A little over two years after the ethnic conflict erupted in Manipur, PM Modi is all set to visit the state Saturday, the first since the violence broke out 3 May, 2023, following a tribal solidarity march in the hills against the Meiteis’ demand for the status of scheduled tribe.
Modi’s decision to not visit the state all the while had evoked bitter criticism from the Opposition, both inside and outside Parliament.
“For failing to protect the life and property of the people for allowing such a tragedy to linger on for so long, we need this moral responsibility and apologise genuinely and I think people of Manipur are magnanimous enough to forget and forgive and then we can work together,” Akoijam added.
In April, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had informed the Rajya Sabha that 260 people were killed in ethnic violence in Manipur. The state has been under the Centre’s direct control since February after chief minister N Biren Singh stepped down. In July, the Centre passed the statutory resolution in the Lok Sabha extending President’s Ruleby six months in the Northeast state.
When asked about the impact the PM’s visit will have, the Congress MP said: “The information as far as I get it, my assessment is that it wouldn’t have much.”
“It will not have much in the sense that whatever concrete decision has to be taken that will matter more because his visit is more like, you know, a stopover. It’s not a dedicated visit to the state to deal with the state’s issue. He was visiting Assam, he was visiting Mizoram to inaugurate a railway station or something of that kind. So it happens to be nearby. So, he’s dropping in for a few hours.”
Akoijam further said that if the government was keen to take substantive action in Manipur they would have done it by now.
He further said if the government was serious about Manipur then during this visit, the PM would have reached out to political leaders, civil society leaders, prominent citizens, intellectuals, student leaders, women organisations and listened to their grievances, something which has not been done.
The prime minister, he said, must not forget that he’s not the prime minister for Gujarat.
“He’s not a prime minister for the BJP. He’s the prime minister of India. He should behave and act as a responsible prime minister of the largest democracy in the world with 5,000 years of civilisational history. He needs to behave like that. As I have been saying, he should display‘Raj dharma’,” the 58-year-old MP said.
“If he’s serious, I would have expected him to announce it openly. ‘I’m visiting and I want to meet women’s groups, student groups, artists, and civil society’.”
The Congress MP said that he had also not yet received an official invitation from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) or party leaders and that he got to know about the visit from the media. “There is a casual attitude of allowing this crisis to go on and on.”
On the ethnic conflict between the Kukis and the Meiteis, Akoijam said the issue was not communal to begin with. He further said if this issue is to be resolved rather than looking at the issue from a communal lens, a person needs to see it as an issue of political, administrative and governance crisis.
“The Kukis said they have problems with the government, especially the then chief minister. If you have a problem with the chief minister, how were civilian houses attacked? If you have an issue with the government, then deal with the government,” he said. “Why turn it towards ordinary citizens?”
The Congress MP described how violence erupted in May 2023, with the armed conflict beginning when images of armed Kukis appeared on social media.
Akoijam alleged that despite the presence of multiple army divisions and paramilitary forces, “this violence was allowed to go on”. This, he said, shows that the crisis was “a political administrative governance crisis,” and not a communal problem.
He also condemned the framing of the Manipur conflict as a communal issue and compared this with other communal incidents such as Godhra. “If Godhra (riots) can be stopped, why wasn’t Manipur violence stopped?”
‘Understanding with armed groups’
The Lok Sabha MP alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was playing a game to polarise Manipur’s society, dividing majority Hindus and Christian minorities for political gain.
“BJP had an understanding with many of these armed groups,” he said, pointing to reports that armed groups supported the BJP’s elections in 2017 and 2022.
Reiterating his demand for an apology, Akoijam said there was a delayed response by the central government. “The apology is primarily for what has happened—that his government has failed. The Union government was hand in glove with the state government.”
To drive home his point, Akoijam cited the Home Minister’s statement from Parliament where Amir Shah questioned— ‘Why should we remove Biren Singh because he’s cooperating with us? What does it mean? That whatever he’s doing is under their instruction. They are cooperating. Why should we remove him?’
The Centre, he said, was involved from day one, including sending troops and making administrative appointments.
“Similarly, the ex-chief minister said that whatever he is doing is with the consent and advice of Mr Modi and Mr Shah. So the Government of India is involved.”
The MP also questioned the recent renewal of the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement with armed groups in Manipur despite accusations of their involvement in the violence. “Signing such an agreement without accountability is deeply problematic,” he said.
Akoijam said if similar violence had occurred in other Indian states such as Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, the Centre’s response would have been different.
Regarding the development work touted in the Northeast, Akoijam said, “When you do some development work, don’t present it as if you are doing a favour. It’s the state’s responsibility to develop your own people, your area. There’s nothing.. a favour to the Northeast.”
The first-time MP also stressed on the need to rehabilitate displaced people and rebuild their homes. To begin with, Akoijam said the crisis must be framed “not as a communal or ethnic conflict, but as a political constitutional administrative issue.”
“All internally displaced persons must be resettled in their own homes,” he said, stressing on the fact that it is the government’s duty to ensure their safety and freedom of movement.
In June, the Manipur government had initiated an exercise to create a comprehensive database of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) affected by the ethnic conflict. Over 50,000 people are estimated to have been displaced, with many of them staying at relief camps while some taking shelter outside the state.
Akoijam further said that the government must hold inclusive consultations with local and political leaders, civil society, and prominent groups to move beyond communal divides.
The Lok Sabha MP raised concerns over the question of illegal immigrants influx from the neighboring countries and said there is a need for “NRC (National Register of Citizens) kind of process.”
A person needs to have historical understanding and how India as a nation-state when it was born had porous borders which became more stringent say for Punjab etc over a period of time, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) professor said.
“But you see the northeastern border terrain—it is porous. So people have been coming in from that side. Unfortunately for India, its neighbours Pakistan and Myanmar have been very unsettled right from day one. So there have been crises pushing people out, but on our side, we also have a pull factor…facilities that attract people because of similarities, and they settle down,” he added.
The Congress MP stressed on the need to “distinguish between who is a citizen and who is not, without demonising communities”.
“If you are a nation-state, then you have citizens and non-citizens. Bangladeshis cannot just come in, whether Hindu or Muslim. Punjabis from Lahore cannot just come in either. Similarly, people from Sri Lanka cannot come in without visas. So, you should distinguish ethnicity from citizenship. We need to delineate who is a citizen and who is not, given all these strategic and porous border realities,” he explained.
Akoijam said there must be a judicious process of delineating who is a citizen and who is not. “Even if you have problems with NRC, call it by any other name. Remember, in Shakespeare(Romeo and Juliet), a rose will remain a rose even if you call it by a different name. So call it any name you want, but there must be a judicious process of delineating who is a citizen and who is not,” he added.
“Yes, the NRC kind of a process must be done because we do have a problem. Because of this ethno-nationalist mobilisation, it gets complicated,” he added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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