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Manipur – Will the Central Government Stand In the Witness-Box Please?

by Avani Bansal & Parika Singh 16/12/2024

written by Avani Bansal & Parika Singh

By Avani Bansal & Parika Singh

The Crux

A victim in a Meitei relief camp in Imphal, who lost her family members during the ethnic tensions between Meiteis and Kukis in Manipur, that has lasted for 18 months since May, 2023 told me – “Imagine two kids fighting, will the father or mother not step-in to stop the fight? Now imagine the children actually killing each other – will the parents still not step-in to prevent the violence? Then why is the Central government not stepping in to stop Manipur state from burning?”

I don’t believe that the Central Government needs to parent the people in states. They just need to truly discharge their constitutional duty. But Mr. Modi is high on the ‘Modi Ka Parivar’ rhetoric. So the people of Manipur are asking – is Manipur not part of India, why has Mr. Modi not visited it yet?

The Context

As our Indigo airplane soared above Manipur, the pilot informed – “Given the climatic conditions, it will take us another 30 minutes before we land.” With this, we got an additional half an hour of the air tour above Manipur. With thick clouds, straight out of a fairyland story, I could see the lush green mountains right under us, with small villages –perched on hill tops. It is then that the geographical significance of the whole dispute between ‘Meitei’ and ‘Kuki’ dawned on me.

Manipur’s capital city – ‘Imphal’ is on a relatively flat land, surrounded by hills on all sides. While the ‘Meitei’ community who follow Hinduism as a religion live predominantly in Imphal valley ; the ‘Kukis’ who follow Christianity live in the Hills. The ‘Nagas’ – another dominant tribal community who follow a mix of Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity live in the Hills too.

Meitei are about 53 percent of Manipur’s population with the rest as Kukis and Nagas. But Meitei are politically more powerful with 40 out of 60 MLA candidates belonging to Meitei community and 10 each from Kuki and Naga community. All the major institutions such as big schools, hospitals, the Legislative Assembly, the High Court etc. are all in Imphal. The Kuki and the Naga have been given the ‘Scheduled Tribe’ status and the Meitei are asking for it.

Manipur is rich in mineral resources and also has abundance of palm trees (used for palm oil), bamboo amongst others. These resources are in the hils and there is a underlying question of the ownership of these resources. Like all tribal dominated states, the ownership of land which has resources, is a bone of contention with obvious vested corporate interests. And the ownership of land in turn, is determined by ‘ST’ status.

Consider this. Land rights of the tribal communities in Manipur have been considerably diluted through recent successive amendments in the laws governing such rights. For instance, Section 158 of the Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1960, only permits transfer of tribal land to a member of the Scheduled Tribes. However, more and more areas have been classified outside the purview of this section to enable the transfer of land to non-tribals.

Similarly, amendments have been introduced in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, of 1957, with the most recent amendment in 2023 wherein 6 critical atomic minerals- lithium, beryllium, titanium, niobium, tantalum, and zirconium have been ‘delisted’ in order to encourage greater land encroachment by the private sector. without adherence to the regulations imposed upon them in the category of atomic minerals. These amendments also violate the Forest Rights Act 2006, which grants tribal communities the right to dwell on their land, use its produce, and crucially, access its resources. Their rights are being systematically dismantled with these dilutions.

So, in Manipur, on the one hand – through legal amendments, many land/areas with important resources, are being opened up for non ST status people to own/control, thereby considerably diluting the principle which underlies the general law of predominant ownership by tribals across the country. On the other hand – those land areas which have been cleared off for private ownership, may still face resistance from the tribal population if the corporates do come in a big way – Chhattisgarh being a case in point. So the Governments’ stance on the laws, as well as displacement of people from their villages – all point to a seeming orchestrated strategy of transfer of resources in a few powerful hands. In this regard, while the government seems to smartly ‘frame’ the conflict in Manipur between the larger Meitei and Kuki communities, its actually just about securing the interests of a few, with both the communities suffering equally in the process.

The Chief Minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh’s statements blaming the increase in poppy production, the influx of people illegally entering from Myanmar, which shares the border with Manipur, as part of the reason for the increasing ethnic tensions – belies the point. First, on the issue of drug control, poppy cultivation – there are clear commercial interests. Second, the international borders are to be guarded by the Central Government. So again – why is the Central government failing to protect the international borders between Myanmar and Manipur and stopping the influx of illegal migrants. The Central Government, simply cannot have its cake and eat it too. Either it is failing to protect the borders and needs to admit so, or stop blaming the illicit drug scene as the major factor in current disturbances caused in the state.

In addition, the ongoing conflict about the demand of Meitei for ‘ST’ status will have ramifications on reservations in jobs, schools, government offices amongst others. This begs the question that if any community which is in ‘majority’ in a state gets ST status, along with its added benefits – will that not set a precdence for populist measures in other states in India? In that sense, it is also a classic dispute between communities for power and status.

The Current Scenario

The crescendo of the ethnic tensions between Meiteis on the one hand and the tribes – Kukis and Nagas on the other, was reached on 3^rd May, 2023. The Kukis, the Nagas and other tribes which have a ‘Scheduled Tribe’ (ST) status in Manipur were taking out a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ in Churachandpur district to protest the demand of Meiteis for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, after the recommendation of the Manipur High Court on the said lines. When an armed mob attacked the protestors and the police failed to do anything about it, the conflict blew out of proportions. Next thing, Kuki villages were being attacked by Meiteis, and Meitei living in Kuki areas were being driven out by the Kukis.

Today, since the ongoing conflict began in May, 2023, several relief camps have been set up, both in the Kuki areas and in Meitei areas. But here is the thing – you have to see the reality of Manipur to believe it. There are hard lines drawn in terms of Meitei area and Kuki areas. We can’t find one Kuki in Imphal today, and not one Meitei in Kuki area. Imagine how the High Court or the Legislative Assembly would be operating, given this scenario!

