Tyranny of the Unelected in Manipur

Former Union Minister Arun Jaitley had once said in parliament that democracy in India cannot be "a tyranny of the unelected". He added that democracy would be in danger if the elected are undermined. Although he made these statements in the context of judiciary, these words ring true when we think of Manipur.

The social and political discourse in Manipur has been hijacked by the non-state actors for a long time as seen during the June uprising and the latest being the ethnic conflict of May 2023. This phenomenon has been going on for decades and has witnessed the fall of two governments; Radhabinod Koijam and N Biren Singh. In such situation, the state government loses its grip over state machinery and the CSOs take control of the streets. We saw this in the aftermath of 3rd May 2023. For reasons known best to the state government, it meekly allowed guns to be looted by mobs from local police in the hills and valley. Radical elements wielded looted guns and ushered in lawlessness, the like of which, has never been witnessed before resulting in the most regrettable incident at Khamenlok. As the radical elements gained ascendancy over the state machinery it succeeded in establishing its supremacy over the affairs of the state and humiliated MLAs and MPs from the Meitei community including Ministers and Union Minister stripping them of their legitimacy as leaders. Adding salt to injury, the residences of ministers, MLAs and MPs were attacked, exposing the inability of the police to protect even the VIPs.  Lawlessness became normalised till President’s Rule (PR) was imposed in the state.

Manipur crisis has taught the public several lessons. Jaitley’s statement about "a tyranny of the unelected" became a reality in Manipur. Non-state actors took control of the streets from 3rd May 2023 onwards, checking every vehicle like hound dogs looking for Kuki-Zo people in the presence of law enforcement personnel who stood by as spectators surrendering the power and authority to groups of violent civilian mobs aided by radicalised elements. Jaitley’s warning that “democracy would be in danger if the elected are undermined”, became eerily true when the unelected usurped the powers of the state in Kangla Fort. Emboldened by their ascendancy over the state government, the radical elements engaged in rampant extortion and drive around the city with looted guns. The state government ignored the massive illegal extortion and its silence was considered as sanction to carry out their nefarious activities. This group went to the extent of kidnapping a senior police officer, ransacking his home and damaging properties. The reaction of the state government was pathetic, forcing policemen to protest by putting down their guns. When the perpetrators were arrested during PR, some CSOs tried their old trick of taking over the streets, but the master under PR is a different person and not a local leader, unwilling to pamper them.

Manipur continues to be under the tyranny of the unelected, i.e., the CSOs as their ‘nod’ is essential to try and resolve the ethnic conflict. The elected representatives, i.e., MLAs and MPs have been relegated into the background and plays second fiddle. The CSOs call the shots, and unless they give the ‘nod’, there can be no peace. The state government is helpless and cannot do anything without the consent of CSOs whose direct actions had resulted in the banishment of the Meitei/Kuki-Zo people and without their ‘nod’ they will never take the word of the state government to return to their pre-ethnic conflict places of residence. This logic extends to the attempts of the state government to restore free movement in the highways. Realistically speaking, the writ of the state and central governments do not count in the long and lonely hill tracts of Manipur where anyone can be waylaid and cause trouble to scuttle the objective of the governments. The actions of the state government, in the run up to and post ethnic conflict, got exposed to accusation of partiality and biasness that it has become doubtful today that the people would be able to repose faith on any popular government formed by the same group of elected representatives who mishandled and mismanaged the vitiated atmosphere. The CSOs have the upper hand now and they have to be taken onboard for the decision to open up the highways and to initiate the process for restoration of normalcy.

The central government should, at the same time, try and hand over the leverage of political leadership to the elected representatives by inviting them more frequently to meetings and delegate to them the job of convincing the people to take the path of coexistence. The government should try and break the tyranny of the unelected by holding the organised CSOs accountable for disruptive actions. The calls for protests are always made by the organised CSOs and are not random calls for protest by individuals, and there should be accountability for disruptions caused with or without permission of the authorities concerned. The district administration and the police should work in close coordination so that every call of protests or bandhs are inquired into promptly and remedial actions taken to prevent it. The public wants to know who is the boss and has to be shown that the state government is in control by making the organised CSOs accountable for their disruptive and belligerent actions.

The CSOs have the right to carry out peaceful protests and no one is stopping them to do so with proper permissions from appropriate authorities. They have to be however made to understand that their actions could cause disruption in normal daily activities and would be liable for accountability if the public are in any way inconvenienced by their actions. The CSOs have been pampered too long by their political leaders and the time has come to strictly impose the rule of law in the state especially under PR.

Ngaranmi Shimray

New Delhi

(Aka Aran Shimray on X)