Manipur Deaths Pile On As Kuki-Zo Tribal Protests Intensify Amid Meitei 'Revivalism'

The roads leading to the Mini Secretariat in the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district of Manipur were chock-a-block with hundreds of protesters on February 15 when security forces opened fire. A 15-year-old Kuki youth, resident of the nearby S Canan Veng village, was passing by the commotion, on his way home, when a bullet hit him, killing him instantly. A desolate father, Seilal Haokip has dubbed the death of his minor son as an 바카라�institutional murder바카라�. Another civilian, Letlalkhuol Gangte, 29, lost his life in the firing which left 25 people injured. The tragedy seems to have only galvanised the tribals further in their resolve to sever ties with the dominant Meitei community.

Clashes between the Kuki and Meitei communities broke out first on May 3, 2023 and have since consumed over 180 lives. While violence has become endemic across Manipur, the recent conflagration was triggered by the sudden suspension of the Kuki-Zo head constable, Siamlalpaul, posted at Churachandpur, after images of him taking selfie videos with 바카라�armed men바카라� went viral on social media on February 14. In protest, around 300-400 Kuki-Zo protesters mobbed the offices of Churachandpur바카라�s Superintendent of Police (SP) Shivanand Surve and Deputy Commissioner (DC) S Dharun Kumar. While security forces claim that the firing was in retaliation to mob violence, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders바카라� Forum (ITLF) has held the SP and DC 바카라�entirely responsible바카라� for the deaths. The group has warned that 바카라�both the SP and DC will bear the responsibility of any untoward incident that may fall on them바카라�, should they choose to stay in Churachandpur. The ITLF바카라�s spokesperson, Ginza Vualzong, tells Outlook that suspending a tribal official for a selfie while ignoring Meitei officials 바카라�openly fraternising바카라� with armed militants reflects the state바카라�s 바카라�anti-tribal바카라� agenda to vilify the Kuki-Zo people. The irate activist adds that the 바카라�miscreants바카라� in the viral photograph clicked by Siamlalpaul were volunteers of the village defence force, and not 바카라�dangerous members of any Suspension of Operations (SoO) groups as is being touted in the media바카라�.

After nine months of violence, Manipur remains on the boil. The BJP, which has been cultivating its tribal vote bank across the country, has maintained a stoic silence on the Manipur issue, despite repeated raps from opposition leaders and international human rights agencies for its failure to restore peace in the state. Between the Nagas바카라�who have largely remained neutral in this war바카라�and the Kuki-Zo tribes that inhabit the contiguous hills of Manipur and Myanmar, the party seems to be relying on a third kind of 바카라�tribal바카라�.

바카라�By aligning with the tribals in Manipur, the BJP seems to be throwing its weight behind a dominant, 바카라�general category바카라� community바카라�s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. It바카라�s a distorted kind of tribalism,바카라� says Albert L Renthlei, convener of Zo United, a conglomerate of Manipuri and Mizo tribal groups. Renthlei finds it strange that Meiteis, who have claimed to be 바카라�advanced바카라� people and denigrated Kuki tribes with derogatory monikers like hao or lawai macha (uncivilised), now want to be categorised as 바카라�backward바카라�.

바카라�Backward castes or tribes did not choose this status,바카라� Renthlei adds dryly. 바카라�Benefits given to STs are not freebies, but affirmative action meant to reverse decades of injustice바카라�. The Meiteis allege being 바카라�denied바카라� ST status today, but when the first Backward Class Commission had requested a list of tribes to include in the Scheduled Tribes (modification) list from states and union territories, the Meiteis chose not to include themselves.

Many Meiteis today believe that ST categorisation is the only way to protect their 바카라�ancestral land, traditions, culture and language바카라�. But why switch sides now, after all these years?

The Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1960, prohibits non-tribals from buying or owning land in 바카라�hill areas바카라�. Some Meitei historians, nevertheless, claim that the old kingdom included five present-day districts of Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, Bishnupur, and Kakching. Acquiring tribal land is said to be essential for accommodating the expanding valley population, which is relegated to just 10 per cent of Manipur.

Beyond the more practical needs, Leishipem Khamrang, a professor at the Royal Thimphu College in Bhutan, argues that the Meitei demand for ST status may also be in part driven by a need for cultural preservation. 바카라�Considering the various agendas and propagandas disseminated by Meitei organisations, the demand for ST status is a manifestation of the Meiteis바카라� intention of salvaging their own lost cultural supremacy, language and identity,바카라� notes Khamrang.

