Manipur CM N. Biren Singh Must Resign: NFIW

The National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) on Monday put Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh in the dock for the violence that has been ongoing for the past two months in his state. They have called it “state sponsored violence”.

The organisation held Biren Singh solely responsible for the violence unfolding in the state. The statement came after a three-member fact finding team of the Delhi-based federation led by its general secretary Annie Raja, met with eyewitnesses

They enquired about the recent wave of violence that claimed more than 130 lives and injured around 400 people besides displacing over 50,000.

At a press conference in the national capital, Raja said the BJP governments in the state and at the Centre should take responsibility for the situation. “Whatever has happened and happening in Manipur is state sponsored violence and we are demanding the disarming of all groups.

“We are saying this because we observed the police, they remain onlookers. Clashes are taking place in front of their eyes, and they remain spectators. It has angered both Meitei and Kuki people. The double-engine of the BJP government in the state and the Centre should take responsibility,” Raja said.

The NFIW said they visited Manipur from June 28 to July 1. They visited three relief camps and a government hospital in Imphal East, two camps in Moirang of Bishnupur, the District Collector’s office there and the IMA Market where they interacted with Meira Paibis (women-led vigilante groups).

The team also visited the district collectors of Churachandpur and the assistant collector of Bishnupur, Manipur Baptist Convention Center Church and Catholic Bishop House in Imphal West.

“What is happening in Manipur is not communal violence, nor is it merely a fight between two communities. It involves the question of land, resources, and the presence of fanatics and militants,” Raja added.

Meanwhile, the National Secretary of NFIW said that the people they met at the relief camp want peace. “They want to go back to their homes and live together the way they lived,” she added.

The members of the delegation, however, added that there is mistrust between the members of Meitei and Kuki communities, and “militants, fanatics and miscreants have taken advantage of the situation”.

Responding to a query by The Citizen on how refugees from Imphal who have taken shelter in Delhi have adamantly said that they can not live together as before, Raja said in “relief camps one could see the beauty of how Meiteis and Kukis still are in touch with each other”.

“While those in relief camps are poor labourers and have said they want to live together. People from both communities living outside them have a major mistrust between them,” she added.

Delegation member and advocate Deeksha Dwivedi said in all the relief camps, they did not find anyone who had been paid any compensation and the camps were lacking in facilities. She also said both “communities are in pain, and the government should find a way to resolve the conflict”.

Delegation member Nisha Sidhu pointed out that most camps were run by citizens and civil society groups, with limited support from the government, and most of those in the camps were mostly daily wage workers and ordinary people.

“The camps have persons aged one month old to 80 years old. Many pregnant women are also there. Food provided by the government is insufficient, especially for infants, elderly, pregnant and lactating women,” said Sidhu.

She also pointed out that there was a lack of sanitary pads, women’s undergarments and medical facilities, and even pregnant women, or those who had just delivered, were not being given any supplementary food beyond the standard rice and dal twice a day.

“We asked officials to start ‘anganwadis’ in these camps so young children could get more food, have the food cooked under the MGNREGA so that women can earn something, and pay old-age pension at the camps,” she added.

The demands of the NFIW include the resignation of chief minister N. Biren Singh, disarming of all warring groups and confidence-building measures with all stakeholders.

“Both the state and centre are to be blamed for whatever is happening in Manipur and they should take responsibility for it,” Raja said.

The NFIW also demanded a Supreme Court-monitored inquiry, and the deployment of the same security force on both sides of buffer zones between Meitei and Kuki-dominated areas. The advice on deployment is based on testimonies of lack of cooperation, if not conflict, between state and central forces.

However, Meitei groups see the buffer zones as a step towards dividing the state.

Clashes broke out in Manipur after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ in all its 10 districts on May 3 to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.

The violence was preceded by tension over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations.

Last month, the Centre instituted an inquiry commission under former Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court Ajai Lamba, and a peace committee chaired by the chief minister, which Kuki groups boycotted.

On June 26, the Chief Minister’s office indicated in a statement after a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah that more stakeholders would be included in the peace process.

The Centre maintains that the violence was sparked off by Manipur High Court’s order on the recommendation of Scheduled Tribe status for the majority Meiteis. The NFIW listed a series of decisions that created mistrust between the communities before the court’s order.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur’s population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley. Tribals – Nagas and Kukis – constitute another 40 percent of the population and reside in the hill districts.

Raja said they witnessed women in camps speaking on phone to their neighbours and that most of them wanted to return home despite the violence. “Manipuri women outside the state can play a big role in building confidence between the two communities,” Raja told The Telegraph, adding that the NFIW would attempt to bring women from both communities on the same platform in Delhi soon.