Letting Manipur slip into anarchy

Political leadership that should be in command prefers to follow radical groups accused of fomenting violence

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The attendance at the meeting called by Arambai Tenggol in Imphal on Wednesday points to the intractable situation in Manipur, where ethnic relations have nosedived since violence broke out in May last year. At least 36 legislators from the Meitei community attended the meeting at the historic Kangla Fort, seen as the traditional seat of Meitei power. The legislators signed a pledge that included Arambai's key demands, among them abrogation of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with Kuki militants, deportation of Myanmar refugees to Mizoram or Myanmar, implementation of a National Register of Citizens with 1951 as the base year, erecting a fence along the Myanmar border, and removal of Kuki immigrants from the Scheduled Tribe list. This would make reconci