The in-between borders are heavily guarded by the security forces, with volunteer groups of both communities further acting as ‘check-points’ to ensure that ‘the other’ is not found in their area. Ironically, it was only possible to drive through these areas, from one to the other with a taxi driven by a Muslim person. That too wasn’t easy. As one person said to me in confidence – “Now, both sides are beginning to mistrust Mulsims, as secret agents for the other side, trading in relevant information.” So the one person who agreed to drive us to Jiribam from Imphal, did not agree easily and also charged an exorbitant fee. He thought that he was putting his ‘life’ on the line.

Is this where we are headed as a country? Imagine a future, with lines drawn neatly amongst different communities, both in their hearts and on the maps. Gujarat is already setting a terrible precedent with the news coming in of the Hindus and Muslims seemingly having clearly demarcated residential areas in most parts, even in the major cities. Manipur presents a much stark and gory reality of this divisiveness amongst communities becoming the new ‘normal’.

The Court

On 27.03.2023, in WP(C) No. 229 of 2023, the Manipur High Court heard a petition and disposed it finally at the admission stage itself, directing the Chief Secretary of Manipur to ‘submit the recommendation in reply to the letter dated 29.5.2013 of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India’ and further to – ‘..consider the case of the petitioners for inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, expeditiously, preferably within a period four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order in terms of the averments set out in the writ petition and in the line of the order passed in WP(C) No. 4281 of 2002 dated 26.05.2003 by the Gauhati High Court.’

March-2023-Manipur-HC-OrderDownload

The High Court in its Order, in para 3 states – “The petitioners have filed this writ petition for issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the first respondent to submit recommendation in reply to the Letter No.1902005/2012- C&IM dated 29.5.2013 of the Government of India, Ministry of Tribal Affairs within a period of two months or within a time frame and to include Meetei/Meitei community in the Schedule Tribe list of Indian Constitution as a “tribe among tribes of Manipur”, maintaining the tribal status of Meetei/Meitei existed before 21.9.1949 i.e. before signing of the Merger Agreement as part of the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement of Manipur into the Indian Union and also direction on the fourth respondent to restore the Scheduled Tribe status of Meetei/Meitei community.”

Further, in para 7 – “Despite the letter dated 29.5.2013, the Government of Manipur failed to submit the recommendation to the reason best known to them. In fact, the representation dated 18.4.2022 submitted by the petitioners was forwarded by the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India for necessary action. According to the learned counsel, Meitei community is the one of major/principal tribe of Manipur is not recommended by the State Government. Hence, the petitioners have been advised to file the present writ petition.”

In para 15, the Court further observed interestingly – “This Court finds some force in the submission made by the learned counsel for the petitioners, as the petitioners and other Unions are fighting long years for inclusion of Meetei/Meitei community in the tribe list of Manipur.”

Whether the Court should have interfered in the matter at all and made observations seemingly supporting the inclusion of the Meitei in the ST category, without hearing anyone from the political ‘other side’ is a legal question with both ‘technical’ and ‘moral’ underpinnings. The political nature of the dispute cannot be neglected and while the courts cannot refuse to hear a matter simply because of its political characteristic, the classic adage of ‘justice should also seem to be done’ is the only anchoring principle for the courts to remember. When a matter is finally heard at the admission stage, after hearing the state and the petitioners, with no room for objections from the intervenors – people from any community who want to have a say in the matter or be heard, is effectively taken away.

Further, the larger political climate in India where a lot of disputes seem to be emerging from an analysis of history – ‘but who actually started it?’, ‘but what was underlying this structure first,’ or ‘who began the violence first’, all tend to mislead on the scope that judicial bodies are empowered to exercise in the first place. Can the courts in India including the High Courts and the Supreme Court actually go into dispute faultlines dating so back, that they have no way to measure up the legal evidence one way or the other, conclusively? These type of disputes, which pit communities against each other, on the basis of much much older history, presented and insisted upon as ‘fact’ by both sides, only end up destroying the peace ‘today’. Yes, justice precedes peace and justice ought to be done. But allowing one sided, half-hearted or speedy decisions without taking all stakeholders into account does both the people and the confidence in the judiciary, a dis-service. Which is why – there is ‘separation of powers’ between the ‘political’ (Executive) and the ‘judicial’ (Judiciary) questions and disrupting this would mean that the courts are now being used to discharge a political process, or an issue, which should be contested out in the political arena instead of the courts. This leads to a constitutional issue of creating a ‘slippery slope’, where governments, interested petitioners, or over-enthusiastic persons can ask the courts to do what should ideally be the government’s role. The recent happenings in Sambhal are a a case in point. The case of judicial overreach unfortunately seems to be becoming the new norm, albeit this time with tremendous consequences as seen in the aftermath of Babri-Ayodhya dispute. The courts, once they begin a process, not constitutionally warranted, and out of sync with the ‘rule of law’, cannot reverse the hands of the clock. They will also never be able to tell where that influence will stop.

The History

The history of political and ethnic conflict in Manipur can be traced back to the pre-colonial period. As early as the 16^th century, multiple wars between Manipur and Burma began the fragmentation of the various communities living within the territory. This dark period saw the annihilation of half the population of Manipur by the Burmese forces. However, the current geopolitical division between the Hills and the Valley can find its roots in the British invasion of the Indian subcontinent. In the mid-18^th century, Raja Jai Singh requested British assistance against the brutal clashes between Manipur and the then Burmese empire. But as was witnessed throughout the country, internal disputes within the royal family weakened their reign and allowed the British to gain a stronger hold over the region to favour their trade with China.

Apart from the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, small forces were formed to rebel against the British throughout the 20^th century such as the Kuki Rebellion of 1917, the Zeliangrong Naga Uprising of 1930 or the Nupi Lan – a massive women’s agitation beginning from 1939. The inclusion of Manipur within the newly independent Indian territory continued to be fraught with tensions due to which the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, of 1958 was enforced. Interestingly, Meiteis and Kukis have not been the only communities in variance with each other. The Kuki-Naga clash of 1992 also lead to tremendous loss of life and property, the latter claiming their rights as the original settlers of the region. Due to their violent history and the territorial interest of multiple communities, everything from minute policy alterations to larger regime changes have resulted in conflicts born out of cultural and political differences, insurgency, land rights and communal insecurities.

