Imphal/Guwahati:

N Biren Singh, who resigned as Chief Minister of violence-hit Manipur days before President’s Rule with the assembly under animated suspension was imposed, in a long post on X today said the shift in Manipur’s demographic balance is not speculation, but “happening before our eyes.”

The Kuki tribes, who are dominant in some areas categorised as hill districts in Manipur, hold Mr Singh responsible for the outbreak of clashes in May 2023 over his policies that allegedly targeted the Kuki tribes.

The valley-dominant Meitei community blame an influx of illegal immigrants from neighbouring Myanmar and alleged mushrooming of unrecognised villages across the state as the root cause of the ethnic clashes.

Land rights and political representation are also among issues that have contributed to tensions.

Mr Singh shared an old post from November 8, 2022 showing a 26-year-old Myanmar national who was arrested for carrying the Aadhaar card of an Indian who had died.

“Flashback to 2022: A Myanmar national with a fake Indian Aadhaar card. How many more remain undetected till today?” Mr Singh said in the post.

“Our land and identity are under threat. With a small population and limited resources, we stand vulnerable. I monitored and detected illegal immigration tirelessly until May 2, 2023. But after the tragic events of 3rd May, 2023 our state machinery has struggled to respond effectively.

“An unguarded 398-km border with Myanmar and the Free Movement Regime (FMR) were rapidly shifting Manipur’s demographic balance. This is not speculation, it is happening before our eyes. Since our government took charge in March 2017, the challenge has only intensified. After the May 3, 2023 incident, the situation has become even more critical,” Mr Singh said.

“Manipur is a small state, with a small population and no significant resources. We have only three MPs to represent us in the nation’s highest decision-making body. Yet, we have always stood with pride, resilience, and an unbreakable spirit.

“Illegal immigration continues to be on the rise, threatening the very fabric of our society. So far, we have only identified a fraction of those who have entered our land. But what about the ones who remain undetected to this day? I urge all concerned authorities to take serious note and intensify efforts to detect and deport illegal immigrants from Manipur. As for me, I will continue this fight with unwavering commitment in every way I can,” Mr Singh said.

“The challenge before us is not just ours alone, it carries consequences far beyond our borders,” he added.

Flashback to 2022: A Myanmar national with a fake Indian Aadhaar card. How many more remain undetected till today?

My Dear Indigenous Friends,

Our land and identity are under threat. With a small population and limited resources, we stand vulnerable. I monitored and detected… https://t.co/ivUX7gDvt9

— N. Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) February 13, 2025

What Next In Manipur

The President’s Rule was imposed for the 11th time in Manipur today since 1951.

Sources in the Manipur administration said that for a start, they expect the central security forces to neutralise armed groups, disarm everyone from both sides, open up highways in the hill and valley areas, ensure airport access for all, and work out ways to rebuild, compensate and provide safety for internally displaced people to return home.

A communique from the office of President Droupadi Murmu said after receiving a report from Governor Ajay Bhalla and “after considering the report and other information received by me, I am satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the Government of that State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of India”.

The move by the Centre came as the state BJP failed to come to a consensus on the chief ministerial candidate and the assembly could not be convened.

The BJP was hoping to pick a chief minister after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned from his visit to the US. But meanwhile, the gap in the convening of state assembly threatened to pass the constitutionally approved maximum time of six months.

Article 174(1) of the Constitution says that state assemblies have to be convened no later than six months after their last sitting.

In the case of Manipur, the last sitting was on August 12, 2024. The budget session of the assembly, which was expected to begin on Monday, had to be postponed indefinitely after Mr Singh and his Council of Ministers stepped down. 

The deadline for convening the assembly was today and in the evening, President’s Rule had to be declared in the state.

Imphal:

The umbrella body of civil society organisations of the Meitei community in Manipur has alleged statements issued by its Kuki counterparts in recent times show they want “to create circumstances that validate their long-standing demand for a separate administration.”

The Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) in a statement said even when the Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh stepped down “for the larger good”, Kuki civil society groups have “found another pretext to continue their movement for a separate administration.”

COCOMI’s statement comes amid the spectre of President’s Rule looming large over the violence-hit state after the chief minister resigned on Sunday, a day before a no-confidence motion to be introduced by the Congress in the budget session of the assembly, which was cancelled by the Governor.

The Meitei civil society organisation alleged their Kuki counterparts have “consistently sought new justifications to sustain unrest, making their own people suffer while capitalising on their discontent to push their vested political agenda.”

