Manipur: What's behind India's failure to bring peace?

More than a year after deadly ethnic violence broke out between the majority Meitei community and the minority Kuki in India's northeastern state of Manipur, tensions continue to rage.

Peace has remained elusive and — according to many in the state — so has a concrete action from the government.

The latest flare-up of violence occurred on September 1, after months of relative calm.

According to authorities, several people have been killed in drone and rocket attacks. 

The use of such aerial weapons is a first for the restive state and the government called it a "significant escalation" of violence.

The police in Manipur claim that Kuki groups carried out the drone attacks on Meitei-dominated areas. Kuki organizations, however, refute the allegations, saying that it was the Meiteis who used drones.

Last year was the first time that the Meitei, who are predominantly Hindu, live mostly in and around the state's capital city Imphal, and the Kuki — who are mainly Christian and inhabit the surrounding hills — clashed against each other.

It came on the heels of a demand by the Meitei community to be officially accorded tribal status, which the Kukis protested.

The conflict has since claimed the lives of 225 people, according to official data. More than 60,000 people remain displaced.

State inaction?

Activists have questioned the response of the authorities to quell the violence. Many have pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is yet to visit the state or make a comprehensive statement.

"There is a total abdication of the responsibility to protect the lives and the properties of the people in Manipur and that's why the anger of Manipuris is going very deep," a Manipuri activist, who asked not to be named, told DW.

Binalakshmi Nepram, a prominent human rights advocate focusing particularly on gender rights and female-led disarmament movements, calls it the "darkest period" in the history of Manipur. She says it is the prerogative of the state to ensure the security of the citizens. 

"We have about 60,000-70,000 troops of the Indian security forces flown in just to ensure that the conflict is calmed down. The tragic part is that they have done nothing," she told DW.

"People of Manipur are absolutely flabbergasted. How come India, with its sophisticated weaponry, intelligence and technology, is not able to control the situation in a tiny part of the country? It has been going on for 16 months. This is what every Manipuri is asking," she added.

What's behind the ethnic tensions?

Tellang Letminlen Haokip, a Kuki student leader from Churachandpur, said his community has been discriminated against for decades and that the ethnic tensions run deep.

"We have been economically and politically exploited. There is a huge mistrust between those living in the hills and those in the valley. There is hardly any development work in the hills. All good infrastructure is in the valley and we are denied sources of development and opportunities," he said.

40-year-old Surjit*, from the Meitei ethnic group, described the ethnic divisions as "a ticking time bomb that has exploded."

He noted that the Meiteis have been deprived of buying land in the hills, and that illegal migration of Kukis from Myanmar over the years has added to the strife.

"We want a scheduled tribe status, so that we can buy land in the hills, which currently we cannot," he said, referring to an official designation which would grant privileges and affirmative action benefits under India's constitution.

"Then there is also the problem of illegal migration from Myanmar," he stressed, accusing the Kukis coming illegally from Myanmar of poppy cultivation and drug trafficking.

"After attempts from Imphal to destroy these plantations as part of a war on drugs, they [the Kukis] feel that they have been wronged by the Meiteis staying in the valley. But in my view, it's not wrong to destroy something that could lead to people of the state falling prey to drugs," he said. 

Failure of successive governments

Conflict is not new to Manipur, which became part of India in 1949. For decades, the state has been battered by cycles of violence between different ethnic communities warring against each other and a separatist insurgency.

Experts say that successive governments have failed to address the root cause of the conflict in the state, which has historically been neglected by those who rule the power corridors in New Delhi.

Nepram said that the lack of "political maturity" of those who are ruling over Manipur since the past 70 years shows a collective failure of successive governments.

"Once Manipur joined India, there should have been good policies in place to ensure coexistence. But rather there has been a militarization of that area. Rather than political dialogue there's a complete racialization of what's happening in Manipur. There has not even been a  basic understanding of Manipur's history which has resulted in decades of wrong policies by policymakers," she said.

The Manipuri activist who wanted to remain anonymous said, "it's an understatement to call it a failed state," pointing out that "there's no education, no business, no basic hospitals, no accountability of human life, and they are not able to protect the properties."

However, Nepram underlined that the idea of Manipur cannot die because of one year of conflict.

"If you saw what is happening in the last couple of days, the women and the youth are coming out to defend the idea of Manipur, which has always been a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multicultural state for thousands of years," she said, adding that Manipur "as a civilization will endure this violence."

No road to peace

Rights groups say there is a lack of a serious peace effort in Manipur.

"We have not seen anything happening concretely when it comes to a peace effort, except the formal calls for the armed groups to come to the negotiating table, which is a very routine thing," the Manipuri activist said.

Nepram said it is "shocking" that there have been no peace talks over the past year.

"The government of India should have brought the communities together and ensured that there are confidence-building measures. We don't need drones, we need dialogues. We don't need rocket launchers, we need reconciliation. We need mediation, not mayhem," she said.

(*name changed on request)

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru