15,400 Acres Under Poppy Cultivation In Manipur, 2,500 Arrested In 5 Years: Sources

The scale of poppy cultivation in Manipur has spread across 15,400 acres of land in the hills between 2017 and 2023, according to data from the state's special anti-drugs unit Narcotics and Affairs of Border (NAB).

Superintendent of Police (NAB) K Meghachandra Singh, in a letter to the Manipur Commissioner (Home) today following a request for information on the number of drug-traffickers arrested and poppy cultivation identified in the past five years, gave a detailed break-up of "community-wise" arrests, including the number of "encroachers" evicted from reserved and protected forests from January 2017 to April 2023.

At least 2,518 people have been arrested in the past five years under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the NAB said in the letter. Of this, 381 were Meiteis, 1,083 Muslims, 873 Kuki-Chin and 181 others. The number of arrests was highest in 2022 at 658. Eighty people have been arrested under the NDPS Act since the beginning of this year till now.

The Manipur government has not targeted any particular community in the war on drugs campaign, sources in the NAB said. Encroachers were evicted from reserved and protected forests across the state on account of the worsening environmental conditions, the sources said, asking not to be identified.

The NAB's letter comes nearly two weeks after 70 people were killed in large-scale violence between Manipur's valley residents Meiteis and the Kuki tribals in the hills over the Meiteis' demand for inclusion under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.

The Kukis have also alleged the BJP government in Manipur led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh has been targetting them systematically - using the war on drugs campaign as the cover - to remove them from the forests and their homes in the hills.

The NAB data shows 291 encroachers have been evicted from reserved and protected forests between January 2017 and April 2023. The anti-encroachment action happened at 21 locations across the state between this period, according to the NAB.

Of the 15,497 acres of land where poppy cultivation was found in the past five years, 13,122 acres were in Kuki-Chin-dominated areas, 2,340 acres in Naga-dominated areas and 35 acres under others, the NAB said in the letter.

The NAB data shows areas with poppy cultivation in Kuki-Chin-dominated places increased 30 per cent from 2,001 acres in 2017-18 to 2,600 acres in 2021-22.

"Drugs have spoiled many lives in Manipur and across the country. Manipur's population is only approximately 28 lakh, but it has 1.4 lakh young people who are affected by drugs. The state has turned into a gateway of drug smuggling to other states," a senior official involved in the war on drugs campaign said, asking not to be identified.

Manipur is yet to return to normalcy. Home Minister Amit Shah has assured of action against those involved in the violence, and met with representatives of both the Meiteis and the Kukis.

The army and other security forces continue to carry out patrols and help civilians with supplies and evacuation. The Indian Army's Spear Corps and others have been carrying out area-domination patrols to bring peace and feeling of safety among the internally displaced people. But sporadic gunfights between the security forces and insurgents have been reported from the hills across the state in the past few days.

Both the Meiteis and the Kukis claim the number of displaced people and the extent of property destroyed including churches, temples, shops and homes are higher on their respective side. Official sources in Manipur said 75 per cent of the displaced people are Meiteis and 70 per cent of the homes set on fire or destroyed are in small Meitei settlements in the Kuki-majority hills. The Kukis contest these figures.

Tensions had been dormant for a while as the Meiteis continued to push for their ST demand. However, violence broke out during a protest by an umbrella group of all tribals in Manipur's Churachandpur district against the Meiteis' ST demand earlier this month, after which it spread in the following days.

The Kukis have objected to the Meiteis' demand for inclusion under ST category citing the numerically larger and economically stronger Meiteis will grab all government benefits and take their lands.

Currently, the Meiteis - Hindus who are mostly settled in and around the state capital Imphal valley - cannot buy land in the tribal-majority hills, while the tribals can buy land in the valley.