Why The Mayhem In Manipur

Torn fabric of society Houses set afire during the Meitei-tribal violence in Imphal, May 4

- Kaushik Deka

The spectre of ethnic conflict returned to haunt Manipur on May 3 when a solidarity march by the All Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur (ATSUM) turned violent. Reports of killings, rioting and destruction of property soon emerged from several districts, including Imphal East, Imphal West, Kakching, Thoubal, Kangpokpi, Tengnoupal and Jiribam, besides Churachandpur. The first six districts are dominated by the Meitei community while mostly Kuki tribes live in the other three. The army and Assam Rifles carried out flag marches, internet services were suspended, curfew imposed and nearly 15,000 people from affected areas were evacuated to relief camps. The government claims 60 people were killed and over 200 injured; unofficial estimates of the toll are much higher.

The tribal solidarity march was being held to voice opposition to a Manipur High Court order of April 14 that asked the state government to send a recommendation to the Centre for inclusion of the Meitei community in the state list of Scheduled Tribes (ST). The order—later held by the Supreme Court to be beyond the remit of the high court to issue—reignited historical tensions between Meiteis, mostly resident in the saucer-shaped Imphal valley, and the state’s hill tribes, primarily Nagas and Kukis.