How Just One Word May Push Strife-Torn Manipur To The Edge Once Again
Former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh has strongly objected to what he calls a 'distorted version' of the Manipur Legislative Assembly (Hill Areas Committee) Order, 1972
Can you imagine that just a word has the potential to create a law and order situation? Worse, just an alteration of a word can put a strife-torn state at risk? While it may seem unbelievable, something similar has happened in Manipur, where staggered ethnic violence has been ongoing since May 2023 and the state is currently under President's Rule.
WHAT'S THE FUSS?
Former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh has strongly objected to what he calls a 'distorted version" of the Manipur Legislative Assembly (Hill Areas Committee) Order, 1972. He alleges that this altered version has caused a rapid and unregulated increase in the number of villages and has resulted in the illegal appointment of village chiefs and headmen in the hill regions of the state.
For the uninitiated, the Kukis—one of the ethnic tribes and sides of the Manipur ethnic clashes—live in the hills.
Singh shot off a letter to Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, urging him to immediately intervene and address this critical discrepancy between the original Gazette of India notification and the version published in the State Assembly's Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business. 'There appears to be a serious and potentially deliberate alteration in the text," Singh wrote.
Elaborating on the discrepancy, Singh said the Gazette of India notification bears the word 'of" in the clause—'The appointment of succession of Chiefs or Headman"—while the manipulated version printed in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business by the Manipur Legislative Assembly has the word 'or" in the clause—'The appointment or succession of Chief or Headman."
Singh insists that this seemingly simple alteration is 'distortion with profound administrative and political implications". By changing the word 'of" to 'or", the meaning of the rule has been expanded, making it possible to allow fresh appointments of chiefs or headmen, instead of just overseeing the traditional system of succession, he insists.
Singh alleged, 'This change, whether intentional or inadvertent, has given rise to an environment where new villages can be declared and new village chiefs or headmen can be appointed without the customary legitimacy or legal clarity."
What makes it even more serious is Singh's charge that it may open unchecked proliferation of villages, 'many of which may not have existed historically or traditionally". India's Northeast, particularly Manipur, is extremely sensitive to preserve ethnic status quo, particularly when there has been a long and violent conflict that hasn't been solved.
Manipur's violent conflict broke out in May 2023 between two major communities—the predominantly Hindu Meitei community and the mostly Christian Kuki-Zomi tribal groups. Meiteis mostly live in the Imphal Valley while the Kuki-Zomis live mainly in the hill districts surrounding the valley. The immediate trigger was a protest by tribal groups on May 3, 2023, against a demand by Meiteis for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The tribals feared this would give Meiteis access to land and benefits meant for hill tribes, kicking off a long cycle of violence in which more than 200 were killed and at least 60,000 displaced.
No wonder Singh rushed to the Governor, urging him for an independent inquiry to find out how and when this wording was altered and who is responsible for it.
First Published:
July 01, 2025, 12:15 IST
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