A common mistrust in Manipur chief minister and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader N Biren Singh- that is what unites the otherwise warring communities in violence stricken north eastern state of Manipur. The 12th Chief Minister of Manipur since 2017, N Biren Singh has faced increasing demands of resignation from opposition parties as the crisis in the state surged.
The CM remains far from claiming responsibility in delaying action against the perpetrators, the mob of Meitei men who paraded two Kuki Zo women naked on 4 May, a day after violent ethnic clashes broke out in Manipur.
While debates have arisen as to why BJP will not or even, possibly, cannot ask Biren Singh to resign, people in Manipur within the state have lost confidence in their democratically elected legislative assembly head.
As pointed out by historian and academic Ramachandra Guha, BJP asking Biren SIngh to resign would mean an admittance that the CM and his government could not handle the Manipur crisis properly. And months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the saffron party would definitely want to steer clear of any such admittances.
However, according to a report by BBC, faith in the federal and state government seems lacking in both communities.
The Chief Minister of Manipur, N Biren Singh, who belongs to the Meitei community, promised the “harshest punishment to the accused, including capital punishment”. But when asked about the calls for his resignation for failure to resolve the conflict, he said, “Don’t want to go into this, my job is to bring peace to the state and punish miscreants.”
While analysts say that the viral video of the sexual harassment meted out to the two Kuki Zo women brought back nation’s attention to the violence in Manipur, the north-eastern state’s Meira Peibis, or torch-bearers – also known as the mothers of Manipur – who have felt that the incident painted the Manipur society in a bad light.
All residents of Manipur have sought is that state and Central government should ‘treat both communities fairly’.
On 3 May 2023, ethnic violence erupted in India’s north-eastern state of Manipur between the Meitei people, a majority that lives in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki tribal community from the surrounding hills.
On 20 April 2023, a judge of the Manipur High Court directed the state government to “consider request of the Meitei community to be included in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) list.” The Kukis feared that the ST status would allow the Meiteis purchase land in the prohibited hilly areas.
This triggered violent protests and the rest is news, reported everyday for almost three months now!
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Updated: 24 Jul 2023, 10:51 PM IST