“COCOMI urges the government of India to recognise this systematic agenda and take firm measures to hold accountable any individual, organisation, or group that justifies instability and violence as a means to pursue their political ambitions. The people of Manipur deserve peace, stability, and a resolution that upholds the integrity of the state,” it said.

The valley-dominant Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.

Churachandpur-based Kuki organisation Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) and the Kangpokpi-based Kuki group Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU) are in the forefront of the call for a separate administration carved out from Manipur, so are the 10 Kuki-Zo MLAs in the 60-member Manipur assembly and nearly a dozen Kuki-Zo militant groups that have signed a ceasefire (Suspension of Operations, or SoO Agreement).

The Kuki tribes and the opposition Congress party in Manipur have said the chief minister’s resignation is “too little, too late”. They have not given any indication of agreeing for talks unless they get separate administration, and an investigation is ordered into the alleged role of the chief minister in instigating the violence.

While Kuki leaders and militants under the SoO agreement have pointed at the ethnic clashes that began in May 2023 as the reason why they escalated their demand from an autonomous council to a separate administration, or a Union Territory with an assembly, Meitei leaders have cited numerous protests in the past by the Kuki tribes seeking separation, or “Kukiland”, a land of their own.

The World Kuki-Zo Intellectual Council (WKZIC) in a memorandum to the Manipur Governor on January 15 said the Kuki tribes have been demanding a state “since 1946-47.”

“We have been demanding Constitutional Kukiland state under Article 3 of the Indian Constitution, since 1946-47 to the first Prime Minister of India PM Jawaharlal Nehru in the name of Kuki National Assembly (KNA), resurged by Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM), Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC) and KNO-UPF who were under SoO with GoI [government of India] since 2008, to safeguard and in recognition of our community’s rights, including our right to self-determination, cultural identity, and linguistic heritage,” the WKZIC said in the memorandum, which also detailed hardships of the Kuki tribes since India’s Independence.

Over 250 people have been killed and 50,000 have been internally displaced in the Manipur clashes that began nearly two years ago.

Guwahati/Imphal:

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh today reached out to his counterpart in neighbouring Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a show of support to the Assam Police for destroying illegal opium poppy cultivation worth over Rs 27 crore.

The police in Assam’s Goalpara destroyed 170 bighas (over 56 acres) of poppy plantation in January, Mr Sarma said in a post on X on Sunday.

The Assam Chief Minister also uploaded a video showing a tractor racing the poppy fields amid a large police presence.

Mr Sarma warned “local Pablo Escobars” not to try it again. The reference was to the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and leader of the Medellin cartel which at one point controlled 80 per cent of the international cocaine trade. He was killed in December 1993.

“Dear Local Pablo Escobars, sorry to spoil your planned Udta Assam party. Because Goalpara Police destroyed 170 bighas of poppy cultivation in the Char areas worth Rs 27.20 crore in January. So next time you think of drugs, think of Assam Police first,” Mr Sarma said in the post on X.

Dear Local Pablo Escobars,

Sorry to spoil your planned Udta Assam party!

Because @Goalpara_Police destroyed 170 Bighas of poppy cultivation in the Char areas worth ₹27.20 crore in January.

So next time you think of drugs, think of @assampolice first.#AssamAgainstDrugs pic.twitter.com/JPt9IoxsKJ

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 2, 2025

“Udta Assam” was an allusion to the 2016 Bollywood film ‘Udta Punjab’, which dealt with the subject of drug addiction in Punjab.

Responding to Mr Sarma, the Manipur Chief Minister said the two states stand together in working to ensure they are “free from the shadow of drugs.”

“My deep appreciation for the decisive measures taken in Assam, under the leadership of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma ji in addressing the challenges posed by cultivation of poppy. We stand together and remain resolute in our shared goal of building a future where every youth of the NE [northeast] is protected, nurtured, and given the opportunity to thrive free from the shadow of drugs,” Mr Singh said in the post.

My deep appreciation for the decisive measures taken in Assam, under the leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri @himantabiswa ji, in addressing the challenges posed by the cultivation of poppy.

We stand together and remain resolute in our shared goal of building a future… https://t.co/G3Xl4hYQpF

— N. Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) February 2, 2025

The Manipur Chief Minister said over 25 acres of illegal poppy plantations were destroyed in Tengnoupal subdivision’s Khudei Khullen hill range and a first information report (FIR) was filed today.

Manipur has been experiencing ethnic violence between the valley-dominant Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki, who are dominant in some hill areas of the state. Both communities have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.

The Kuki tribes have alleged the Biren Singh government targeted poor farmers in the hills who have no other sources of income and ignored the role of drug lords living in Meitei-dominated valley areas. The Manipur government has refuted the allegations and shared data to assert no community was singled out in the state’s ‘war on drugs’ campaign.

