Ethnic Troubles in India

 By Henry Srebrnik, [Charlottetown, PEI] Guardian

Nearly two months after it was convulsed by ethnic violence, the northeast Indian state of Manipur is teetering on what many believe is the brink of civil war. Clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities have left more than 100 dead and over 400 wounded.

Nearly 60,000 people have been displaced and some 40,000 security forces are struggling to quell the violence. More than 200 churches and 17 temples have been destroyed or damaged by mobs. Homes of local ministers and legislators have been attacked and set on fire.

The Meiteis make up more than half of Manipur’s estimated 3.3 million people, while some 43 per cent are Kukis and Nagas, the two predominant tribal communities. Most Meiteis follow the Hindu faith, while most Kukis adhere to Christianity.

ETHNIC VIOLENCE

Eight states in India’s restive and remote north-eastern region, almost cut off from the rest of the country by Bangladesh, are home to some 45 million people belonging to more than 400 communities.

More than a dozen peace talks trying to mediate between groups across the region have been dragging on for years, so Manipur is no stranger to ethnic violence.

With some 33 ethnic tribes, the state is extremely diverse, and sharply divided and is home to some 40 insurgent groups. Meitei, Naga and Kuki rebels have waged prolonged armed campaigns, frequently targeting Indian security forces, in protest against controversial anti-insurgent laws which grant search and seizure powers to the security forces.

The current trouble started when the Meitei demand for inclusion under the Scheduled Tribes category of the Indian Constitution led to protests by the Kukis, who are already a Scheduled Tribe. It then spiralled into violence.

Scheduled tribes have been among the most socio-economically disadvantaged groups in the country, so India reserves government jobs, college admissions and elected seats at all levels of government for communities under this category.

LAND DEMANDS

Meitei, Naga and Kuki militias have also fought one another over conflicting land demands. There is a lot of pressure on land in Manipur, because about

60 per cent of the population lives on just 10 per cent of the state’s land, in the valley of Imphal. The Meiteis resent the fact that, as non-tribal people, they are not allowed to buy land or settle in the tribal hill districts.

The unrest has sparked criticism of both Indian Prime Minister Modi and his ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh of the Meitei-dominated BJP state government. Both have been accused of not doing enough to prevent the violence.

“None of the actions taken by the state government or the Union government have inspired confidence in the people of Manipur,” the country’s main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, said in a statement June 12.

Only 10 of the 60 elected lawmakers in Manipur’s assembly and three of 10 ministers in the cabinet are Kukis, hence they have little political power. While there exists some political and administrative connection between the two communities, the growing alienation between them seems to be driving them further apart.

SEEKING AUTONOMY

So Kuki elected officials in the state, including some who are themselves in the BJP, have submitted a letter to the Indian government demanding a separate administration, arguing that the state has been “partitioned” and “our people can no longer exist under Manipur.”

Giving more internal autonomy to tribal groups could be a way to defuse the crisis, according to Subir Bhaumik, author of "Insurgent Crossfire: North-east India." He cites the example of the northeastern state of Tripura where a third of the population are recognized as tribal people and collectively govern twothirds of the state’s land area through an autonomous district council.

However, a major challenge in Manipur is that there are so many groups protesting on the streets, with each presenting its own list of demands. Government officials have complained that it is becoming increasingly difficult to negotiate with them.