CENERS-K A STRATEGIC THINK TANK

ERN AND NORTH

CENERS-K

A RESEARCH CENTRE FOR EAST AND NORTH EAST REGIONAL STUDIES, KOLKATA

brings a webinar based on

KOLKATA

ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN MANIPUR POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO RESTORE NORMALCY

GEN. JOHN RANJAN MUKHERJEE

FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF, HQ EASTERN COMMAND

PRESIDENT, CENERS-K

GEN. K H SINGH

EX-GOC 16 CORPS. (RETD.)

SEI

ESE

G K PILLAI, IAS (RETD.)

FORMER UNION HOME SECRETARY

NEL “Ceners K” N A H BE C

PACHUAU LAWMKUNGA
SUBIR BHAUMIK

FORMER BBC CORRESPONDENT

BRIG. N S MUKHERJEE (RETD.)

EX-COMMANDANT, BIHAR REGIMENTAL CENTRE & STATION COMMANDER KOLKATA

FORMER CHIEF SECRETARY OF MANIPUR

GAUTAM MUKHOPADHAYA

FORMER AMBASSADOR TO MAYANMAR

ACM ARUP RAHA (RETD.)

AMB. LALDUHTHLANA RALTE EX-AMBASSADOR OF INDIA

FORMER CHIEF OF AIR STAFF W

FOLLO

SCAN THE QR TO JOIN DIRECTLY

SAMIR PURKAYASTHA

SENIOR JOURNALIST

Google Meet joining info

JAYANTO N. CHOUDHURY

FORMER DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE ASSAM

08TH JULY 2023 10:00 – 13:00 HRS.

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/bwh-dpdf-ceq +91 98315 83994 / +91 98314 92329

CENERS – K

CONCEPT NOTE – WEBINAR PROPOSED ON 08 JULY 2023 AT 1000 HOURS ON ETHNIC VIOLENCE IN MANIPUR – POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO RESTORE NORMALCY

Situation in Manipur. Over the past month, reports of violence, arson, and mayhem have emerged from various districts in Manipur, including Churachandpur, Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishnupur, Tengnoupal, and Kangpokpi. The violence began on May 3, after the All Tribal Students Union Manipur (ATSUM) held a solidarity march in all districts opposing the recent Manipur High Court order, which had asked the Manipur State government to send a recommendation to the Centre regarding the demand to include the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (STs) list.

On May 4, as the violence escalated, the Centre invoked Article 355 of the Constitution, which is a part of emergency provisions. It empowers the Centre to take necessary steps to protect a State against external aggression or internal disturbances. Large numbers of additional armed forces were then moved into the State to try to bring the situation under control. Almost 100 people have been reported killed, hundreds have been wounded, and over thousands belonging to the Kuki and Meitei communities, besides others, have been displaced so far. Buildings,

homes, and other property, including vehicles, havebeen destroyed.

Some thousands pf people have been shifted to safe homes or shelters. Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s plea for calm has proved futile. Suggesting that the violence was the result of a misunderstanding, Singh said that the government was taking all measures to maintain law and order, including requisitioning additional paramilitary forces. Central and State forces have been directed to take strong action against individuals and groups found engaging in violence.

Indefinite curfew has been imposed in the Meitei-dominated Imphal West, Kakching, Thoubal, Jiribam, and Bishnupur districts, as well as in Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi and Tengnoupal districts.

The possible causes of conflict. The immediate provocation for the ethnic unrest appears to have been the demand for the Meitei community, which accounts for 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and primarily inhabits the Manipur Valley, to be included in the ST list. The underlying anger, simmering for a long time, has other reasons. These are linked not just to the government’s clampdown on reserved and protected forests in the State’s hill areas but also to the Kukis’ feeling of being persecuted. Several Chin, people of the same ethnic group from across the border in Myanmar, have entered India, fleeing violence and persecution, and the government’s tough stance against these so-called illegal immigrants has angered the Kukis/Zos, whose kin they are.

The BJP Chief Minister’s tough stance against what he calls encroachment of reserved and protected forest areas in the hills of Manipur by tribal communities stems from various causes, including the fact that many acres of land in the hills are being used for poppy cultivation. The government sees its crackdown on forest areas as part of a bigger war against drugs, but it is also guilty of using “drug lords” as a blanket term against all Kuki people. The Centre has

backed Singh’s stand.

Secondly, there is serious pressure on land in Manipur. As populations increase in the tribal villages, they tend to spread out into surrounding forest areas, which they consider their historical and

ancestral right. This is contested by the government. Simultaneously, the Meitei, who live in the valleys, are angry because they are not allowed to settle or buy land in the hill areas, while tribal people can buyland in the valleys.

