The accused, identified as Nokjaging Baite Kuki, alias Tiger (38), was apprehended on May 22 from Ngathal village in Churachandpur.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

File photo of Kuki tribal groups protesting against Manipur violence.
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

Guwahati:

A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has accepted evidence submitted by the NIA of a suspected Kuki militant commander saying he and his men attacked the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and set fire to homes in Manipur.

The NIA told the court that a viral video on a YouTube channel shows a man “suspected to be a Kuki militant called ‘Tiger’, a commander of the Kuki National Front-P (KNF-P), claiming he and his men attacked CRPF and burnt down houses on November 11.”

The NIA investigating a suspected Kuki militant of the KNF-P also raises questions over possible violation of the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement. 

Three big escalations happened in ethnic violence-hit Manipur on November 11 – first, six of a family from the Meitei community were kidnapped and killed in Jiribam district by suspects who the Manipur government in a cabinet statement called “Kuki militants”; second, 10 others – also identified as “Kuki militants” by the state government – were shot dead in an encounter with the Central Reserve Police Force in the same district, and third, firing from the hills towards Imphal West District’s Kangchup and Koutruk just hours after the Jiribam encounter left two people injured.

The court in its order accepting the NIA evidence said the anti-terror agency downloaded the viral video of the suspected Kuki militant into a pen drive in the presence of two witnesses.

The NIA submitted the pen drive to the court in a sealed envelope under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) that deals with electronic evidence.

NDTV has seen a copy of the court order.

The court said the pen drive has been returned to the NIA for further investigation.

About KNF-P

The ‘P’ in KNF-P means “president”; it is used to indicate KNF-P is the original KNF, hence the letter “president”, the supreme. The KNF was founded in 1987. In 1994, KNF split into two factions i.e. KNF-MC led by SK Kipgen, and the original became KNF-P led by ST Thangboi Kipgen.

So, KNF is the KNF-P; the rest are its factions.

The KNF is a signatory to the controversial suspension of operations (SoO) agreement signed between nearly two dozen Kuki militant groups and the state and the centre. Under SoO, the militants are to stay at designated camps and their weapons kept in locked, monitored storage.

The Manipur government has been asking the joint monitoring group, which reviews the SoO agreement every year, to scrap it for good, over allegations that the SoO groups have been majorly involved in the Manipur violence from the beginning. The SoO agreement lapsed in February this year.

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes between the Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have killed over 250 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.

Meitei leaders have alleged the SoO groups have been working to strengthen themselves over the years by taking advantage of the ceasefire, until a time came to engineer a violent attack for a separate land. Geopolitical analysts have speculated the Kuki armed groups were used as mercenaries to fight Meitei and Naga militants operating in the India-Myanmar border.

Kuki-Zo civil society groups such as the ITLF and the CoTU, and their 10 MLAs have joined the call for a separate administration carved out of Manipur, a demand also made by the nearly two dozen militant groups that have signed the SoO agreement.

This single demand has brought the Kuki militant groups, the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs, and the civil society groups on the same page.

The security forces have been trying to dismantle bunkers in the hills surrounding Imphal valley after several incidents of firing for the last few days.

Kuki protesters tried to stop the security forces from destroying the bunkers. Some protesters were injured when the security forces tried to disperse them.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh today said “sorry” for the unfortunate developments in the northeastern state due to the ethnic clashes that started last year. The Chief Minister, however, said the year ends on an optimistic note and that he hoped that normalcy will return to the state in 2025.

“This entire year has been very unfortunate. I want to say sorry to the people of the state for what’s happening till today since last May 3. Many people lost their loved ones. Many people left their homes. I feel regret. I apologise. But now, I hope after seeing the last three to four months progress towards the peace, I believe by 2025, the normalcy will be restored in the state,” the Chief Minister said.

“I want to appeal to all the communities in the state, whatever happened has happened. You have to forgive and forget the past mistakes and we have to start a new life (towards) a peaceful and prosperous Manipur,” he said, adding that all 35 tribes in Manipur should live together In harmony.

The violence in Manipur has claimed over 180 lives since May last year, when violence erupted over the Meities community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status and the tribal Kukis’ opposition to this.

The Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in Imphal Valley. The tribals, including Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent of the population and reside mainly in the hills.

Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:

Five weeks before the Manipur ethnic clashes began in May 2023, a cabinet subcommittee comprising ministers from the three major communities visited three villages to make an assessment of the situation on “identification of Myanmarese immigrants/refugees”, reports submitted by the subcommittee show.

