Roles of Secessionists & Churches in Manipur Unrest

The Recent Happenings

The recent unrest and violence started in Manipur by Kuki-led secessionists following Imphal High Court Verdict on Tribal Status of Meitei community, is heading to a different direction. In the recent few weeks, the inhabitants of the upper hills have started a different kind of Hi-Tech violence. Kuki-led secessionists have started launching rocket and drone-mounted bomb/IED attacks on the Meitei locations in the valley/plains. It is well known that Kuki-Zo-Naga group has been getting supports from the foreign players as well as Churches on hills. The rockets are medium range unguided munitions having a range of 3-10 Km. It is worthy to note that civilians in Manipur have no expertise to make rockets or Drone-mounted bombs/IEDs. It is strongly believed that these arsenals have been provided by forces abroad.

After the initial spate of violence in Manipur that was started by the Kuki-led groups in May 2023, both State and Union Govts had initiated credible steps in preventing its recurrences and protecting any further loss of lives. Following talks with all groups, the govt has set-up a Coordination Committee which was progressing reasonably well although a few break-through minor incidents had taken place. However, attacks from the upper hills in the forms of medium range rockets and drone-mounted bombs/IEDs in the late August 2024 have provided altogether a new dimension to the ongoing unrest. Where from did these arsenals come from? Did it come from the rebels of Myanmar or somewhere else?

The state is plagued by influx of Armed Foreign nationals thru’ its highly porous borders. They indulge in land grabbing and also running Drug Cartels of both cultivating opium as well as smuggling-in from across the borders, both with Mizoram and Myanmar. The churches too are actively grabbing land on hills, indulging in conversions of the tribals and providing some sorts of support to the Kuki groups. Further, there is a highly irrational and illogical land of the state distributed/held by the two prominent communities. Kukis traditionally have been committing armed atrocities on the Meities who have started retaliating of late. Last but not the least, is a ravaging distrust between Kuki-Zo-Naga group and the Meities. Manipur has been a disturbed state right from the days of its formation with scant effort of the State and Union Govts to resolve them till the 2010s.

Recent Escalation in Violence

Drone-mounted bombs/IEDs were first use by Pakistan militant group on Jammu airport on 26 Jun 21. China gifted drones have been used by the ISI-controlled terror groups in Pakistan. Pakistan and China have been conspiring and conniving against India for long. Saudi and Pakistan have been airing support to Rohingya Muslims esp after their mass exodus in 2015. In the last few years Rohingya Muslims still living in Rakhine State have formed their own militant/terror group called Arakkan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) for mounting attacks against Myanmar Army and their Buddhist majority civilians to incite civil unrest. Most of these terror groups are acting under Arakkan Army mostly to carry out disruptive activities BUT also spilling over to the other areas AND there comes a new possibility…fueling fire in the troubled waters of Manipur. The rockets or drone-mounted bombs/IEDs could have had its origins in Pakistan/China and provided to ARSA, a Jihadi organization. Both Pakistan and Saudi will be glad for this indulgence.

Role of Churches in Manipur Problems

Although there are about 8% Muslims in Manipur, they had well assimilated among Meities right since the formation of the state. Radical Islamists were exceptions. The few radical Islamists either enter the state are either Rohingyas or Bangladeshis. They are believed to come for anti-India acts either tasked by their handlers in Pak/China or requested by the Kuki-Zo-Naga-ARSA groups to provide weapons/training. They are not known to be favorites of Kuki either; and there comes the role of Churches for sheltering them for short times. As such, churches located on the higher grounds of hills of Manipur are believed to have captured vast stretches of lands and also building safe-heavens for some of the Mizo-Myanmar-based drug paddlers. They are capable to provide shelters to Rohingya Jihadists as well, along with Pak/China provided drones and the bombs/IEDs to be mounted over. These churches may also be providing shelters to the handlers of ARSA most likely belonging to Pak terror groups having expertise in it.

Churches have grabbed vast stretches of public land on the hills decades back that found the favours from central leadership from Indira’s time. Kuki-Zo-Naga finding the political and material support from the churches had made the lives of people in government miserable. The ruling Congress party during major period in the state permitted all these happenings. Before Chief Minister OI Singh of Congress came to the powers in 2002, seldom any govt could complete their tenures. There used to be numerous blockades of Manipur running for months. Mahatma Gandhi’s pictures from govt offices were thrown out by them and those Kuki-Zo-Naga goons ruled the roost. Manipur international borders with Myanmar was totally porous, free for all that facilitated the Drug cartel as well as the secessionist’s nefarious activities.

