Manipur shall remain ‘indivisible', say Meitei groups
The MHA's North-East Advisor A.K. Mishra led the Ministry's team at both meetings. The officials first met with a seven-member delegation of the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), an Imphal-based civil society organisation, for about two hours. This was followed by another two-hour meeting with a delegation from the Federation of Civil Society (FOCS), a coalition of valley-based civil society organisations.
The COCOMI delegation, led by its convener Khuraijam Athouba, spoke about the resolutions adopted at the Manipur People's Convention held on May 3 this year, which were 'extensively deliberated upon', it said in a statement after the meeting. COCOMI also said it had 'urged the MHA to acknowledge the public mandate and take steps to formally escalate the resolution to higher levels of the Government of India'.
'Indivisible entity'
The May 3 convention had resolved to send a message that Manipur 'was, is, and shall always remain an indivisible entity'; declared that the Union government 'either wilfully neglected or strategically prolonged' the crisis in the State 'to serve its own national and geopolitical interests'; called for the Union government to 'formally accept responsibility for its role'; and rejected Union Home Minister Amit Shah's characterisation of the crisis as an ethnic conflict.
COCOMI also spotlighted an incident which took place at Gwaltabi last week, when a State bus carrying journalists to Ukhrul for the Shirui Lily festival was forced to cover up the word 'Manipur'. MHA officials 'assured [the delegates] that the matter has been noted for necessary governmental action', the statement said. The incident has led to protests across Imphal in the last two days.
The statement added: 'Both sides agreed to maintain communication and continue dialogue in the future, with a shared goal of restoring peace and stability in Manipur at the earliest.' Ahead of the meeting, Mr. Athouba told The Hindu, 'There is anger amongst people in Imphal about the way things are being run under President's Rule. It is important that a popular government is brought back in the State. They have the majority; leadership should not be an issue.'
Outdated moral lens
Meanwhile, the FOCS delegation, led by its president B.M. Yaima Shah, largely discussed the 'moral reframing' of the ongoing crisis in the State, arguing that 'senior government officials continue to approach the current crisis in Manipur through the same moral lens that was applied at its onset', according to a statement.
This moral lens still 'framed the Kuki-Zo communities as victims of 'incredible brutality'' though the crisis has turned into a 'complex, militarised conflict requiring urgent strategic reassessment', FOCS said.
It added that 'if this outdated framing persists', it will signal a 'dangerous misjudgement and failure to adapt to the current threat environment' amounting to 'enabling further violence through inaction or miscalculated restraint'.
Principled stance needed
FOCS also argued that there is a need to tailor the way the Union government is denying Kuki-Zo demands for a separate administration. Government officials denying this demand solely on 'administrative convenience or feasibility' will not deter the Kuki-Zo communities from persisting with this demand, and 'the Meitei community may find little moral reassurance or sense of closure', said FOCS. Instead, it called for a 'principled stance' taking into account the 'distinctly historic and indivisible identity of Manipur'.
COCOMI clarified its position on engagement, noting that it would engage 'exclusively with the Government of India' on all matters related to the crisis in the State, and rejecting the legitimacy of the Suspension of Operation groups of the Kuki-Zo communities. It also communicated its sustained opposition to 'narco-terrorism and armed groups', the statement said.
Both delegations also raised issues requiring immediate intervention, such as the return of displaced people, justice for missing people, and the redressal of grievances of the displaced families.
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