Emerging hands of geo-politicsOpening two ‘war’ fronts
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Is Delhi going to question from where the Kuki militants draw their ‘strength’ from ? Not satisfied with just waging a ‘war’ on one front, that is against the Meiteis, the Kuki militants have now turned their guns on the Nagas, particularly the Tangkhuls of Ukhrul and Kamjong districts and this is perhaps best exemplified by the relentless firing at some of the Tangkhul inhabited area such as Sinakeithei and the villages near Litan. Even as this commentary is being jotted down, and even as the 21 Tangkhul passengers who were recently abducted at gun point and later released, continue to disturb the people, the Imphal-Ukhrul road continues to be cut off. Last heard, the helicopter service between Imphal and Ukhrul district headquarters is booked for days and one will have wait for one’s turn for days to be able to board the helicopter. Twice a day in a week service it was, but with Ukhrul AC MLA Ram Muivah stepping in and urging that the frequency of the chopper service be increased, things may have improved but this still does not address the basic question of cutting off a route. A practise which the Kuki folks seem to have mastered down the years, and one just has to look back at the blockade imposed when the demand for Sadar Hills district was at its peak. Cut to the present and the National Highway connecting Imphal and Dimapur has been off limits to the Meiteis since the evening of May 3, 2023. From where does the Kuki militants draw their strength and gather the gumption to open two ‘war’ fronts, one against the Meiteis and the other against the Nagas, the Tangkhuls to be more specific ? Reports coming in say that the trigger effect of the stand off at Litan area and the firing at Sinakeithei has starting spreading with a number of Liangmai folks staying near Leimakhong in Kangchup area beginning to feel the heat. In all cases involving the Kuki people, the role of the Central security forces, particularly the Assam Rifles, has come under strict scrutiny. If it was the Meira Paibis and the Meitei CSOs who pointed their fingers at the Assam Rifles for adopting a partisan position in the initial days of the conflict, now it is the turn of the Tangkhul CSOs who have started accusing the Assam Rifles and the Army of being in cahoots with the Kuki militants. This trend may perhaps explain from where the Kuki militants draw their strength from. The recent arrest of 6 Ukrainian and an American mercenary also adds weight to the growing suspicion of the clash in Manipur being triggered by geo-politics. This is where one is reminded of the story run by Republic TV in the early days of the clash, a report that carried the story of how some US based reporters were already in Churachandpur before trouble erupted on May 3, 2023. How did the US based journalists get wind that a big story was about to erupt ? This question itself should answer why violence erupted at Churachandpur and Torbung on May 3, 2023 and which quickly spread to Moreh and Kangpokpi.
Foreign hands and in the context of Manipur especially the violence that erupted on May 3, 2023, this can be understood as migrants from the neighbouring country of Myanmar. Manipur has still not forgotten what Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed Parliament during a discussion on the no-confidence motion on August 9, 2023, that the influx of migrants from Myanmar into Manipur is responsible for the violence. A number of pen-pushers from mainland India had dubbed this as contorted but still shied away from trying to find an answer to from where the guns and ammos used by the Kuki militants had come from. To others in Manipur, who had always tried to understand the ‘power’ that fuels the gun power of the Kuki militants, the arrest of the six Ukrainians and the American mercenary will go a long way in explaining the hands of geo-politics being played out on the soil of Manipur. And this should also explain why fingers of accusation have been raised against the Central security forces, particularly the Assam Rifles. The compulsion of geo-politics, made all that more relevant by the violence between the Tatmadaw and the ethnic armed groups in Myanmar. This should also be understood through the lens of the Act East Policy and the Kaladan Multi-Modal Project, among others. It is this reality which has given the gumption to the Kuki militants to open two ‘war’ fronts.
Foreign hands and in the context of Manipur especially the violence that erupted on May 3, 2023, this can be understood as migrants from the neighbouring country of Myanmar. Manipur has still not forgotten what Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed Parliament during a discussion on the no-confidence motion on August 9, 2023, that the influx of migrants from Myanmar into Manipur is responsible for the violence. A number of pen-pushers from mainland India had dubbed this as contorted but still shied away from trying to find an answer to from where the guns and ammos used by the Kuki militants had come from. To others in Manipur, who had always tried to understand the ‘power’ that fuels the gun power of the Kuki militants, the arrest of the six Ukrainians and the American mercenary will go a long way in explaining the hands of geo-politics being played out on the soil of Manipur. And this should also explain why fingers of accusation have been raised against the Central security forces, particularly the Assam Rifles. The compulsion of geo-politics, made all that more relevant by the violence between the Tatmadaw and the ethnic armed groups in Myanmar. This should also be understood through the lens of the Act East Policy and the Kaladan Multi-Modal Project, among others. It is this reality which has given the gumption to the Kuki militants to open two ‘war’ fronts.