As recent as 2004, the rape of a Manipuri woman, Thangjam Manorama Devi, by members of the Assam Rifles paramilitary had led to wide protests including a nude protest by the Meira Paibi women’s association. The tensions had erupted but were soon quelled by the then Central Government.

Just to be clear – as some people blindly buying into the right wing propaganda want us to believe – yes, Manipur has a history of long-standing tensions between different communities, but then the previous governments did intervene and stop them. Why is the current Central Government of the BJP failing to do the same? Mr. Manmohan Singh did visit Manipur after the 2004 tensions, so why is Mr. Modi failing to do the same? The history answers some questions, but in this case, also raises some important ones.

Need for Center’s Intervention

We visited Manipur for five days, met several people from both the communities, and also visited Relief camps in Imphal, Churchanpur, Kangpokpi and Jiribam – which has seen a fresh spate of violence, with three women and three children’s dead bodies telling a gruesome tale of violence. Who committed these murders – given that no Kuki organisation has taken responsibility for them yet – is a question whose verdict is still out.

Meiteis and Kukis disagree on almost everything at this point. Both sides blame each other for ‘starting it all’. Both sides affirm that the terror that was unleashed in May, 2023 was ‘pre-planned’. Both sides appeal to their ‘values’ and state that it’s simply wrong to commit such heinous crimes against women and children and yet try to justify the killings on the other side, by invoking the horror stories on women and children committed on their own side. At this point in time, both Meiteis and Kukis also sound convinced that they cannot trust the other side and that the other side is a terrorist organisation.

But here’s what they agree on – the Central Government hasn’t done enough to control the escalating tensions in Manipur. The answer is somewhat obvious – the Center does not want to intervene. Otherwise, why hasn’t it imposed a President’s rule in Manipur yet. We have seen President’s rule being imposed at the slightest political upheaval, but here in Manipur, it’s been eighteen months of non-stop violence. But is the Central Government still not recommending to the President of India to intervene. Why?

Well, first, constitutionally speaking, President’s rule would mean that fresh elections will have to be conducted in Manipur, maximum in six months time. Given that the people of Manipur are now so angry that they are burning down and ransacking the house of BJP MLAs too, the palpable anger against BJP in Manipur is not hard to feel. The victory of Congress on both the MP seats in Manipur in the Loksabha elections of 2024 makes the writing on the wall clear.

So the Central Government is not imposing the President’s rule in Manipur because it knows that it will have to conduct elections, in which it is most likely to lose. But part of it is also because of pandering to different interests and trying to be politically right. While some Kukis are vehemently calling for a separate Kukiland, others want stronger ADCs – ‘Autonomous District Councils’ and yet others call for Manipur to be made a Union Territory with separate areas for Kukis and Meiteis. In either case, the elephant in the room is why has the Central Government not attempted to take even the first step – namely removing of weapons from both sides, which is a logical precursor to any peace dialogues?

Yes, AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958) has been imposed but then again, while AFSPA has always been there in the hills, which are Kuki dominated, it has only been imposed in the six police stations in Imphal, which are closer to the hills, and not in the entire valley, which is Meitei dominated. Given that both sides are heavily armed, doesn’t it make sense to ensure equal application of AFSPA to remove the weapons on both sides as a first priority. Just to be clear, am not advocating for imposition of AFSPA, but if it is done, it has to be done equally and without discrimination to neutralise both sides. In any case, one cannot escape the tragic irony when speaking of AFSPA in Manipur. While the world’s longest hunger striker – Irom Sharmila did a hunger strike for more than 500 weeks, from November 2000 to 2016, to remove AFSPA from Manipur, here we are, again grappling with AFSPA and potential human rights violations in Manipur. It’s as if – the more things change, the more they remain the same.

Second, an attempt has to be made to bring warring groups on negotiating table to arrive at a situation. The news about weapons being ‘stolen’ from the police stations is a story hard to believe. The lack of Manipur’s police intervention on the fated day on 3^rd May, 2023, is also difficult to understand. All of this collectively points out to the criminal culpability of the man in incharge both at the state and the center and the corresponding lack of intent of both the state and central governments to contain the violence in Manipur.

Manipur – the far north-eastern state, has become BJP’s political laboratory – away from the attention of the people from the so called ‘mainland’, while the National media choses to remain silent as the people of the Meitei and the Kuki community adjust to the new ‘normal.’

It is not as if Manipur hasn’t seen unrest before, but never before was it allowed to fester on for so long. This itself brings the Central Government in the witness-box.

If the Center does not intervene fast, the complex labyrinth of issues in Manipur will fester on and make it an issue that will last for generations. If the government thinks that it can take political advantage or find ‘opportunity in chaos’ it needs to be reminded that history has shown that when you use hatred as a tool for political benefit, it comes to bite you back and how!

There seems to be a mix of reasons for Center’s diabolical attitude towards Manipur. Yes, it is about the ‘resources’ ownership for few’, but it’s also about sending a political signal of what they can do with minorities – christians in this case; and also the fear that when they use ‘majority’s sentiment for political benefit’- the same people when they see the government’s true intent, won’t come to support them. Ultimately, a few can keep the larger set of people fighting for their vested interests but truth always prevails. Love always wins. Peace is what people want above all. And so all regimes learn their lessons in due time. Only the damage done to people’s lives and the social fabric and turning a blind eye to the egregious human rights violation in the interim, is UNFORGIVABLE.

But for a moment, let’s keep the politics aside. Let’s keep the corporate interests aside. The Central Government should intervene because it’s not okay for women to be paraded naked. It’s not okay for both Meitei and Kuki women to be raped, torutured, abused. It’s not enough for the National Commission of Women to pay a cursory visit and do nothing significant. It’s not okay for the BJP to say ‘beti bachao, beti padao’, while turning a complete blind eye to the situation of women in Manipur. If India and all of us Indians stay silent now – we have no right to speak of women and their place in our society. It is time, we pay women more than lip service. It is time, we stand up for them. This is not a story of one woman – women in North-east and specifically in Manipur have been fighting for too long. If the Government stands by women, and by human rights and has refused to speak up – it should be prononced “GUILTY”.

