– Deepak Kumar Tyagi
It is the responsibility of the State Government of Manipur and the Central Government to work on the ground to restore peace there in the interest of the country, to end ethnic enmity by formulating a far-reaching concrete strategy to restore mutual trust between the Meitei and Naga-Kuki communities. Do it. By the way, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has taken a concrete initiative during his Manipur tour recently. India’s northeastern border state of Manipur has an area of 22,327 square kilometers and a population of 2,855,794 according to the 2011 census. This state is considered to be a very sensitive state keeping its various diversities in one thread.
Manipur borders Nagaland in the north and Mizoram in the south, Assam in the west with Myanmar in the east, which is very important from a strategic point of view. But the worrying thing today is that for some time Manipur is burning in the fire of ethnic unrest started by its own residents. There has been an uproar between supporters and opponents of reservation after Meitei community got Scheduled Tribe (ST) status in Manipur. After getting the reservation, on May 3, 2023, the Naga and Kuki tribals took out a solidarity march in ten hill districts of the state and lodged a protest against giving reservation to the Meitei community. During this, some miscreants ignited a fire by burning a portion of the gate of the Anglo-Kuki War Memorial in Churachandpur. After this, the whole of Manipur has been engulfed in the flames of caste violence. The situation got so bad that the army had to take charge.
Today, even after almost a quarter of a month, the condition of the state has not improved completely. The rioters have occupied the Imphal-Dimapur National Highway (NH-2) highway even today. Providing essential commodities like gas, oil, medicines and ration to the general public remains a big challenge before the government. The violence that broke out in Manipur in the month of May has taken the precious lives of 105 people so far. Due to the violence, more than 50 thousand 650 people have been rendered homeless and are forced to live in 350 relief camps set up by the government. The Central Government is trying to bring the situation back on track.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah toured the riot-affected areas of Manipur from May 29 to June 1. For the restoration of peace, he has gone to the ground and met the people of the party and the opposition in different areas. It is also significant because this visit to riot-torn Manipur is the longest ever by an Indian Home Minister to any riot-torn region. The people of Manipur are also hopeful that peace will soon return to the state. Experts of the North Eastern states are also of the opinion that peace and tranquility will soon be established in Manipur, which is emerging as a major challenge in terms of internal security. Manipur will once again contribute to the creation of New India by moving fast on the path of development while cherishing its cultural diversity.
(The author is a freelance commentator.)
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