Shooting the Sun is an insightful, candid and forthright description of the situation prevailing in Manipur
S.K. Sood
Nandita Haksar in her eminently readable book Shooting The Sun, about the ongoing strife in Manipur hits the nail on its head when she concludes that the conflict between Meitei and Kuki people is an identity issue and arises because “the former [Meitei] enjoys greater agency in decision-making and discourse-setting processes over the latter”.
Written in simple language, the author, besides addressing the question of the nature of conflict—whether it is ethnic or communal—addresses several other important issues impacting the situation in Manipur. These include the role of Meitei and Kuki extremist organisations in the violence. Besides asking the important question as to why police and paramilitary forces deployed in large numbers in the state are unable to bring the violence under control, the author also speculates about the reasons for silence and apparent inaction on the part of the central government to bring the situation under control. The question of the involvement of corporate interests, leading to the cycle of violence and most importantly, how and when peace and normalcy are likely to be restored in the state given the level of animosity and anger between the two ethnic groups, have also been explored.
The violence now going on for over 11 months is shocking in its viciousness, resulting in over 200 deaths and internally displacing almost 75,000 persons. The book brings out the pain suffered by the people at the receiving end of the unadulterated savagery with empathy and understanding that the author has developed as an insider being married to a Naga from that area. In her own words, “The hate and rage are tangible and there is no way to make the stories any less brutal.”
The violence that started on 3 May 2023 was a direct outcome of insufficient understanding of the order of the Manipur High Court directing the government to consider the Meitei demand to be recognised as scheduled tribes. The government also did not care to explain the implications of the order to tribal people who were strongly opposed to the move. Quoting The Hindu newspaper, the author writes that the “proposal on the inclusion of the Meitei community in the scheduled tribes list has been examined and rejected twice over in the past four decades.” Probably placing this information in the public domain and submitting relevant records to the high court could have prevented widespread loss of life and destruction in the state. Why this was not done either by the central or the state government remains a mystery.
Though the high court order was the immediate trigger for the violence, the real causes of strife are more deep-rooted. There is widespread feeling amongst hill tribals that they are being given step-motherly treatment and denied their legitimate space and autonomy. The author ascribes the most important reason for the present ethnic violence in Manipur to that of identity. The dominant Meitei Manipuris fail to even acknowledge the discrimination meted out to tribal people within Manipur and the resentment prevailing amongst them over this. Unlike the tribes of other states of the Northeast, the tribes in Manipur have not been accorded even Sixth Schedule status. The hill tribes are also aggrieved by lack of development and absence of governance in hill areas which is the main cause of their economic deprivation and perhaps also the opium cultivation.
Meiteis on the other hand, contend that because of them not being included in the list of scheduled tribes, they are debarred from buying land in hill areas as per existing land laws in the state. They contend that this results in confining them to the narrow Imphal valley. Meiteis also contend that they are gradually becoming a minority within the state because of the alleged influx of tribals from neighbouring Myanmar. They contend that most of the hill tribals are foreigners who have migrated illegally from Myanmar. They believe that the population of Kukis is continually on the rise because of the uninterrupted influx of such illegal migrants. It is because of this that the chief minister (CM) of Manipur wanted the revocation of the Free Movement Regime (FMR), (revoked after the publication of the book). The revocation of FMR has been opposed not only by the Kukis of Manipur but also by the governments of Mizoram and Nagaland (two of the three states with international borders along Myanmar—the third being Arunachal Pradesh) as the Mizo and Naga people are trans-border tribes and the suspension of FMR amounts to tearing apart family and tribes.
Like all earlier clashes amongst different tribes in Manipur, this round of violence too is ethnic in nature. It may be argued that the previous conflicts were between Kuki and Naga communities—both practitioners of Christianity—hence no communal/religious angle was involved. Even though a large number of churches and some Hindu temples have been destroyed in the conflict, it cannot be termed communal in nature. Despite some churches of Meiteis practicing Christianity having been destroyed, they have closed ranks with Meitei followers of Hindu and ancient Sanamahi religion. The undercurrents however must not be ignored as many right-wing social media influencers have been trying to give the conflict a communal colour by propagating it as a conflict between Hindus and Christians. The RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) too has been quite active in Manipur during the last few years trying to instil Hindu religious practices.
