After foreign visits, PM Modi returned and asked BJP president JP Nadda - what is happening in India? All is well, except. .
. . Clashes b/w majority Meiteis and Kuki tribals More than a 100 people have so far lost their lives Some members of IT cell will be shocked to know that Manipur is part of India and one can reach there sooner than US or Egypt Recent incidents in Manipur have garnered international headlines Observers say that there is a division in the state b/w Meitei and Kuki communities Over 100 people have died, thousands of homes burned - including MLA's .
. . displacing 50,000 people who are now in refugee camps, trying to survive Manipur is on brink of civil war Automatic rifles seized in thousands .
. . and situation is not under control despite presence of all forces Army is saying they cannot operate under the existing conditions .
. . we will explain how army has become helpless in the area Olympic winner Mary Kom wrote - my state is burning, but Modi ji does not listen to medalists nowadays PM Modi has been silent over the crisis for two months .
. . despite being active on social media - not a single message or tweet People waited for Mann ki baat - maybe Modi ji will say something and give consolation but when there was no mention, people protested Meitei and Kuki community people do not agree on any aspect but maybe there is one thing they do agree upon .
. . that Modi ji, central govt and general public of India does not care for Manipur Our members stated clearly they wanted this platform to become a voice for Manipur First we did an interview on the same and now we will explore in detail what is happening in Manipur and why?
~subscribe and press bell icon~ Before we understand the issue, we must know geography, demography and history Take a look at the map of Manipur - it is clear that the state is in extreme northeast, sharing a border with Myanmar From physical map, two distinct geographical features are clear - valley in the middle and surrounding mountains Imphal valley in the middle covers only 10% of the state while the hills constitute 90% The major cause of division is this geography Population density in the valley is more as almost 60% people live there Hills area is 90% but population is only nearly 40% of the state - difference between valley and hill is cause of conflict Clean drinking water, cooking fuel, healthcare, good nutrition, opportunities are all in the Imphal valley The tourism industry is also limited to Imphal valley It is no surprise that there is economic disparity More agriculture is done in the valley as ground is fertile, so more production - hence more population density in the valley This geographical divide is leading to social divide which can escalate if govt does not focus 60% population is Meitei and 40% is Kuki and Naga 90-95% Meitei are living in the valley region and 90-95% Kuki and Naga are in the hills So, the Meitei community has better facilities and opportunities - and more political power because of majority population share Of 60 seats in assembly, 40 seats are held by Meitei community But why this distribution? Now we move on to understand the history of Manipur Thousands of years ago, Meitei community migrated from north Myanmar and settled in Imphal valley and ruled there for many centuries - they first followed their own indigenous religion In 1730s they converted to Hinduism when king of Manipur himself became Hindu In early 1800s, Burma invaded Manipur and then the British made Manipur part of their empire In 1949 Manipur became a union territory of India as Maharaja signed agreement It is said that the king did not take permission from Manipur's legislative council and thus began separatist militant movement in Manipur Historically speaking, all communities in Manipur have been part of separatist movement One thing is clear from this short history - the strong influence of Meitei community in Imphal valley Meitei community also attempted to extend their control over the hills That is the cause of conflict between the two people . .
. therefore it is an age old conflict Who are the hill based tribes of Manipur. .
. ? All the tribes are broadly divided into two groups - Naga and Kuki-Zomi-Mizo-Chin .
. . we will refer to the latter as Kuki community in this video Naga tribes live in north hills and Kuki tribes live in the south - both have been semi nomadic communities .
. . settlers as well as slash and burn cultivation Both communities converted to Christianity nearly 150 years ago and consider hills their home Although Naga and Kuki communities also clashed in the past - but both agree on Meitei's dominance On the other hand, Meitei believe that their presence and influence are declining .
. . this is the basis of clash Meitei are saying that they are becoming minorities in their own state and their land is being taken away slowly Kuki and Naga have scheduled tribe status which Meitei don't, which is why they cannot freely buy land in hill districts .
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but anyone can come and settle in Imphal valley That is why Meitei say that they may even lose 10% area It is also said that illegal Kuki immigrants from Myanmar are entering and demography is changing Immigrants are settling in reserve forests and cultivating illegal poppy . . .
so Meitei believe action must be taken Meitei want to save their tradition, culture and language otherwise they will become minority - some have demanded ST status in the high court If ST status was granted, Meitei could also buy land in the hills and settle Shocking judgment is made by single judge bench . . .
Justice MV Muralidaran gave notice to Centre and Manipur govt on review petition, ruling in favor of the Meitei Question is, was Justice Muralidaran in the position to make that decision? Supreme court criticized Manipur HC order and it is not their jurisdiction to demand changes in ST list But this one mistake by high court fuels the fire between the two groups Kuki majority town Churachandpur is where protests started - they said Meitei already have all facilities and political control as well . .
