IMPHAL
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh is facing growing pressure to resign following the horrific killing of three children and an equal number of women from a single family in Jiribam, a district bordering Assam. Calls for his resignation have come from a section of BJP MLAs, opposition parties, National Democratic Alliance member National People’s Party (NPP) and human rights icon Irom Sharmila. Civil society organisations, highly influential in Manipur’s political landscape, have launched widespread agitations to demand justice and accountability. Public outrage has escalated, with angry protesters targeting the residences of ministers and MLAs, and even attempting to storm the chief minister’s private residence.
The killings in Jiribam mark a grim milestone in Manipur’s ongoing ethnic conflict. A landlocked region with a multi-ethnic society, Jiribam had remained largely unaffected during the first year of ethnic strife. However, in recent months, the area has witnessed arson and killings. Violence escalated with the horrific murder of a 31-year-old Hmar woman, a mother of three from the larger Kuki-Zo community, in Zairawn village. On November 7, she was tortured and burned alive. Three days later, Hmar armed groups launched attacks on the Borobekra police station and a CRPF post in Jakuradhor. A fierce gunfight with security forces ensued, resulting in the death of 10 attackers. On the same day, 13 individuals from a nearby Meitei relief camp were abducted. Eight of them, including six members of a single family, were brutally murdered. Among the victims were an eight-month-old baby and a two-year-old child. The remains of those killed were found in the Jiri and Barak rivers.
The gruesome nature of these killings has provoked widespread outrage, particularly in the Imphal Valley. Protests have intensified against both state and Central governments. Angry students at Manipur University burned in effigy Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya and Biren Singh.
“Does the Union government even consider Manipur a part of India? We have suffered for 18 months, and both governments have completely failed us,” said Sadhana Chanu, a research scholar from the university’s Hindi department. Similar sentiments were echoed by L. Brijkishor, treasurer of Uripok Apunba Lup, a coalition of Meira Paibis (women’s vigilante groups) and local clubs. He said despite the heavy deployment of security forces, the Central government had failed to protect civilians.
The RSS, too, has called for “urgent and sincere” efforts to solve the crisis. Singh finds himself increasingly isolated. The NPP, the BJP’s key ally and the second-largest party in the assembly, has withdrawn its support. In a strongly-worded letter to BJP president J.P. Nadda, NPP national president and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma termed Singh’s government a complete failure. Sangma later said the NPP would reconsider its stance if there was a change in leadership.
Cracks within the BJP are widening. Along with the 10 Kuki MLAs, 11 NDA MLAs boycotted a meeting convened by Singh on November 18. Of the BJP’s 37 MLAs, 19 skipped the meeting. While 27 NDA MLAs attended, three of the NPP’s seven MLAs were present, despite the party’s withdrawal of support.
The NDA meeting passed eight resolutions, including a demand for a mass operation against Kuki militants and for the declaration of the militant groups behind the Jiribam killings as unlawful organisations. However, civil society organisations, such as the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), dismissed these resolutions as superficial. “The resolution to declare only the group involved in the killing of six individuals as an ‘unlawful organisation’ is unsatisfactory. The people demand that all Kuki underground outfits under the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement be declared unlawful,” said COCOMI spokesperson Khuraijam Athouba. COCOMI later gave the government a week to implement its resolution, calling for an operation against Kuki militants allegedly responsible for the killings in Jiribam.
The killings represent a disturbing escalation in the conflict. For the first time, internally displaced individuals in a relief camp have been abducted and killed. Meitei organisations and the state government have accused Kuki-Hmar groups of orchestrating the killings. The Mizo National Front has denied these allegations, claiming that the CRPF ambushed village defence volunteers in Jiribam. Meanwhile, Kuki organisations conducted a coffin rally in Churachandpur to honour the ten people killed, and Kuki MLAs have conferred martyr status upon them.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah cancelled his Maharashtra election rallies to convene security meetings in Delhi. The Central government deployed 50 additional companies of paramilitary forces to Manipur and extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) to six additional police station areas, including Jiribam and the Imphal Valley. Despite this, the Manipur cabinet and the meeting of NDA MLAs have demanded its withdrawal, a call echoed by civil society groups.
The situation in Jiribam remains tense, with fears of revenge attacks and further escalation. In just 10 days, 20 people have been killed in the district. Assam has sealed its borders with Manipur to prevent the influx of “unwanted elements”. The Army and paramilitary forces continue to conduct flag marches to maintain order, but with arms and ammunition in the hands of both sides, many fear that the situation will deteriorate further.