Tribal Affairs and Hills Minister Letpao Haokip, who belongs to the Kuki tribes, headed the subcommittee, with Water Resources Minister Awangbow Newmai, a Naga, and Law Minister Th Basanta Kumar Singh, a Meitei, as the two other members.

They visited the three villages between March 26, 2023 and April 1, 2023, and met Myanmar nationals – including a Member of Parliament from the neighbouring country – living in community halls under the watch of the village chiefs.

The Kuki tribes in Manipur still follow the archaic hereditary chieftainship system – blamed for power struggles among siblings and mushrooming of villages – which has been abolished even in neighbouring Mizoram where kindred tribes live.

The subcommittee never made subsequent visits after clashes broke out on May 3, 2023 between the Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur.

Subcommittee Chairman Seeks Separate Administration 

Letpao Haokip later joined the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs who went on to demand a separate administration carved out from Manipur. Kuki groups had raised the same demand in 2015 after nine people from their community were killed in police firing during a protest against three controversial bills tabled by the state government, then under the Congress party led by former chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh.

Meitei leaders say claims by the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs and frontal groups that they raised the demand for a separate administration only after the May 3 violence erupted, was a blatant lie.

By the time the subcommittee began their survey in late March 2023, tension had already permeated Kuki-dominated areas in southern Manipur after the government carried out an eviction drive in Churachandpur’s K Songjang village just a month ago. The subcommittee’s visits to the three villages also coincided with sporadic protests by Kuki groups against what they called illegal eviction from forests.

An NDTV report on June 21, 2023 citing preliminary documents filed by the subcommittee said over 2,000 Myanmar nationals have set up settlements inside Manipur and refused to be moved to designated shelters. They fled from the war between the ruling junta and ethnic insurgent groups claiming to fight for democracy.

The final copies of the subcommittee’s reports complete with visuals of the visit, which NDTV accessed now, show the three leaders repeatedly appealed to the village chiefs to persuade Myanmar nationals to live in designated shelter camps once the structures were ready.

The subcommittee visited Holenphai village in Tengnoupal district on March 26, Gamphazol village in Chandel district on March 29, and Singhat in Churachandpur district on April 1, 2023.

“Shri Letpao Haokip… highlighted the issue of illegal Myanmar nationals into Indian side which cause apprehension amongst general public as there is high chance of getting such immigrants getting naturalised amongst common native population because of similarity in culture and dialect. He further highlighted that even though such cases are not reported, there is apprehension that many of them had already resided in the main Churachandpur town area in rented houses,” the report of the visit to Singhat said.

“Shri Th. Basanta Kumar Singh also appeals to all illegal immigrants to come forward and join the shelter homes, not hiding amongst locals, supporting the humanitarian goodwill gesture extended by the government,” the report of the subcommittee’s visit to Holenphai – the first village they went to on March 26, 2023 – said.

Border Pillars At Gamphazol Village

Chandel district’s Gamphazol village presented a unique problem. The district commissioner said the IMB (Indo-Myanmar Border) falling in Chandel district “is different from other neighbouring districts” as it has a sparsely populated, vast stretch of forest covering 60-75 km between Border Pillar No. 72 and 49.

“It was also suggested that only one temporary shelter may not be feasible to cater [to] all such immigrants along the stretch and as such temporary shelters at Gamphazol in the northern side and Somdal in the Southern side [were proposed],” the report of the subcommittee’s visit to this border village on March 29, 2023 said. The district commissioner said they found 628 “illegal immigrants” along the stretch of IMB falling in Chandel district, out of which 250 were at Gamphazol village.

Subcommittee Meets Myanmar MP Ousted By Junta

In Holenphai, the three ministers met Thamsei Haokip, a Myanmar Member of Parliament before the junta overthrew the government, who told the subcommittee that he would follow all rules and regulations while being a refugee in India and would return to Myanmar once the issue there is “over/settled”, the report said.

“He [Thamsei Haokip] pointed out that due to the military junta in their country, they have come to Manipur being the nearest state of the world’s largest democratic country expecting humanitarian support [to] them at this juncture when civilians cannot stay in Myanmar out of the issue. He appeals to the state government to provide identification cards and to allow/facilitate earning livelihood. He also asserted that they will go back once the issue in Myanmar is settled…”

The foreign MP asked the subcommittee to shift Myanmar nationals earlier detained as illegal immigrants to the proposed shelter homes, and requested not to treat them as illegal immigrants since they fled from the junta rule, where “civilians are being killed”.

