AA Edit | Centre must find Manipur solution; can’t rely on CM

Nine people have lost their lives in the state in the first week of this month in drone attacks and gun battles, which is indeed an unprecedented escalation of the situation. The use of drones in the fighting points to the deepening of hostility between the Kuki and Meitei communities; that the latest episodes of the fratricidal war have occurred in the border district of Jiribam points to its widening. If not arrested, it could engulf the entire state in no time.

There has been little effort to find a political solution to the issue, forcing the warring factions to intensify their agitations and taking their battle to newer and more dangerous heights. The Kukis, who claim they are discriminated against by the Meitei-dominated state administration have been demanding a separate administrative region for the hill areas where they mostly reside. The Union government, represented by home minister Amit Shah, has listened patiently to the community's demands, but little progress has been made. The state government has for obvious reasons been consistent in its opposition to suggestions of power sharing.

Reports suggest that chief minister N. Birendra Singh, standing on injured pride over the developments in the strife-torn state, has demanded that the Union government step up its actions against the militant Kuki groups. There are also conflicting reports about the imposition of Article 355, which bestows the Union government with the responsibility of running the law and order machinery in a state. A section says it is already in place with the unified command of the security apparatus lying with the Manipur government’s security adviser and the state government wants it back ; there are reports about the government mulling over its formal imposition.

It will be ill-advised for the Union government to resort to force to settle the issue that has cropped up between two brotherly peoples of the same state. It should instead explore the possibilities for finding a peaceful solution to the strife. It is not uncommon in India for people of a particular region to have autonomous administrations: the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils, with bases in Kargil and Leh, the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration based out of Darjeeling and the Kokrajhar-based Bodoland Autonomous Regional Council are examples of such an arrangement within the states or the Union territory concerned. Manipur itself hosts the Ukhrul Autonomous District Council, based in Ukhrul; the district is home to the Tangkhul tribes. The Union government must engage the Kuki rebels on exploring the possibility of such an arrangement; merely listening to them is not enough.

A democratic, non-partisan and focused approach would have already got Manipur back on the peace track, but it has not been attempted yet. It is now for the Union government, which has in its collective memory the experience of handling internal disturbances, to come up with a solution and buy peace. A decision cannot be left to a chief minister who is unfit to remain in power in a society which upholds the rule of law.