First, the BJP-ruled state administration led by Chief Minister Mr N. Biren Singh failed to act impartially in his efforts to restore peace after the first major group clash of May 3. An already divided population was left further bitterly fragmented by his repeated references to the activities of ‘Kuki militants and terrorists’ , even as Indian army and Assam Rifle personnel moved in to restore normalcy in the Imphal valley and surrounding hills. In some areas curfew restrictions were still in force. It was scarcely the right time for accusatory finger pointing and resuming political blame games.

Second, the central officials and top Bharatiya Janata Party leaders like Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah had blundered in not monitoring and intervening more strongly as the beleaguered state Government headed for a meltdown in the face of massive waves of ethnic violence.

Most Manipur-based leaders regardless of political affiliations are now asking, what had stopped senior BJP leaders from visiting Manipur, or issuing political appeals seeking to restore normalcy? ‘While Manipur remained tense and eventually law and order broke down, top BJP leaders remained busy with their losing campaign in Karnataka for seven days and did nothing for Manipur’ — is a common refrain.

Third, and this could have followed from the indifference to Manipur developments at the top — there was once more a major intelligence failure at all levels. True, an impressive number of (10,000) personnel of the Indian Army and Assam Rifles had been moved into Manipur in 140 columns after the first outbreak of violence on May 3. But as stated already, from all accounts it seemed the tribes living in the hills seemed to have suffered the worse, in comparison with the majority Meitei community.

If the Kukis especially among the tribes had suffered badly during the mob violence, their luck did not improve during the official follow-up measures seeking to restore peace either. Complaints about continuing intimidation, police excesses and harassment of innocents, indiscriminate arrests and torture continued to pour in. The state administration remained in a permanent denial mode, which did not help.

This led to Manipur Kuki MLAs belonging to the BJP to complain about the situation and meet Union Home Minister Mr Amit Shah in Delhi. The latter promised to visit Manipur on May 29 and spend a couple of days in the troubled state. He told the Kukis not to overreact in the present situation and assured them of the centre’s determination and commitment to ensure justice and a fair deal to all stakeholders concerned.

Mr Shah would arrived in Imphal on Monday (May 29). He would spend the next two days holding a series of meetings with state officials, political leaders of all parties and study for himself the present situation in detail, before returning to Delhi. Imphal-based observers said going by experience, Mr, Shah could very well address a news conference and issue a positive appeal seeking to improve existing ethnic relations, before returning to Delhi.

It was not surprising that, belying the deceptive calm in the post-curfew situation, tensions simmered in the Imphal Valley and the hills surrounding. As could be expected, trouble makers organised secret meetings and arranged for a steady supply of arms, not very difficult in an area known for weapons smuggling even in normal times. Thus, sporadic incidents, whispered hate campaigns and sneak attacks in Manipur had continued.

On May 28 (night), contingents of the Indian Army and Assam Rifles, during a combing operation in the hills, came across an armed tribal mob carrying automatic weapons and explosives. Officials said that they had received reports that such mobs were busy during the night at four points within the larger Imphal valley area, particularly in the East. As they made contact with the mob, they could see that armed miscreants were setting fire to nearby houses and other property belonging to non tribals. The army confronted the mob which , officials said, opened fire on the men in uniform.

In the encounter that followed for over an hour, at least 40 Kuki tribals were killed. There were casualties among the army and Assam police, according to some reports. Later 23 others were arrested along with their arms. Chief Minister Singh insisted that he could only describe the tribals killed as ‘terrorists who had engaged in arson and were armed with AK47 rifles and M16 guns.’ Those arrested were handed over to Manipur police.

Meanwhile the death toll following the violence on May 3 had officially gone up to 78 ; the number of houses burnt, 2000 and counting; people displaced , estimated between 40,000 and 50,000 with around 7000-plus moving to Mizoram.

The main opposition Congress party made effective political use of the developments, both at state and central levels. In Delhi senior leader Mr. P. Chidambaram expressed his surprise over the Prime Minister’s continued silence while he went on his highly publicised roads shows, even as Manipur was burning! Broadly similar statements were made by Manipur-based Congress leaders and interestingly a few Congress leaders in neighbouring Mizoram as well.

It is also in order to mention some certain unintended consequences that have followed from the flare-up in Manipur over an official proposal to include the Meiteis among the scheduled tribes. There is a new demand for the division of Manipur, to aid the demarcation of an area for the state’s tribal population. Following the conflagration in Manipur, normal life and governance was affected in the neighbouring Mizoram state as well.

This has strengthened a political lobby that seeks a modification of the existing state boundaries on the basis of population patterns and other factors. Such a move has become unavoidable in the present situation — so runs the argument. The Kukis are asking for a union territory for the tribes in Manipur.

BJP units in the NE states including Manipur have predictably opposed the proposal. Chief minister Mr Singh has rejected it outright. BJP sources confirm that Mr Shah too have made it clear to visiting Kuki leaders who had met him in Delhi that no division of Manipur would be allowed. It remains to be seen what sort concessions/gestures the BJP is prepared to make for the Kukis in the days ahead. The political fallout for a fresh territorial adjustment has spread beyond Manipur to Mizoram, which is being used as a new political base for the Kukis.

However Mizo leaders and organisations while supporting the Kukis, have been careful to emphasize that it was beyond their powers to decide about matters pertaining to the future of Manipur . It was only for the people of Manipur to speak on such issues.

Manipur chief Minister Mr Singh and his administration, as stated before, have strongly countered Kuki complaints, dismissing some reports as exaggerated. Manipur had a tradition of maintaining ethnic and religious harmony and there was no need to panic for anyone, tribal or otherwise. There was no question of any redrawing of the state’s map on the basis of a single flare-up of mob violence, according to state Government authorities.

There has been some unexpected support for the Meiteis, who constitute 53% of Manipur’s population. The rebel Naga organisation (NSCN-IM), probably the weightiest entity among Naga groups/ organisations in India, had some time ago declared the Meiteis and Nagas among the oldest native communities living in Manipur, in a statement. Currently, in some NE-based publications, that statement has been reprinted, presumably as a reminder to the Christian Kukis who are being seen as being over-assertive by some parties.

In its earlier statement, the NSCN-IM, (whose leaders have been in talks with the GOI for some years over the proposal for a greater autonomous Naga territory) said categorically that in Manipur, the Meiteis and various Naga tribes were the sons of the soil. Most other groups like Kukis, etc have migrated to the NE region from other areas/countries much later. The presence of Kukis in particular, who came over in several waves from Burma, was first mentioned during the 1840s or thereabouts.

Indirectly reminding the Kukis not to be carried away in the present situation, various Naga groups also called for an immediate restoration of peaceful relations among various tribal and non tribal groups in the region. They deplored the loss caused to the property of some Nagas living in Manipur during the recent mob violence, appealing to both warring groups not to attack people who were uninvolved in the present ethnic conflict. (IPA Service)