Facts on Violence in Manipur

Press Release:
Email: info@fiids-usa.org
Phone: 202-318-7000
20 August 2023
Washington, DC:
The US-based think tank and advocacy institute, Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), hosted a panel discussion on Sunday 20th August on the recent violence in Manipur, a state of India. During the event, FIIDS published a report on facts about Manipur violence. FIIDS analysts and researchers Spandan Gandhi, Shaunak Kelkar, Isha Gadkari headed by FIIDS Policy and Strategy Director, Khanderao Kand had researched and analyzed the facts published in the report. This event was participated by community leaders and analysts around the USA. The report will be shared with the US based policy makers and think tanks.

The State of Manipur previously witnessed insurgencies and ethnic clashes between its three main tribes: Meitie, Kukis, and Nagas. In May 2024, a court verdict triggered deadly violence that lasted for 6-8 weeks. The verdict required the Manipur State government to give scheduled tribe status to Meities, which would bring them affirmative actions in jobs, education, and other benefits that Kukis currently enjoy. Meitie organized rallies in support of the verdicts while Kukis organized protests against this decision. Wide social media circulation of fake news of graphic videos and pics sparked lethal violence and resulted in over 100 deaths and thousands of people displaced from their villages.

Various dormant insurgency/extremist groups took advantage to revive themselves with gun violence. This was further fueled by funds and arms from drug mafias who grow opium and process heroin for export through Myanmar. Some even alleged that a foreign interference cannot be ruled out. In summary, the violence has historical baggage, inter tribes distrust, fear of economic impacts, drugs and insurgency as factors. However, it is important to note that, although religious polarization exists among the tribes, we did not find evidence of religious violence. Instead, it is based on an ethnic divide and historical distrust and rivalry between the tribes.

Both the state government of Manipur and the government of India have deployed all their resources to establish peace and provide relief to those affected. While the violence and protests have calmed down in the recent weeks, the underlying distrust still exists, and displaced people are not yet comfortable to return to their origins. Further steps, such as discussions, negotiations, major trust-building exercises, and help to rebuild their lives, are necessary to carry forward.

Facts from Report:

Intro: India’s Manipur state has suffered violence during the last few months. Manipur is a northeastern state in India known for its rich cultural heritage, a long complex history and diverse culture of various tribes, mainly, Meitei, Kuki, Naga, etc. The state is full of green valleys, rolling hills, and dense forests. The state has a century old history of conflicts between tribes as well as decades long separatist terrorism which had stopped in recent years. There are many dynamics, including historical, economic, as well as conflicts of rights, which have led to the recent 2023 violence between the Meitei and the Kuki people. It is important to acknowledge all angles of the crisis – the perpetuation of false narratives to fuel the existing conflict.

1) History of Meitei Kingdom: The Meitei are the predominant ethnic group of Manipur.

The Meitei kingdom has been credited with originating the Manipuri language (one of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic) and the Manipuri dance form. Manipur has a recorded history of kings dating back 2000 years, all from the Meitei ethnic group. Thus, the history of Manipur starts with the Meitei. In the past, the Meitei and the Nagas shared a common origin, but they have since grown apart. A treaty was established between them: the Meitei promised to protect Nagas from foreign invasion, which was later challenged and broken by the Burmese invasion.

https://www.thehindu.com/society/the-world-according-to-the-meiteis-manipur-has-a-little-known-but-highly-evolved-manuscript-tradition-called-puya/article34945997.ece

2) Kuki migrations since British : In 1819-1825, the Burmese Empire invaded and defeated the Meitei community, leading to the imposition of the Burmese culture. In 1826, the British defeated the Burmese and took control of Manipur. Manipur then became a princely state and the king had to pay heavy taxes to the British to stay in power. The Manipur kingdom retaliated against British rule and was defeated. As a punishment, the British forced the Meitei community, which was greater in population as compared to other communities to settle only in the Manipur valley which is a much smaller land than they previously owned. Then, the British started habiting Burmese tribal communities (Kuki) in the Manipur hilly regions where the Nagas resided thereby causing tensions and changes in the demographics of the region.

Kuki’s migration and infiltration had been contested both by Meitie and Nagas (who considered Hills as their ancestral homeland. Kuki’s inflow mainly from Myanmar continued, especially due situation in Myanmar due to People junta regime. e.g. 8888 on 8th August 1988 and recent 2020 caused many anti-military-Junta Kuki’s fled Myanmar to Manipur. Those are illegal migrants and were again contested by Nagas and Meities.

