Reflecting on 1 Year Since State-Sponsored Ethnic Cleansing: Why Kukis Take Up Arms for Survival

A friend of mine called me up that particular night (3rd May), requesting me to remember them in my prayers as the mob will soon reach their locality. For safety, he said, they have locked their houses from the outside with the key and have switch-off all the light bulbs to give the impression that there is no one inside the house. Even the kids who are usually very naughty and playful, sensing the tension in the house, hid themselves in the corner. What pained me was that he said, he is okay and fine with the mob physically assaulting him so long as they spared his life and not harm the kids and women in his family. Before we could formally end the call, he abruptly cut off the phone and said “They have reached their locality as well”. On that fateful night, family members unsure of their lives, bid their final farewell to each other. Hundreds met “The death” in the cruellest way, some burned alive, some gang-raped and killed, some mercilessly butchered and some brutally assaulted to death. No human deserves the kind of death they are inflicted upon.

Imphal is the epicentre that connects all districts, thus when we got the information that Meitei mob along the borders of various Kuki-inhabited districts, frisked vehicles and checked the passengers’ Aadhaar cards to single out Kukis from other passengers. Tensions went high for all Kukis irrespective of where they stay. Then, even the hope that soothed us, that the police and Government will handle the situation, went down the drain when we got the information that the activities of “Find the Kukis” and “Kill the Kukis” later spread to the whole of Imphal, when hospitals, universities, colleges and government quarters were not spared. By then, the Government’s message towards the Kuki became crystal clear, KUKI LIVES DON’T MATTER.

Even the Kukis MLAs were left begging. They had to dial everyone and anyone holding influential positions in the government, including the Chief Minister himself. To their utter dismay, their requests and pleas for their people were left unheard and brushed off. Rather even the MLA Quarters were subjected to multiple attacks from the Meitei Mob. Imagine the helplessness of the Kuki community that night, when even the Kuki Ministers and MLAs themselves were rendered unsafe and their calls unheard, what of the common netizens?

One can raise an eyebrow and argue why the Kuki community had to take up guns when they can fight for justice in a non-violent way. Today I remind them that Kukis don’t want guns, but are rather forced to take up guns, because they are left with the options of either Death or Guns. With their family, loved ones and their tribe as a whole at stake, any human will fight to defend, regardless of the techniques they have to adopt. Especially when the enemy is a state-sponsored terror groups, not the state itself, a beast that does not speak the languages of humans thereby necessitating the need to talk them in the language they speak.

Had the tensions in Kangvai been subdued by the government in time, Manipur would not be burning as it is today. One can see men in police uniforms, addressed by the mob as “Our Police” in the viral video who rather than dispersing the mob from both sides, instead started firing bullets at and tear-gassed the Kukis and gave Meiteis the free hand to arson properties belonging to the Kukis.Some Kukis were beaten to death by the Meitei mob under the watch of such communal uniformed personnel.

The involvement of Meitei policemen in the initial phases of the conflict was what strengthened the Arambai Tenggol, a Meitei terrorist outfit who spearheaded the genocide pogrom against the Kukis to date. They not only surrendered the helpless Kukis to the hands of the mob, but victims’ accounts brought to light indicated that armed men wearing police uniforms and arriving in police vehicles, attacked the villages and villsges situated in the periphery of the Meitei dominated areas and cleared the paths for the mob to arson their homes, community properties and churches to the ground. These villagers had to spend the nights in the forest and marched forth on foot to reach safer places.

The escalation of the Meitei attacks spreaded like wildfire, and many Kuki villages and villagers became victims of their atrocities. On many occasions, even the central security forces posted along the border areas of the Kukis and Meitei are rendered helpless due to the orders or rather no-orders from the higher authorities. With no orders from the higher-up to shoot, and with the meagre amount of powers in their hand, they asked the Kukis to flee their villages as they are unable to repress the atrocious attacks of the Meiteis.

It is reported that the tribal peace rally marched in opposition to the inclusion of Meiteis in the ST lists is the point of escalation of the violence. But my question remained as to why the Meiteis seek such violence? As citizens of India, Meiteis demanded what they feel is right for them. But did the tribals attacked them with violence because their demands are against tribal wishes? Rather they resort to a peaceful march to relay the message that they are against granting ST status to the Meiteis whose underprivileged sections’ needs are already catered under the SC and OBC/EBC reservation categories. If reservations, which was implemented to uplift societies that are historically wronged, are granted to privileged societies like the Meiteis, are we then not going back in history and committing the same mistake of wronging the underprivileged again?

The success of radical groups like Federation of Haomee to ignite hatred against the Kukis, their xenophobic attitude against the Kukis, calling them illegal immigrants and the Chief Minister of Manipur being the ambassador of their ideology was what made the Meitei mob violent. How could a mere 2000 illegal immigrants from Burma be a threat to the entire Meitei society, will always remained a mystery. Singling out the Kukis and targeting them alone in drugs-related trade when members of all sections of the community residing in Manipur are involved in the illegal drug trade, is another attempt to sow the seeds of prejudice in the heart of other communities towards the Kukis. Manipur media fraternity played an important role in spreading the communal messages of these radical groups. Today, the government, to prove itself as an impartial institution and to portray itself as executing its official duties, presented various Bills and Acts related to Forest Reservation and Conservation that were passed in the 50s and 60s as evidence. My question to them is, in this era of technology and the internet, if the government both at the centre and state still surprise us with certain sections of the Acts implemented, will the Kuki chiefs and their villagers be aware of what has been done then to the territory of their villages by the government. If today they became aware of such an existence, why is their democratic fight to change such, seen by the Meiteis as a threat to their existence? What do they think is the Question here? The encroachment upon Kukis areas alone, questioned the intention of the Government.

The Government of Manipur provided a safe environment for the radical groups and their media houses to spread hatred against the Kukis, the singling out of Kukis by the government in the forest encroachment drive and drug- war raised the question of their real intentions towards the Kukis. Inaction on the part of the government on the 3rd of May upon the rioters, against the looters of the government armouries, radical youth with weapons led by the government police in their attack of the Kukis and their villages until they could stand firm and independent on their own, is the final nail in the coffin to conclude that the atrocities committed against the Kukis is a state-sponsored genocide pogrom to ethnically cleanse the Kukis.

In the last 12 months, Arambai tenggol has became the de-facto ruler of the state, on whose whims and fancies the attacks on Kukis anytime and anywhere is carried out, against whom even the constitutional machinery of the state has bowed down. Their ever-increasing influence and power in Manipur is also an indicator that Justice for Kukis is waning with each passing day in the Meitei dominated state of Manipur.

Thus today, kukis fight for justice towards the central government by adopting non-violent techniques, while also protecting themselves from the terrorist attacks intended to eliminate their entire tribe from their ancestral land. As the state government has surrendered the Kukis at the mercy of Arambai Tenggol and other Meitei terrorist outfits, the Kukis are thus left with no other option but to defend themselves and remain alive to one day fight for justice by adoption of non-violent means. They are forced to take up arms, for neither the deads can talk nor can they fight for justice.