IMPASSE IN MANIPUR

It has been more than two months since ethnic clashes first erupted in Manipur. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments-both at the Centre and in the northeastern state-have drawn flak for the violence that has already claimed nearly 150 lives and shown no immediate signs of abating.

- Kaushik Deka

The collective failure of the "double engine sarkar" to even begin a dialogue between the fighting Meitei and Kuki groups reflects more than just its poor grip over the state's law and order situation-what's gradually being exposed is how the BJP is caught in a bind because of conflicting political interests.

Ever since the violence broke out, there has been a consistent demand-from the Opposition, Kuki groups and even within the BJP-for chief minister N. Biren Singh's removal. He had even typed a resignation letter, dated June 30, but this was torn by a massive crowd that assembled outside his official residence to prevent him from submitting it to the governor. The CM's critics say he staged this "resignation drama" after being asked to quit by the BJP's central leadership. The episode only further exposed the party's dilemma in handling the state's affairs.

The way things have panned out, Biren on the face of it may come across as an inept CM who has failed to control the violence despite the support of the Union government and armed forces. His detractors even allege he has blatantly sided with the Meiteis, his own community. It's on similar lines that Kuki groups claim that Biren's earlier drives against illegal poppy cultivation and encroachment of forest areas were aimed specifically against them, deepening the community's historical sense of distance from the Meitei-controlled mainstream. So, when the CM raised the issue of "illegal immigration" of Kukis from Myanmar, citing their high growth rate, community leaders accused him of ethnic bias. And that's the reason they have declined to be part of any peace dialogue initiated by the Centre till Biren remains the CM.