Manipur: Restoration of Peace and Development
Asia News Agency
Manipur has been under President’s Rule since February 13 this year.
Better security and more development
In the past over four months, peace has largely prevailed in the state except for a few stray incidents. What needs to be understood, writes Lieutenant General Pradeep Chandran Nair (retired general officer of the Indian Army) “is that most of the protests we now see lack the bite and the intensity that were associated with ethnic violence in the initial days of May-June 2023. The current spate of violence has largely been engineered by a small minority of people with vested interests; and have been easily tackled by the security forces."
Tightening of security has resulted in the “cessation of hostilities and opening of the highways. Extension of the Suspension of Operations has been supposedly made conditional and includes reduction in the number of camps, recertification of strength of militants, surrender of weapons and move of the camps away from fringe areas. This has largely been accepted by both the communities…..So, there are clear signals of a forward movement by both communities.”
Despite a few dissenting elements on both sides, the good work is unmistakable. “There has been a major de-weaponisation drive in the entire state, with many arrests….The state has seen inaugurations of a few projects and infrastructure” as well as enhancing “agriculture awareness and introduce new agricultural technologies.”
Getting the Kukis and the Meiteis on to the negotiating table
The most important development, of course, has been an "effort to get the Kukis and the Meiteis on to the negotiating table. The leaders of both the communities were recently called to Delhi. While the official word has not been out on what the outcome of the talks has been, many have gone on to deride these talks and paint a pall of gloom. But the important part here is that leaders of both the groups did come to Delhi and expressed their points of view. Till a few months ago, members of both communities were unwilling to even talk or initiate a peace process. Now, it is increasingly been heard in the state that some kind of talks between the two communities are likely to begin sooner rather than later.”
And, the overwhelming desire among the people of Manipur is to return to normalcy, rebuild fractured relations, and restore mutual trust.
