Describing as “empty” and “non serious” the Centre’s assurance on the security, relief and rehabilitation of the violence-affected people in Manipur, the Manipur Tribal Forum has alleged that the state government backed by the Centre have jointly embarked on a communal agenda for the ethnic cleansing of the Kukis from the State.
The Manipur Tribal Forum, in an application, has told the Supreme Court, “The assurances of the authorities are not useful anymore and made in a non-serious fashion and are not even intended to be implemented. The reason why this (top) court ought not to rely anymore on the empty assurances given by Union of India is because both the UOI and the Chief Minister of the State have embarked jointly on a communal agenda for the ethnic cleansing of the Kukis.”
The petitioner Forum has sought placing the law and order situation in Churachanpur, Chandel, Kangpokpi, Impal East and Imphal West, districts and all villages under the full control of the Indian Army.
The Manipur Tribal Forum was one of the parties who had approached the top court seeking directions to the centre and the state government to evacuate the violence hit tribals who had fled to CRPF camps and to ensure that they reached their residences safely under a security escort.
The Manipur Tribal Forum in its application filed on June 9 has said that since the last hearing of the matter by the top court on May 17, 2023, another 81 Kuki tribals have been killed and 31,410 displaced. Besides the killings and large-scale displacement of Kuki tribals, the application says that 141 villages have been destroyed, 237 churches and 73 administrative quarters have been torched.
Stating that the media coverage of the Manipur violence was coloured, the forum has said that the media coverage portraying the violence as a clash between two tribal communities is far from the truth. The forum has alleged that the attackers belong to two outfits backed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
“Such a narrative (of clash between two tribal communities) misses the fact that the two communities have co-existed for a long time despite their sometime deep-rooted differences and, secondly, that the unique situation presently existing is of a couple of armed communal groups linked to the party in power in the State, carrying out a predesigned communal attack on the tribals. The ‘clash’ narrative camouflages the presence of these two groups behind all the attacks and renders them immune from prosecution thereby emboldening them to carry on further attacks,” the Manipur Tribal Forum has said.
In the last hearing on the Manipur violence on May 17, a top court bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha and Justice J.B. Pardiwala had reminded the Chief Minister N. Biren Singh government that maintaining law and order was its responsibility and the political executive cannot turn a blind eye on the matter.
Seeking a fresh status report on the security, relief and rehabilitation of the people affected by the violence, Chief Justice Chandrachud heading the bench had said, “We can’t say who is responsible for this (violence)… law and order is a state subject. We as the apex court can ensure they don’t turn a blind eye. We must as a court also understand that some matters are entrusted to the political arm (of the executive).”
Referring to the emergence of powerful drug mafia in the last decade or so, the applicant Forum has alleged that one “drug lord” is a relative of the former chief minister of Manipur and the other t “drug lord” is a relative of the present chief minister.