3) Geography – Hills vs Lower Land Tribals: One of reasons for the present-day hostility and unrest lies in Manipur’s geographical setting. The Meitei, being the predominant ethnic group, primarily settled in the Imphal Valley region in Modern-day Manipur. With a total area of 22,327 km^2 Manipur separates itself into several Hills and a Valley. The valley accounts for only 2,238 km^2, (a mere 10% of the total area), however, the valley houses 57.2% of the total population of the State. With the 60% population in Imphal region, the region and its majority ethnicity, Meitie, enjoy political power in the state ( 40 out of 60 seats in the state assembly are from the region). Of the 3 major ethnic groups, the Meitei, who largely inhabit the Valley, constitute the largest section of the State and are non-tribal groupings. On the other hand, the hills are inhabited by the Nagas, Kuki, and their 29 sub-tribes. Muslims form around 8% of the state’s population, some part of them illegally migrated from Bangladesh.

4) History of tribal violence in Manipur: The 1990s in Manipur were marked by ethnic clashes driven by politics, socio-economics, and culture. The Meitei and Kuki communities were central, with Kuki-Naga clashes (1992-1997) being the most intense, affecting hill areas. Moreh saw Meitei-Kuki clashes (1992) over control and trade routes. Churachandpur (1997) experienced Kuki-Meitei violence due to land disputes. Smaller incidents also erupted, tied to land, resources, politics, and historical issues.

5) Land Restriction: The Manipur Land Revenue and Land reforms Act, 1960 prohibits transfer of tribal land to non-tribals except by special permission. The Meitei, though are not debarred from special constitutional rights granted to the STs of Manipur, are also not permitted under the State’s “Land Reform Act” to settle in the Hill districts. On the other hand, there are no restrictions on the Naga and the Kuki to settle in the Valley. This is one of the primary reasons for the distrust and the hostility between the Meitei and the Hill tribes. The hill Kuki and Naga tribes claim that valley people enjoy political dominance and developmental works in the state while Meiteis feels that they getting marginalised in their ancestral land.

6) A History of Insurgency: Manipur has long been home to many separatist groups. These groups primarily raise funds through extortion and illegal “taxes” on trade routes (including those going into Myanmar). The activities of the various insurgent groups have greatly lessened since the current administration has taken power in the Center. Political dialogue was taking place with two insurgent groups – The Kuki National Army and the Zoumi Revolutionary Front- which was referred to as the Suspension of Operations. The Manipur state government withdrew from the Suspension of Operations (SoO) in March claiming that the groups were sheltering illegal immigrants from Myanmar and increasing poppy production. Illegal immigration is said to have increased following the recent coup in Myanmar.

7) Manipur Forest Rules 2021: Recently, a resentment in forest-based Kuki’s against the government has been brewing as a result of a government order on protected forest land based on Manipur Forest Rules (2021). .According to reports, the indigenous community refers to this as a “settlement” but the State is allegedly using the term “encroachment” in this case. Manipur Forest Rules, 2021 (No. 73), which give the State the authority to remove any encroachment or trespass on forest land, have been referenced by the Manipur government. The occupants contend that they have been residing on the property for many years, despite the government’s clarification that only a new settlement (2021) is being evicted.

8) ST status for Meitei: The State High Court’s decision in a case on March 27, 2023, ordering the state government to consider “inclusion of the Meitei community in the ST list” within four weeks and submit a recommendation to the union government for consideration, served as the primary catalyst for the most recent violence since May 2024.

9) Protests and violence: Ethnic violence in Manipur was triggered when a large protest against the state government escalated into a riot. The “All Tribal Student’s Union” protested the state government’s recommendation for Meitei being added to the list of Scheduled Tribes. There was fear that the change would reduce economic opportunities for the other hill-dwelling tribes since the Meitei are greater in population and have held various administrative positions in the government.

10) Role of Fake News: The riots were fuelled by malicious fake news, graphic pictures and videos widely circulated among both Meities and Kukis. To give two examples, before the shameful incident where two Kuki women paraded naked, there was a picture of a dead woman’s mutilated body lying in a plastic bag and falsely claimed as a Meiteir nurse raped and murdered by Kuki’s. But the actual photo was from another incident a couple of years back from Delhi. Similarly, there was a video of a woman tortured and killed by military dress that was falsely claimed as a Kuki woman killed by Meities but that the picture was actually from an incident from Myanmar that happened in Dec 2022. This indicates, anti-peace forces from both the sides were fueling the unrest and riots.

11) Drug Trade: Opium grown in the hills of Manipur is often sent to Myanmar to be processed into heroin. The state government has taken initiatives to curb opium production, and these efforts have led to a more negative perception of police forces in the hills. One can see how these perceptions would make it harder for police to implement law and order in the state amidst large-scale conflict. This drug trade results in drug mafias often arming insurgency with arms and funds so as to avoid a reach of public safety in their areas. The Manipur state government’s drive against drugs has been also one of the reasons that drug mafias are fuelling anti-establishment insurgencies and activists.