February-2024-Manipur-HC-OrderDownload

16/12/2024 0 comments 168 views

Missing Manipur, Dead Democracy: An Account of Government Failure & People’s Misery

by Kashish Singh 08/12/2024

written by Kashish Singh

By Kashish Singh

(Trigger Warning: Conflict Reportage might include incidents sensitive to some viewers)

On the 3^rd of May 2023 around 6 pm in the evening in Imphal, a mob caught her husband and started beating him black and blue. While holding her child she tried to stop the mob from beating him, and that’s when she was also enfolded in the violence and forced to say that they were refugees. In desperate hopes, she said whatever they asked her to say. Even after that, her husband was assaulted, her clothes were ripped apart, and she was slapped several times by the mob.

Manipur: Silence is the loudest sound. As we entered Imphal Valley, the capital city of Manipur, I felt an eerie silence that couldn’t be mistaken for peace. The beautiful northeastern state is missing from the Map of India. It has become a forgotten state.

All one could see while traveling in Manipur right now are scenes of people being hounded out of their lives, rounded up, and herded into camps bifurcated based on community. When we visited the relief camps of both the major communities, Kuki and Meitei, all I could spot was helplessness. Zoned-out faces were looking at the sky remembering their murdered family members, their teary eyes filled with the willingness to return to their homes that now are being burnt and vandalized by an angry mob.

The catastrophe that is unfolding in Manipur is slow violence without seeming urgency, making it difficult to recognize how much harm has been done until months or even years later. It perpetuates a vicious cycle where people normalize these heinous acts or get desensitized to them. But for the people suffering their day in and day out, there is no escape from this horror.

“Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence~ words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security- there is the reality of enormous wealth in the hands of few, while billions of people in the world are hungry, sick, homeless.” – Howard Zinn

The mayhem came on 3^rd May 2023. Manipur has been burning since then. It’s been more than 18 months, and still, the central government of Bhartiya Janta Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned a blind eye. The state government of the same party, led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, has made zilch efforts to restore peace according to the people in Manipur.

Many people have lost their lives amidst the ongoing war-like situation but the question is who’s responsible for all these innocent lives? What’s at the core of the dispute in Manipur and most importantly how can this conflict end? We went to ground zero to search for these answers.

Amidst the Ongoing Conflict, Manipur Witnesses Intra-State Borders Known as Buffer Zones

Manipur has entered an unprecedented time where borders have been drawn within the state. The people of Manipur practice two major religions- Hinduism and Christianity. The state accounts for around 53% of Meitei (predominantly Hindus), around 20% of Naga tribes (mix of Buddhism, Christianity and Hindus) and around 16% of Kuki-Zo tribes (predominantly Christians). Muslims make up 8.4% population of the state.

In Manipur, the majority Meitei population resides in the valley area which constitutes the major part of Imphal city, while the Kukis and Nagas are primarily concentrated in the hills, which surround Imphal on all sides. All major institutions and government offices, including the State Legislative Assembly and the High Court of Manipur, are also concentrated in the valley region which makes up 10% of Manipur’s total area. The hills cover the remaining 90%.

On our five-day visit to Manipur, we traveled to four districts and every time we entered a new district there came a checkpoint known as a ‘buffer zone’. While traveling from Imphal to Churachandpur district we went through a rigorous screening process at 4-5 checkpoints out of which some were dominated by the army groups and others by local village volunteers guarding their villages.

This is what happens when government leaves the citizens to fend for themselves! We were stopped on our way from Imphal to Kangpokpi district for inquiries. Interestingly, we were advised to hire a Muslim taxi driver to commute from one district to another because Muslims are comparatively safer in the state amidst the ethnic tensions between Meiteis and Kukis. What a paradox, I thought!

When we stopped at the checkpoint, I saw women of all age groups sitting under a shade. To my curiosity, I got out of the car to ask why these women were there. To my surprise, I learned that they were protecting Meitei people from crossing the border to this district & from Kukis going to the Imphal side to ensure all of their safety. These women were from the Kuki tribes guarding the intra-state border from the wee hours in the morning to late evening till it got dark. Then a group of men would take over the shift for a smooth process. They all belonged to different villages.

One of the men around informed us that just recently, three Meitei young people were caught in the Kuki-land (on the Kuki side of the border) but it was these women guarding the buffer zone that ensured their release for their safety and the region’s overall peace. The irony did not escape me – while the women’s bodies were being treated by both sides as ‘sites of power’, these women who were at the forefront of the buffer zone still managed to prioritize peace over all else, by releasing the Meitei men.

I then spoke with a young girl about what unfolded on May 3^rd, 2023. She recalled the details of the initial days saying, “Kuki tribes were having a solidarity march to oppose providing ST status to the Meitei community, in retaliation some Meitei people started burning the Anglo-Kuki War Memorial Gate in Churachandpur District.”

“The crowd appeared to have plotted their attack and was ready to attack. Before we knew it, they had begun throwing stones at us. The state police were also present, and our Kuki tribe volunteers were unarmed at the time. They quickly began hurling tear gas at us. By this time both sides were angry and later the Meitei people started burning some houses,” she added.

On asking about the state police helping when all of this was happening, she replied, “They observed the incident from afar but they didn’t take any action, had they taken any action the conflict wouldn’t have escalated to the level it is today.”

Plight of thousands of ‘Internally Displaced People’ (IDPs) Overshadowed

People on both sides ran at night through jungles to save their lives as the houses in their vicinity burned and in no time their own houses were on the radar. The Meiteis were driving out all Kukis from Imphal and other Meitei-dominated villages, and Kukis were doing the same. The plight of thousands of these displaced people is not enough to sway the Central Government to intervene.

Because of the escalating tensions and large-scale violence, the situation is such that there are no Kukis in Imphal now.

The relief camps situated in Imphal, Meitei dominated, were still in a better condition, for government-offered help reached these camps. On the other side, Kuki Tribes’ relief camps situated in different districts lacked basic requirements.