In a paper exploring latent ethnic relations and enmity in Manipur, the professor outlines how Hindu proselytisation shaped Manipur in the 18th century when King Gharib Nawaz (Pamheiba) made Hinduism the official religion, and even changed the Meitei name of his kingdom 바카라�Kangleipak바카라� to the Sanskritised 바카라�Manipur바카라�.

This 바카라�annihilation of centuries-old traditional religion and social system of the Meitei바카라� was followed by systematic Sanskritisation and Brahmanisation of indigenous customs. Meitei salai (clans), for instance, were absorbed into the Hindu gotra (lineage) system; each salai was identified as a gotra. 바카라�The king바카라�s dynasty (declared as Kshatriya) had been equated with the Surya vansa or solar dynasty of Sri Ramachandra of Ramayana,바카라� says researcher Senjam Purnima Devi. Meitei festivals like the Waira Tenkap festival of archery evolved into the worship of Lord Rama and the Kongba Leithong Phatpa festival became Vishnu Sankranti. Meitei deities like Panthoibi were likened to Durga while Nongpok Ningthou became Shiva.

Devi, who penned the 2018 paper Syncretic Pre-Hindu Religious Elements In Hinduism, says that despite the imposition of Vaishnavite Hindu traditions by the ruling class on its indigenous subjects, Meiteis retained parts of their pre-Hindu religious practices and rituals leading to a distinct mix of Hinduism and Sanamahism that exists even today. 바카라�Sanamahi is worshipped in the traditional south-west corner of almost every Meitei household along with the goddesses Imoinu, Phouoibi, Panthoibi and a myriad of deities,바카라� writes Devi.

While these deities are worshipped inside homes, outside spaces are devoted to private or community temples where the Meiteis worship Vaishnavite deities like Ram-Sita, Hanuman and Krishna-Radha. In the women-run market of Ima Keithel, it isn바카라�t uncommon to find images of Sanamahi symbols and deities being sold alongside stuffed cloth idols of Krishna and Rama, who sport traditional Meitei clothes with distinctly Manipuri facial features and Meitei costumes.

Meitei revivalism has surged over the past few decades. By the late 1970s, prominent politicians like Yangmaso Shaiza, Keishamthong Laishram Manaobi and activist Chingshubam Akaba came to the forefront of Meitei identity politics, culminating in the slow, yet steady revival of the indigenous Meitei Mayek script Manipuri kings used before the advent of Hinduism.

During the past year, radical Meitei groups have breathed fresh life into indigenous revivalism, albeit spiced with a hint of saffron. Groups like Arambai Tenggol, commandeered by the elusive Korounganba Khuman and a key perpetrator of violence against the Kukis, have risen in political prominence. Meitei Parliamentarian and Manipur바카라�s titular king, Leishemba Sanajaoba, is sympathetic towards the Tenggol. Photos of Khuman meeting him and Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh at his residence surfaced online last August. But perhaps the most powerful visuals of Arambai Tenggol바카라�s growing footprint in Manipuri politics came two days ahead of Republic Day when nearly 37 MLAs and three MPs made their way to the medieval-era Kangla Fort바카라�a symbol of Meitei pride바카라�in response to a 바카라�summons바카라� sent by the group바카라�s chief.

At the 바카라�meeting바카라�, the lawmakers were allegedly compelled to take an 바카라�oath바카라� to protect the 바카라�integrity of the state바카라� and pledged to fulfil the group바카라�s demands within 15 days. While Singh did not attend, he has reportedly signed the document as well. Incidentally, delisting certain Kuki-Zomi tribes from the ST category is one of the group바카라�s key demands. 바카라�How can the government allow such an unconstitutional event?바카라� asks Renthlei. 바카라�Who is running the Manipuri government now, Meitei leaders or Meitei militants?

Meanwhile, in Churachandpur, which the tribals have renamed 바카라�Lamka바카라�, the mood is grim but steadfast. Renthlei, Vualzong and other tribal leaders who recently met Union Home Ministry officials have reiterated their demand for a separate administration for hill districts. 바카라�We don바카라�t see any way for Kukis and Meiteis to coexist anymore,바카라� says Renthlei. Cut off from the state바카라�s political and economic centre, Kuki communities have been struggling to rebuild their lives after the violence. Over 50,000 people have been displaced in the conflict and the hills are today overcrowded with relief camps awaiting aid from the government. 바카라�Both sides have suffered in this violence. Going separate ways is the only way to bring peace,바카라� adds Renthlei.

(This appeared in the print as 'Status War')