Manipur continues to burn for what is now the fifth day even as attempts by the Union government with the help of Army to restore some sense of order and normalcy are on. As per reports so far more than 50 people have been killed, nearly 200 injured and 23,000 persons displaced by what from the outside seems like sudden violence that erupted in the State that very few really understand.
While it may seem from the outside that the violence was sudden, in truth it was brewing for a while owing to longstanding mutual suspicion between the two main tribes of the state -- the Meiteis and the Kukis. The Meiteis, who form a little more than half the population of the state, occupy the plains and fertile agricultural land of the state. On the other hand, the Kukis, the Nagas and others are usually confined to the hills and involved in subsistence agriculture.
There have been several triggers for the recent violence, but a major flashpoint was the decision of the State government to state its intentions towards granting ST status to the politically powerful Meiteis, who dominate the current BJP government in the state. This led to the eruption of the simmering flames of suspicion between the two communities that have flared up into a full blown civil war in the north eastern state.
One must remember that it wasn’t long ago that Manipur went to the polls in the run up of which the Prime Minister, who campaigned there, promised years of prosperity if elected to power. In complete contrast to his promises, the elected government has been indulging in provocations that have led to the current flare up of violence, that is the worst seen in several decades.
The violence in Manipur should serve as a lesson for the rest of the country. No doubt, Manipur has been a state that has a history of violence between tribes as well as insurgency. However, Manipur is a microcosm of what can happen to any state if the seeds of suspicion are sowed between communities.
In hindsight, the obvious thing to suggest is that the government in Manipur should have refrained from lighting the spark that has caused the fire that is now consuming the State. However, we must also warn that the government of Manipur isn’t alone fanning the flames of suspicion between communities across several states of the country.
It needs no retelling that the State governments of several States, instead of being impartial adjudicators of fights between communities are actively encouraging violence between communities and encouraging the police force under their command to behave impartially and selectively target one community to the detriment of others especially during situations of violence of vigilantism by one community upon another.
Such simmering grievances will one day erupt in the scale of violence currently seen in the state of Manipur -- violence that might seem implausible at the moment, but one day in the future might be a reality.
It is important that those in power once they are elected realise the importance of being the servants of everyone and not just the communities that elected them and not actively seek to consolidate that power by alienating one or several communities against the dominating community that makes up the core vote bank of the ruling party.