An activist from one of the Kuki tribes, who claims to know the Myanmar MP personally, told NDTV that the foreign politician has deep links with the Kuki National Army (Burma), or KNA(B). Thamsei Haokip has taken shelter in a relatively safe, forested area along the India-Myanmar border, the source said, adding it will be a big ask for the Meitei community to trust the likes of Thamsei Haokip due to the precedent set by another Myanmar-origin leader, Thanglianpau Guite.

The Manipur government has blamed unchecked entry of illegal immigrants from Myanmar as one of the factors responsible for the violence. It has also cited “unnatural growth of villages” owing to illegal immigrants being allegedly accommodated by village chiefs.

Precedent Set: Myanmar MP-Turned-Militant Group Leader

Meitei civil society groups are sensitive to any mention of Myanmar-origin leaders in the context of Manipur. Chief Minister N Biren Singh has said this sensitivity is due to the manner in which how Thanglianpau Guite – the “Myanmar-born” politician who contested the MP election in his country and who later became the chairman of the militant group Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) – was welcomed by the then Congress government when P Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

The ZRA is a signatory to the controversial suspension of operations (SoO) agreement, which lapsed in February this year.

Over two dozen Kuki-Zo insurgent groups come under two umbrella groups – the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), and the United People’s Front (UPF). These two representing the others have signed the SoO agreement, which says the insurgents are to stay at designated camps with weapons kept in locked storage, to be monitored regularly.

Meitei leaders have alleged the SoO groups have been working to strengthen themselves over the years by taking advantage of the ceasefire, until a time came to engineer a violent attack for a separate land. Geopolitical analysts have speculated the Kuki armed groups were used as mercenaries to fight Meitei and Naga militants operating in the India-Myanmar border.

Myanmar’s government-in-exile in a statement in June 2023 – a month into the Manipur clashes – asked its nationals who are “temporarily sheltering” in India “to refrain from any acts that are prejudicial to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.”

The National Unity Government (NUG) in the statement told Myanmar nationals “sheltering” in India and their organisations to avoid unnecessary involvement in India’s politics and administrative activity, and asked them to live in harmony with the host communities. The NUG also appealed to the Myanmar nationals to not get involved in drug trafficking.

The Manipur government on January 18, 2023 announced it would form the subcommittee to identify “Myanmarese immigrants/refugees”; the state government on February 16 announced the composition of the three-member panel, and on March 24 it ordered the police to check the number of Myanmarese immigrants in five districts – Tengnoupal, Chandel, Churachandpur, Pherzawl, and Kamjong.

While the February 16 announcement referred to the subcommittee as one that would work on identifying “Myanmarese immigrants/refugees” in the state, the reports of the subcommittee’s visits referred to them as “illegal immigrants”.

Myanmar Refugees In Mizoram

Neighbouring Mizoram has taken in over 40,000 Myanmar refugees. Mizoram government sources told NDTV on November 10 that it has been nearly three years since the coup in Myanmar, and feeding and taking care of all the displaced people and refugees in a small state as Mizoram remained a huge challenge. There were also concerns over a rise in drug trafficking. The sources said the Mizoram government can’t thank the central government enough for the massive help it has been giving to ensure enough resources are available with the state to tide over the refugee crisis.

“The people of Mizoram are not immune to the strain that all these efforts bring. There is especially a growing dissatisfaction even in our own community, especially from the intellectual circle. Yes, we are welcoming them as brothers and sisters, but what are we getting back in return? We are getting drugs, this and that. So the frustration is growing, obviously,” the source told NDTV.

The Kuki tribes have criticised the Manipur government over not treating Myanmar refugees in a humane way as Mizoram has done.

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes have killed over 250 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000. The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kuki tribes want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.

Imphal/New Delhi:

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh today blamed “some vested interests” for reigniting a new cycle of violence in the state, after having been relatively peaceful for three-four months, and criticised Congress leader P Chidambaram as someone who “created the present crisis”.

Mr Singh’s frontal attack came hours after Mr Chidambaram in a post on X suggested “the Meitei, the Kuki-Zo and the Naga can live together in one state only if they have genuine regional autonomy”, and blamed the Chief Minister for causing the crisis.