A mob of some 80 people from the Kuki tribes confronted a security team that went to destroy illegal opium poppy cultivation in Manipur’s Kangpokpi district and damaged four vehicles on Friday. The incident happened in the Lhungjang hill range where personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the police had gone.

A first information report has been filed into the matter.

New Delhi:

In a sharp counter to senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh’s question on why Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not visited violence-hit Manipur, Chief Minister N Biren Singh has asked why former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao did not travel to the Northeastern state during the turmoil in 1992-93.

Addressing the media on the last day of 2024, Chief Minister Singh yesterday said it had been an unfortunate year for Manipur and hoped peace would be restored this year.

“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,” he said.

Everyone, including yourself, is aware that Manipur is in turmoil today because of the past sins committed by the Congress, such as the repeated settlement of Burmese refugees in Manipur and the signing of the SoO Agreement with Myanmar-based militants in the state, spearheaded… https://t.co/A0X9urZ7M6

— N. Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) December 31, 2024

“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,” the Chief Minister added.

Why can’t the Prime Minister go to Manipur and say the same thing there? He has deliberately avoided visiting the state since May 4th, 2023, even as he jets around the country and the world. The people of Manipur simply cannot understand this neglect https://t.co/38lizNtiAy

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) December 31, 2024

Mr Ramesh responded with a jab, accusing the Centre of neglecting the state. “Why can’t the Prime Minister go to Manipur and say the same thing there? He has deliberately avoided visiting the state since May 4th, 2023, even as he jets around the country and the world. The people of Manipur simply cannot understand this neglect,” the Congress leader said in a post on X.

The Chief Minister responded with a long post, holding Congress responsible for the situation in Manipur today. “Everyone, including yourself, is aware that Manipur is in turmoil today because of the past sins committed by the Congress, such as the repeated settlement of Burmese refugees in Manipur and the signing of the SoO Agreement with Myanmar-based militants in the state, spearheaded by @PChidambaram_IN during his tenure as the Home Minister of India,” he said.

Mr Singh was earlier with the Congress and switched to the BJP after disagreements with then Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. 

The Chief Minister said his apology was a “sincere act of expressing my grief for the people who have been left displaced and become homeless”. “As a Chief Minister, it was an appeal to forgive and forget what had happened. However, you brought politics into it,” he said.

“Let me remind you: The Naga-Kuki clashes in Manipur resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,300 people and the displacement of thousands more. The violence persisted for several years, with periodic escalations occurring between 1992 and 1997, though the most intense period of conflict was in 1992-1993.

“The clashes began in 1992 and continued at varying intensities for around five years (1992-1997). This period marked one of the bloodiest ethnic conflicts in northeast India, deeply affecting relations between the Naga and Kuki communities in Manipur. Did Shri PV Narasimha Rao, who served as the Prime Minister of India from 1991 to 1996 and was the President of the Indian National Congress during this time, come to Manipur to extend an apology?,” the Chief Minister asked.

“The Kuki-Paite clashes claimed 350 lives in the state. During most of the Kuki-Paite clashes (1997-1998), Shri IK Gujral was the Prime Minister of India. Did he visit Manipur and say sorry to the people?” he added. “Instead of putting efforts to solve the core issues in Manipur, why is the @INCIndia playing politics over it all the time?”

Unrest 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.

Guwahati/New Delhi:

Lachit Borphukan Police Academy (LBPA) in Assam’s Dergaon saw a momentous occasion on Monday when nearly 2,000 recruits of the Manipur Police participated in their passing out ceremony, ready to serve their state amid the ongoing challenges.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, who attended the passing out ceremony, said very old ties between Assam and Manipur are seeing a new bonding.

“As the situation is not good in Manipur, IRB (India Reserve Battalion) training wasn’t possible there. When I asked Himanta Biswa Sarma ji, he immediately agreed to facilitate training in Assam. I am extremely grateful to him, his colleagues in the government and the Assam DGP,” Mr Singh said.

“Today, I attended their passing out parade, and it is such a good feeling. The situation in Manipur is complex; it will take time to heal, but gradually it’s getting better,” the Chief Minister said.

Assam and Manipur Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya also attended the passing out ceremony at the police academy known for its rigorous and comprehensive training programmes.

This batch of recruits was drawn from nine IRBs and six Manipur Rifles battalions, reflecting the state’s diverse communities – Meiteis (62 per cent), Kukis (12 per cent), Nagas (26 per cent), and other tribes.