We visited and spoke to people living in both these camps. In Imphal–East and West, trade centers and covered marketplaces were converted into relief camps. People living there told us they were getting rice, grains, spices, and bananas from the government along with Rs. 80 per IDP (Internally Displaced Person) to support themselves.

People living in Churachandpur & Kangpokpi district relief camps received only basic ration such as rice, with the local village people pooling in for the majority of their subsistence items.

When I entered the old school premises turned into a relief camp for Kuki people in the Churachandpur district, I witnessed something heart-wrenching. People were forced to sell leftover food to meet their basic daily needs and support their children, and of course, people were buying this cheaply available food because their entire life was wrecked, their houses burned, and family members were killed, with no money in their pockets. They have been displaced overnight and they have no source of income amidst the ongoing violence in the state.

While the condition of the people living in relief camps on both Meitei and Kuki side are deplorable, there was still a clear visible contrast. The Meitei camps were larger and better organized, with relatively better ration but the Kuki camps were much smaller, and lesser organized.

Zooming-in on the lives in the relief camps, exposed the challenges galore. No money to survive is the first major one. In some Meitei relief camps, women were making handbags and jute stools to support their families with what little they could. While they kept making these in heaps, they still hadn’t figured out who to sell it to?! When I asked one of them – “why are you making these jute bags”, she replied – “that is the only way for me to quieten my mind amidst the chaos, it gives me purpose, and hopefully I will be able to get my child some toys, with that little extra money. Children don’t yet fully understand the fate that we have met yet, and I prefer to keep it like that.”

Privacy is the other major one. Women living in relief camps had to share a small room with 6-7 people and in some cases even more. There was a common washroom for everyone to use. Now with the beginning of winter, they were in dire need of blankets and mattresses.

The government has provided them with a stubble-filled mattress that was uncomfortable to sleep. Women shared their hardships saying there were even stones in the mattresses because they were made from stubble from the field.

Many children were living in the relief camps on both sides with limited access to education. Their future was being jeopardized amidst the crisis. Many of these children were not going to school because their parents could not afford their fees with the bare minimum resources left.

Women in all relief camps spoke at length about the financial crisis they were dealing with. One expressed concern that many young people were committing suicide because they lost their private jobs and now, they couldn’t find any means of income.

In a lighter vein yet with an inexplicable seriousness in her voice, one woman said – “there are many boys in the age group of 25-35 in this camp. How will they get married? Who will give their daughters in a relief camp? What will happen to these boys and their future? Girls, we could still marry them off, but boys – I am worried for them.” She continued – “The Government needs to provide some sort of employment opportunity to engage the young, lest their entire futures are ruined.”

Victims Share Gruesome Details & A Pattern of Brutality

In this long ongoing violence, there’s one thing that has been constant which is a pattern of brutality in killing people on both sides. A girl from the Kuki tribe shared a shocking incident of her childhood friend being raped and killed in Imphal when the violence broke out last year.

“Florence was a young timid girl, living in a rented apartment along with her friend. The apartment was owned by a Meitei woman in Imphal. When the news of the arson broke out in the adjacent district everyone was looking for a safe place to hide. Florence decided to hide in her apartment fearing Arambai Tenggol (a Meitei activist organization) would find her. Arambai Tenggols were taking a stroll in the city openly to kill any Kuki people they found. She had nowhere to go and no one came to her rescue”

The girl was sobbing while narrating the incident, holding back her tears she went on, “The owner of the house, a Meitei woman, grabbed these two girls and gave them in the custody of Arambai Tenggols saying take them and rape them because this is war, everything is justified.”

Later everyone in the village found out about the gruesome incident through social media where the details of both girls’ murders suggested that they were raped and tortured as their private parts were cut with a knife. After a few weeks, their cold-blooded body photos were also released on social media.

Manipur is witnessing a fresh spate of violence with the killing of 3 Meitei Women and children in Jiribam. We traveled to Jiribam to meet the victim’s family. The distance between Imphal to Jiribam is 216 km but it is a 12-hour-long journey by road given the difficult terrain and multiple landslides on the way. It’s a hilly area with lush green views on both sides of the road. The most difficult part of the journey from Imphal to Jiribam wasn’t the conditions of the roads, multiple closures because of landslides, lack of anything to eat on the way, etc. – it was to convince a driver to actually drive us to Jiribam in the first place. No one agreed, and one who did charged an exorbitant 20 K. The locals felt that it just wasn’t safe. The government chopper did not fly every day and was difficult to get a seat in it anyway.

On reaching Jiribam we met with the victim’s family members in a Meitei relief camp. A little girl who was fluent in Hindi stood with me to narrate the incident of the grisly killing of her grandmother, maternal aunt & siblings. This little girl was an eyewitness when her family members were being dragged out of their house, beaten up, and kidnapped.

“We went back to our village house which is 30-40 km away from the relief camp just to check on our belongings there, that’s when a group came wearing all black. We thought these were Arambai Tenggols but they were Kukis. Seeing them we ran for our lives but my grandmother, Maternal aunt & siblings were inside the house and were abducted by the mob. On the next day, they uploaded my family members’ pictures on social media saying they would kill them. Before we could reach out for some help they killed them and their mutilated bodies were found in a river.”

This little girl appealed to the government and people to do something about Manipur and punish those who have killed her family members. She says, “I had a lot on my mind for my future but now I’m unable to go to school. Now I don’t think that I’ll be able to do something in the future. My future like many other children of Manipur seems bleak.”

The recent incident has raised several questions. There are speculations that it might be a targeted attack from the Meitei groups itself to put the blame on Kukis and escalate tensions further. Many theories arose on this particular incident, with the resignation of Inspector S Ibotombi Singh right after the incident. The area from where these six women and children were abducted is a Meitei-dominated area as told by a local. Therefore, it was nearly impossible for Kuki tribes to enter the area easily without being spotted by deployed army, Meitei organizations, or local village volunteers.

In another incident, in a relief camp in Kangpokpi district sat a woman in a dimly lit room, scrolling through her dead husband’s photos on the phone. I sat next to her to understand what happened to her husband. Her husband was beaten up by the mob and killed.