12)Advanced foreign Weapons – Spontaneous riots and violence typically would not have advanced weapons, in the contrast, weapons used by tribals to riot in Manipur were advanced, predominantly of Chinese origin, however, also including few AK-47s. According to a report, 25 individuals were caught with such weapons from different parts of the State. The attack plan came to light when a 3-member group was arrested at an army post near the Imphal city center convention on 28th of May 2023 with Chinese weapons. The weapons seized included a Chinese-made hand grenade, detonator, Insas rifle, 60 rounds of ammunition, and more. A former army chief speaking at the Indian International Centre and Press Club of India Conversations series said that foreign interference in the Manipur violence cannot be ruled out and is “definitely there”, stressing that alleged Chinese aid to various groups has been continuing for many years. Earlier in July, Manipur’s CM N. Biren Singh had also previously hinted at foreign hands in the ethnic violence in Manipur. However, beyond these allegations and usage of weapons, no other concrete evidence exist to support a direct involvement from China in this issue.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/manipur-violence-foreign-role-ex-army-chief-naravane-chinese-aid-insurgents-2413364-2023-07-29

Manipur Violence: Roots of today lies in the past

13) Religious Polarization: The Meitei community in Manipur practices a variety of religions, including significant followers of Sanamahism (the Meitei indigenous religion), a majority practicing Hinduism, and a growing presence of Christianity. In the 1901 census, there were only 8% Christians as against 60% Hindus. But by 1991, the number of Christians in Manipur had increased to 34% and estimated Chrisitan population is 45% in 2021. The Kuki community in Manipur is also religiously diverse, with dominance of Christianity in Kukis is a relatively recent phenomenon. A significant proportion of Kukis follow Christianity, and others adhere to indigenous beliefs of Hinduism. Though some western media projected this as religious conflicts, it was clearly tribal as called out by the Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, who said, “ This is a tribal conflict between two tribes, historically very hostile to each other. And it exploded into violence because of certain legislation that was passed. It is given a religious twist, but it is not a religious conflict. It is not between two religions, it’s between two tribes”.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/manipur-violence-is-not-about-one-community-attacking-christians-meitei-christian-body/article67084159.ece

14) Government Response: The government of India was quick to respond after the conflict started. Manipur received a deployment of the Central Armed Police Forces, and senior and knowledgeable individuals were called in and appointed as the Chief Secretary of State and security advisor. Amit Shah, the home minister of India, visited Manipur and offered specific directions for the immediate cessation of violence and the swift restoration of calm. It seems that the government of India (aka the center) has been trying a number of strategies to bring the Meitei and Kuki to address their differences in order to achieve enduring peace. Conversations with the impacted population, rehabilitation of individuals forced to leave their homes with improved security, and insurgent control are a few of these. Following India’s Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit, the Center has established a committee of inquiry to look into violence in the State, which is being led by former Guwahati High Court Chief Justice Ajai Lamba. Additionally, The Centre has established a peace committee in the State, which is led by Governor Anusuiya Uikey, to aid in the peace process among diverse ethnic groups and to open communication between the parties engaged in conflict.

Conclusion: The State of Manipur previously witnessed insurgencies and ethnic clashes between its three main tribes: Meitie, Kukis, and Nagas. In May 2024, a court verdict triggered deadly violence that lasted for 6-8 weeks. The verdict required the Manipur State government to give scheduled tribe status to Meities, which would bring them affirmative actions in jobs, education, and other benefits that Kukis currently enjoy. Meitie organized rallies in support of the verdicts while Kukis organized protests against this decision. Wide social media circulation of fake news of graphic videos and pics sparked lethal violence and resulted in over 100 deaths and thousands of people displaced from their villages.

Various dormant insurgency/extremist groups took advantage to revive themselves with gun violence. This was further fueled by funds and arms from drug mafias who grow opium and process heroin for export through Myanmar. Some of the arms used/discovered are made in China and a former Chief of Army allured that a foreign (probably Chinese) interference cannot be ruled out. In summary, the violence has historical baggage, inter tribes distrust, fear of economic impacts, drugs and insurgency as factors, however, it is important to note that, although religious polarization exists among the tribes, we did not find evidence of religious violence. Instead, it is based on an ethnic divide and historical distrust and rivalry between the tribes.

Both the state government of Manipur and the government of India have deployed their resources to establish peace and provide relief to those affected. While the violence and protests have calmed down in the recent weeks, the underlying distrust still exists, and displaced people are not yet comfortable to return to their origins. Further steps, such as discussions, negotiations, major trust-building exercises, and help to rebuild their lives, are necessary to carry forward.