Biren Govt is of the Meiteis for the Meiteis and by the Meiteis; Separate Administration for Kuki-Zo people Needed ASAP

Manipur CM today chaired a high-level meeting of top police officials, Assam Rifles officials and other key security personnel at his secretariat office. The officials discussed the emerging security situation of the state and strategies for further course of action.

It must be remembered that such security meetings have been held numerous times since the outbreak of the ethnic cleansing pogrom and have neither brought any remedial measures into picture nor alleviate the situation. The deteriorating security situation within the state continues to this day with the Meitei militants, alleged to be cadres of PLA attacking the Kuki-Zo inhabited Leisan and Lailoiphai areas of Lamka earlier today.

The meeting came a day after the CM announced a permanent housing scheme and financial assistance aimed at alleviating the harsh living conditions of the IDPs affected by the conflict. Under the scheme, the government promises to provide financial support to those whose homes were either damaged or burnt during the unfortunate incidents. The financial assistance has been categorized as follows: Rs. 10 lakh for the construction of pucca houses, Rs. 7 lakh for semi-pucca houses, and Rs. 5 lakh for kutcha houses. Over 4800 beneficiaries across the state are set to receive this aid, which will be distributed in two installments.

In his address, Chief Minister N. Biren Singh highlighted the government’s commitment to helping those affected by the violence that erupted on May 3, 2023. He stated that the state government has already disbursed Rs. 399.82 crore for various relief measures which includes Rs. 11 crore for the Manipur IT Centre for various examinations, Rs. 4.5 crore for providing television set to relief camps, Rs. 150 crore for constructing prefabricated houses, Rs. 101 crore for managing relief camps for six months, and Rs. 89.22 crore for providing nutrition and winter preparedness, including breakfast for children in relief camps.

The numbers mentioned above are well and good but a few questions arise:

Which IT Exam centres have benefitted the 11 crores sanction? Certainly not the ones located in tribals areas. The Kuki-Zo students and aspirants have been travelling to the nearest exam centres in Mizoram & Nagaland some 200 to 400 kms away from the district headquarter of Lamka and Kangpokpi with extra expenditures and an extra day, all while the exam centres in Lamka are rendered defunct since early May and those in Imphal are a literal death call for the Kuki-Zo students. The future of thousands of aspirants has been greatly affected with no remedy to this day. The exam centres within the tribal areas still do not function due to obvious reasons while the CM claims to have spend 11 crores on them. Does it mean that tribal lands are out of the purview of the state and that the CM accepts the separation of the two communities?

People have lost their brethren, lost their houses and all their property, there is no amount sufficient enough for reparation of such losses, does a television-set fix that? Is a television-set the need of the hour for the IDPs? Who is the CM trying to fool with yet another cheap media stunt?

101 crores for management of relief camps for 6 months and 89.22 crores for providing nutrition and winter clothing have been disbursed, according to Biren. The ground reality is that even the basic medical facilities and nutritional needs of infants are not taken care of. The relief camps are managed with minimal assistance (rice and dal) from the government and with heavy assistance from various philanthropic organizations rather. Rice and dal alone cannot be sufficient; there are various other requirements like clothing, sanitary pads, medical supplies, daily use items, etc. which are still the minimum requirement.

The beneficiaries for the housing scheme which is proposed to be distributed in two installments, are said to be about and over 4800 in number. This number could well be above the number of Meitei IDPs but makes up only half of the number of Kuki-Zo houses burnt (7000+) or just about 10 percent of Kuki-Zo IDPs (41,425). Why does the official government list of beneficiary intentional misappropriate the list? Why are Kuki-Zo IDPs not included in the said list? If the government so wish to alleviate the situation and have a good and non-biased intention, why is there no official proposal for the scheme and assistance? Will the government be so transparent as to provide a detailed allocation chart of the assistance, categorized into districts and community? Can the government release a white paper over the same if they so claim to be working for what they claim they are? Is the state mishandling government funds for the benefit of one community? Is the government whitewashing the IDPs’ predicament in the name of schemes & financial assistances? Further the IDPs of the Kuki-Zo community are not appropriated in the state’s list, as is evident from the discrepancy in number of beneficiaries.

This only points to the fact that the state with Biren at the helm has in practice accepted the separation of the Kuki-Zo tribals from the state of Manipur. Thus, separate administration is the only viable option for permanent peace.