State failures vis-a-vis Manipur crisis
|
No one needs any reminder that the month of December is drawing to a close and with that, the year 2025 will soon become a part of history, more precisely another dark chapter in the long history of Manipur. Yet it appears that the state needs this reminder in view of the fact that the state gave a commitment to resettle and rehabilitate all internally displaced persons or IDPs by the end of December 2025. No doubt, some IDPs have been resettled but a vast majority of the IDPs are still languishing in relief camps. For two years and seven months, the IDPs, uprooted from their homes and cut off from their livelihoods, have been living a distressing life under sub-human conditions. Does the state need another reminder that resettlement, rehabilitation of all displaced persons and ensuring security of every citizen are its primary duties and responsibility? It was the state’s failure which cut short the lives of many people and threw the entire population of Manipur into such a miserable situation. The state has failed not once but several times. First, the state was caught napping when heavily armed persons joined the so called Tribal Solidarity Rally on May 3, 2023 in Churachandpur. Together with those men armed with sophisticated weapons, the participants of the rally marched all the way from Churachandpur to Torbung and unleashed terror upon the unarmed and unsuspecting villagers. Even as hundreds of houses were burnt down at Torbung, security forces did nothing to control the mayhem. It was this act of terror unleashed at Torbung which sparked a vicious cycle of violence in different parts of Manipur. The state’s failure to contain violence was not restricted to Churachandpur or Torbung. The state failed miserably at Moreh, Kangpokpi and Imphal too, and later at Jiribam.
If one talks about state failures, the list will go on and on. Soon after violence erupted, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Manipur and more than 60,000 armed forces were deployed in the state but this huge number of armed forces too could not contain the violence. The violence raged on and the state watched as if it was totally helpless. Incidentally, the violence subsided only after President’s Rule was imposed in the state in place of the elected government. As the violence subsided, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made a bold announcement that there will be free movement of all people on all roads and highways in Manipur with effect from March 8, 2025. During a high level meeting held at New Delhi on March 1, 2025 where Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, senior army officers and top paramilitary officers were present, Amit Shah not only directed authorities to ensure the free movement of people on all roads in Manipur starting March 8, 2025 but also warned of strict action against those creating obstructions. But the Union Home Minister’s bold announcement was reduced to nought on March 8, 2025 by a group of protesters who challenged the government of India’s initiative to open National Highway-2 (Imphal-Dimapur road), and Amit Shah’s ‘strict actions’ never came. After this miserable failure, the government of India has not made any second attempt to open the highway and one community is still denying another community access to the particular highway. The failure to contain violence for a long period even after deployment of more than 60,000 troops and the inability to ensure free movement of all citizens paint a very bad picture of the state. Many across the world still cannot believe that the Indian state could not contain violence raging within its territory or open its roads to all citizens. This gives rise to a general perception that the state was half-hearted or not sincere enough in its efforts to contain violence and open highways. Then came the soothing announcement that IDPs will be resettled by December 2025. Since the announcement was made on July 4, 2025, some IDPs have been resettled but a vast majority of the IDPs have been eagerly awaiting resettlement even though just three days are left before the end of December. Even after whatever resettlement efforts made by the state were undermined by militants by attacking returning IDPs with sophisticated firearms and bombs at Torbung and Phougakchao Ikhai on December 16, 2025, there has been no visible deterrence from the state so far, thereby evoking serious questions on the state’s commitment to resettlement. After all its failures, the state can make some amends to its waning credibility by fulfilling its promise of resettlement within the deadline it set. Is the state ready to make amends for its failures?
If one talks about state failures, the list will go on and on. Soon after violence erupted, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Manipur and more than 60,000 armed forces were deployed in the state but this huge number of armed forces too could not contain the violence. The violence raged on and the state watched as if it was totally helpless. Incidentally, the violence subsided only after President’s Rule was imposed in the state in place of the elected government. As the violence subsided, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made a bold announcement that there will be free movement of all people on all roads and highways in Manipur with effect from March 8, 2025. During a high level meeting held at New Delhi on March 1, 2025 where Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, senior army officers and top paramilitary officers were present, Amit Shah not only directed authorities to ensure the free movement of people on all roads in Manipur starting March 8, 2025 but also warned of strict action against those creating obstructions. But the Union Home Minister’s bold announcement was reduced to nought on March 8, 2025 by a group of protesters who challenged the government of India’s initiative to open National Highway-2 (Imphal-Dimapur road), and Amit Shah’s ‘strict actions’ never came. After this miserable failure, the government of India has not made any second attempt to open the highway and one community is still denying another community access to the particular highway. The failure to contain violence for a long period even after deployment of more than 60,000 troops and the inability to ensure free movement of all citizens paint a very bad picture of the state. Many across the world still cannot believe that the Indian state could not contain violence raging within its territory or open its roads to all citizens. This gives rise to a general perception that the state was half-hearted or not sincere enough in its efforts to contain violence and open highways. Then came the soothing announcement that IDPs will be resettled by December 2025. Since the announcement was made on July 4, 2025, some IDPs have been resettled but a vast majority of the IDPs have been eagerly awaiting resettlement even though just three days are left before the end of December. Even after whatever resettlement efforts made by the state were undermined by militants by attacking returning IDPs with sophisticated firearms and bombs at Torbung and Phougakchao Ikhai on December 16, 2025, there has been no visible deterrence from the state so far, thereby evoking serious questions on the state’s commitment to resettlement. After all its failures, the state can make some amends to its waning credibility by fulfilling its promise of resettlement within the deadline it set. Is the state ready to make amends for its failures?