Data Break-Up of Biren's Purported 'Illegal Immigrants' in Hill Districts Exposed His Selective Stigmatization

The Meiteis’ Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s narcissistic propaganda of selective stigmatization and discrimination of the Kuki community over his purported data on ‘illegal immigrants’ has been exposed once again as the break-up of the data spoke otherwise.

A screenshot of the break-up of “illegal immigrants’ data” which went viral on social media platforms, if genuine, spoke volumes about the sinister design of N. Biren Singh’s deliberate and selective targeting of the Kukis, thus dehumanising the whole populace by labelling them as “illegal immigrants” which in itself is illegal and unconstitutional.

Out of the 5,649 illegal immigrants reportedly detected in Ukhrul and Kamjong hill districts by the incumbent fascist regime, 72 % belong to non-Kuki Tribes, temporarily residing in seven non-Kuki villages. Only 1591 i.e., 28% belonging to Kuki Tribes reside in Phaikoh, a Kuki Village, bordering Myanmar.

The Chief Minister highlighting a selective portion of the data is misleading and dishonest. The majority of the detected individuals, 3,866 out of 5,457, are from other tribal villages, not Kuki villages. This discriminative selection of data aims to unfairly target and stigmatize the Kuki people, further exposing the Chief Minister’s deceitful tactics. Repeated attempts to target Kuki people with such unwarranted figures amidst other prejudice-laced legal measures are nothing but stray examples of an ecosystem of hate created and sustained by the CM himself.

The empty slogan of illegal immigration is only a pathetic attempt by Biren Singh to dehumanize the Kuki population so that he could justify his crimes against the Kuki people.

Just as the Nazis referred to Jews as “vermin” during the Holocaust, and the Hutus called the Tutsis “cockroaches” during the Rwandan genocide, Biren Singh’s use of the term “illegal immigrants” is a dangerous and dehumanizing tactic. It is a calculated effort to strip the Kuki people of their humanity and legitimize the acts of violence and ethnic cleansing against them. This rhetoric mirrored other historical atrocities where the powerful have sought to annihilate entire communities under the guise of addressing non-existent threats. Such propaganda is not only hollow but also reprehensible.

The detection of 5,457 ‘illegal immigrants’ (though they are actually those who fled their country seeking safety due to the ongoing unrest in Myanmar) and ‘996 new villages’ are poles apart and cannot be related except for the communal prism of Biren Singh and his stooges. Though he became the Chief Minister of Manipur (by mobilizing and exploiting  the  anti-Kuki  sentiments of the Meiteis), N Biren Singh lacked or feigned one such knowledge of the worldviews of the communities living in the State. Unlike other communities, the customs and traditions of the Kukis permit the setting up of villages under certain circumstances. As such, these ‘996’ villages are not set up by ‘immigrants’ as claimed by N Biren Singh. It is only his figment of imagination that these 996 villages are the results of an unchecked influx of ‘illegal immigrants.’

Contrary to the perceived and overhyped claim, there was no panic when the State Government identified those fleeing Myanmar due to the turmoil in the neighbouring country. No sane beings would ever imagine that ‘illegal immigrants’ would cause a crisis as big as witnessed in Manipur now. There was not even an iota of fear or panic among residents on the government’s drive to identify illegal immigrants not to speak of that being “one of the reasons for the violence that broke out in Manipur.”