Tension has once again gripped Manipur following a deadly bomb attack at Tronglaobi Makha Leikai in Bishnupur district, which left at least three people dead, including a five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister.
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Tension has once again gripped Manipur following a deadly bomb attack at Tronglaobi Makha Leikai in Bishnupur district, which left at least three people dead, including a five-year-old boy and his six-month-old sister. Two more individuals were killed, and several others injured when security forces opened fire as a demonstration protesting the blast turned violent. This incident serves as a grim reminder of the fragile peace in the state since the ethnic conflict erupted between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities on May 3, 2023, killing more than 260 people and displacing thousands of families. The Centre has introduced confidence-building measures, including the reinstatement of a popular government with a Chief Minister from the Meitei community and Deputy Chief Ministers from the Naga and Kuki-Zo communities, in an effort to restore normalcy in the violence-torn state, but the situation on the ground continues to be fragile. To this day, individuals from the two warring communities are restricted to their own areas for security reasons. Sporadic incidents of violence, such as the bomb attack on Wednesday, have further eroded public trust, undoing the little gains made in addressing misunderstandings through peace-building efforts both by the Yumnam Khemchand Singh-led government and civil society organisations. In fact, the situation looks even more perilous today with the simmering tensions between the Kukis and Tangkhuls, a major Naga tribe in Manipur, over border disputes threatening to erupt into another full-scale ethnic conflict.
The Nagas, the second largest community in Manipur after the Meiteis according to the 2011 Census, have maintained a neutral stance in the ongoing ethnic conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities. Despite being caught in the crossfire, including fatal incidents, they have been taking conscious steps to prevent the situation from escalating into a tri-ethnic conflict. However, this equation could change if the government does not implement stringent measures to de-escalate the growing tension building up between the two tribal communities over the past few weeks. While the resurfacing of border disputes between several Naga and Kuki villages is concerning, the recent arson in Litan village of Ukhrul district, allegedly carried out by Kuki militants, could lead to a full-blown war if not addressed immediately. The two tribal communities have a bloody history, with hundreds killed and thousands displaced during the conflict in the 1990s. If another conflict arises, the consequences could be far worse than what we saw in the past, as both communities have armed groups with sophisticated weapons. Law and order is a state subject, but the ongoing crisis in Manipur cannot be resolved without the centre's intervention. The state and central governments should go beyond short-term measures like curfews, security deployments, peace talks and suspension of internet services in resolving the crisis. Any solution that falls short of addressing the underlying issues related to identity, land, political representation, aspirations, economic disparity and developmental gap will be short-lived.