Why has the Supreme Court abandoned the Zomi-Kuki Tribals of Manipur?

After the false reports allegedly accusing the Kuki-militants of burning the ambulance carrying the 7 year old child Tonsing Hangsing along with his mother and a friend on 7th of June 2023, it is reported that it was in fact the Meitei militant miscreants Arambai Tenggol having committed this horrendous crime. While the nation was gripped in such a gruesome act of violence, Mr. Pramot Singh in one of his interview in national media openly declared to “blow” away all existing Zomi-Kuki Tribals and their villages, 15 kms from Imphal city is indeed another shocking revelation of what is going on in Manipur and resolving the situation seems divergent. 
    
What the nation needs to know

Though the Meiteis and the tribals have had differences, yet they have co-existed for decades. Local skirmishes have certainly taken place but the well planned, organised armed attacks and the razing of villages as has happened is completely unprecedented. The media has covered the situation as a “clash” as if the two communities are fundamentally attacking each other. Nothing could be further from the truth. Such a narrative misses the fact that the two communities have co-existed for a long time despite their sometime deep rooted differences and, secondly, that the unique situation presently existing is of a couple of armed communal groups linked to the party in power in the State, carrying out a predesigned communal attack on the Tribals. The “clash” narrative camouflages the presence of these two groups behind all the attacks and renders them immune from prosecution thereby emboldening them to carry on further attack.
The two main supremacist groups behind these inhuman attacks are the Arambai Tenggol (meaning Warrior Blood) and Meitei Leepun groups. The Arambai Tenggol was created to bring back the past glory of the Meitei religion namely “Sanamahi”. The Group has the backing of State machinery, and of those in power. This radical group from its inception had one main objective and that was to eradicate the Zomi-Kuki Tribals who settled mostly in the Southern District of Manipur. 

The second extremist and Meitei supremist group that is spearheading the violent attacks on the Zomi-Kuki people in Manipur are the Meitei Leepun. It is an organisation which claim to work to unite the people of Meitei community settling in different parts of the globe. It’s a communal organisation with Meitei nationalist agenda to strengthen and safeguard the interest of only the Meitei community at the cost of other communities. Shri M Pramot Singh is the current president of the organisat stated on his social media post on 28.04.2023: “Cut down the forest, dry up the rivers, finish them off (Zomi-Kuki), meanwhile let's build a homeland, this is our time. Then let's annihilate our traditional rival on the hills and live peacefully thereafter.”

Manipur is no stranger to violent clashes which can be witnessed currently and has engulfed the state from May 3rd, 2023 onwards. Reports suggest that the hill Tribal villages around Imphal city bordering the Valley areas are still being attacked by the Meitei militants along with the Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun miscreants and houses still being burnt till date. 

The Meitei’s have had their share of violent histories starting from the Anglo- Burmese war. Meitei state formation in history was governed by violence. Violence against the hill people, the valley popular, other state's subject and so on. Lallup system in precolonial Manipur is one of the most violent form of state formation process. Violence governed the reign of Meitei underground in the hills, particularly in Churachandpur and Chandel districts of the 2000s. Ethnic cleansing pogrom against the Pangals in 1993 and the so-called June Uprising of 2001 marked out the recent violent history of the Meiteis. The violent confrontations which erupted recently reminds us of similar conflicts 30 years ago in Manipur, between two communities within the Meitei group (Meitei Hindus against Meitei Pangals) which erupted on 3rd May 1993. The violent conflict between these two communities recorded a 100 people who died in the riot.  Kukis had a violent past so do the Meiteis. But the difference is that Kukis committed violence in self-defense whereas the Meiteis are always aggressive to others in the past as of now. 

In the year 2001 widespread protests broke out when Meitei Manipuri’s feared that a peace agreement between Naga insurgents and the Indian government would lead to the truncation of Manipur. In the riots that followed, a number of government offices came under attack and the Manipur State Assembly building was burned down. There is particular resentment among the Meiteis for the secessionist demands of the Nagas and Kukis because of the special protections reserved for tribal groups under the Indian Constitution including quotas in universities and government jobs. The Meiteis are not eligible for these privileges. Under Manipuri law to protect indigenous tribes, they are also not allowed to settle in the hill districts. However, there is no such restriction on Nagas and Kukis settling in the valley. 

Ground realities

After the Union Home Minster Shri Amit Shah’s visit to Manipur, the attacks on the tribal villages have continued even after the assurances of ‘peace’ and ‘normalcy’. The state government and its machinery and the Meitei radical groups like the Arambai Tenggol and the Meitei Leepun continue to attack and annihilate the people and Tribal villages on the periphery. It is reported that a combined force of Manipur State Police Commandos and Meitei radicals Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun Burnt/Vandalised down 6 (six) Kuki Villages in Phaimol area under Saikul Sub-division, Kangpokpi District. According to the eye witness the Manipur Police Commandos hurled a deadly hand grenade bomb to the villagers and razed down the villages including churches. 
It is reported that as many as 10 Kuki villages under Island TD Block, Kangpokpi District were set ablaze and razed to the ground by the terror groups Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun supported by Manipur Police Commandos. These villages were under attack while the Union Home Minister held a peace meeting with the tribal leaders at Churachandpur District. More than 250 houses in 6 Kuki Villages under Saikul Sub-Division, Kangpokpi District were burnt down. Around 50 houses burnt down in N Mollen Kuki Tribal Village and another 30 houses burnt in Natjang Kuki village under Island Sub Division, Kangpokpi District. The Meitei radical groups continue to attack Kangvai Area with gun fire. 

The role of the Apex Court

On 17th of May 2023 the Supreme Court of India hearing the issues related to the demand for an ST status by a section of majoritarian Meetei/Meiteis, echoes a lot of concerns for the tribal people of Manipur.The Solicitor General informed the Court that the Manipur HC extended the four weeks’ time in its earlier order on March 27 to one year for submitting the recommendations to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs taking into account the situation in Manipur. The bench made critical observation, reiterating once again that the High court has no role to play in the grant of ST status to a community. The petitioners had raised serious apprehensions on probable militant attacks on the tribal villages. The Court directed law enforcement agencies in the State to take immediate and appropriate steps to counter such apprehensions. Meanwhile, a status reports filed in the SC held that the state was returning to normalcy. The matter is next listed for hearing in July. 

However, which such directives by the Apex court, the situation has escalated and the condition in Manipur is still volatile even after the Apex Courts ruling to counter the apprehensions of militant attacks. 
After giving these assurances, it is reported that over 81 Zomi-Kukis were killed, 237 churches and 73 churches’ administration building/quarter were burnt and 141 villages destroyed and 31410 Zomi-Kukis displaced from their homes. The assurances of the authorities are not useful anymore and made in a non-serious fashion and are not even intended to be implemented.  The reason why this hon’ble court ought not to rely anymore on the empty assurances given by UOI is because both the UOI and the Chief Minister of the State have embarked jointly on a communal agenda for the ethnic cleansing of the Zomi-Kuki’s. 

The 8th May hearing and the order issued was reserved, leading to death and burning of villages, the hearing of 17th May and order issued, in spite of the example of previous judgment/order, the order issued this time is also not serious enough and again lives were lost and villages were burned again, citing all the violence and killings till now, it appears the SC court does not care for the plight of the Tribals of Manipur. How long should the Apex Court wait to allow another holocaust like situation to continue?