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Judicial panel to probe violence in Manipur

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Why in news?

  • Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on a visit to violence-hit Manipur to resolve the ongoing ethnic crisis.
  • During his visit, he announced a series of measures aimed at restoring peace in Manipur.

What’s in today’s article?

  • Violence in Manipur
  • News Summary

Violence in Manipur

  • Violence between Manipur’s Kuki tribe and the majority Meitei community continued to rage in several parts of Manipur for many days.

Reasons behind the violence in Manipur

  • Manipur was boiling since February 2023
    • Manipur has been restive since February when the state government launched an eviction drive seen as targeting a specific tribal group.
    • The drive led to protests but not on the scale of the one seen recently.
  • High Court’s order as a tigger point
    • The recent protests were triggered by the Manipur High Court’s direction to the State to pursue a 10-year-old recommendation to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the non-tribal Meitei community.
    • The Court’s order has brought the historical tensions between the valley-dwelling Meitei community and the state’s hill tribes to a boil.
  • Violence started
    • A ‘tribal solidarity march’ was organised by the All-Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur (ATSUM) against the order of the High Court.
    • Violent clashes broke out at various places in Manipur during the course of this march.

Major communities residing in Manipur

  • The State is like a football stadium with the Imphal Valley representing the playfield at the centre and the surrounding hills the galleries.
  • The valley, which comprises about 10% of Manipur’s landmass, is dominated by the non-tribal Meitei who account for more than 64% of the population of the State.
    • This area yields 40 of the State’s 60 MLAs.
  • The hills comprising 90% of the geographical area are inhabited by more than 35% recognised tribes.
    • This area sends only 20 MLAs to the Assembly.

Meitei community want ST status

  • There has been an organised push in support of this demand for at least since 2012, led by the Scheduled Tribes Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM).
  • Recognised as tribe before merger with India
    • In their plea before the High Court, it was argued that the Meitei community was recognised as a tribe before the merger of the princely state of Manipur with the Union of India in 1949.
    • It lost its identity as a tribe after the merger.
  • Need to preserve tradition and culture
    • The demand for ST status arose from the need to preserve the community, and save the ancestral land, tradition, culture and language of the Meiteis.
    • As per the arguments forwarded by the community in the court:
      • The community has been victimised without any constitutional safeguards to date.
      • The Meitein/Meetei have been gradually marginalised in their ancestral land.
      • Their population which was 59% of the total population of Manipur in 1951 has now been reduced to 44% as per 2011 Census data.

Why Tribal groups are opposing ST status for Meiteis?

  • The tribal groups say the Meiteis have a demographic and political advantage besides being more advanced than them academically and in other aspects.
    • The Meiteis are a dominant group controlling the state and its apparatuses.
    • Hence, the claim that Meiteis need ST status to protect their culture and identity is self-defeating.
  • They feel the ST status to the Meiteis would lead to loss of job opportunities and allow them to acquire land in the hills and push the tribals out.
  • The Manipuri language of the Meiteis is included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
  • Sections of the Meitei community — which is predominantly Hindu — are already classified under Scheduled Castes (SC) or Other Backward Classes (OBC).

News Summary:

Measures announced

  • Judicial probe panel
    • The judicial committee, led by a retired High Court Judge, would investigate the cause of the violence and identify those responsible for it.
  • A peace committee
    • A peace committee, led by Governor Anusuiya Uikey and comprising different stakeholders will be constituted.
    • The peace committee will also include representatives of the Civil Society Organisations.
  • An inter-agency unified command for better coordination
    • An Inter-Agency Unified Command will be set up for “better coordination” among all security agencies on the ground.
    • It will be headed by Kuldiep Singh, security advisor to the state government.
  • Transfer of the present Manipur DGP P Doungel
    • The government transferred Manipur DGP P Doungel to the post of Officer on Special Duty (OSD) (Home).
    • Rajiv Singh, a Tripura cadre IPS officer posted as IG, CRPF, in Tripura, has been appointed as the new Manipur DGP on inter-cadre deputation.
  • Relief and rehabilitation package
    • The minister announced a relief and rehabilitation package of Rs 10 lakh each for the families of those killed, with both the state and central governments contributing equal amounts.
  • Medical teams to be sent in Kuki-Zomi dominated areas
    • Pointing to shortage of medical staff, particularly in Kuki-Zomi dominated areas, the Minister said eight medical teams comprising 20 specialist doctors have been constituted by the Centre.
    • These teams will be sent to Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Moreh.
  • Steps taken along the Myanmar-Manipur border
    • For a permanent solution, India has done border fencing along 10 km of the Myanmar-Manipur border on a trial basis, and done the tendering process for another 80 km.
    • The work of collecting the biometrics of people coming from the neighbouring country has begun.