Mr Chidambaram, however, removed the post after Manipur Congress chief Keisham Meghachandra requested him to delete it , amid the volatile situation in Manipur.

“Please delete this post. Manipur is in turmoil (sic) situation. It is very sensitive,” Mr Meghachandra replied to Mr Chidambaram, a request that the Congress MP seemed to have accepted as the post no longer remained on his timeline.

Mr Chidambaram’s comment is his personal observation and does not reflect the stand of the party, Congress leader and former Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh told reporters in Imphal today.

Shri Okram Ibobi, CLP leader along with other party leaders, spoke to the press today in Imphal to clarify the position of the party on the issue of regional autonomy. pic.twitter.com/0N8bytgvCI

— A. Bimol Akoijam (@Bimol_Akoijam) November 19, 2024

While the valley-dominant Meitei community has been seeking protection of Manipur’s territorial integrity, the Kuki tribes want a ‘separate administration’ comprising a large part of the hill areas in southern Manipur which shares a border with Myanmar (and some areas in the north), and the Nagas have had ambitions earlier to be united with all Naga-inhabited areas in the northeast region. The Kuki tribes share ethnic ties with people in Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram – both Manipur’s neighbours.

The Chief Minister, who has been battling ethnic fires in a fresh cycle of violence that broke out in the state’s Jiribam district that has so claimed over 19 lives including women and children, took strong exception to Mr Chidambaram’s swipe.

Mr Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2008 when he steered the highly controversial tripartite suspension of operations (SoO) agreement between over a dozen Kuki-Zo militant groups on one side and the Centre and the state government on the other, the Chief Minister told news agency ANI in the state capital Imphal on Tuesday. The Congress was also in power in Manipur at that time.

“I will say it openly. When he (Mr Chidambaram) was the (Union) Home Minister in the then Congress government, here in Manipur (Congress’s) O Ibobi was the Chief Minister. During their time, they brought a Myanmarese foreigner, Mr Thanglianpau Guite, a Myanmar-born who himself admitted in an interview that he contested an election for MP in Myanmar. That person is the chairman of the Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) based in Myanmar,” Mr Singh said.

“I am surprised how Mr Chidambaram – there is a photograph, there is Chidambaram, then Union Home Minister, and here is Thanglianpau Guite, the chairman of the Zomi Revolutionary Army, who is from Myanmar – they never cared about people from the northeast, about indigenous people,” Mr Singh said, holding up an enlarged photo with a red circle on who Mr Singh said was Thanglianpau Guite seen shaking hands with Mr Chidambaram in a black suit.

“The present crisis is not an ethnic conflict. It is a problem of illegal immigration from Myanmar with drugs and them trying to control the indigenous people of Manipur, and in the entire northeast. I find it funny to see his (Mr Chidambaram’s) comment. I want to remind him, with these photographs, why he allowed these foreigners to enter India, to enter Manipur and even sign suspension of operations agreement with underground groups of illegal immigrants,” the Chief Minister said.

“He (Mr Chidambaram) and the Congress created the crisis. What we are facing today in Manipur is their creation. They cannot wash off their hands easily. People do understand, whatever is happening in Manipur is a chronic problem created by Congress and Chidambaram himself. Here are the photographs,” Mr Singh said, adding allegations and propaganda by national leaders should stop.

“I want to appeal to him, do not play more destructive games to destabilise Manipur and the entire northeast. Congress leaders should look at themselves that happened in Manipur during their time. How many were killed in fake encounters? There are 1,500 cases of Manipur fake encounter cases in the Supreme Court… Chidambaram himself came, gave recognition to a foreigner and signed the SoO agreement. You started the work of bringing illegal immigrants from Myanmar. You cannot escape,” Mr Singh said.

Those who have been tracking the Manipur ethnic violence say the SoO agreement is at the heart of the current crisis, apart from frictions over sharing land and resources, and tussle over political representation.

Ibobi Singh, the former Manipur Chief Minister, in the state assembly on March 1 admitted that the Assam Rifles and Kuki-Zo insurgent groups signed an agreement in 2005 – without informing the state government.

“The two signed the agreement without the knowledge of the Manipur government. The police continued to arrest the insurgents, and in 2008 the formal SoO with the state government’s participation was signed,” Ibobi Singh told the assembly. The state government discovered the existence of the 2005 “ceasefire” agreement when, during police operations against Kuki-Zo insurgents, the state forces were often requested to stand down, he said.

