Government of India and Government of Manipur signed a Peace Agreement with UNLF

By
In a historic development, the Government of India and Government of Manipur signed a Peace Agreement with United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the oldest valley-based armed group of Manipur in New Delhi.

First time a valley-based Manipuri armed group has agreed to return to mainstream by abjuring violence and agreeing to honour the Constitution of India and laws of the land.


In a historic development, the Government of India and Government of Manipur signed a Peace Agreement with United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the oldest valley-based armed group of Manipur in New Delhi today. The UNLF was formed in 1964 and has been operating both within and outside Indian Territory. The agreement is poised to give a fillip to usher in a new era of peace in the North East in general and Manipur in particular.

Brief Background to Conflict in Manipur:

One fourth of Manipur (which is the valley), is home to more than seventy per cent of its population which predominantly consists of the culturally distinct Meitei community. The State was ruled as a monarchy (later princely state) by Meitei rulers. The Meitei influence declined in the socio-economic spheres after Independence with the tribals coming into the forefront largely because of reservations. There was also resentment in a section of the Meitei society about the merger of the State with the Indian union – a resentment which led to the Meitei insurgency from the 1960s. Tribals account for around thirty per cent of the State’s population and broadly belong to Naga, Kuki-chin and Mizo groups. Insurgency in Nagaland and Mizoram also spilled over to the State. The ‘cultural distance’ of tribals from the Meiteis widened with almost all the tribes coming under the christian fold by the 1930s. There is considerable tension among the tribes over land and boundaries and violence between Nagas and Kukis took a toll of more than 2000 lives during the 1990s. 

The cease-fire between the union Government and the National Socialist council of Nagaland (NScN) has reduced violence in Naga areas but has given rise to fresh tensions as the NScN insists on a greater ‘Nagalim’ which would include four Districts of Manipur. This is stoutly resisted by the Meiteis and had caused a very violent agitation in 2001. The assurance to safeguard the ‘territorial integrity of Manipur’ has resulted in comparative peace on this score. In the southern parts of the state Hmars, Paite and other tribes have been waging violent struggles partly for local hegemony and partly for their own enclave in the form of a union Territory called “zomi’. District councils in the Hill areas are nonfunctional since 1985 as most of the tribal communities want these councils to be brought under the Sixth Schedule. This demand is vociferously opposed by those in the Valley. In short, Manipur continues to be an active arena for a multiplicity of violent conflicts.

It is reported that today militant organisations are virtually running a parallel government in many districts of Manipur and they are able to influence the decision of the conflicts in the North East State Government in awarding contracts, supply orders and appointments in government service. It is also reported that militant organisations indulge in widespread extortion and hold ‘courts’ and dispense justice in their areas of influence. Such a situation results in erosion of faith of the people in the constitutional governance machinery.

2023 Manipur violence

On 3 May 2023, ethnic violence erupted in India's north-eastern state of Manipur between the Meitei people, a majority that lives in the Imphal Valley, and the Kuki-Zo tribal community from the surrounding hills. According to government figures, as of 15 September, 175 people have been killed in the violence. 1,108 others were injured while 32 are missing. 4,786 houses were burnt and 386 religious structures including temples and churches were vandalized. The violence left more than 70,000 people displaced from their homes. Unofficial figures are higher.

The proximate cause of the violence was a row over an affirmative action measure. On 14 April 2023, acting on a writ petition, the Manipur High Court ordered the state government to send a recommendation to the central government on the demand for a Scheduled Tribe status by the valley-based Meitei community, a decision later criticised by the Supreme Court. To protest the Meitei demands for the scheduled tribe status, the All Tribal Students' Union Manipur conducted peaceful protest marches on 3 May. After one of these marches, clashes broke out between Kuki and Meitei groups near the border between the Churachandpur district and Bishnupur district, followed by house burning.[49][50] The violence quickly spread to the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur town and the Meitei-dominated Imphal Valley, targeting the minority community in each area. According to Reuters, 77 Kukis and 10 Meiteis were killed within a week.

