A year has gone by and there is still no sign of peace overtures from any quarter in Manipur, even as thousands of internally displaced people continue to languish in relief camps without even a whisper of hope for them returning home and eke out a living through one’s own labour and effort. Enough is enough. More than 200 people have been killed, around a hundred have gone missing without any trace, several homes devastated and razed to the ground while more than 60,000 people including women and children have lost their homes and properties. While both sides show no signs of relenting from the hatred and violence, both the state and the Central government has not made any meaningful steps towards quelling the violence and peace efforts.
One understands there are still unresolved issues of narco-terrorism, illegal infiltration from across the border and demographic shifts, unchecked encroachment and settlement in forest lands including devastation of forests and environment particularly through widespread poppy cultivation. However, we must also understand that it will take time and years to combat and defeat these issues. And, it should not be at the cost of peace and life for the common people on both sides.
As one browses through the various posts in the social media, it is all about competing narratives and hate-mongering and sometimes it is quite repulsive. Although many of these posts do not reach the eyes and ears of the commoners directly, it is spread by word of mouth and the story or narrative changes as it passes through different layers. We shall not dwell upon how and why the ethnic clashes came into being or the ‘chronology’ of events.
However, one must keep in mind that the common people on both sides were dragged into the ethnic cauldron by leaders with vested political interests. And now, it is the commoners fighting against each other while the leaders continue to fuel the hatred and animosity from safe havens. It is the people on the ground, the armed volunteers slogging in the mud and dirt of unkempt bunkers day and night with whatever refreshments being provided by villagers, fighting it out with succour provided by endless propaganda of the masters. With the common people as the bargaining chip, the political leaders continue to play a game of one-upmanship.
In the early days of the conflict, we were made to believe that the Centre was taking the back-channel route to broker peace between the Kukis and Meiteis. We used to call it the Track 2 process and such an unofficial channel always turns out to be the best way to bring even die-hard groups to the negotiating table. The first effort at peace turned out to be a damp squib as both Meitei and Kuki groups off-hand rejected the Peace Committee initiated by the Union Home Ministry and it became a non-starter. At that particular point of time, passions and enmity had already reached a boiling point. No one dared to talk of peace.
The Kukis were pushing for a separate administration citing state government apathy towards them in the wake of eviction from forest lands, war on drugs and restrictions on entry of their kin and kith from across the border. While on the other hand, an assertion of Meitei identity not seen before has come to the fore as a result of the conflict. Even politics have become so polarised that politicians and MLAs were forced to form groupings under ethnic identities.
Not only the politicians or representatives, even the civil society organisations are coming under the radar of public anger. In view of the charged atmosphere, nobody dared to speak of peace or against the ethnic assertions. As we said before, the ghosts that vested interests had unleashed in pursuit of their aims and objectives had taken control now, and politicians and CSO leaders have suddenly become very careful and cautious as not to antagonise the mob.
Now, the situation at the ground has cooled down a bit even with the hate mongering in the social media. For a peace process to work, for the present we need neutral referees and persons who genuinely believe in peace and have wide experience in conflict resolution and conflict transformation. And, we must understand that there are persons genuinely interested in peace in every community and what is required is the skill to find and identify them.
