Understanding the ethnic strife in Manipur

People in large numbers take part in a torchlight vigil in response to the ongoing violence in Manipur, in Bishnupur, Manipur, June 17, 2023. (PTI Photo)

The name of the Indian notheast state Manipur means “Land of Jewels.” Manipur consists of a valley surrounded by mountain ranges. Manipur is home to 39 ethnic communities following different faiths, including Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. There are Indigenous religious traditions such as Sanamahi too. Opposition to the manner of Manipur’s merger with India in 1949 laid the groundwork for the nascent stages of resistance and separatist movements and remains at the heart of the dispute.
Indian government imposed the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act in 1958. The act  provides broad-based powers for the military and paramilitary groups to “[maintain] public order,” in “disturbed areas,” which have been primarily applied to regions of the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.

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At present, the region features multiple conflicting claims to ethnic and communal homelands — and armed insurgent groups to defend those claims. In Manipur, there are at least four valley-based armed groups, several Naga groups and Kuki armed insurgent organizations.

The most recent violence began after the Manipur High Court asked the state government to consider Scheduled Tribe status for the Meitei community, which is the majority population in Manipur. This status would ensure protection within the Indian Constitution and allow the Meitei expanded access to benefits, including reserved seats in government.

 Meitei community in Manipur had long requested this status. However, there were strong concerns that such a move would deepen ethnic divisions, particularly with the Kuki and Naga Indigenous communities. Indeed, soon after the court announcement, a rally was held in protest by the All-Tribal Students Union of Manipur on May 3. Following this violence began in villages between the factions of Kukies and Meitei.

Govt. of India announced a judicial probe into the incidents of violence and planned to create a peace committee between members of different communities, additional fencing on the Myanmar border, and called for the return of an estimated 1,420 weapons looted from local police since the start of the clashes.