The undercurrents of the volatile situation in Manipur are possibly most evident in the relief camps dotting its verdant landscape. Over the past 14 months, the Meitei population fleeing the hill districts have taken refuge in camps in the valley, while the Kukis who fled the valley have found shelter in the hills. Their common ground is a label: internally displaced persons.
On Saturday, a train carrying foodgrains chugged into Manipur, causing the chief minister, N. Biren Singh, to exult: “Delighted to witness the arrival of the first rice rake at Khongsang railway station from Punjab. The rake, comprising 15 wagons carrying 950 tonnes of goods, represents a significant milestone in ensuring food security for Manipur.”
Biren Singh has also claimed that a truce is in sight as talks between the two communities locked in conflict, the Meiteis and the Kukis, are underway. His claim has been refuted by the Kuki Students Organisation and Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum who denied any formal invite from the government for negotiations. Last week, Biren Singh included over four lakh beneficiaries under various government schemes, saying, “We are... focussing on those residing in relief camps. Today, we are providing Rs 25,000 each to 6,000 families and Rs 1,000 each to about 60,000 people across the state. It will provide relief to all the people in relief camps.”
The camps have a different story to tell. According to Niranjan Singh of Imphal, an Acumen fellow whose organisation, JCRE Skill Solutions, has been dealing closely with three relief camps in the valley, the unhygienic condition of the camps is resulting in rampant ailments. “The department of minorities and other backward classes in Manipur has good officers. They, along with camp leaders, are coordinating relief operations,” Singh says. “We gathered relief materials from Assam and sent them to the valley camps, while relief materials from Nagaland were despatched to camps in the hills.”
Like Singh, who trains inmates of the camps at Lamboi Khongang Khong near Imphal, Sekmai and Moirang, entrepreneurs and organisations have come forward with relief materials. “My wife and I have adopted a family,” Singh explains. “But the peace efforts must be initiated by civil society.”
In the 50 Kuki camps in the Kangpokpi district, according to N.S. Gangte, the secretary of CoTU Relief, the 15,000 inmates, especially the women and children, are grappling with unimaginable physical and psychological hardships. “For how long do we have to endure these atrocities?” Gangte wonders, lamenting that medicines are also in short supply. “The Kuki Students Organisation is undertaking all-out efforts on the education front, while NGOs, human rights and Christian organisations are helping us,” he adds.
Left homeless overnight and dreading returning, the plight of the displaced is that of pawns in the hands of politicians. Hundreds have lost their loved ones. Yet, the inhuman suffering has failed to move the prime minister into paying a visit. Biren Singh proffers a platitude: “There is no question of the PM coming or not coming. What is being done in Manipur right now — security measures, relief work, development, and peace talks between both communities (Kuki and Meitei) — are all happening under the leadership of the prime minister…. There has been peace here for several days now.”
It is this ‘assurance of peace’ that possibly prompted the prime minister to tell Parliament that normalcy was returning to Manipur. The leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, visited the camps this month. Yet neither has been able to orchestrate a reconciliation. What is more worrying is that armed militants on either side are reaping dividends. How long will the common man pay the price?
