Manipur - Where weapons are fuelling an ethnic war

By Patricia Mukhim:
Manipur valley has had the highest number of militant outfits, each one claiming to protect ethnic pride, some overtly secessionist in their ideology of creating a Meitei homeland apart from India and therefore banned, while others with the sole aim of extortion and living a good life.
The case is similar in the hills too. But, while the militant outfits in the hills have been under the suspension of operations (SoO) accords with Government of India, the valley outfits are in a state of suspended animation with the possibility of their regrouping at short notice. And this is what has happened. Whereas the Kuki militants have surrendered their arms after signing the SoO, the Meitei outfits are fully armed and further aided by the large number of arms and ammunition raided from the police armouries just a day after violence broke out on May 3
Speaking at a webinar on the present conflict in Manipur, Lt Gen Himlay Singh Konsam (retired) said, "When society is so well-armed, conflict is inevitable." On July 14, a section of the regional media reported that 1,040 arms and 13,601 ammunition and 230 bombs of different kinds have been recovered to date. Another report says over 6 lakh bullets and around 3,000 weapons are still being held by the warring communities in the conflict-driven state of Manipur. Security personnel and strategists fear that banned outfits on both sides of the ethnic divide might resurge under the present situation since the alibi for both sides is to protect their ethnic pride which each claims has been assaulted by the other.Quoting data collected from various sources, officials closely monitoring the situation here said that 303 rifles, Medium Machine Guns (MMGs), AK assault rifles, carbines, Insas Light Machine Guns (LMGs), Insas rifles, M-16 and MP5 rifles were reported to be missing from the armouries of the police in May.
About 6 lakh bullets were missing from the armouries and used during the attacks on police and security officials and on the Kuki-Zo tribes whose homes were blown apart and who were gunned down by Meitei mobs since May 3 when the ethnic clashes erupted.It is surprising how easy it was for the arms and ammunition to be looted. Evidently, this was facilitated by someone in the police itself who must have done so under duress or willingly. How can 4,537 arms and 6.32 lakh rounds of ammunition go missing from the Manipur Police Training Centre (MTPC) at Pangei in East Imphal, the 7th India Reserve battalion and 8th Manipur Rifles, all located in Imphal? Were the police not trained to tackle a mob? Did they use all the skills at their command to prevent the looting of the arms and ammunition? There are no easy answers to such questions in a society where conflict is fuelled by a congenital hatred of the Kuki tribals. From amongst the stolen weapons, 2,900 are of the lethal variety. Imagine so many weapons falling in untrained hands. Or did the valley militants themselves loot these weapons knowing fully well which were the most vicious of the lot?
Reports say that the bulk of the arms and ammunition were held mainly with the Meitei protesters while the Kuki-Zo people had only 5.31 per cent of such weapons.
Apart from the stolen weapons which seemed so easily accessible, the fact is that a lot of arms and ammunition are floating around in the North-Eastern states, which come mainly from China via Myanmar.
Manipur shares a 398-km border with Myanmar's Sagaing Region and Chin State, including the Kabaw valley which was given away to Burma by the British after 1826.
The Kabaw valley is occupied by Naga, Kuki and Meiteis. The Indo-Myanmar border is over rough terrain which is difficult to monitor or secure. And even in Moreh, the formal border trading point between Myanmar and India, a study done by Research and Information Systems (RIS). Some years ago, Delhi found that there was more informal trade than formal on account of which the country loses revenue.
The military coup of 2021 has unsettled the region once again and Kuki, Meitei and Naga people entered Manipur to escape the wrath of the Myanmar army. The Government of Manipur set up a refugee camp in Moreh for a few hundred Kuki refugees which were monitored by Cabinet Minister Letpao Haokip.
Sources claim that those from the Meitei community, who took refuge in Imphal, just melded with the local population and merged with the local Meiteis. The allegations by no less than Chief Minister Biren Singh that there has been an unnatural population spurt among the Kuki-Zo community in the hills is not borne out by statistics as there was no census enumeration in 2021.
Apparently, the Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United Peoples' Front (UPF), both militant groups, were to sign an agreement with Government of India to grant more autonomy for Kuki tribal -- such as the 6th Schedule status as enjoyed by tribals in the rest of India -- on May 7 or 8. It is believed that the conflict was created to disrupt the signing of this agreement.
What has happened in what can be termed as a civil war is that both groups feel they need to arm themselves to the teeth and as stated by the retired and serving generals in different platforms, China is watching all this with some interest. Militant outfits were anyway buying arms from China which are smuggled across the Myanmar border. This warrants that the country pays greater attention to this conflict zone which shares only a mere one per cent of its borders with India.
What is of concern is that the banned outfits in the valley have become active and they know the arms routes only too well. That these cadres are receiving overwhelming support is evident from the fact that on June 24 last, the Meira Paibis - Meitei womens' organisations -- prevented the arrest of 12 militants of the banned KYKL outfit which had in 2015 ambushed soldiers of the 6 Dogra Regiment, leaving 18 of them dead.
This is a matter of serious concern and it is surprising that the Government of India has not awakened to the fact that its army, known to be among the best in the world, had been rendered helpless by a group of women protesters. Such incidents are unheard of anywhere in the country.