Certainly, there are elements among us and also in the gallery who wants the conflict to continue or like they say, keep the pot boiling. Looking back at the pattern of events and incidents in the months gone by, the hatred and animosity has gone too deep with little hope of reversal or of internally displaced people returning home to build a new life.
The governments seem to have forgotten that it is their bounden duty to keep the peace and engineer a sort of truce to bring the main stakeholders to the negotiating table and thrash out the issues. Oh yes! A meeting of Manipur MLAs cutting across community lines was hosted in New Delhi recently, after which the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a press statement for public consumption. What actually transpired in that meeting is still to be revealed.
While Kuki MLAs denied that it was a joint meeting, both the Meitei and Naga MLAs contradicts the Kuki version. Again, there is no clarity on the nature of the meeting, as central BJP leaders including Sambit Patra was present in the meeting. Yet, BJP leadership owning up its responsibilities and making an effort, though belated, is fine. On the other hand, the state government had not taken an initiative worth noticing so far.
Well, the Kuki side is braying for Chief Minister N Biren Singh’s head on a platter before any meaningful sit-downs to commence while a few sections within the Meitei community says giving in to such a demand is like surrendering to the other side. Yet, it may not be the consensus which could be deduced from the reported plea of 19 MLAs to the Prime Minister seeking a change of leadership.
Maybe, the BJP leadership in New Delhi could be in a dilemma. Some sections in the central leadership are not ready to sacrifice one of their prima donnas in the Northeast neither are they willing to cut off relations with the Kukis entirely as they constitute a sizeable vote-bank. Moreover, the Kuki militants are useful in countering the moves of the Naga and Meitei insurgency. They might put up walls or fences on the borderline and suspend the free movement regime, but it is not going to stop the Kuki-Chin people from crossing over.
The work of border fencing would take years altogether to complete and when it is completed, Manipur would already be swamped with illegal infiltrators. In Churachandpur, the new arrivals have already ousted the original Kuki-Zo population from the power equation and it is the new arrivals who are actually dictating terms.
Chief Minister N Biren Singh exuded confidence and seem quite contented with the recent decisions of the central government. He had said, he would be ready to leave politics if the decisions on border fencing, free movement regime, change of guard along the border and NRC are implemented. The demand for termination of SoO with Kuki militants and of a broad-based plan or process for bringing back normalcy in the state is simply absent.
Although the SoO agreement with the Kuki groups lapsed on February 29, it is still considered to be in operation as the central government has done nothing to close down the SoO designated camps. It is quite well known that many in the Indian security establishment are opposed to terminating the SoO agreement as it has a proven record of keeping in check both Naga and Meitei insurgency. Who knows, what might happen in the coming days as the Centre dithers in taking a decision. But, one must say the time for playing both sides is long gone.
(The views expressed are personal)