On the 3^rd of May 2023 around 6 in the evening in Imphal, a mob caught her husband and started beating him black and blue. While holding her child she tried to stop the mob from beating him, and that’s when she was also enfolded in the violence and forced to say that they were refugees. In desperate hopes, she said whatever they asked her to say. Even after that, her husband was assaulted, her clothes were ripped apart, and she was slapped several times by the mob.

The mob left her husband barely alive thinking that he was dead, the lady tried contacting multiple hospitals & doctors whom she knew, but all of them refused to help just because she was a Kuki. At this time her husband passed away, and she had to move with her child to ensure their safety.

People Demand Justice, Accountability & Ask Government to Intervene

“There’s no government in Manipur. Both sides suffered major losses but still, there was no intervention. If there was a government there wouldn’t have been a war of this scale. Many women have been raped and killed, yet there’s no action. Because there’s no government, which is why we want a separate administration,” said a young girl belonging to the Kuki tribe.

While this violence has ripped apart the two communities, there was one thing that stood out in common which was their anger toward the government’s inaction and inability to combat the situation. Both communities questioned if the central government thought of the People of Manipur as the citizens of this country because their behavior suggested otherwise.

A 14-year-old girl living in a relief camp shared her hardships and had a clear message for the people in the rest of the country, “Raise your voice for Manipur and help us overcome this conflict.”

“Stop the war and don’t divide our Manipur, we want every community to be safe and we want peace,” a Meitei woman from the group Meira Paibis also appealed to the Government of India.

Women at the Forefront of this War

In the northeastern state of Manipur, unlike any other state, the majority of women were visible on the streets, running shops & engaging in business activities. There were marketplaces dedicated to all women sellers. It suggested that women in Manipur were empowered in some ways, but the reality showed otherwise. They are also the most targeted during these 18 months of ongoing violence.

It’s evident all over the world that women suffer the most from war. In the capital city of Manipur, a Meitei women’s group referred to as ‘Meira Paibi’ or ‘guardians of civil society’. These women torchbearers have been on an indefinite relay hunger strike since 16 November 2024. They first came into existence in 1977 and have led the protest against imposition of AFSPA (Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958) in Manipur.

They are protesting against the gruesome killing of 3 Meitei women & children in the Jiribam district. This happened in the fresh spate of violence in the state of Manipur. I spoke to these protesting women about their demands and how women were targeted on both sides.

One of the movement leaders Gurumayum Dayapati told me they needed justice for the 6 killings, they were demanding capital punishment. Speaking further she went on to voice a larger sentiment of the Meitei community saying, “All Kuki MLAs & Kuki Tribes organizations be declared as terrorists.”

In an interview given to The Womb, Dayapati said that they have lost all hope in the central and state governments seeing their behavior towards the ongoing violence.

I asked Gurumayum – “Since women are at the forefront of this war, they are the ones who are being targeted first and this was the case on both sides be it Kuki tribes or the Meitei community, so is Meira Paibi only protesting for the brutality against Meitei women or women in general?”. To this she responded, “All of us are living miserably, we are all innocent but they (Kukis) are killing our people.”

On speaking about the two Kuki women being paraded naked by the Meitei Mob she said, “They (Kukis) raped our women on the first day when the violence broke out, our boys got angry that’s why they went out to take revenge and the boys didn’t physically torture the girls, they were just paraded naked. We didn’t kill them.”

Gurumayum’s reply was chilling. I confirmed if she was justifying the shameful act of women being paraded naked, to which she said, yes, it was justified.

Ironically, a women’s group protesting for grisly crimes against women was justifying the same act done with the women of other communities by their community men.

This is the amount of venom and hatred spread between the two communities. It seemed to me that the ongoing violence and the horror stories of brutality that both sides have lived through in the last 18 months, has ushered in a certain myopia in people of both the communities, where they just cannot view the tensions from a third person perspective at all. To them, the other is the enemy. They are not willing to ask themselves – but how did we turn so against each other? Had we not lived peacefully all this while? Could people with vested interests be behind fuelling this and why? It is important to note that before the current spate of violence, both communities were living peacefully with each other – a sentiment repeated oft when asked about this in relief camps on both the sides.

National Media’s Gimmick in Imphal

Meanwhile, our mainstream media, critically known as ‘Godi Media’ is yet again busy with other ‘important’ issues, neglecting the crucial issue of a state burning, and hundreds of people dying.

National Media is simply paying lip service to the Manipur conflict and continuing with business as usual. I spotted several channels in Imphal, all these channels did was walk out of their lavish hotels, report from outside the hotel, and go back. They were least bothered to visit people in the relief camp, least bothered to go and meet the victims’ families and show the ground reality to the world.

All they were doing was reporting on a whim and catering to the official narrative. Indian Media has fallen into an unofficial state of emergency. Once known as the ‘Fourth Pillar of Democracy’ is now a mere mouthpiece of the government. Manipur right now is in a sensitive spot where people all over the world need to know exactly what is happening in the state but there’s no factual information coming out in the media to inform citizens.

Core of the Dispute is Land Rights & Resources

The reality behind the ongoing violence in the state of Manipur can be understood in just one term- Political Cronyism. There’s a sinister angle to the 1.5-year-long violent conflict.

Manipur is rich in mineral resources, and all of these resources are concentrated in the hill areas of Manipur where the majority population is of Kuki-Zo-Chin tribals.

The government of India in 2015 & 2021 had already made amendments to the Mines & Minerals Development & Regulations Act, (MMDRA 1957) and with these amendments, they have taken away unqualified rights of the indigenous people over the surface lands that they have lived on for generations. This amendment has drawn various criticisms as it allows the government to overrule the Forest Rights Act 2006 and provide a shortcut for mining licenses. Now with the legal and policies front being clear, they only have to deal with one thing which is the tribes living on these lands.

We interviewed a Tribal leader & media spokesperson Ng Lun Kipgen in Manipur. He revealed some details of why the state of Manipur was burning and who was benefiting from this mayhem.

Lun Kipgen said, “It’s about the resources and land rights. In this conflict, I feel it’s about the land because that is the reason Meitei’s demanded to be given the ST status so that they can own land in the hills.”

