation while also adding that he believes “external influence” was at play as well.
“I have faith in our leadership. But we cannot let people die like this. The weaker sections are at the receiving end of violence. There are certain external influences. The central leadership needs to show decisiveness. How else will modern India show its face otherwise? Something needs to be done,” he said.
On 8 May, the Kuki Inpi Manipur, an apex body of the Kuki tribes in Manipur, had said in a statement that it “resolutely stands against engaging in any negotiations with the Manipur state government”. Earlier, it had turned down an invite, dated 8 May, from Gangmei for peace talks.
Last year, Gangmei had moved the Supreme Court with a Special Leave Petition (SLP), questioning the Manipur High Court’s order, dated 27 March, to consider the demand for the inclusion of the Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes. This contentious part of the order was deleted by the HC earlier this year after the Supreme Court questioned it.
“Merely because the State of Manipur may have received some representation by the Meeteis/Meiteis does not oblige the State to do anything unless the State is convinced first, that the Meeteis/Meiteis are tribes and second, that they deserve to be in the Scheduled Tribes list. No one can force the State to send such a recommendation in the absence of the State concluding that the Meeteis/Meiteis are a tribe and they deserve to be in the Scheduled Tribes list (sic),” stated the SLP.
Gangmei reiterated that he stood by his assertion in the SLP. He also expressed disappointment over the lack of devolution of powers to the Hill Areas Committee and the autonomous district councils in Manipur, an issue which he had flagged with the CM on 3 November, 2023.
In a letter to the CM then, Gangmei said the crisis in the state was a reason all the more to empower the Hill Areas Committee “so that this institution can reach out to all communities of the state and can address the trust deficit among various communities and developmental gaps of the Hill Areas and tribes of the state as guaranteed under Article 371C.”
Earlier, a peace committee was set up by the Centre in June, 2023, under the chairpersonship of the Manipur Governor. It, however, did not make any headway as both the communities rejected the initiative objecting to the inclusion of Biren Singh in it.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: How Manipur strife cost BJP & allies dearly in Christian-majority northeastern states
Modi is brain dead. They will definitely loose Manipur in next election . Why they are not able to restore peace?