Scapegoating the Kukis Will Not Secure India’s Borders: Manipur Needs Justice, Not Political Arithmetic

A massive rally was organised by the civil societies of the Nagas and Meiteis in the heart of Imphal, carrying banners that read, “India, Stop the Proxy War” and “Abrogate SOO.”

As one swipes through the pictures, searching for a banner demanding action against Arambai Tenggol or NSCN-IM/ZUF, or calling for the arrest of those who looted the armoury in Imphal, one can predictably find none.

Thus, the question arises: Why do they believe India is waging a proxy war against its own state? Do they want unhindered access to Kuki border villages by forcibly evicting their inhabitants and scapegoating the Kukis as villains to whitewash ethnic cleansing? What else can one conclude from their demands, given the actions and decisions of the state government, which appear to be biased in their favour, whether in terms of investigations, compensation, or military action against insurgent groups operating in the valley and Naga-dominated areas?

Contrary to the narrative that the Nagas and Meiteis have attempted to create—that the Kukis are at fault—the reality is that the Kuki community has problems with both the Meiteis and the Nagas. The only fault of the Kukis is that they stand in the middle of a road over which both sides are determined to run them down. Their expansionist agenda is a well-known fact.

History is no stranger to the calculated narrative strategies used to portray an Indigenous people as aggressors or villains by two warring factions, either to justify the illegal occupation of Indigenous people's land or to conceal their own oppression. British and French colonial histories in America are cases in point. The weaponisation of language, law, and media to turn the narrative against the Kukis by the Meitei-Naga alliance is reminiscent of the justifications employed by colonial masters when encroaching upon Indigenous people's lands.

If the Hindu-Muslim debates on national media have shocked you, the media operating in Manipur will leave you gobsmacked. Normalising the labelling of Kukis as illegal immigrants or narco-terrorists is not even the worst of it.

Panellists can openly call for the annihilation and ethnic cleansing of Kukis without facing any consequences. Judging by their actions, questioning insurgent groups responsible for attacks on Kukis seems to have become an act of anti-nationalism. Tackling the menace created by sections of the media fraternity in Manipur should have been a priority for any government genuinely committed to resolving the crisis in the state.

Thousands of security personnel are deployed across the state. Yet, Kuki villages in Naga-dominated areas continue to come under frequent attacks from insurgent groups operating there. Villagers have even been subjected to economic embargoes and denied access to basic medical care.

Why was President's Rule withdrawn in the state? Was it to shift the balance in favour of one warring group? The entry of Muivah into Manipur and the attacks on Kukis by Naga insurgent groups are too significant to be dismissed as mere coincidences. Once they entered the scene, the plight of Kuki victims since 3 May 2023 and the question of accountability for those responsible seemed to disappear, as though they had never existed.

As recently as this week, five Kuki men were brutally murdered. The question is: Why does India continue to act as though it has no solution to this menace?

President's Rule alone is not the solution. However, law and order in the state was in a better position under President's Rule than it is now. So, what prevents the government from imposing President's Rule again until a lasting solution is found? Is it electoral arithmetic? If so, is winning elections more important than securing a border state like Manipur?

With rumours of a proxy war between the US and China in Myanmar, and a widely alleged nexus between Naga and Meitei insurgent groups and anti-India foreign powers, why would the government risk leaving a sensitive border state like Manipur in such a precarious situation?

And is the coordinated smear campaign against security forces, particularly those with the most experience in the Northeast, along with demands for their removal, merely a coincidence? If so, then the continuous attacks on Kuki villages in the India-Myanmar border region by Naga insurgent groups must also be a coincidence.

The Government of India owes Indians an answer. Scapegoating and vilifying the Kukis will not secure India's borders. Rather, the solution lies in addressing the conflict fairly and impartially, setting aside political considerations and electoral arithmetic.

The sooner India addresses the crisis in Manipur, the better it will be for the country.