"Illegal Myanmarese Set Up Villages, Refused Shelters": Manipur Panel

A report by the Manipur cabinet subcommittee on identifying illegal immigrants says over 2,000 Myanmar nationals have set up settlements inside Manipur and refused to be moved to designated shelters.

Kuki civil society groups have been alleging that the Manipur government, in the name of trying to identify illegal immigrants, has been harassing Indian citizens. Kukis say they have been living in the hills of Manipur for a long time, and even fought against the British in what is now known as the Anglo-Kuki War. The BJP government led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh only wants to brand genuine Indian Kuki tribes as illegal immigrants, Kuki groups have alleged.

Documents filed by the cabinet subcommittee headed by Tribal Affairs and Hill Development Minister Letpao Haokip show the team visited two areas on March 29 and April 1 this year, where they met illegal immigrants, and spoke to them about providing humanitarian relief and shelters.

The cabinet subcommittee, whose members include Manipur ministers Awangbow Newmai and Thounaojam Basanta, also took photos, videos and audio recordings of their interaction with the illegal immigrants in Senapati district's Gamphazol on March 29, and Churachandpur district's Singhat on April 1.

After the field visits, the cabinet subcommittee gave its "initial findings" report to the state government on April 24, which said they have identified 2,187 illegal immigrants in 41 locations (table below).

"The identification of such a large number of illegal immigrants in the first phase [of the field visits] itself has become a reason for panic among the illegal immigrants settled in the state," the report said.

"During the identification drive, it was observed that the illegal Myanmari immigrants have established their own villages," said the report, a copy of which is with NDTV, adding it has enclosed the videos of their field visits in their "initial findings" submission.

"It was during this identification exercise where the establishment of such villages was objected and they were advised that shelter homes will be built by the government for them. The illegal immigrants have raised strong objection to the proposal and it is one of the reasons for the violence that broke out recently," said the report.

The cabinet subcommittee on illegal immigrants has given all other visuals they have recorded during their field visits to the state government.

"It may also be noted that the Manipur government's War on Drugs campaign has badly affected poppy cultivation and narcotics business run by Myanmaris in Manipur. Due to this reason, the recent violence in Manipur was fueled by influential poppy cultivators and drug lords from Myanmar settling in Manipur," the report said.

Letpao Haokip, the Tribal Affairs and Hill Development Minister, is one of the 10 tribal MLAs who called for a separate administration following the outbreak of violence on May 3.

"We are not aware of the report, but the only people who came from Myanmar are those who crossed over after the Myanmar crisis erupted and they are in few hundreds. Except for them, there are no illegal people in the hill areas, Kukis are genuine legal Indian citizens. Let the state government make the survey reports public so that we can also verify," said Ginza Vualzong, spokesperson of Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum.

Myanmar's government-in-exile in a statement on June 15 asked its nationals who are "temporarily sheltering" in India "to refrain from any acts that are prejudicial to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India."

The National Unity Government (NUG) in the statement told Myanmar nationals "sheltering" in India and their organisations to avoid unnecessary involvement in India's politics and administrative activity, and asked them to live in harmony with the host communities. The NUG also appealed to the Myanmar nationals to not get involved in drug trafficking.

Manipur is still on the boil since ethnic violence broke out between the valley-majority Meitei and the hill-majority Kuki tribe. The Meiteis' demand for inclusion under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category led to protests by the Kukis, which spiralled into violence.

Over 100 people have died. Both communities continue to accuse each other of atrocities. Internet has been snapped in the state since May 3.