READ | End Ceasefire With All Kuki-Zo Insurgent Groups: Manipur Assembly Unanimous Resolution

The Manipur assembly on February 29 unanimously passed a resolution asking the Centre to scrap the SoO agreement with some 25 Kuki-Zo insurgent groups. The deadline for extension of the SoO agreement ended the same day. Whether the SoO agreement has been renewed is not known. The deaths of 10 “militants” in Manipur’s Jiribam in an encounter with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) may give some clues.

Broadly, the SoO agreement says the insurgents are to stay at designated camps and their weapons kept in locked storage, to be monitored regularly.

The over two dozen Kuki-Zo insurgent groups come under two umbrella groups – the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), and the United People’s Front (UPF). These two representing the others have signed the SoO agreement.

Meitei leaders have alleged the SoO groups have been working to strengthen themselves over the years by taking advantage of the ceasefire, until a time came to engineer a violent attack for a separate land. Geopolitical analysts have speculated the Kuki armed groups were used as mercenaries to fight Meitei and Naga militants operating in the India-Myanmar border.

While the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) has been in talks with the Centre for over two decades, only one Meitei militant group faction has agreed to sign a deal with the Centre i.e. the United National Liberation Front (Pambei), or UNLF(P).

At least eight Meitei militant groups that are fighting to break away from India are in the Centre’s banned organisations’ list.

The only time any authority in Manipur admitted to the involvement of insurgent groups of both the Meitei community and the Kuki tribes was on September 9, after five bodies were found following a fierce gunfight. Three of the bodies were confirmed as Kuki insurgents from Churachandpur district; the fourth was identified as a Kuki volunteer from Jiribam; the fifth was identified as a member of the Meitei insurgent group United National Liberation Front (Pambei), or UNLF(P), the police had said in a statement.

The three Kuki insurgents were members of the Kuki Liberation Army (KLA), a signatory of the SoO agreement. The UNLF(P), too, had signed a ceasefire deal with the Centre and the state government. The UNLF is the oldest Meitei insurgent group, which later broke up into two factions; the Pambei faction signed a tripartite peace agreement with the Centre and the state government in November 2023.

Kuki leaders have alleged the Manipur Chief Minister is responsible for starting violence with his rhetoric on illegal immigrants and poppy cultivation. A purported leaked tape of Mr Singh, submitted to a Home Ministry inquiry committee by some witnesses, which allegedly proved his direct role in the violence, will be taken up by the Supreme Court in the next hearing on November 25. In the last hearing, the Supreme Court told the petitioner to bring the material for checking.

There are many villages of the Kuki tribes in the hills surrounding the Meitei-dominated valley. The clashes between the Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis – a term given by the British in colonial times – who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, has killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.

Imphal/Guwahati:

Suspected Kuki insurgents fired at a police station in Manipur’s Jiribam district today, police sources in the district’s Borobekra subdivision said.

The suspected Kuki insurgents began firing at 5.30 am at Borobekra police station, some 30 km from the Jiribam district headquarters, police sources said.

Visuals from the police station show bullet holes on the walls and doors. Continuous gunfire could be heard. The security forces launched a combing operation soon after the attack, sources said.

A house was also set on fire, and there was at least one bomb attack, police sources said.

“Sporadic firings are happening in some areas, including in Jiribam district. With the efforts of security forces, the situation has been brought under control,” Manipur Police chief Rajiv Singh told reporters.

READ | “Seems They Traversed Long Distance…”: Manipur Police On What Happened In Jiribam

Today’s attack came just days after Meitei, Naga and Kuki MLAs of the ruling BJP and its allies met the Centre in Delhi separately for the first time since ethnic violence began in May 2023.

A statement on Friday under the letterhead ‘Hmar Village Volunteers’ threatened the police and paramilitary forces to leave an area in Jiribam “before sunset”, or take responsibility for any incident that may happen.

The Meitei civil society organisation Jiri Apunba Lup in a statement today raised concern about the threat, and alleged Kuki insurgents launched “a massive attack on Borobekra police station with gunfire and bombs the next day… A shop and a house were damaged using bombs and a house was burned down.”

On August 1, representatives of the Meitei community and the Hmar tribe held a peace meeting in Jiribam, and agreed to work for normalcy nearly two months after ethnic violence reached the district bordering Assam.