“I feel Biren Singh along with the titular king have proposed this idea of granting ST Status to the Meitei community so that they have ownership of the lands and resources in the hills. Now to do that they had to stoop so low to demonize one community or maybe be involved in the ethnic cleansing of the Kuki-Zo tribes,” explained Ng Lun in an interview with The Womb.

Q. There are private companies that have been given mining contracts in Manipur so do you think they are in cahoots with both the Central and the State government?

A. When one talks about lands – some people reside there, so if the government takes up a major project, I think the local people should be included as stakeholders, that’s part of the system. I understand that when development needs to be done in your area, one has to be progressive but while doing so the government needs to give space to the tribal people. If it’s about their land they should be included, they should be part of the decision-making process, and that’s what happening throughout the world. So, it is safe to say that these private players who have been granted the mining license are in cahoots with the government. Otherwise, how can they skip the owner of the land?

Q. Since the government amended the MMDRA 1957 in 2021, so maybe now it’s just about removing people from these lands?

A. Very True, and this can only be achieved through this fascism upheld by the current Chief Minister otherwise the previous CM doesn’t have the guts to do that. The central Government needs someone like Biren Singh to do that otherwise the problem would have been solved on day 1 itself. The saddest part is people need to be educated on this aspect, that what is the sinister plan of the government behind this conflict, and what are they making out of planting the two communities against each other.

Human Rights Under Attack, Missing Leadership

There are two groups namely Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, these two are extremely active groups in the ongoing conflict in Manipur. Members of the Kuki-Zo group accused them of carrying out murderous attacks on them during the Manipur unrest. There are accusations that the state is supporting these groups as a private militia.

To no surprise, the Rajya Sabha MP and titular ling of Manipur, Leishemba Sanajaoba, was the one who formed the Meitei advocacy group Arambai Tenggol and continues to serve as its chairman. It has been said that Arambai Tenggol is an armed radical group. Additionally, it is a revivalist group that seeks to restore among the Meiteis the traditional, pre-Hindu Sanamahi faith.

The group showed its power in January 2024 when it called a conference of all the state’s elected Meitei lawmakers to discuss how to defend Meiteis in the ongoing struggle.

I reached out to 3 people from Arambai Tenggol for an interview. But was denied comment.

Arambai Tenggol has different unit offices set up all over Imphal. A source confirmed that they have taken over dislodged Kuki houses in Imphal to set up their units.

On the other hand, Meitei Leepun is led by Meitei Nationalist Pramot Singh. Meitei Leepun has also been held accountable for taking part in attacks against Kuki communities throughout the continuing wars. Pramot Singh was affiliated with ABVP during his college time in Gujarat. Manipur police have also filed a case against him for inciting hostility between groups. Singh has also been in the news last year for his vocal anti-Kuki stance.

Prima Facie, it seems that the Government of India does not want to intervene in these ethnic clashes. Because it is hard to believe that the Central Government isn’t able to curb the ongoing violence in 1.5 years. At this point, it might be safe to say that they lack the intention to restore peace in the state of Manipur.

Arms are being looted from the Police stations and still, they have not been recovered. What are the state police and army deployed doing? There’s AFSPA in place in hilly areas of the state but not in the valley except for the six police stations in Imphal closer to the hills. Doesn’t it all seem a bit planned and organized?

Numerous accounts exist of massacres, unrest, and long lines of shattered people, on both sides – Meitei and Kukis, heading in the direction of nowhere. But why is the country so quiet? Why does nobody care? Are people living in Manipur not the citizens of this country? Are they not our fellowmen? These are the questions that a sane society would ask but given we as a nation are doomed and far down the rabbit hole to question the wrongs we have been served, they remain unanswered, lost in the chaos of the clash and screams of the people drenched in blood.

Manipur is calling for our help. But are we there to answer? Or would we choose to remain silent just like those at whose behest this has been going on, in the first place?

The tears, sobs, silent cries, and stories with gory details from both Meiteis and Kukis did not leave me even after I returned to New Delhi. It seems to me that like always, and in any war – it is those who are at the lowest rung, who suffer the most. Common men and women from both Meitei and Kuki sides are suffering for no fault of their own – with their lives and their children’s lives staring in a limbo. All of them seem convinced that the Central government can end this war if it wants in a week’s time, but they seem increasingly convinced that it’s going to be a long-long time before they can go back to their villages and live a normal life.

What touched my heart the most was when we went to one relief camp from the other, and people asked – ‘How’s my village, how are people living on the other side?’ I could only smile and cry at the same time – a people uprooted from their homes, left to survive on the roads, staring into an unknown future and yet retaining their humanity in its full glory. It’s the sameness of emotions on both sides, that makes them not – the other side.

“Democracy is not merely a form of Government…It is essentially an attitude of respect and reverence towards fellowmen.”
― B.R. Ambedkar, Annihilation of Caste

Note: The views expressed here are of the author and the people interviewed. An honest attempt was made to reach out to as many people on both sides as possible.

08/12/2024 0 comments 125 views

Safe Cooking, Better Health: The Ujjwala Yojana and Its Role in Women’s Well Being

by Guest Author 08/12/2024

written by Guest Author

By Greetha Singh

In developing countries like India clean and safe cooking especially in the rural parts of the country is a top priority of the government.

Unsafe cooking directly impacts women’s health which is 50% of the population. In past Government of India (GoI) has launched many initiatives to provide clean cooking fuel like LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) cylinders to rural and underprivileged households across the country.

In this article, you will learn about one just initiative launched by GoI targeting women and their health.

WHO on Household Air Pollution

But before you learn about the scheme you need to know what WHO (World Health Organization) has to say about the impact of Household Air Pollution emanating from unclean cooking fuel like Coal, Wood etc on women’s health.

Here are some facts

Around 300 million people in India cook using unclean fuel like coal, wood, animal dung, crop waste etc
Around 4 million people die prematurely every year due to illness attributed to household air pollution
Particulate Matter (PM) found in the household air pollution is the main cause of half of the deaths.
27% deaths due to Pneumonia, 18% due to stroke, 27% due to heart diseases, 8% due to lung cancer

What is Ujjwala Yojana?

