Who will believe that the Chief Minister of the state is the mastermind behind the ethnic cleansing violence of a particular community in the state? But unfortunately, the Kuki tribes in Manipur are experiencing state-sponsored ethnic cleansing violence at present. Besides the Kukis are not a migratory tribe. As learned from history, and endorsed by several scholars, their scattered settlement across the hill tracts of Manipur and beyond is the consequence of a deliberate policy of the British and the Maharaja of Manipur; it was never a choice.
Even before he become the CM of Manipur, N. Biren Singh was commonly known for his hate speech and communal feelings for the hill tribes. His son Nongthombam Ajay is a murderer who committed homicide by killing a 19-year-old teen in 2011. With the help of several underground organizations and black money, N. Biren Singh achieved his goal to be the CM of Manipur and begins with the greater Imphal project. The project indeed was the development of Imphal by connecting the capital city to its neighboring towns and villages. The motive behind the greater Imphal project was to capture all the tribal inhabited areas in and around Imphal city. The main city becomes densely populated with the Meitei communities and congested, as the population keeps raising in and around the Imphal valley. In executing his plan, Mr. N. Biren Singh gathers most of the unemployed youths in Manipur, leading to the formation of Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun. This group of unemployed youngsters was given a free hand by Chief Minister Biren Singh issuing them some automatic guns for their upcoming movement or cause.
These organizations along with the state government employees were ordered to mark all the Kuki tribal houses (with red dots and serial numbers) in a surrounding area like; National Game Village, Chassad Avenue, Haokip Veng, Langgon, etc. Apart from that the Chief Minister’s office issued an order to collect back all the licensed guns from the Kuki inhabitant areas in Manipur. Strangely, no such orders were given in the Meitei inhabited areas. The peace rally organized by the All Tribal Union Manipur (ATSUM) on the 3rd of May, 2023 ended peacefully. Unfortunately in the evening, the Meitei miscreant like Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun set the Anglo-Kuki Centenary on fire, which ignites the ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo tribes in Manipur.
Unfortunately on 3rd May 2023, Meitei Leepun and Arembai Tenggol accompanied by the state police commandos burn down and vandalized all the Kuki tribal houses in and around Imphal areas. They targeted all the worship places and vandalized them. They don’t even spare children and women. Children and women were being tortured, raped, and killed by the Meitei manhunt mob. In any democratic country, people’s rights and worshipped places are usually highlighted and respected. Unfortunately, Churches were being destroyed, they hummer down the Christian Cross Symbol from the Church building and replace it with their Meitei kingdom flag. Vandalizing and burning down people’s worship places and abusing their God and cursing the God that the Kuki tribal worshipped is worst that the behavior of the wild beasts.
In an Outlook article dated July 9, 2021, the Chief Minister was stated to have remarked, “All lands belong to the state government.” With this exclusive statement, the CM showed that he’s simply the Chief Minister of Imphal Valley. Later, he dehumanized the Kukis as poppy cultivators and drug warlords. Thirdly, he branded the Kukis wholesale as illegal immigrants. The poppy argument given by Biren Singh is fallacious given that poppy is also cultivated in Naga-inhabited districts. The Nagas too are under the ATSUM banner, now spearheading against the inclusion of Meiteis in the ST list, and the Naga majority districts of Ukhrul, Senapati, Chandel, and Tamenlong participated in the ATSUM rally held on May 3. And whereas only the Kukis were targeted.
Hours, when mobs in Imphal Valley started targeting Kuki homes and Churches. Rather, according to reports, the Manipur police commandoes aided the mobs by doing nothing when the dwellings of the Kuki tribals were being burnt down. Not surprisingly, on May 4, the DGP P. Doungel IPS of Kuki ethnicity relinquished all authority and the overall operational command of the police force was handed over to ADGP Ashutosh Sinha IPS, also reporting to the Security Advisor, GoM, Kuldeep Singh. No reasons were given for scapegoating Mr. Doungel.
