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STATES: MANIPUR
Fires Of Peace
The Centre's extension of its cease-fire with the NSCN(I-M)
backfires as Manipur explodes in fury against the decision
By Wasbir Hussain in Imphal and Lakshmi Iyer in
Delhi
The 13 pyres had
been lit. A lament went up among the relatives. All else was deathly quiet
in Imphal. Manipur's capital was under curfew, and security forces in
their thousands patrolled the streets; the full strength of the Government
had been thrown, belatedly, into preventing the fires from spreading.
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RAGE: Protesters burn government vehicles
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When the Central Government declared on June
14 that its three-year old cease-fire with the National Socialist Council
of Nagalim (Isak-Muivah) would no longer be confined to Nagaland, it should
have been a herald of peace. But in the mosaic of many wars that is India's
Northeast, it takes more than two sides to make peace.
Of Manipur's population of 23 lakh, about 18
lakh belong to the Meitei ethnic group. Nearly 2.5 lakh are Nagas. Other
tribes like the Kukis make up the remainder. The Meiteis mainly inhabit
the Imphal valley while the Nagas are scattered across four hill districts-Ukhrul,
Chandel, Senapati and Tamenglong. For the past two decades the NSCN(I-M)
has been fighting for an independent Naga homeland, a continuation of
the struggle begun by the legendary Z.A. Phizo in 1947 (see chronology).
The proposed Naga homeland, or Nagalim, would include at least the four
hill districts that cover more than half of Manipur. Tangkhul Nagas from
these districts make up a large part of the NSCN(I-M) cadre; Muivah himself
belongs to this ethnic group and is from Ukhrul. The map of greater Nagaland
or Nagalim on view at the NSCN(I-M)'s official website at angelfire.com
includes all of Manipur. The Government's decision to extend the cease-fire
outside Nagaland was thus viewed in Manipur as a first step towards recognising
Naga territorial claims over the hill districts.
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| IN IT: Padmanabhiah (left) with Muivah |
Monday, June 18, began as a quiet, rainy day
in Imphal. The 66-hour statewide general strike called by 83 local groups
in protest against the cease-fire was to end at 6 p.m. By 10.30 a.m. the
first of an estimated 1,00,000 protesters took to the streets. Effigies
of NSCN(I-M) chief Thuengaleng Muivah, Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee and
Union Home Minister L.K. Advani were burnt.
It was only the prelude to a bigger fire. As
the mob surged towards the unoccupied official residence of the chief
minister (the state is under President's rule), a CRPF contingent opened
fire. Thirteen protesters died; over 50 were injured. The state Assembly
went up in flames. Speaker Sapam Dhananjoy Singh was roughed up as he
tried to escape from the building. Trapped inside, BJP MLAs N. Bihari
Singh and K. Tomba Singh sustained 50 per cent burns.
Since then the All Manipur United Clubs' Organisation,
which is spearheading the protest, has announced the social boycott of
the state's 63 legislators for failing to resign from their seats as a
mark of solidarity. The All Manipur Students' Union has threatened to
drive all recalcitrant MLAs out of Manipur.
The local politicians may not have distinguished
themselves with their anything-for-office brand of politics, but indications
are that they had little knowledge of the cease-fire extension that set
Manipur ablaze. Even Governor Ved Marwah, who is now in charge of the
administration, was apparently not apprised of what was to come. Courtesy
internal politics, the various legs of government succeeded once more
in tripping each other up.
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