Unease of Churches & Secessionists

Manipur has been in serious problems of secession right after its formation in 1972. Even before its formation, there were several Tribals, Maoist and Christian groups who were incited by China as well as the rebels of Myanmar towards secession from India. More than half a dozen of Maoist groups have been banned by the Govt of India. There were times when Nagas, Hmar, Paite, Dimasha, and Karbi communities used to fight against Kukis indulging in illegal migration and forced settlements in their lands. Churches indulged in their nefarious conversions. Gradually, most of those tribes disappeared…some converted to Christianity and others forced to flee during the period from 70s to 90s. Meitei could withstand those pressure tactics and hence, increasingly became the targets of their armed violent repressions to which, they gradually retaliated in the coming years. It is right that Meities too destroyed many churches but most such attacks were retaliatory in nature.

It was only in the later half of the Chief Minister OI Singh tenure (from 2002 to 2017) that some semblance of governance was visible. However, after BJP replaced congress rule in 2017, credible steps against the terror of Kukis and their Drug Cartel were enforced by the present Chief Minister Biren Singh and it started showing results too. BJP govt in their 2nd stint from 2022 started showing results on the development planks too. However, these steps were not liked by the churches or their supported Drug Cartels and the Kukis. On top of all these, Imphal High Court verdict on providing Tribal Status to the Meitei infuriated them all thus resulting in Manipur unrest of 2023.

Making of Recent narratives

In any warring zone, there are deliberate narratives made by both groups of attacker and the attacked. Manipur was no exception. In fact, owing to the international hands in indulgence of secessionist activities, there were many narratives all through. However, in the recent violence of 2023, Govt of India knew that the Kukies had a reason to play their victim card whereas the opposition parties found a readymade plank to play dirty politics. While there in no denial that the violence started by Kuki group had drawn retaliation by the Meities, there were significant losses on both sides. Congress leaders played even dirtier politics when they held back a video clip of 3 women chased by a small mob for two months to make it viral on social media when parliament was going to be in session. The opposition parties could disrupt parliament and gained maximum milage out of it. They refused to even listen to the Home Minister giving reply. There have been subsequent shameful incidents of women being paraded naked in many of the opposition ruled states too but opposition political parties had no words of remorse.

Most political analysts have been short on words as to what commonalities are there between the Churches and rogue elements among Christians (Kuki-Zo) of Manipur and the rest of India (incl Tamilnadu) in their response to that video clip. Christian personalities from almost all professions became vocal in condemning Manipur incidence but maintaining silence on other similar instances indulged in the other parts of country like film actor Prakashraj spitting venom. It is believed that Sonia Gandhi had made special mention about the viral video clip to senior Congress leaders to make it an issue on all possible platforms.

The video of Manipur women being chased nude by a small mob is condemnable by all BUT selective approach of Congress and their INDI-Alliance to speak against it in Manipur case (because they were Kuki women) and remain mum on repeated instances in West Bengal, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand etc (because they were mostly Hindu women) exposed their Hypocrisies. It is a harsh reality that Congress and their present allies do not want to see the Biren govt gain control the Manipur situation, trying to rectify the problems right at its root-cause such as prevailing upon the opium cultivation and Drug-Cartels as well as the entry & land-grabbing attempts by illegal migrants along with gun violence. Surely both Kuki-Zo-Naga group as well as Churches were unhappy with these attempts that struck at the root of secessionist efforts and bring rule of law in the state. It is unfortunate that the two displaced warring groups following 2023 violence had to be separated at places to minimize conflicts owing to lack of trust among each other.

Solution for Manipur Unrest

Govt of India has to redress the three root causes of the Manipur unrest. The first, is the stopping of the illegal migration from Myanmar associated with grab of land. The national boundary needs to be guarded at all cost so as to prevent illegal entry of rogue foreign nationals and their indulgence in anti-India activities. The next issue is getting a control over the drug-cartel that also bring illegal firearms. Of late, it has acquired unacceptable proportions of smuggling rockets and drone-amounted munitions. There is a strong possibility of foreign hands in it. The next problem is the long-standing demands of the Meities for grant of tribal status so as to get some sort of parity in jobs and eligibility in acquiring much needed land on hills. Last but most difficult is towards achieving some sort of communal harmony eluding the State right since its formation. This can be done only by the development of the state and letting all communities taste the fruits of those development. The Union as well as the State Govt is on the right track but the politicians in the opposition camp are trying their best to scuttle govt efforts.