The Condition of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo in the Ethnic Cleansing Riots in Manipur
Meiteis are always anti-Nationalist, the radicalisms are like N. Biren Singh, Arambai Tenggol, Meitei Leepun, and other terrorist groups demanding for separate Meitei country. At present under the leadership of Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun, even those women folk called Meira Paibis torch and burnt down more than 122 Kuki Christian Churches in Manipur. Every single village of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo tribe in and around the Imphal areas was totally vandalized and burnt to ashes. The Meitei manhunt mob used automatic weapons in attacking and capturing the Kuki tribal villages and the State police and commandos accompanying them in their voyage supported the manhunt mob attacking and killing the Kuki innocent civilians freely. At this juncture, the DGP of Manipur police who is a Kuki was demoted and the lower rank officer ADGP was given the responsibility of handling the state police. Another IPS officer was attacked by the Meitei mob and there was not even a single security guard to protect his wife and children from the ethnic violence. Mr. Letminthang Haokip, an Indian Revenue Officer was forcefully snatched out of his quarter and beaten to death by the Meitei manhunt mobs of Arambai Tenggol and Meitei Leepun. A violent mob did not even spare a member of the Legislative Assembly as he was a Kuki tribal. Mr. Vunzagin Valte, a Kuki MLA was summoned by the Chief Minister in the midst of tension and violence to his bungalow. On his return home, the Kuki MLA was attacked just near the CM Bangalow and none came out to defend him. A CRPF Commando, Chungkholen Haokip of 204 Cobra CRPF was horribly tortured and killed by the Meitei mob while defending his village and families. Another tragic incident was with the college students Miss Olivia Lhingneithem Chongloi and Florence Hangshing. They were forcefully pull-out from their rented house by the Meitei mob and gang-rapped them until they suffocate and died.
Attacking the Kuki students, staff, and Professors at Manipur University was another horrible incident during the ethnic cleansing violence of the Chin-Kuki-Mizo. In a central university like MU, how can the Meitei students join the manhunt mob and single out the Kuki students in the University hostels? Three girls from MU Hostel (Working Women Hostel, Hostel 8) narrated that a group of Meitei boys with a black T-Shirt and the same logo burst inside the lady’s hostel. They bang on the door shouting for the Kuki girl to come out of the room. Another three male students from hostels 3 and 4 experience the most horrible nightmare in life. The so-called Arambai Tenggol along with the manhunt mob turned down their hostel door, burning all the books, clothes, and tables. Jumping down from the window, they spent their night among the bushes with empty stomachs. As seen in the viral video, four Kuki students were captured by the Meira Paibis (self-righteous women wing) and Arambai Tenggol inside the Manipur University main campus. They were tortured openly and looted everything they have like mobile phones, certificates, etc.
The question here is, how did the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar (both from Meitei community) doesn’t give any instruction or order to the security to not let the mob trespass the university main gate? If the tribal students are not safe even in a central university like Manipur University, where will they go for their higher education? Another Science student was hit with an iron rod by Arambai Tengol and Meitei Leepun inside the campus. The student got severe injuries and fracturesand was bought to Guwahati for treatment. At present, around 300-400 Kuki students at Manipur University are in dilemma. For those Research scholars, all the collected data and thesis were destroyed along with their laptops. All the certificates files and books were burned down to ashes by the Meitei mob inside the university hostel room. Is the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar to be blamed or the state police who were on duty at the university gate with full uniforms and automatic weapons? What is the state government doing? Why Biren Singh volunteers (ArambaiTengol and Meitei Leepun) were burning and destroying the Kuki student’s laptops, certificates, and books inside the University campus? Who gave free-hand to these thugs to freely tortured, rape, and killed innocent Kuki students and civilians? Even in a state government Polytechnic Institute in Takyelpat, Imphal 32 Kuki students were tortured by the Meitei mob along with their hostel mates. They were stoned, beaten, and chased out of the campus forcefully.
What then Shall we do?
Since the Kukis are not safe in the midst of the Meitei communities and not even in the Manipur Central University, DM University, and State Government Polytechnic Institute, separate administration for the hills and the plain is the only solution. The Kuki tribals will not negotiate with Biren Singh, as being the culprit of the ethnic cleansing violence in Manipur. We can’t consider a murderer, homicide, and genocide to be the Chief Miniter of Manipur. The Kukis have no government and are in need of it. The existing law and order are only for the Meiteis in Manipur, and they only profit from it. N. Biren Singh should resign as his credibility has been tarnished beyond repair and no amount of peace-building can restore the sense of normalcy under his watch. President rule should be imposed in the state so that all those responsible for the atrocities can be booked and prosecuted.
(Views expressed are personal)
