Kuki MLAs are "under tremendous pressure from militants" : Union Minister on demand for Separate Administration

"When Manipur came under British control after the Anglo-Manipur war in 1891, the valley administration remained with Manipur's king and the hill administration remained with the president of the Manipur darbar, who was invariably a British, Mr Singh wrote in his letter to PM Narendra Modi.

"A psychological gap was being created. After Independence, too, Article 371 C still made the barrier between the hills and the valley," Mr Singh said.

"From May 3 and for a few days there was complete chaos and trust vanished into thin air between the two communities - Meiteis and Kukis. In complete dismay and frustration, Kuki leaders including their MLAs have started demanding a separate political administration for their people. Perhaps they are under tremendous pressure from various quarters including militants,"  BJP leader and Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh pens a letter to PM Narendra Modi. 

"This is a very dangerous proposition for a tiny state having 35 ethnic groups. Peaceful co-existence should be the norm. Naga-Kuki conflict, Meitei-Pangan (Muslim) clash and now Meitei-Kuki riot must be treated as aberrations. 

These should be curbed and controlled by a strong hand. No Balkanisation on ethnic lines should be encouraged at any cost," the Minister said. 

The Union Minister in the letter said the clash between the two communities was triggered by a peaceful rally that suddenly turned violent, and unfortunately, activists are giving it a communal colour.

"A few activists are trying to bring in the religious angle that Meiteis are mostly Hindus and Kukis are Christians. They try to blame the people who are radicalised in the name of religion and culture. Burning of churches and temples are being cited to bring in a communal angle. 

This is untenable. Violent mobs burn and destroy everything on their way... It was impossible for the local police to control the rioters until the army and paramilitary forces arrived and intervened," Mr Singh said in the letter.

"If some shrewd minds are trying to create a political demarcation through such heinous crimes, such plans should never be made successful. They can't bluff the Union Government by putting up a game plan. Sacrificing innocent human lives to achieve a political agenda is unwanted and undesirable. To work out a peaceful co-existence must be the solution. Dismemberment will never be a solution," the Union Minister said. 

 "We are not to blame any community or ethnic group... The harmonious relations among ethnic groups are often violated by leaders for getting their political ends. Myopic politicians often play with the lives and emotions of the common people... 

They have done enough damage to society. Their tactics trigger unimaginable losses, for instance the present ethnic inferno. Such local leaders must be identified and condemned," Mr Singh said.

The Union Minister also blamed the British's colonial policy of divide-and-rule for sowing the seeds of the current crisis.

When Manipur came under British control after the Anglo-Manipur war in 1891, the valley administration remained with Manipur's king and the hill administration remained with the president of the Manipur darbar, who was invariably a British, Mr Singh wrote in the letter.

"A psychological gap was being created. After Independence, too, Article 371C still made the barrier between the hills and the valley," Mr Singh said.

Mr Singh asked PM Modi to work towards removing the "mechanical divisions" in Manipur, made wider by religious affiliations.

"The state should belong to the people as a whole - without any distinction of hill inhabitants or valley people - in the pattern of Himachal Pradesh. If required, Article 371C may be amended," Mr Singh said, referring to a constitutional guarantee that specifically deals with Manipur.

He said public figures calling the violence "ethnic cleansing" is wrong, and they must restrain themselves from using "such dangerous expressions".

Manipur Director General of Police P Doungel in a statement on Friday also denied the allegations by the 10 tribal MLAs that the Manipur Police "stripped" Kuki cops of all powers and "disarmed" them before violence broke out between the Meiteis and the Kukis. 

The Manipur Police said, "... All the Kuki/Meitei policemen right from DGP (Director General of Police) to the lowest rank, whether in khaki or in green, are all performing their duties to their best wherever they are assigned."  

Meiteis took to streets 

Signaling that things need to be looked into much deeper; the Coordinating Committee of Clubs and Meira Paibis of South Eastern Manipur has alleged that the prevailing communal clashes in the state was instigated by "illegal immigrants who had been planning the attack for 40 years". The reference is possibly to the tribals obviously.

The protesters displayed slogans which read, ‘Don’t break the territorial integrity of Manipur,’ ‘Separate Kuki Homeland cannot be given in Manipur’ and ‘Implement NRC in Manipur’, reported 'Imphal Free Press'.