. majority seats in the assembly, remember? All except 2 CMs belonged to Meitei, Meitei language is recognized in the 8th schedule .
. . what does Kuki have except hills?
If Meitei get ST status, they will take that too Churachandpur protests turned violent and conditions in Manipur became worse day by day as both communities clashed In two months, you must know how violent the clashes have been in the state There is pain, anger and fear Meitei living in the hills returned to the valley region and Kuki living in the valley went back to hills - a partition in the state How did the situation get out of hand? One question is - what is Naga group doing amid all controversy? They were not involved in the violence, though they also don't want ST status for Meitei What is happening in Manipur is Meitei VS Kuki polarization and not just valley VS hill There is perception in the Meitei that Kuki are outsiders who entered from Myanmar BJP Biren Singh govt also played role in worsening situation It's not like the issues raised by Meitei are not genuine but they need to be handled with sensitivity Kuki community says that Biren Singh is running Meitei majoritarian govt and Kukis are persecuted Three issues are reserve forests, immigration and poppy cultivation Kuki say that they are being pushed away in the name of reserved forests In Feb this year, a whole Kuki village was destroyed in town of Churachandpur - in the name of forest protection To prevent illegal poppy plantation, Biren Singh govt took control of lands in hill district .
. . CM accused Kuki groups of narco terrorism - that these communities make money off poppy plants It is true that poppy plantation is happening and there is a drug trade system at India Myanmar border A social economic solution is needed - targeting one community won't help - it will only increase tension between two groups Biren Singh govt said that many illegal immigrants are entering from Myanmar so NRC type verification is needed to be done Yes, people in Kuki community migrated from Myanmar but it is worth noting that Kuki tribes have been migrating from before there was India or Myanmar border Migration has also increased because of civil war in Myanmar - people are taking shelter in North east states For ex- Mizoram gave shelter to 40,000 refugees and Mizoram home minister proudly said they will provide humanitarian aid Just because someone drew international border, does not mean they won't shelter their brothers and sisters Manipur state govt did not make such an announcement .
. . even so, Kuki community gave shelter to refugees They say they are not illegal - our brothers and sisters who are escaping from war torn area Biren Singh govt did not understand that ethnic ties are more important to Kuki than boundaries If situation was getting complex then govt should have done a consensus and found along term social economic solution Govt only represented Meitei perspective and things worsened A perception that govt was against Kuki and considered them encroachers, drug traders was built A question on union govt is also raised .
. . that under their govt when this kind of polarization happened what they did?
Or was this polarization happening as per plan - because it happened before - but it backfired in Manipur Everyone is demanding president rule in Manipur so that it shows to people that govt is serious - but this basic step was not taken What is alternative policy of poppy cultivation? Can refugees from Myanmar be given space under some policy? We are no.
1 in insider outsider politics but what happens when it comes to finding solution? Campaigning is vocal and loud . .
. even PM said that there will be development and stability if their govt formed But this time he traveled the world but no meeting of all parties? If it was election rally he would be there immediately - no joke After returning from trip, he went to Bhopal and program on Mera Booth Sabse Majboot .
. . but no sound byte on Manipur Maybe it is the fear that if he gets openly involved and situation worsens - then the good image will be hurt That is why no statement, no president rule .
. . Why is it not apparent that PM cares about this state Or maybe it does not matter - as LS seats in Manipur are 2 But this is not about 2 seats - this is about 1000s of stolen automatic rifles and 50,000 displaced people It is said after Amit Shah all party meeting some peace will prevail - he told CM Biren Singh to maintain peace in Imphal valley and that troops will be deployed in Hill districts But that does not solve .
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because many groups are not co-operating with army - like women protesters block ups Army is also helpless in the region and releasing statements Without political solution, any peace keeping operation will not succeed - forceful measures may not work Those who died can't return but 50,000 displaced can return to homes - political will is needed Every community has different opinions and values - but framing and blaming one community will worsen the case Only factual reporting should be done - no exaggeration and please don't turn this into Hindu Christian issue PM Modi has to chair all party meeting in Manipur and address people, as is done when asking for votes Agreeable political solution can be reached after discussion - but if Kuki community demands ouster of CM Biren Singh then consider it Thinking too much before removing a leader won't work Kuki say that separation is only way of peace . . .
valley and hills are interlinked economically - whatever the solution both communities should be able to prosper Lastly, so called people from mainland should introspect - we were focusing on Karnataka election, Adipurush, etc. - what about Manipur? We should develop empathy for fellow citizens - this episode is an attempt in that direction Question is also on media - as they rarely cover northeast When people will be interested to know, media will cover too Mention in the comments if you want more videos on the northeast - write NE for support Let's see how many of you made it till here If you like what we do, support us by joining below or on patreon.