In addition to the ST status, other issues had been festering prior to the violence. For example, the Kuki people in the hill districts saw themselves as being the target of the state government's treatment of indigenous land rights concerns. There have been evictions of Kuki communities as a result of efforts to survey forests, which were ostensibly made to stop the cultivation of poppy.

The Meitei community has also experienced a rise in insecurity as a result of the flood of refugees from Myanmar following the military coup in 2021, particularly those from the Sagaing region. In one of the instances, the Manipur government have questioned the central security forces, especially the Assam Rifles, of allowing illegal immigration from Myanmar. Many organisations have protested against Assam Rifles of siding with the Kuki communities, including instance of Manipur police filing FIR against it's personnel for enabling Kuki militants to escape by obstructing the police movements.

According to several organisations, there have been accounts of partisan killings by security forces, as well as allegations of the police siding with the Meitei community.

  1. PIB,  
  2. CONFLICTS IN THE NORTH EAST, Capacity Building For Conflict Resolution, 7th Report, SECOND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS COMMISSION
  3. Wikipedia


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Russian parliament passed a bill to revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

By
Relevance:  Russia revokes ratification of nuclear test ban treaty (CTBT) - ICAN But it affirmed that it will  retain its cooperation with the treaty’s verification system and implementing organisation.  Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which opened for signature in 1996, was intended to prohibit all nuclear weapon test explosions. Over 2,000 nuclear tests occurred between 1945 and 1996: the United States (1,000+), the Soviet Union (700+), France (200+), the United Kingdom and China (45 each). As at January 2013, 183 countries had signed the Treaty, of which 158 have also ratified it, including three of the nuclear weapon states (France, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom). However, 44 specific nuclear technology holder countries must sign and ratify before the CTBT can enter into force. Of these, eight are still missing: China, Egypt, India , Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and the US. India , North Korea and Pakista...
Read more

Interstellar space and Interstellar Probes ( Voyager and New Horizons Missions )

By
Interstellar Space: Interstellar space is often called the space between the stars, but more specifically, it’s the region between our Sun’s heliosphere and the astrospheres of other stars. Our heliosphere is a vast bubble of plasma – a gas of charged particles – that spews out of the Sun. This outflow is known as the solar wind. The bubble surrounds the Sun and stretches beyond the planets. Both Voyager spacecraft had to travel more than 11 billion miles (17 billion kilometers) from the Sun in order to cross the edge of the heliosphere. This bubble is moving through interstellar space as the Sun orbits the center of the Milky Way galaxy. As our heliosphere plows through space, it creates a bow wave, like the wave formed by the bow of a ship. Kuiper Belt &  Oort Cloud: The Kuiper Belt is a doughnut-shaped ring of icy objects around the Sun, extending just beyond the orbit of Neptune from about 30 to 55 AU. Similar to the asteroid belt, the Kuiper Belt is a region of leftovers f...
Read more

ISRO developing semi-cryogenic engine working on LOX Kerosene propellant

By
ISRO is developing a 2000 kN thrust semi-cryogenic engine working on an LOX Kerosene propellant combination for enhancing the payload capability of LVM3 and for future launch vehicles. Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) is the lead centre for the development of semi-cryogenic propulsion systems with the support of other launch vehicle centres of ISRO. The assembly and testing of the propulsion modules were done at the ISRO propulsion complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri. As part of the engine development, a pre-burner ignition test article, which is a full complement of the engine power head system excluding the turbopumps is realized. The first ignition trial was conducted successfully on May 2, 2024, at semi cryo integrated engine test facility (SIET) at IPRC, Mahendragiri, which was dedicated to the nation recently by the honorable Prime Minister of India. Smooth and sustained ignition of the preburner is demonstrated which is vital for the starting of the semi-cryogenic engine. Semi-c...
Read more