In a state of conflict for over 3 years Dragging in the Nagas
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For over three years, 80 percent or more of the opinions expressed in this commentary column of The Sangai Express has been on the ongoing state of unrest here and not surprisingly so. Afterall which State in India has been caught in a state of conflict between different ethnic groups for over three years. Delhi may seek to downplay the timeline of three years with the explanation that ethnic clash is not new in Manipur by pointing to the past, such as the Naga-Kuki clash from 1992 to 1997 or the Kuki-Paite clash from 1997 to 1998 but to many this is seen as a reflection of the abject failure of Delhi to address the issue with the merit it deserves. Violence erupted on May 3, 2023 and far from things improving, things have taken a turn for the worse with the Nagas being dragged in now. First it was the Tangkhuls of Ukhrul and Kamjong district which had to bear the brunt of onslaughts from the well armed Kuki militants and then things took a bitter turn with the Liangmai people being at the receiving end with the dismembered remains of six of its men to show how badly they have been targeted. As expected the battered remains of the six abducted men mobilised all the Naga communities and the design of the Kukis to paint the clash at Ukhrul as one between them and the Tangkhuls and the recent discovery of the dismembered bodies as one between them and the Liangmais stand defeated. When Manipur went up in flames in 2023, the Meiteis were caught off guard and had nothing up its sleeves to counter the victim narrative churned out by the fertile imagination of the Kukis and the attempt to go in the for the same strategy can now be seen, first in its clash with the Tangkhuls and now with the Liangmais. A point which can be seen and understood clearly in its attempt to first club the clash at Ukhrul district as one between the Kukis and the Tangkhuls without dragging in the name Naga and now in the hostage and cold blooded massacre of the six men who all belonged to the Liangmai community of the Naga family. And if at all there is any ‘positive outcome’ from the last three years that can be seen and understood, it is the awareness of the Naga people to measure up to the tactics of victim narrative which the Kukis had used to good effect. And this is something which can be seen in different media, whether it is the print media or social media such as Facebook and Instagram and even X. The war of narratives and underlining this is the important and crucial message that in today’s digital age, what is told and projected to the outside world is important, very important and this is something which can be pushed aside only to one’s peril. The last three years should be enough lesson for Manipur and the Meiteis but it is still not very clear if any lesson has been picked up or not.
When violence first erupted in the evening of May 3, 2023 and on the days after that, The Sangai Express had stayed clear of naming any particular community but as the days passed, the engineered narrative began to do the talking across the country and it was then that a revisit to the earlier stand was necessitated. Far from resolving the issue, even after more than three years, the violence has only taken a turn for the worse, best exemplified by the days that have followed the assassination of three Church leaders of the Thadou community on May 13, 2026. Apart from pointing the finger of accusation towards the NSCN (IM) and ZUF (Kamson), 18 Naga people were abducted at Leilon Vaiphei village and after the women and a child were released, the six men kept in captivity were found butchered to death. This was on June 10, nearly one month after they were abducted. So from a Meitei-Kuki clash, the Nagas now have been dragged in and the one central character in the two way clash are the Kukis. A look back at the past will say it has been like this not only in Manipur but also in other States of the North East, instances which have been laid out here in earlier commentaries. Delhi cannot be blind to the reality here and with fingers of accusation increasingly being pointed at the Central security forces, a relook at things here in its correct perspective is the need. This is where one is tempted to question what Imphal has been doing all these days.
When violence first erupted in the evening of May 3, 2023 and on the days after that, The Sangai Express had stayed clear of naming any particular community but as the days passed, the engineered narrative began to do the talking across the country and it was then that a revisit to the earlier stand was necessitated. Far from resolving the issue, even after more than three years, the violence has only taken a turn for the worse, best exemplified by the days that have followed the assassination of three Church leaders of the Thadou community on May 13, 2026. Apart from pointing the finger of accusation towards the NSCN (IM) and ZUF (Kamson), 18 Naga people were abducted at Leilon Vaiphei village and after the women and a child were released, the six men kept in captivity were found butchered to death. This was on June 10, nearly one month after they were abducted. So from a Meitei-Kuki clash, the Nagas now have been dragged in and the one central character in the two way clash are the Kukis. A look back at the past will say it has been like this not only in Manipur but also in other States of the North East, instances which have been laid out here in earlier commentaries. Delhi cannot be blind to the reality here and with fingers of accusation increasingly being pointed at the Central security forces, a relook at things here in its correct perspective is the need. This is where one is tempted to question what Imphal has been doing all these days.