Ten armed militants were killed in an encounter with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the police on Monday (November 11, 2024) in Manipur’s Jiribam district, as ethnic conflict continues to pulverise the State. Officials said the deaths took place in retaliatory firing after the militia attacked security personnel and internally displaced people sheltered in the vicinity. Women, children and the elderly have been facing the brunt of the violence that began in May 2023. More than 250 people have been killed and 60,000 displaced since the conflict between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities began. Three women and three children, including an eight-month-old infant, were allegedly abducted and two elderly persons were burnt to death on Monday (November 11, 2024) in Jiribam. The victims were among the 13 Meitei people who were already displaced from their homes in June. Two of the 10 weapons found at the encounter site had been looted from the police, an indication of the serious governance crisis in the State. The Kuki Students’ Organisation has called for ‘non-cooperation’ with the CRPF, claiming that the militia men were on a security patrol.
The Bharatiya Janata Party State government led by Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has been unable to quell the violence or reassure the Kuki communities that consider him to be partisan. That leaves the entire responsibility of managing the conflict on the shoulders of the Centre. In October, the Ministry of Home Affairs organised a meeting with political representatives of both the Kuki and Meitei communities but no meaningful progress towards peace could be achieved. Kuki outfits are demanding the creation of a Union Territory with legislature which will require a division of Manipur. Ethnic relations in India’s northeast are extremely complex, and violence, once it erupts, can continue for a long spell. Kuki representatives continue to express hope in intervention by the Centre to resolve the conflict and that is an opportunity which the Centre must vigorously utilise. Central police forces and the Indian Army are also largely trusted by the Kuki, notwithstanding the incident involving the CRPF this week. In a porous border region populated by numerous armed militia groups, policing alone cannot restore peace and order. A lasting end to the violence can be brought about only through a political arrangement of accommodation and the coexistence of communities. Only the Centre has the resources and the capacity to attempt that. The fresh surge in violence is a setback, but the Centre must step up its efforts to nudge the Meitei and the Kuki communities towards peace.
Published - November 14, 2024 12:10 am IST
