A year has passed since anarchy and violence engulfed the state of Manipur on 3 May, 2023.
On 3 May, 2024, Manipuri people organised protest actions, including rallies and torch light processions, in Imphal, Churchandpur, Delhi, as well as in other cities of the country. Through these actions, the protesting people pointed out that even though an entire year has passed, the Central government had done nothing to address the grave situation confronting all sections of the people of Manipur. They squarely held the double engine BJP government at the center and in Manipur responsible for the unending tragedy of Manipur.
It may be recalled that soon after the incidents of 3 May, 2023, the Central Government imposed Article 355 on Manipur. With this, the BJP government at the center took responsibility for protecting the people of Manipur from “external aggression and internal disturbance”. At the same time, Home Minister Amit Shah rejected the demand from the people for the dismissal of the Biren Singh Government. He justified this stand with the argument that the state government was “cooperating” with the Center.
The events of the past one year have indeed confirmed that the Central and state governments have worked in close cooperation with one another. However they have cooperated not with the aim of ending the anarchy and violence, but to further fuel it.
The Union Home Minister, as well as the Manipur Chief Minister have carried out incessant propaganda that the source of anarchy and violence was Kuki Zomi refugees who have come into Manipur, fleeing the civil war in neighbouring Myanmar. The refugees are accused of cultivating poppy in the hills, and running a drug trade. The Kuki Zomi people of Manipur are accused of helping the refugees. The propaganda has also been carried out that if the influx of refugees continues, then soon Meiteis would become a minority in the state. In this way, the Central and state governments have been inciting passions amongst the Mietei people living in the Imphal Valley against the Kuki Zomi people in the surrounding hills.
It is a fact that as a result of the civil war in Myanmar, refugees from Myanmar have come to India. It is also a fact that 40,000 of such people have found refuge in Mizoram. Only a few thousand are in Manipur. It is a lie that Meitei’s are becoming a minority as a result of the influx of refugees. As far as poppy cultivation and the drug trade is concerned, it is not possible for this to be carried out on a large scale without the involvement of the Central and State governments, and of the security forces. In fact, it is quite well known in political circles of Manipur that the chief minister and other ministers have been profiting from poppy cultivation and the drug trade.
Over the past year, thousands of people have been uprooted from the villages and communities they have been part of for generations. Their homes and properties have been burnt or razed to the ground. Over 60,000 people are still living in refugee camps in terrible conditions. Even though a whole year has passed, no attempt has been made by the Central and state governments to ensure that the people living in refugee camps return to their former homes. On the contrary, the Central and Manipur governments have forcibly displaced Meiteis living in Kuki Zoma dominated villages in the hills. They have forcibly displaced Kuki Zomis living in the valley. The abandoned homes of the displaced people have been set on fire, or flattened by bulldozers, or taken over by others. All this has been carried out under the supervision of the security forces.
One year ago, the Manipur Police opened the doors of its armories to vigilante groups known to be close to the Chief Minister, and working under his instructions. These groups spread mayhem in the Valley targeting Kuki Zomi people. Other armed groups in the hills targeted Meiteis. A whole year later, these groups continue to terrorize the people, in close coordination with the Manipur Police and the Assam Rifles.
The situation in Manipur is one in which the 10 MLA’s in the Manipur Assembly elected from the Kuki Zomi hill region have declared their inability to come to the capital Imphal, for fear for their lives. In such terrible conditions, the central government organised a charade of elections to the Lok Sabha in April.
The way forward
It is clear that the BJP governments at the center and in the state bear great responsibility for the present terrible situation facing people of Manipur. At the same time, it will be a mistake to ignore the fact that a fertile ground for unleashing sectarian violence has been created by successive governments at the center, over the past 75 years.
Political power in India is wielded by the bourgeoisie, headed by about 150 monopoly capitalist groups. The bourgeoisie rules over the people of India through the bullet as well as the ballot. Through periodic elections, the bourgeoisie chooses which of its favoured parties should be handed over the charge of running the government for the next five years. The armed forces are used to crush any attempt by any section of the people to revolt against the rule of the bourgeoisie.
In order to maintain its rule, the bourgeois ruling class has worked systematically to deepen historical divisions amongst people, on the basis of religion, language, caste, nationality, or tribal identity. It has inherited and further developed the divide and rule policy of the British colonialists.
The ruling class and its political parties like BJP and Congress are neither willing nor capable of ensuring prosperity and security for all sections of the people. On the contrary, as long as the rule of this ruling class continues, bigger and bigger tragedies will be heaped on our people.
The exploited and oppressed people need to wage their struggle with the aim of replacing the present Indian state with a new state that will guarantee the human and democratic rights of all. We need a new state with a new constitution that will ensure that no one is discriminated against on the basis of religion, language, caste, nationality, or the tribe they belong to. Such a state will uphold the rights of all the nations, nationalities and tribal peoples constituting our country.
In the present system, the Central and state governments, and the MP’s and MLA’s are not accountable to the people. This must be changed. The executive must be accountable to the legislature and the legislature must be accountable to the electorate. The people must have the decisive say in selecting the list of candidates standing for elections. They must retain the right to recall representatives whose work is unsatisfactory. They must also have the right to initiate legislation. The entire process of selection and election must be financed by the state and private funding of election campaigns must not be allowed. With such changes, decision making power will vest in the hands of the people.
With decision making power in our hands, we will reorient the economy from fulfilling monopoly capitalist greed to fulfilling the ever rising needs of the whole of society. We will ensure prosperity and protection for all the people.