Mr Singh said the recruits will be posted together as a “team” in an attempt to bring back peace in the ethnic violence-hit state.

“Community-wise division took place due to the present situation. It was not like this earlier, and I will not allow this to happen in future,” Mr Singh told reporters after the ceremony, adding the newly trained personnel will have to do everything together in the manner in which they were trained.

“We have to start working together to bring peace to the state. Their postings will be together. We will not break the team. We will try to restore the unity of earlier Manipur,” Mr Singh said.

Impressive display of skill and discipline by our recruits during the Unarmed Combat demonstration!

I appreciate the true spirit of courage and preparedness of the new recruits. Keep up the exceptional efforts as you continue to serve and protect with honor. My best wishes to… pic.twitter.com/KJM2voLvhG

— N. Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) December 23, 2024

Their training covered a comprehensive curriculum – physical fitness, unarmed combat, disaster management, law and policing, crowd control, and tactical operations.

“The recruits arrived with significant challenges. At least 50 per cent were overweight, including 5 per cent classified as obese, and 31 per cent fell into the 30-40 age group, presenting unique physical demands,” an official of the top police academy said.

By the end of the programme, only 5 per cent remained overweight due to chronic medical conditions, a testament to the academy’s rigorous training regimen, the official said.

Imphal/Guwahati/New Delhi:

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh today alleged “some agencies” have been sending “manipulated” information about the violence-hit state to New Delhi. He said the Centre is aware of the matter and is collecting information from the grassroots.

“Misinformation, manipulative and politicised information were sent by some agencies to New Delhi. Now, the Centre has realised it. It is collecting information from the grassroots. They have found correct information and they are dealing with it,” Mr Singh said on the sidelines of an event in the state capital Imphal today.

The chief minister did not say which agencies gave “wrong information” to the Centre.

7 Arrested For Killing 2 Migrant Labourers

In another development, seven insurgents of the Kangleipak Communist Party (People’s War Group), or KCP(PWG), have been arrested for killing two migrant labourers from Bihar. The original KCP is among the eight Meitei insurgent groups in the Home Ministry’s list of banned organisations.

The seven are being interrogated, sources in the state intelligence said.

The KCP(PWG) is likely being used as “hired guns” to attack civilians and carry out extortion in the valley areas in order to keep tension simmering, top intelligence sources told NDTV based on initial investigation.

They declined to say who hired these insurgents to create terror in the valley areas, citing the investigation is in an early stage.

Both Mr Singh and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have condemned the killings of the migrant labourers in Kakching, 45 km from Imphal, and announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for each family, respectively.

The two young men, Sunalal Kumar, 18, and Dasharat Kumar, 17, were shot dead allegedly by the KCP(PWG) insurgents while they were cycling back to their rented accommodation from their work site.

The Centre on November 14 reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, or AFSPA, to protect security forces in hostile areas in six new locations in ethnic violence-hit Manipur.

The six police station areas included Jiribam, where 10 suspected Kuki militants were shot dead in an encounter with the security forces on November 11, and from where three women and three children from the Meitei community were kidnapped and killed by suspects who the Manipur government called “Kuki militants”.

The AFSPA gives sweeping powers to the military to operate freely anywhere that has been declared a “disturbed area”; no military personnel in an area where AFSPA is in force can be prosecuted without the Centre’s permission.

The Manipur government had requested the Centre to remove AFSPA from the six police station areas.

The AFSPA reimposition gave more room to the security forces to freely engage armed groups that have not signed any ceasefire deal with the government.

Before this, 19 police station areas in Manipur were not under AFSPA coverage as they were considered peaceful. The escalation in violence in Jiribam, however, brought the controversial law back to the six police station areas.

New Delhi:

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday expressed grief over the killing of two migrant workers from the state in Manipur’s Kakching district, and announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for family members of the deceased.

His Manipur counterpart N Biren Singh also condemned the “brutal killing of young brothers, Sunalal Kumar (18) and Dasharat Kumar (17), from Bihar”. Biren Singh said an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh will be provided to each bereaved family.

The two were construction workers and lived in a rented accommodation in Kakching.

“The CM (Nitish Kumar) has expressed deep sorrow over the killing of two migrant workers from the state in Manipur’s Kakching district. Heartfelt condolences to their family,” a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.

“He has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the immediate family members of the deceased… (he) also directed officials of the state’s social welfare and labour departments to ensure that the family members get other benefits, too, as per existing provisions,” it said.

The Manipur Chief Minister said, “This act of terrorism is a direct assault on our values, and my deepest condolences go out to their grieving families.”