Jiribam, 250 km from the state capital Imphal, didn’t see violence for over a year since Meitei-Kuki ethnic violence began in May 2023; however, clashes erupted in the district in June, forcing over a thousand people from both the communities to live in relief camps, some in neighbouring Assam.

READ | Meitei, Hmar Representatives Meet In Manipur’s Jiribam, Agree To Bring Normalcy

The clashes between the valley-dominant Meitei community and the nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis – a term given by the British in colonial times – who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.

Imphal:

The demand for an ethnocentric homeland is untenable and obsolete in Manipur, where at least 35 communities co-exist, a group of activists and academics from the violence-hit state bordering Myanmar has said at a side event of the 57th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.

Manipur is seeing the growth of divisive forces that play the cards of myopic ethnicity leading to the undermining of historical and legal foundations of the state’s pluralistic demography and territoriality, said Dr Arambam Noni, associate professor at Imphal-based DM University.

“Due to the increasing weaponization of ethnicity by a section of elites and academics, as seen in the case of an exclusive narrative for a Kuki Lebensraum in India-Myanmar-Bangladesh region, there is an apparent design to proliferate inter-ethnic tension as an instrument to segregate people exclusively on ethnic lines,” Dr Noni said.

He said such ethno-centric claims were not only obsolete, but also Balkanized the multicultural polities and undermined democratic foundations of modern states. “There is a need for discouraging ethnocentric claims and politics,” he added.

Nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis – a term given by the British in colonial times – who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, and the valley-dominant Meitei community have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights, political representation, and share of state finance. The conflict has killed over 220 people and internally displaced some 50,000.

The tension in Manipur is a byproduct of ethnic weaponization and a desire to sanitise demography in favour of exclusive ethnic homelands, Dr Noni said, adding transborder factors such as drugs trade, shifting of massive poppy cultivation from Myanmar to Manipur, human-trafficking, displacement due to turmoil in Myanmar, and congregation of new ethnic groups in Manipur had played significant roles in
escalating inter-ethnic anxieties in the state.

Dr Noni highlighted what he alleged were dangers of weaponizing ethnicity for the reason that in the name of “ethnic homelands”, micro tribes in the India-Myanmar border region were either suppressed or coerced to submit to the dominant ethnic ambitions. He appealed for urgent restoration of normalcy in Manipur.

The internally displaced people from both communities in Manipur are yet to return home. The 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs and Kuki civil society groups have said talks are not possible unless Chief Minister N Biren Singh quits. The Kuki tribes also blame him for allegedly starting the Manipur crisis; they have reinforced this allegation with the leaked tapes controversy.

Kuki leaders have demanded a political solution in the form of a separate administration before any other issues, including the return of thousands of people living in relief camps, can be discussed. Meitei leaders have cited this condition to allege that Kuki leaders are engineering an ethnocentric homeland demand; their argument is that talks can go on while at the same time people living in difficult conditions in the camps can also return home since no territory is ethnic exclusive.

At the Geneva event, Khuraijam Athouba, working president of the civil society group International Peace and Social Advancement, alleged several Chin-Kuki insurgent groups have transnational origins.

The session was moderated by Dr Elangbam Bishwajeet, visiting professor at Britain’s Aston University. The other speakers were human rights defender Punam Duhotia and Dilara Malique, adviser to the Swiss Bangladesh Women Association.

New Delhi:

A civil society group of people from Manipur living in Europe has requested the Indian High Commission in the UK to convey their concerns to leaders back home over the ethnic tensions in the state bordering Myanmar.

The European Manipuri Association (EMA) in a statement said it gave a memorandum to Vikram K Doraiswami, the High Commissioner of India to Britain, explaining five key points about the Manipur crisis.

EMA chairperson Sagolsem Biramani in the statement said they submitted copies of several documents “on the history of Kuki refugees of the 1960s” and how this issue has links with the unrest in Manipur at present.

The EMA said they gave the High Commissioner a copy of a police case filed against an Indian-origin man in the UK who has been charged with allegedly inciting people in Manipur with his online messages and talk sessions on a social media platform.

“We requested the High Commission of India to look into the matter, and discussed the need to stop the spread of disinformation by Indian-origin people abroad which could incite more violence,” the EMA said in the statement.

The EMA said they raised the comment by a former top officer of the Border Security Force (BSF) who called for shifting out a particular central security force from Manipur in order to stabilise the situation.

