Is the Govt of India siding with the Meiteis?

Former Home Secretary Gopal Pillai, in his interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire, had alleged that the BJP government at the Centre was siding with the Meiteis in the current conflict. Two things in the last 10 days confirm this. Two Meitei youths were allegedly killed by Kukis though their dead bodies are not yet found nor are the accused convicted. However, the swiftness with which the NIA and the CBI acted for this particular case was not only baffling, it also raises more pertinent questions as to what they were doing when more than 100 Kukis were butchered in the streets and peripheries of Imphal. The Killer of David Theik holding his severed head was not gruesome enough it seems as no central power seem to be concerned even as the killer is still roaming freely in Imphal!

Secondly, our fears of BJP led Central government giving a free hand to Meiteis seem to have been confirmed by the way the Government of India (GOI) has extended the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) only in the hills while leaving the Imphal valley out. Even the most ignorant would be aware that in the Imphal valley, the Meitei secessionist groups are creating havoc orchestrating their attacks to the hills while freely moving in the valley. Thousands of Meitei insurgents based in Myanmar who are fighting for an independent Manipur with alleged China’s tacit backing has also entered Manipur which can potentially harm India in the long run.

The Kuki-Zo groups are the only major tribal community in Northeast India that has not raised the secessionist flag till now. However, the government at the Centre which swears by ultra-nationalistic fervour seems to be favouring seccesionist groups. Is this what we get paid back for our loyalty all these years? Is this fair play, is this just?

If one looks at history, the British found Kukis to be a great ally due to their great martial traits and thus used them as buffers from Burmese Kingdom stretching from Chittagong Hill Tracts in the South to Sagaing in the North with the many Kuki Levies formed. However, after the fall of Burma in 1885, the British started planning to take back most of the guns that the Kukis accumulated. They also started interfering in Kuki way of life, which along with other factors, led Kukis to fight the British for three years famously known as the Kuki-Uprising 1917-1919. Though Kukis were subdued in this Anglo-Kuki War (1917-1919), when the Japanese Imperial Army along with the Indian National Army marched to India through Burma in the 1940s, it was our Kuki people who greatly helped them as a result of which they marched till India with great Initial successes. If we look at history, waves of attacks to India happens from the east with the Ahoms, the Burmese and the Japanese being some examples. The hills stretching from Sagaing in Burma in the North to Chittagong Hill tracts in the south are homes of the Kuki-Zo groups. It is in the hands of the GOI as to what kind of relations they would want to have with the Kuki-Zo in the years ahead. India’s Act East policy is also anticipated to finally unlock India’s economic potential, and the routes incidentally cris-crosses Kuki-Zo areas in Manipur, Mizoram and Myanmar. Today, Kukis look upon the government of India to adjudicate the crisis in Manipur with justice as a father would to his children.

  In this current conflict, Kukis could have completely cut of the Meiteis and starve them by closing all the entry points in the hills. However, Kukis didn’t go to such extent as they are not the aggressor in this conflict. Moreover, many aged elderly and children would suffer untold suffering is such a blockade was enforced. However, to our dismay, all the entry points to Kukis areas going from Imphal like Lamka, Tengnoupal and Chandel are closed by Meira Paibis. Even Meitei Pangals who, in humanitarian ground, had carried some medicines were subjected to torture. Today, Kukis in Moreh and other areas of Tengnoupal District are having severe food crisis with some already allegedly having to make do without two meals. Should we take an eye for an eye?

It is our earnest appeal to the Goverment of India to atleast treat us fairly even as we continue suffering from the relentless Meiteis attacks. We appeal as a child to a father to kindly intervene and bring to an end the endemic suffering of the people even as the unbearable cold winter winds are already blowing in this forgotten part of India.