Due to aforementioned facts, Government of India launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana or PMUY scheme with tagline “Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan” on 1 May 2016 flagged by Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi.

This flagship scheme was aimed to provide clean cooking fuel (LPG) to 50 million women from rural and underprivileged households by 2019 promoting a clean smoke-free cooking environment.

Ujjwala Scheme will promote the use of LPG in rural households addressing serious issues like health, air pollution and deforestation.

This scheme was implemented by Petroleum and Natural Gas implements the Ujjwala Scheme.

Ujjwala Yojana 2.0

Ujjwala Yojana 2.0 is just an extension of Original Ujjawala Scheme, which was also launched in 2016. The aim was to provide LPG connections to even more households.

Original scheme was aimed to reach 50 million families living below poverty line, later with Ujjwala Yojana 2.0 target was increased to 80 million women by March 2020. However this target was achieved seven months ahead, by September 2019.

Objective of Ujjwala Yojana Scheme

As it is very clear from the outset of this article, objective of PMUY scheme is to provide clean cooking fuel specifically LPG gas cylinders.

By doing this, Ujjwala scheme almost eliminates any health hazards associated with traditional unclean cooking fuels like coal, wood etc, particularly among women and children.

Improvement in Health – Eliminates all kinds of serious pulmonary diseases like pneumonia, lung cancer, Tuberculosis etc caused by indoor air pollution.
Environmental Sustainability – Use of cleaner fuel like LPG reduces dependency on wood hence mitigates deforestation and also curbs carbon emissions.
Women Empowerment – But the most important objective of the scheme is to give dignity to women by improving their health and living standard.

Implementation of the Ujjwala Yojana Scheme

PMUY scheme was implemented through LPG distributors across India, targeting specifically below-poverty-line (BPL) households. The whole implementation involved awareness campaigns, registration, and issuance of LPG connections and provision of subsidized cylinders.

A Woman from BPL family can apply for the new LPG connection
Application form should include KYC details like Aadhar, ration card etc.
LPG Field officials will match the application data against the SECC-2011 database and issue the connection
Government will bear connection charges, OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies) will provide an option to opt for EMIs to cover the cost of cooking stove and first refill.
OMCs will organize fairs at various locations for release of connection to the families.

Eligibility Criteria for the Scheme

Following are the eligibility criteria for the Scheme

Applicant must be a woman of age above 18. She must also be a citizen of India.
She should come from Below Poverty Line economic background. Monthly income of her family should not exceed certain limit prescribed by the State government.
No one from her household should have another LPG connection.
Applicant’s name must be in the SECC-2011 List.
Applicant should not be registered under any other similar scheme offered by the government.

Main Beneficiary of Ujjwala Yojana Scheme

Following are the categories who are beneficiary of PMUY scheme.

A woman belonging to the BPL family.
Poor household as per 14 point declaration
Tea and Ex Tea Garden Tribes
SC/ST Households
People residing in Islands and River Islands
Forest Dwellers
Most Backward Classes

Benefits of Ujjwala Yojana for Women

PMUY scheme has multifaceted advantages. Most obvious benefit is improving women’s health by reducing indoor pollution.

Other major benefits of PMUY are

LPG Connection under PMUY scheme shall be in the name of a woman, providing subsidy in woman’s account.
PMUY scheme has empowered rural women and protected them and their families from many acute respiratory ailments.
Women who had to go out for collecting woods were frequently subjected to sexual harassment but after receiving LPG connections they don’t have to go out.
Stopping wood as a cooking fuel had a positive impact on forest cover and environment in general due to improved air quality.
PMUY has generated so many jobs for rural youth in cooking gas supply chain and also employment opportunities in logistics and maintenance.
LPG Cylinders saves a lot of time, which allows women to look out for other employment opportunities.

Challenges Faced by Ujjwala Yojana Scheme

Despite its huge success PMUY has encountered certain challenges.

Identifying Eligible Households – Due to lack of accurate data identifying deserving household was a major challenge.
Misuse of SECC Data – Unfortunately the scheme was misused as few affluent households were listed as BPL Households.
Awareness – Beneficiaries require more awareness about safely cooking on LPG, specially poor and illiterate background.
Strict Documentations – Because of strict KYC many deserving households were not included in the scheme.
Reach – Limited reach of LPG Distribution network posted serious challenges especially in disturbed areas.

This is all you need to know about the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana or PMUY Scheme launched by government of India specifically for women from below-poverty-level economic background.

How to Register and Apply for Ujjwala Yojana

Women can apply for the PMUY Online as well as offline. Applying online is easy and time saving. Follow the steps for applying online.

Step 1: Women can Apply Online by going here at https://pmuy.gov.in/ujjwala2.html

Step 2: After clicking on “Click Here”, an Online Application will appear.

Step 3: Choose anyone Company from the list and Click on “Click here to apply”

Step 4: In the Next Form enter your mobile number and OTP

Step 5: Select whether you are a migrant family

Step 6: Fill all the details, family, personal, address, bank details etc.

Step 7: Choose the cylinder type and whether you live in rural or urban area

Step 8: Select the declaration and submit the form

Step 9: Generate a reference number and visit nearest gas agency

Step 10: Your online process is complete

08/12/2024 0 comments 31 views

In Conversation With Shamim Modi, Social Activist & Politician

by Avani Bansal 08/12/2024

written by Avani Bansal

Avani Bansal

In this extremely candid and honest conversation, hear about the journey of Ms. Shamim Modi, who was a city girl, but then got engaged passionately in the fight of the Adivasis and workers. From her experiences of working on building a grassroots movement to choosing to enter into electoral politics, Shamim shares very interesting and heart-touching anecdotes from her journey. She also shares how she met the love of her life and got married, the struggles and joy of parenting as an activist and a political person and how she never let her gender or religious identity be a roadblock in her work.

If you are looking at being inspired into a journey of ‘working for the people’ with integrity and passion, this is a must watch conversation, condensing years of wisdom in about an hour.

08/12/2024 0 comments 28 views

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