Freeze NRC and eviction issues for peace, says think tank on Manipur

Think tank calls for temporary freeze on contentious issues in Manipur to promote peace and dialogue among warring communities.

GUWAHATI

Contentious issues, including the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for Meiteis, and eviction drives in the hill districts, must be frozen temporarily to give peace a chance, a new think tank said in its analysis of the situation in ethnic conflict-scarred Manipur.

The Nongthombam Biren Singh government’s push for the NRC with 1961 as the cut-off year towards detecting and deporting “illegal migrants” from Myanmar; the demand for declaring Meiteis as STs like the two other ethnic groups — Kukis and Nagas — in the State; and drives against alleged encroachers of protected areas, are said to have been triggers for the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur.

“These (NRC, ST, and eviction) issues need to be resolved amicably in the long run. All the stakeholders must be engaged proactively to encourage dialogue. The message of peace must be communicated to the communities with emphasis on dividends of democratic patience for resolution of grievances,” the Society to Harmonise Aspirations for Responsible Engagement (SHARE) said in its analytical report released on Saturday (November 30, 2024).

Headed by retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Radha Krishna Mathur, SHARE’s members include former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, retired Lt. Gen. Rana Pratap Kalita, and former Assam Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta.

“Community leaders and influencers must engage the radicalised elements within both communities to bring them to the path of reconciliation. The Union and State governments must make genuine efforts at resolving the grievances of both the communities,” the report said.

Armed Meitei radical organisations, including the Arambai Tenggol and Kuki-Zo extremist groups, many of them under a Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement, are allegedly behind the clashes between the non-tribal Meiteis and the tribal Kuki-Zos that began on May 3, 2023. The clashes have left more than 250 people dead, many missing, and about 1,600 injured, while displacing 60,000 others.