Manipur is yet to see normalcy over a year since ethnic violence began in May 2023
A global umbrella body of civil society organisations of Manipur's Meitei community has condemned a letter by 10 Kuki MLAs that alleged the Centre is withdrawing two Assam Rifles battalions to fan more violence in the ethnic crisis-hit state.
The 10 MLAs along with two dozen Kuki-Zo insurgent groups under the suspension of operations (SoO) agreement and new groups like the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) have been demanding a separate administration carved out of Manipur.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, the 10 Kuki MLAs had said the Assam Rifles is a neutral force amid the deep division in Manipur and the two battalions, which are guarding two sensitive areas, if withdrawn would likely lead to attacks by the Meiteis.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is set to take over duties in the two areas earlier guarded by the Assam Rifles.
"Meitei Alliance condemns 10 MLAs from Manipur (representing a faction of Kuki and related communities) who wrote a letter to the Prime Minister accusing the Home Minister of a 'sinister design' of an 'ethnic cleansing campaign' against their communities," the civil society group said in a statement.
"The letter challenges the Home Ministry's authority in internal security matters, such as the relocation of the two Assam Rifles (battalions) from Manipur to elsewhere for counter-insurgency operations. This was a decision taken by military planners in the best interests of India's internal security. However, the Kuki MLAs in their hour of brinkmanship have defamed and maligned the Home Ministry by saying it acted on the pressure of the Manipur government," the Meitei Alliance said.
"These 10 MLAs, who have been misleading their communities for a long time, now in desperation are speaking lies. How can any responsible legislature in India say that the government of India would relocate or withdraw security forces to enable genocide within the country?" the Meitei Alliance said.
"As the two AR battalions would be replaced by the CRPF, they questioned the efficiency of the latter in such a manner that it amounted to portrayal of the force as a sectarian communal force deployed with a 'sinister design' against their communities. The MLAs' accusations are defamatory, anti-national, derogatory, and meant to malign India's security establishment," the Meitei Alliance said, adding the 10 Kuki MLAs should instead take actions that could bring peace to the state.
The Assam Rifles has maintained a neutral stance since ethnic violence began in Manipur in May 2023, the dual-role force's Director General Lieutenant General PC Nair (retired) had said last month, and termed as "stupid reports" allegations that the Assam Rifles has been "favouring one community and not the other". Lt General Nair had said to call the Assam Rifles biased towards a particular community is "nothing but rumours" spread by some people with a hidden agenda.
"... From the first day, the Assam Rifle has maintained a neutral stand [in Manipur]. All these narratives that have been coming are agenda-driven. It makes me laugh when I read some of these stupid reports saying the Assam Rifles is favouring one community, not favouring the other. These are nothing but rumours, falsehoods, preposterous," Lt General Nair had told news agency ANI.
The AR is under the administrative control of the Home Ministry and operational control of the army. It guards the 1,600-km-long Indo-Myanmar border, of which nearly 400 km is in Manipur, where it also functions as the primary counter-insurgency force making its task a dual-role one. There are some Border Security Force (BSF) battalions in Manipur, but they are not specifically tasked with guarding the Indo-Myanmar border.
BSF Additional Director General (ADG) PK Mishra had told NEWS9 channel that a massive failure of command and control coordination in Manipur has made central forces' intervention ineffective in Manipur, where the valley-dominant Meitei community and nearly two dozen tribes known as Kukis - a term given by the British in colonial times - who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have been fighting.
The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the nearly two dozen tribes that share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar's Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.