Only ST Status Issue Or Were There Other Reasons Behind Violence? News18 Decodes

Manipur High Court’s order to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the majority Meitei community in the state led to protests from the tribes, including the Kukis and Nagas, which set off a chain reaction leading to widespread violence in the state who claimed more Of 30 lives to date. But, is only the Supreme Court’s order on ST status the reason behind the violence?

The state government was concerned about illegal settlers in the forests, especially in the Churachandpur district where the violence began in the first place. The government has cracked down on illegal settlers through continuous identity checks in the area for the past six months.

News 18 has reached data showing a steady increase in the number of villages in the region. In 1969, there were 216 villages in Churachanpur district, which has increased to 544 in 2021. Similarly, in Kangbokpi district, the number of villages has increased from 171 in 1969 to 534 in 2021. But in Imphal, the number of villages has decreased from 181 to 180.

According to the data, the total number of villages in Manipur is reported to be 2,788 in 2021.

According to the sources, the disproportionate increase in the number of villages geographically has become a source of concern for the government and has led to continuous identity checks.

On May 2, a day before the clashes erupted, Chief Minister of Manipur N. Birn Singh tweeted, “Glad to launch airport facial recognition system and portable camera-mounted surveillance vehicles. With the help of technologies like FRS and portable camera-mounted surveillance vehicles, our security network will be strengthened more to detect illegal immigrants.

The sources said that the increase in illegal immigration across the border has prompted the state government to expand identity checks in the hills and forest areas. However, a section of Hill residents alleged that door-to-door ID checking was implemented to target a specific community. They argued that the government should have conducted the security crackdown earlier in the case of illegal immigration. People saw the security crackdown as a way to take away forest rights from the tribes.

“Illegal immigrants, if there are, should be taken care of but in the name of the security crackdown, a specific community has been targeted. The government and the police failed to deal with the violence. One local resident told News18 on condition of anonymity:

On April 24, CM N Biren Singh presided over a presentation by the Population Commission of Manipur and held discussions on conducting the statewide Household Demographic Survey. “The state government is also taking action to identify illegal immigrants and protect indigenous people,” the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

The sources hinted that the people who have problems with this security campaign may be behind the acts of violence in the state. The sources added that the identity checks aroused a state of resentment sent by some forces, which led to violent clashes.

Life is slowly returning to a cautious normalcy in Manipur as the Indian army and paramilitary forces work together to restore peace in the state in the wake of the violence.

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