Why Manipur violence is BJP's headache in Mizoram too

Amid efforts to restore normalcy in violence-hit Manipur, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) double-engine government is facing a unique dilemma — how to satisfy the demands of both tribals and non-tribals without triggering further tensions.Chief minister N Biren Singh, who rushed to New Delhi following a ‘rebellion’ by 10 tribal members of legislative assembly (MLAs), has rejected their demand for a separate state for the Kuki-Chin-Zo people. The legislators, seven of whom are from the BJP, have now written a fresh letter to Union home minister Amit Shah reiterating their demand.Watch: Manipur CM meets Amit Shah in bid to defuse crisis medium nocaption100248511Last week, a joint statement signed by the MLAs slammed the state government saying it “has failed miserably to protect” Kukis. They had also urged the Centre to grant “a separate administration under the Constitution of India” so that Kukis can “live peacefully as neighbours with the state of Manipur”.The revolt by tribal MLAs together with Meiteis’ demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, seen as the immediate trigger for the recent ethnic bloodbath, pose what is perhaps the biggest political challenge for Singh in his six years of chief ministership.At the same time, the ruling BJP’s alleged failure to first anticipate and then contain the Kuki vs Meitei violence may dent the saffron party’s image ahead of the Mizoram assembly polls due later this year.Ethnic dynamicsNeary 6,000 Kuki-Chin-Zo people have fled to neighbouring Mizoram following the ethnic clashes in Manipur and are currently staying at temporary relief camps in Aizawl, Kolasib and Saitual districts.The Kuki-Chin-Zo people — who live in India, Myanmar and the Chittagong hill tracts of Bangladesh — share ethnic ties with Mizos.Some Mizo organisations, including an influential students’ outfit, have lambasted the Manipur government for its alleged attempts to evict Kuki-Chin-Zo people from the hills in the name of protection of forest land.Hours after violence broke out on May 3, the Mizoram government issued a statement saying it had “expressed its deep concern over the recent incidents of violence in Manipur, and is also concerned about the safety and security of the ethnic Zo tribes as a result of these unfortunate incidents”.Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga also wrote to his Manipur counterpart urging him to reach out to all sections and bring an end to the “senseless violence”. Singh reportedly assured him that things would be “settled and normalised” soon.— ZoramthangaCM (@ZoramthangaCM) The ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) is a constituent of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance. The BJP currently has one MLA in the 40-member Mizoram assembly.Interestingly, the saffron party had in April won a crucial district council election in the Christian-majority state, seen as significant ahead of the assembly polls. But the Manipur crisis could play spoilsport if the Centre fails to handle the Kuki issue effectively.Adding to the BJP’s dilemma, Mizoram’s lone Lok Sabha member, C Lalrosanga, has reportedly endorsed the demand for a separate administration for tribals in Manipur. It is not clear yet if the Centre would offer any alternative solution to Kukis, like “greater autonomy”. But then, what about Meiteis’ demand for ST status?What went wrongThe chain of events preceding the ethnic clashes that have left more than 70 people dead should have been a wake-up call for both the central and state governments. First of all, the movement demanding ST status for Meiteis is not new. The state government was also apprised by civil society groups of their demand for constitutional safeguard for Meteis against a rising population of illegal immigrants.The Imphal Valley-based community constitutes 53% of Manipur’s total 22.55 lakh population. The hills, home to Naga and Kuki tribes, comprise 10 of the 16 districts. They account for 90% of the state’s area and 10% of the population, while the valley occupies 10% of the land. medium100275754Secondly, the movement against the influx of people from Myanmar and Bangladesh had been building up for the past several months. Interestingly, the United Naga Council (UNC), the apex body of the Naga tribes in Manipur, along with several valley-based outfits had jointly highlighted the issue and submitted a memorandum to the chief minister last year.Local groups also claimed that the inner line permit (ILP) system rolled out by the Centre had failed to protect the state’s indigenous people. ILP is a colonial-era regulation to restrict the entry of ‘outsiders’ to protected areas for a limited period. Four states in the Northeast — Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur — are currently covered by ILP.Third, some Kuki groups started mobilising after the state government had launched a crackdown on illegal poppy cultivation. It was alleged that illegal immigrants were employed in the large-scale poppy cultivation in the hills with the support of some Kuki militant groups.Fourth, on March 10, protest rallies taken out by villagers in three Kuki-inhabited hill districts in Manipur turned violent. Alleging that rebel groups Kuki National Army (KNA) and Zomi Revolutionary Army (ZRA) had instigated the locals against the government’s eviction drive, the state government decided to withdraw from the ceasefire pact with those outfits. medium100275782Fifth, the ruling BJP seemed to have ignored the discontent of both Kukis and Nagas, who had questioned the March 27 Manipur high court order directing the state government to recommend to the Centre the inclusion of the Meitei community in the ST list.Tribal groups argue that Meiteis, being the majority population, have already availed government benefits, and if they are categorised as STs, tribals’ constitutional benefits would be shared further with the valley-based community.By the time a Tribal Solidarity March was taken out on May 3 to protest against the high court order, it was too late for the government to start any talks with the aggrieved parties.Political implicationsAfter the BJP’s drubbing in the Karnataka assembly polls, the Manipur violence and subsequent political developments in the state are likely to provide more ammo to the opposition.Taking a swipe at the BJP’s top brass, the North East Congress Coordination Committee (NECCC) has said that after the defeat in the Karnataka polls, the prime minister and home minister should follow “raj dharma” and focus on restoring peace in violence-hit Manipur by undoing all the “gaffes” it made in the recent past to “polarise the polity” of the state. medium100275796Clearly, the Karnataka polls had absorbed all of the BJP’s attention, leaving it with virtually no time and energy to focus on Manipur. Even the BJP’s main troubleshooter in the Northeast, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has been conspicuous by his absence at a time when his Manipur counterpart is facing a rebellion by party MLAs.The Centre did ensure that a large number of troops were on the ground to tackle the violence, but no concrete efforts were visible for any dialogue between the two warring communities, until it was too late.