The Manipur crisis continues with no political solution in sight. Could downgrading it to a Union Territory restore peace?
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Manipur, a land with rich history, some real and some fabricated, is faced with a dilemma. The lore linking Manipur to Mahabharata and its people as descendants of Prince Arjun has dissipated like a mist as the Meitei people are not Aryans. The Kukis claim to be one of the early settlers has no buyers as official documents reveal that they came as refugees from Burma. The Nagas have not made any preposterous claims and proudly stand firm of their heritage. Both Nagas and Meiteis are the original settlers of Manipur.
Manipur has a heterogeneous society and the leaders in the past ruled the state with care and tact. The sensitive relationship amongst the three largest communities; Meiteis, Nagas and Kukis have now been upset by youthful leaders. The Congress government played favourites and favoured the Kukis over the Nagas for decades. The leader of BJP led government threw caution to the air and pursued a policy of showing the Kukis who is master.
They were taken aback by the unprecedented backlash and ability to sustain the ethnic conflict. Compounding the conflagration in the valley was the unleashing of a so called Meitei cultural organisation who armed themselves with guns looted from the police. The Kuki group did the same and it became a full blown conflict. End result was the banishment of the Kukis out of Imphal capital city and the valley. Similarly, all Meiteis have been thrown out from the hill areas. Two years have gone by with no solution to end the ethnic conflict in sight.
President’s Rule has restored confidence of the general public of Manipur about the impartiality of the government. It has brought a semblance of rule of law by persuasion to surrender looted guns. Recovery of more looted guns by use of intelligence reports, hopefully not the last, is one of the stellar performances under PR.
The arrest and jailing of top Arambai Tenggol leadership has shown to the general public that restoring rule of law is one of the priorities of PR. Although there is clamour for formation of a popular government in the state, there is no indication that the politicians will be able to deliver results better than what PR is delivering now. It is evident from the performance of the last government that politicians have been very lenient in handling radicalised youth and militant organisations. It is feared that the return of politicians to power will negate the achievements made under PR and only allow the state to drift further into lawlessness. Unfortunately for politicians, no ground work for political talks has started in earnest and distrust has not waned. Without any headway made by the centre on political talks it is perplexing what the politicians can achieve by returning to power.
Many citizens in Manipur must be silently wishing that PR continues. It is only under PR that the radicalised elements are behaving, extortions have stopped, police are performing their duty, officials are at their toes, CAPF and army are performing their duty unhindered and unrestrained by political influences, CSOs are not misbehaving to the extend they were doing under the state government and most important of all - intelligence reports are leading to recovery of looted guns. All these benefits will be lost as soon as a popular state government is installed as politicians do not have the courage and gumption to take on the people who have been spoilt and pampered.
Manipur tribals are unhappy and the main reasons are fivefold: (1) not allowing the extension of Sixth Schedule to the hill areas; (2) no mechanism to ensure fair share of development funds for hill areas; (3) no mechanism to ensure equitable location of infrastructures, projects, institutes and institutions of the central government and state level assets in hill areas; (4) no mechanism to prevent social, cultural and linguistic domination over the tribal people; and (5) inequitable representation in the council of ministers of MLAs elected from the for hill areas as ministers. Hill areas should be given six ministers as the CM and Speaker have always been kept by the Meitei community as a strategy advantage.
There are ways to overcome these problems and issues. Firstly, extension of Sixth Schedule is a political decision which has already been decided by the state government in the past to extend to hill areas, but was foiled through subterfuge. Giving the Sixth Schedule to the hill areas is the key to derail the demand for separate administration (state/UT) and will widen the door for coexistence of all communities within Manipur. The territorial/district councils will have power to legislate on lands, customary and traditional practises, forests, water resources, minor forest produces, towns, village authorities, village and community development etc.
They will need to be given substantial administrative power and financial autonomy including receiving moneys from the various central ministries/departments/agencies/consolidated fund of India and also specified policing power. There will be village and district courts for administering the laws legislated by the territorial/district councils.
Secondly, to address the issues stated at point number (2), (3) and (4) it is suggested that the Presidential Order issued under Article 371-C may be modified in such a manner that the formula for point number (5) i.e. providing for six ministers from hill areas is specified under the Presidential order/notification and functions concerning point number (2), (3) and (4) giving rights and powers to the Hill Areas Committee to deliberate and take decisions by clearly specifying simple process and procedures with power vested on the Governor to take final decision or veto.
Coexistence is the main theme behind making the above suggestions. If the dominant community in the state is unwilling to concede to empower the tribes in the hill areas, the alternative would be to follow the route taken by the central government in respect of J&K. Besides abrogating article 370, the central government downgraded the state of J&K to an UT with legislature. This apparently was done as the majority community had neglected the minority communities in the state since India’s independence. Similar situation exists in Manipur where the majority community hogged everything leaving none or little for the minority tribes since it gained full statehood. The alternative available for the central government to rectify the regional imbalance in development, power sharing and decision making in a state is to have an oversight authority above the government by having a Lieutenant Governor. To have a LG the state would need to be downgraded to a UT and brought directly under central rule. That’s what the central government did to J&K for their recalcitrant and selfish behaviour and partiality in governance. Manipur could be given similar treatment to bring about a resolution to the Manipur crisis.
The best way forward to bring an end to Manipur crisis is for the central government to take a bold move by downgrading the state to UT with legislature, appoint a LG and bring it under central rule, rectify imbalance in development and address backwardness, and set the various systems of governance in order. This transitory period may take a decade or more, but it is required to bring development and prosperity to the neglected hill areas at par with the valley.
Ngaranmi Shimray