Invisible hand seems at play in Manipur crisis: Former chief justice

No one appears to be in control in Manipur, where “an invisible hand” continues to fan violence, said former Manipur HC chief justice Siddharth Mridul.

No one appears to be in control in Manipur, where “an invisible hand” continues to fan violence, the Manipur high court’s former chief justice Siddharth Mridul said on Tuesday, stressing the need to urgently bring the situation under control otherwise, “there will be nothing left to protect” in the northeastern state.

Justice Siddharth Mridul’s tenure as chief justice began in October 2023, coinciding with the early days of conflict in the region, which has remained on the edge since May of last year (HT Photo)

Justice Mridul’s tenure as chief justice began in October 2023, coinciding with the early days of conflict in the region, which has remained on the edge since May of last year. At a panel discussion in Delhi, justice Mridul, who demitted office last month after his retirement, said some elements might have a vested interest in keeping the state on the boil.

“I am beginning to subscribe to the idea that there does seem to be an invisible hand [behind the continued violence]. Whose hand is it is not clear to me yet. There could be a number of factors at play,” he said.

“The reason why I believe there is somebody involved in keeping the pot boiling is that every time the situation seems to be normalising, there is a fresh injection of violence. This leads me to believe that there are forces… Even if the forces are external, they do have collaborators locally, who ensure that the agenda of keeping Manipur burning is pursued vigorously,” he said in response to a query by HT.

Manipur has been in the throes of violence for close to 19 months, with the ethnic conflict showing no signs of abating. The cycle of violence and reprisal attacks has prompted the Centre to send more troops, reimpose Afspa and hold talks with representatives of various groups. The steps, however, appeared have little impact as close to 240 people died in the state, which is now deeply fractured on community lines.

Far from any administrative salve to a now-fractured society, the fallout of the long-running ethnic hostilities has meant that the Meiteis, who live largely in the plains of the Imphal valley, and the Kukis, who predominantly live in the hills, have withdrawn to their respective strongholds. In response, security forces have created buffer zones in different border districts, set up camps and posts on highways. But often, militants from both groups use the hills and the jungle area to cross into other districts and attack each other as authorities struggle to restore normalcy in the northeastern state.

“There have been periods of absence of violence, but at no stage since May last year has normalcy ever been restored in Manipur. My interaction with the executive was purely to ensure that the judiciary was able to discharge its functions without hindrance…But the impression I gathered was, I may be terribly wrong, that nobody seemed to be in control of the vessel,” he said.

Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh, who has resisted calls for his resignation, not just from the Kuki community – he is a Meitei – but also from leaders within his own party, has denied any lapses on the part of the authorities to rein in the violence. In an interview with HT last month, Singh blamed illegal immigrants and the drug mafia for the unabating clashes.

The Centre has repeatedly sent more troops to the state in an attempt to bring the situation under control. At present, close to 60,000 personnel, including the Indian Army, the Assam Rifles, the CRPF, and Manipur Police, were deployed across the province. Justice Mridul, however, questioned the efficacy of the large deployment of personnel if the thousands of people who were displaced due to the violence were not able to return home.

“The constant refrain that I heard at relief camps was that we want to go home. We want to go back to our lives as they were before the violence broke out. Is that too much to ask of the powers that be? Is it too much to ask that every individual who has been residing in these relief camps be returned to their homes and be accorded protection?” he said.

The former chief justice stressed that authorities must restore peace in the region on priority otherwise, the situation could snowball and spread to other states.

“If we don’t do it now, there may be nothing left to protect. We are faced with a situation where the possession of sophisticated weapons by individuals threatens the security and integrity of not just Manipur people but the entire country,” he said.

He added that although the courts had passed various directions to ensure the rule of law, little action was taken by the authorities. “The highways should be opened for travel without any fears of abduction or murder. Those directions have been given. But the separation of powers in our country requires that all directions given by a court need to be implemented by the executive. And the refrain we hear often in Manipur is that because of prevailing circumstances, we are unable to do so. My suggestion is that till such time there is disarmament, till the time that the weapons that were looted are recovered, there is no possibility of peace returning to Manipur. Armed people are not going to permit you to return to your homes and live peacefully.”

Justice Mridul further spoke about his predecessor’s order directing the state government to consider the inclusion of Meitei groups in the list of scheduled tribes. “I have repeatedly said that the direction was innocuous. The Centre had asked the state government to furnish a socio- economic report in relation to whether Meiteis should be considered for inclusion in the category of STs,” he said. “Later, a Meitei organisation filed a petition before the Manipur high court. There were a number of reliefs that were asked for. One was that state should be directed to respond to the Centre in relation to the socio-economic survey, which is eventually what the high court directed. “