The sincerity of the government’s war on drugs is rightly questioned by the author in asking “Why is it that the destruction of hundreds of poppy fields in the hills of Ukhrul, Senapati, Kangpokpi, Kamjong, Churachandpur and Tengnoupal districts has not solved the problem?” Further, why did the state government cover up the cases raised by ex-deputy superintendent of police Thounaojam Brinda on the arrest of Lhukhosei Zou, who despite being caught with a large cache of drugs, cash and other incriminating articles was eventually set free? The author correctly points out that the government has to address widespread poverty which is the root cause of the drug problem. Manipur is ranked the third poorest state in the country with 36.89 per cent of the population living below the poverty line. The government must also ensure food security and developmental needs to discourage hill people from engaging in opium production.
The author quotes the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) and brings out that the conflict is “state-sponsored violence” with the government continuing its provocative actions. The author again quotes NFIW. She writes, “What is happening in Manipur is not communal violence, nor is it merely a fight between two communities. It involves the question of land, resources, and the presence of fanatics and militants.” Therefore, Haksar rightly points out that the belief amongst large sections of the mainstream policy and media community outside Manipur that the conflict is a ‘petty brawl between two ethnic groups in the remote north-east that can be resolved only if both sides make some concessions…’ is far from the truth.
The author questions the role of the central government and the security forces in controlling the violence. There is no rationale for restricting the imposition of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) to only hill areas, leaving 19 police stations of Imphal Valley dominated by Meiteis outside of its ambit. The Meitei militant groups are thus operating in the valley with impunity using a large number of looted weapons, some suspect willingly handed over by police personnel to them. The bias of the Manipur police towards the Meitei community is obvious for everyone to see. It is often alleged that Assam Rifles is partial to the Kuki community. Given the widespread suspicion about the conduct of forces responsible for controlling the situation, it was essential to deploy central forces—which do not have any local stake—at the soonest, and enable them to operate with a free hand. The central forces have been brought in but they are operating with one hand tied because of a lack of powers that would have been available to them if President’s rule was imposed. That Article 356 has not been imposed is beyond comprehension because controlling violence should have been the first priority. The worst is that there is no visible effort to control the situation nor even a word from the Prime Minister and other high functionaries in the central government. This gives the impression that the central government is not in control of the situation and the Manipur CM has some vested interest and sway over the decisionmakers at the Centre.
There have been whispers of some big corporates being allotted land in hill areas in contravention of land laws which is a cause of intense resentment by hill tribes. There are also whispered that the party in power has a vested interest in the allotment of land to that big corporation.
The author concludes by stating that, “There cannot be peace without justice. And the first step towards justice is to bring who are guilty to account”. There cannot be any unidimensional solution to the problem. The first step towards a solution is to stop the violence with a heavy hand. The government must address a whole lot of other issues simultaneously, starting from the economic development of remote areas, effective border management, controlling the drug menace by providing alternate means of sustenance, etc. Even though the level of animosity and anger against each other amongst the two ethnic groups is intense, peace cannot be restored until people themselves are involved. This must be done by appointing selected interlocutors who do not have any vested interest.
Shooting the Sun is an insightful, candid and forthright description of the situation prevailing in Manipur. This book is a must-read for an easy understanding of the problems of this remote North-Eastern state, especially the ethnic divide that prevails there. The book also highlights the failure of the government in handling such critical situations which should be a case study for future policy planners.
Unlike in the Meitei epic, Numit Kappa (translated by T.C. Hodson as The Meitheis London 1908), the mythical 10 kings hopefully will be able to locate the missing Sun, peace and harmony, sooner than later and peace will once again prevail in this beautiful land of Manipur.
SHOOTING THE SUN: WHY MANIPUR WAS ENGULFED BY VIOLENCE
AND THE GOVERNMENT REMAINED SILENT
Nandita Haksar
Speaking Tiger, Pg 200, INR 399