“In this crucial juncture, we cannot ignore the possibility that this horrific crime is part of a larger conspiracy to destabilize our state and push it further towards chaos. We must stand together against these destructive forces and ensure that they do not succeed in creating fear and insecurity,” Biren Singh said.

I strongly condemn the brutal killing of young brothers, Sunalal Kumar (18) and Dasharat Kumar (17), from Bihar in Kakching district, Manipur. This act of terrorism is a direct assault on our values, and my deepest condolences go out to their grieving families.

In this crucial…

— N. Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) December 15, 2024

“An ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh will be provided to each bereaved family, and every possible effort is underway to identify, apprehend, and prosecute those responsible. If required, the case will be transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to ensure a fair and thorough inquiry,” he added.

Imphal/New Delhi:

An influential civil society group of the Meitei community in Manipur has criticised comments by former Union home secretary GK Pillai in an article, in which he called for a criminal case to be filed against Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh.

The Meitei Leepun in a two-page statement alluded to Mr Pillai’s comments as stemming from his close ties with the Kuki tribes.

“We never expect Mr Pillai to criticise the present government of Manipur and propose a dire consequence. The indigenous people of Manipur will never forget that the perpetrators of the present conflict, Kuki militants, signed the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement during the Congress-led UPA government and he was the home secretary dealing with northeast affairs,” the Meitei Leepun said in the statement signed by its chief M Pramot Singh.

“However, it’s not surprising that he was befooled by the kukis. It’s not the first or the last time that Kukis have engaged in distorting historical facts. For instance, the curious case of the Kuki rebellion of 1917-1919 which they presented as the Anglo-Kuki War to legitimise their imagined Kuki homeland within Manipur never actually happened,” the Meitei Leepun said.

“Their (Kukis’) academics have written extensively on it for decades to legitimise it and others have not left any stone unturned to validate that manufactured truth. Documents from the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) are readily available to dismiss such false claims. Fortunately for the rest of us without the western Christian tinted glasses, facts are objective and unchanging. Though Mr Pillai seems to have been heavily influenced by biases and experiences. It’s important to remember that feelings are not facts,” the Meitei Leepun said.

Similar to the controversial civil society groups of the Kuki tribes such as the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) and the Committee on Tribal Unity (CoTU), which face allegations of having direct links with Kuki militants, the Meitei Leepun has also come under scrutiny in the Manipur crisis. All of them claim they are working only for the defence of their respective communities. If action is not taken uniformly, if action is taken against only one of them, it would be seen as biased amid the deep divide, they say.

“… Mr Pillai should not have (got) carried away with the post-Independence history-building efforts of the Kukis,” the Meitei Leepun said.

On November 20, Biren Singh blamed “some vested interests” for reigniting a new cycle of violence in Manipur, 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.

Mr Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2008 when he steered the highly controversial tripartite 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 has said. 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.

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.

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.

Guwahati:

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said today that a mass operation against militants in the state has started and this will cover the entire state wherever there are illegal armed militants. A decision was made to intensify operations against militant groups. 

Combing operations have already started in Jiribam — the epicentre of the latest wave of violence — and will expand to other areas of the state until the perpetrators are brought to justice, he said. Operations will not be held only in Kuki-dominated areas but will look for all those who have procured arms illegally.

While talking to reporters in Imphal, Mr Singh said, “Operations against militants started in Jiribam. However it will take place in the entire state wherever there are illegal armed militants.”

Mr Singh also said the state government has sought additional forces from the Centre to reassure the people. By the end of this month, Manipur will have 288 companies of Central forces.

Six people, all women and children from the Meitei community, were killed in Manipur earlier this month, sparking massive protests and extending the cycle of violence the state has been under since last year. 

Among those killed were toddlers — one of them just 8 months old. All six were living in a relief camp in Jiribam’s Borobekra after they lost their homes in the Kuki-Meitei ethnic clashes that started in May last year.

The fresh violence had started on November 11, when at least two dozen Kuki militants attacked a police station in Borobekra, near Assam border.

As they killed two senior citizens from the Meitei community, another group kidnapped the women and children. The six bodies were later found floating in the river. 

Three of them were shot, their bodies bode multiple wounds and lacerations.  Autopsy reports of the other three — an 8-month-old infant, 31-year-old woman and her 8-year-old daughter – have not been released by the police. There are concerns that the reports are so graphic that they may spark another public protest and lead to violence and arson.

So far, the ethnic violence in the state has cost 258 lives, including that of militants. Over 3,000 weapons which were looted have been recovered.

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.