Manipur Chief Minister Briefs Amit Shah On Violence, Tribal MLAs' Demand

Ten days after violence broke out in Manipur, Chief Minister N Biren Singh came to Delhi and met with Home Minister Amit Shah to brief him about the situation in the state, where ethnic violence broke out between the Meiteis and Kuki tribals.

BJP chief JP Nadda also attended the meeting at Mr Shah's home.

"The Chief Minister briefed the Home Minister about the ground situation in Manipur," Manipur Health Minister Dr Sapam Ranjan Singh told NDTV.

He said the Chief Minister was accompanied by four of his cabinet ministers and Manipur BJP chief Sarada Devi.

"The Chief Minister is going back to Imphal tonight and will be addressing a press conference at 9 am in Imphal," the Health Minister said.

Sources said Mr Singh briefed Mr Shah about the tribal MLAs' demand for a "separate administration".

"The situation is slowly limping back to normal, but this issue may deepen the divide between the Meiteis and the Kukis, and can trigger more clashes between the two communities," a Home Ministry officer said, asking not to be named.

The officer said the Chief Minister has been asked to handle the matter carefully and take adequate precautions so that fresh clashes don't break out.

The 10 MLAs, seven of them belonging to the BJP and two from the Kuki People's Alliance, which is an ally of the BJP, issued a statement on Friday demanding a "separate administration" for Kukis.

Violent clashes broke out in Manipur after a "tribal solidarity march" was held in the 10 hill districts on May 3 in protest against Meiteis' demand for Scheduled Tribes (ST) status.

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

Meiteis account for 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in and around Imphal valley. Tribals - Nagas, Kukis and others - constitute another 40 per cent of the population and live in the hill districts.

The Chief Minister on Monday said 60 people have been killed in the violence.

The Meitei community of Manipur gathered in large numbers at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Sunday to demand the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), an exercise to identify illegal immigrants and deport them.

The protesters said Meiteis who have been living in Kuki-majority hills have left their homes and they are unable to return, allegedly due to threats from Kuki insurgents who are hiding in the hills.

The NRC was last done in Assam, where many people alleged they have been misidentified as foreigners. They had to go to the foreigners' tribunals and the courts for relief.

"The entry of illegal migrants needs to be identified which is the need of the hour. This will help to safeguard all the indigenous communities in Manipur. The illegal immigrants with the support of their armed insurgent wings have raised atrocities to the indigenous community systematically since 1993 and this should be stopped at any cost," World Meitei Council chairman Heigrujam Nabashyam, who is one of the organisers of the protest, said in a statement.

"Meiteis have been demanding constitutional protection for their survival for the past 11 years. Only constitutional protection to Meiteis will allow them to survive against the rapid changing demography caused by the influx of illegal immigrants from neighbouring Myanmar," it said in the statement.

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 - can't buy land in the tribal-majority hills, while the tribals can buy land in the valley.