The anger within the Kuki community against what it sees as its “selective targeting” by the BJP run State government appears to have spilled over during the current protest march as well, leading to the violence.

Previous protest rallies. On March 10 itself, mass rallies had been held across hill districts, including Churachandpur, Ukhrul, Kangpokpi, Tengnoupal, Jiribam, and Tamenglong. Thousands of members of the Kuki tribe had then protested the BJP-run government’s so-called selective targeting of Kukis. They had raised slogans against the eviction of residents from K. Songjang village.The Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF), a recently formed conglomerate of tribal groups, which includes the Kukis, had called for the rallies.

On March 11, the State government retaliated by withdrawing from the ongoing tripartite talks. It withdrew the Suspension of Operation (SoO) agreement with two armed political groups, the Kuki National Army and the Zomi Revolutionary Army, accusing them of inciting protesters during the rallies.

The SoO agreement is a ceasefire agreement that the Central and State government signed with the two conglomerates of tribal armed outfits in the hills, the United People’s Front and the Kuki National Organisation, in 2008. The Kuki National Army and the Zomi Revolutionary Army are both part of the KukiNational Organisation. These are all armed organisations.

KIM had asserted that the rallies were a result of public discontent over the “extreme disregard” by the government of the Scheduled Hill areas and of Articles 370 and 371 C of the Constitution, whichapplied to Manipur. The organisation said that it took exception to the Chief Minister’s terming of the rally participants as “encroachers, poppy cultivators, drug smugglers, and illegal immigrants”.

Given the existing tensions in the State, the High Court order asking for a government recommendation to grant ST status to Meiteis is being seen as provocative. Even among the Meiteis, there is opposition to it. Their history asserts to the Meiteis being a settled agricultural community for over 2,000 years.

The objective of this webinar is for those with experience of this issue to share their views, focusing less on history and more on exploring possible ways to achieve a lasting solution. In addition to officials at the highest level and media experts who have deep knowledge of the past 25 years, speakers from each of the affected communities/states have been invited to share their views.

CENERS-K WEBINAR

DISCUSSION ON WAYS TO RESTORE NORMALCY IN MANIPUR 08-Jul-23

0950	1000	Briefing of participants in virtual ‘Green Room’ by Lt Gen J R Mukherjee/Moderator to clarify any issues raised by speakers.
1000	1010	Welcome Address and brief Introductory Remarks by Lt Gen J R Mukherjee, President CENERS -K, Ex Chief of Staff Eastern Command and GOC 15 Corps.
1010	1015	Brief Remarks by Moderator- Mr. Jayanto N Choudhury IPS (Retd) Former DGP Assam ,DG NSG & Ex Independent Director of GAIL.
1015	1045	Keynote Speaker- Mr G K Pillai, IAS(Retd)- Former Union Home Secretary.
1045	1100	Aspects Related to Manipur and the causes of Meitei Grievances by Lt Gen K H Singh( Retd) , Ex GOC 16 Corps and Consultant University of Manipur.
1100	1120	Overview and Analysis of the Causes of Widespread Ethnic Violence in Manipur by Mr Subir Bhaumik, former BBC Correspondent , Columnist, Political Commentator and Author.
1120	1135	Issues pertaining to Zo Community and Mizoram and how the community and State of Mizoram are affected by the events and violence in Manipur- by Amb D Ralte,IFS ( Retd) Former Ambasador of India to Philippines.
1135	1150	Issues affecting and responses of Naga tribes in Manipur and Nagaland to the rivalry of Kuki and Meities and the violence rocking Manipur by Mr Samir Purkayastha, Eminent Journalist and Political Commentator.
1150	1210	Politics of Ethnic Conflicts in Manipur -a ring side view and possible suggestion for restoring normalcy in the short term and measures for permanent peace by Mr Pachuau Lawmkunga, IAS(Retd), Former Chief Secretary of Manipur.
1210	1220	Ethnic Violence in Manipur -Issues related to Myanmar and aspects affecting the conflict- by Ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhya ,IFS(Retd)
1220	1230	Manipur Violence- larger security concerns in the NE Region by Brig N S Mukherjee (Retd) ,Executive Director CENERS-K
1230	1300	Brief Concluding Comments/ Observations by any of the Panelists and Q & A moderated by Mr Jayanto N Choudhury .
1300	1315	Valedictory Address by ACM Arup Raha,(Retd) ,Former Chief of Air Staff and Member Emeritus and Former President CENERS-K

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