“We stressed on the need to prioritise the Indo-Myanmar border fencing for our own internal security and shield ourselves from the turmoil in the neighbouring country that could carry on for decades,” the EMA said in the statement.

The Minister (Coordination) in the High Commission of India, Deepak Choudhary, asked EMA to work for dialogue with all communities to build confidence towards bringing peace and harmony in Manipur, the EMA said.

“The Minister (Coordination) promised the visiting team that he would convey the concerns of the diaspora to the authorities concerned in Delhi,” the EMA said.

According to the EMA, the key points in their memorandum were: give sincere efforts, without partiality, to restore law and order in Manipur; provide immediate rehabilitation and adequate compensation to all internally displaced people; prioritise Indo-Myanmar border fencing and secure it with the BSF to stop transnational terrorism, drugs and arms trafficking; stop deforestation; prevent the expansion of the ‘Golden Triangle’ into Manipur, and identify illegal immigrants.

Over the last year, the clashes between the valley-dominant Meitei community and nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis — a term given by the British in colonial times — who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, has killed over 220 people and internally displaced nearly 50,000.

The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the nearly two dozen tribes that share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram, want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.

Washington:

The US has asked its nationals not to travel to Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, the India-Pakistan border, and parts of central and eastern parts of the country where Naxalites are active. In a revised travel advisory for India, the State Department said it has updated to reflect information on the northeastern states.

“Exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism. Some areas have increased risk,” it said. Overall India has been placed at Level 2. But several parts of the country have been placed on Level 4: Jammu and Kashmir, India-Pak border, Manipur and parts of Central and East India.

“Do not travel to: The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (except the eastern Ladakh region and its capital, Leh) due to terrorism and civil unrest; within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border due to the potential for armed conflict; portions of Central and East India due to terrorism and Manipur due to violence and crime,” said the State Department.

In addition, it recommended Americans to reconsider travel to the northeastern states due to terrorism and violence.

“Indian authorities report that rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has happened at tourist sites and other locations. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning. They target tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and government facilities,” the travel advisory said.

The US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to US citizens in rural areas. These areas stretch from eastern Maharashtra and northern Telangana through western West Bengal. The US government employees must get special authorization to travel to these areas, it said.

Placing Manipur at “Level 4: Do Not Travel”, the State Department said: “Do not travel to Manipur due to the threat of violence and crime. Ongoing ethnic-based civil conflict has resulted in reports of extensive violence and community displacement. Attacks against Indian government targets occur on a regular basis. US government employees travelling in India require prior approval before visiting Manipur.”

Similarly, terrorist attacks and violent civil unrest are possible in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. “Do not travel to this state (with the exception of visits to the eastern Ladakh region and its capital, Leh). Violence happens sporadically in this area and is common along the Line of Control (LOC) between India and Pakistan. It also occurs in tourist spots in the Kashmir Valley: Srinagar, Gulmarg, and Pahalgam. The Indian government does not allow foreign tourists to visit certain areas along the LOC,” it said.

“India and Pakistan have a strong military presence on both sides of the border. The only official border crossing for non-citizens of India or Pakistan is in Punjab. It is between Attari, India, and Wagah, Pakistan. The border crossing is usually open, but check its current status before you travel. To enter Pakistan, you need a Pakistani visa. Only US citizens residing in India may apply for a Pakistani visa in India. Otherwise, apply for a Pakistani visa in your home country before travelling to India,” it said.

Maoists are active in a large area of India that spans from eastern Maharashtra and northern Telangana through western West Bengal, the advisory said.

Attacks against officers of the Indian government continue to occur sporadically in the rural parts of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand that border Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Odisha. Southwest areas of Odisha are also affected. The Naxalites have carried out many terrorist attacks, targeting local police, paramilitary forces, and government officials, it said.

“Due to the fluid nature of the threat, US government employees are required to obtain permission prior to travelling to most areas in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Odisha. Permission is not required if employees are travelling only to the capital cities of these states. US government employees also need approval to travel to the eastern region of Maharashtra and the eastern region of Madhya Pradesh,” the advisory said.

In addition, northeastern states have been given – Level 3: Reconsider Travel. “Ethnic insurgent groups occasionally commit acts of violence in parts of the northeast. These incidents include bombings of buses, trains, rail lines, and markets. There have been no recent reports of violence in Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim, or Tripura,” it said.

“US government employees travelling in India require prior approval before visiting the states of Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as when visiting any areas outside of the capital cities of Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Tripura,” it said.