Disappointed - says Congress stalwart Ibobi Singh :::: PM didn't say anything concrete to resolve the Kuki-Meitei crisis

Disappointed - says Congress stalwart Ibobi Singh

Congress veteran and former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh has stated that there was nothing significant about the Prime Minister brief visit.

Modiji “failed” to address the people's aspirations for restoring peace in the state.

Ibobi told journalists the Prime Minister didn't say anything concrete and meaningful to resolve the protracted crisis.

Stating that Manipur's economy has worsened significantly since the BJP came to power, likening it to a patient in the ICU, he dared the BJP to declare that the State's economy is in good condition.

All hopes pinned on him have been shattered, Ibobi said the Prime Minister  didn't bring any roadmap to resettle the Meitei and Kuki internally displaced people (IDPs) who have been languishing in relief camps for the past 28 months. The Kuki MLAs including from BJP demanded division of Manipur and creation of a new Union Territory.

This won’t make Meiteis happy in the valley -- who also claim that a substantial number of Kukis in Manipur are “outsiders” – either from states such as Mizoram, Nagaland and Assam.

In fact, in 2023 one refrain was many Kuki Zo people had crossed over from Myanmar also.  

A group of 10 legislators from Kuki stronghold belts submitted a joint memorandum to the Prime Minister during his first-ever visit to Churachandpur on Saturday and appealed for an early political settlement and the creation of a separate Union Territory with a legislature.

The memorandum, signed by MLAs cutting across BJP, KPA and Independent affiliations, stated that the minority community had been subjected to unprecedented "ethnic persecution" in Manipur.

On his return to Delhi, PM Modi is expected to sit with Home Minister Amit Shah to resolve the issues of Manipur -- which almost remain where they were in 2023.

Experts and former Military officials say the mayhem of 2023 was more than ethnic. 

The challenges in Manipur are complex. The fissures between Kukis and Meiteis remain. 

More so because this part of India is an ethnically and geographically divided society.

Not long ago, American politician Nikki Haley said, “Giving George Soros the Presidential Medal of Freedom is another slap in the face of America... 

Sixteen days is a long time until the inauguration. What is he capable of sliding in next? 

January 20th can't come soon enough.”

 

There should be an Indian context and interpretation too. One overwhelming section of Indians including those in the ruling BJP have been stating rather repeatedly that Soros has a clear anti-India stance.

Yes, Soros could be the key player in the 'Deep State'. 

Even Home Minister Amit Shah did not disagree that the 'deep state' has been involved in carrying out some anti-India exercises in India. 

"We criticised the 'deep state' and not the US government,"  has been the refrain.

There is also a belief that the US 'deep state' played their game in precipitating the crisis in Bangladesh and installing a new dispensation which is anti-India in more ways than one.

Now, for more than a year the state of Manipur has been afflicted with "ethnic violence" and even places of worship on both sides -temples and Churches have been attacked.

The BJP and RSS too have been blamed. 

But for its part the Govt of India has yet again repeatedly attributed the troubles to foreign interference.

Initially, everyone thought New Delhi was directing its tirade against Beijing. But certain developments in South Asia suggest even China may not be too happy now.

Thousands had fled Manipur including over 7000 of them now taking shelter in Mizoram. 

Kukis share ethnic bonding with Mizos and hence demand for Greater Mizoram also has been rekindled.

In many places common people (Kukis and other smaller tribes) have accused Manipur Police with failures and also that they have been partial towards Meiteis.

"Assam Rifles saved us .... when they needed the most," one youth told me in Jiribam area of Manipur adjacent to Assam. 

Blogger and social workers in 'Meitei relief camp' near Imphal