Steps taken
Inquiry panel:
The setting up of a three-member panel by the Union government to probe the ethnic violence in Manipur, is a welcoming move.
An inquiry into the causes and the spread of the violence and whether there was any dereliction of duty by the authorities.
This has the potential to set a process of truth-telling in motion that could nudge the possibility of reconciliation between the wounded ethnic communities.
The paramilitary forces that have created a security grid and are patrolling “buffer areas” between the Imphal valley and adjoining hill areas, where the Kuki people live, to prevent any violence, can only be of limited help.
Way forward
The political representatives of the two communities — MLAs in particular who share party affiliations but differ in their ethnicities — must act as the bearers of peace and reconciliation.
The underlying differences between the groups require a longer political dialogue and rumination as they are not easy to solve.
A process of reconciliation cannot succeed unless these knotty issues are tackled.
Representatives of these communities must rise above their narrow sectarianism and look for constitutional solutions.
A beginning has to be made to tamp down on the violence, return the displaced to their homes, secure their lives, and isolate those responsible for wanton violence and bring them to justice.
Issues to be tackled
Many among the Kukis (and the Nagas) claim that the demand for Scheduled Tribe status for Meiteis — opposed by a section among them — is unjustified.
Meitei sections dislike the benefits of affirmative action for “hill-tribes”.
The Meiteis also have the grievance that they lack the explicit privilege of owning land in hill areas, unlike the rights that anyone can have in the Imphal valley.
Historical patterns of land ownership and dwelling by the Kukis have also made them susceptible to claims that they have encroached on reserved forests, and the steps taken by the government to clear such areas have created an impression of siege mentality among them.
A process of reconciliation cannot succeed unless these knotty issues are tackled.
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