Manipur BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip Claims Ethnic Violence Was ‘Avoidable’

New Delhi:

Manipur-based BJP MP Paolienlal Haokip, one of the ten tribal MPs from the northeastern state who wrote to Prime Minister N Biren Singh in May calling for separate administration for the Kuki-dominated districts in the state, has cited “state complicity” in ethnic violence as one of the reasons it took time to stem it.

“Evidence of state complicity can clearly be seen in the fact that what began as purely ethnic-communal violence was later to be portrayed by the prime minister as a state war against ‘drug terrorists,'” Mr Haokip wrote in an opinion piece for India Today.

The 10 MPs who wrote the letter in May, seven of them from the BJP, also claimed that the violence had been perpetrated by the valley’s majority Meitei community and had “tacit support” from the BJP-led state government. The Prime Minister had rejected the request for a separate administration on the grounds that “the territorial integrity of Manipur would be protected”.

The “drug terrorists” narrative seemed aimed at justifying the use of state forces to help the radicalized Meitei militia attack and burn Kuki-Zo settlements in the foothills surrounding the Imphal Valley, beyond which there doesn’t seem to be much footing, Paolienlal Haokip wrote, adding that the conflict over constitutional rights that has simmered since the days before statehood was another reason for the ongoing violence.

Reinforcing claims by several Kuki leaders of a bias in resource allocation, the suppression of the powers of the Hill Areas Committee and the administration of reservations in state offices by self-partisan parties to limit the due representation of the planned tribes, Mr Haokip said the ethnic violence is “in a way perceived by the Kuki Zo tribal people as a war of liberation from such gross injustices, while the Meitei militias view it as a war to overthrow tribalism.” to claim land”.

The BJP MP didn’t spare the prime minister either, saying he was “known to stand hand in hand” with radical groups like Meitei Leepun and Arambai Tenggol, who he said were “the main culprits in the ethnic cleansing of the Kuki-Zo community.”

Notably, a former Manipur “super-cop” Thounaojam Brinda had claimed in a court document in 2020 that she was under “pressure” from Biren Singh to release a “drug lord” from custody. She had returned the police medal for bravery bestowed on her by the Biren Singh government and ran in the state’s general election last year against a BJP candidate promoted by Home Secretary Amit Shah.

“A biased government is detrimental to peace everywhere, and while such bias has always existed to some degree in Manipur, it has intensified under the current prime minister,” Mr Haokip wrote.

In another interview with Newslaundry, the BJP MP from Saikot in Manipur’s Churachandpur district said he believed Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “misplaced priorities,” adding that he and several other Manipur MPs were still trying to meet with Prime Minister Modi. However, he added that he was still optimistic that only the central government could bring peace to the state.

The Kukis, most of whom live in the hills, have claimed that the BJP government in Manipur under Prime Minister N Biren Singh has systematically targeted them – under the guise of the “War on Drugs” campaign – to evict them from the forests and their hilltop homes. However, the extent of poppy cultivation in Manipur has expanded to 15,400 hectares of land in the hills between 2017 and 2023, according to data from the state’s Narcotics and Affairs of Border (NAB) special anti-drug unit.

The Meiteis—who cannot buy land in the hills, while tribesmen who live in the hills are allowed to own land in the valley—fear their place in the valley will shrink over time. To this, the Kukis say that if the Meiteis gain ST status, they will invade the hills and take over their lands.