New Delhi: Though the violence in Manipur that dominated news headlines most of the year erupted after a seemingly innocuous rally taken out by a student body, it was a sinister angle of ethnic unrest and drug trade in the neighbouring country of Myanmar that has emerged as a major cause.
On May 3, the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) took out rally in Churanchandpur to protest against the state High Court’s recommendation that the demand of the Meiteis for Scheduled ST status be considered. While the predominantly Hindu Meiteis form the majority population in the state and mainly live in the Imphal valley, the mainly Christian Kuki-Zomis and the Nagas living in the hills enjoy ST status.
While the Kukis claim that giving ST status will entitle the Meiteis the right to buy land in the hills, the Meiteis say that the conflict is a result of a retaliation by the Kukis against the government’s crackdown on drug smuggling from across the border from Myanmar and poppy cultivation in the hills of the state. In the last five years, poppy cultivation had spread to 15,400 acres of land in the hills. Over 2,500 people have been arrested during this period under the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The Kukis argue that granting ST status would empower the Meiteis to purchase land in the hills, while the Meiteis contend that the conflict stems from Kuki retaliation against the government’s efforts to curb drug smuggling from Myanmar and poppy cultivation in the state's hill areas. Over the past five years, poppy cultivation has expanded to cover 15,400 acres of hill land, leading to the arrest of more than 2,500 individuals under the Narcotic Drug and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act during this period.
In the unprecedented ethnic conflict that erupted between the Meiteis and the Kukis, over 180 people lost their lives. The northeastern state experienced a breakdown along ethnic divisions, where conflicting militias have established blockades to prevent the entry of individuals from opposing communities. Consequently, numerous families have been unable to travel and retrieve the remains of their relatives.
Many of the bodies were lying in morgues in state capital Imphal. It was only last month that the Supreme Court intervened and ordered that the bodies be cremated or buried in a proper manner. Eventually, mass burial of 87 bodies was held in Churachandpur, a focal point of the ethnic unrest, earlier this week.
However, even today, though back channel communications have kept full-scale violence at bay, tensions continue to simmer. According to observers, there is a narco-terror angle to this whole conflict. Ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) in conflict-hit neighbouring Myanmar who are also involved in drug smuggling have crossed over to Manipur and are involved in the ongoing violence. Chin refugees, who are racially similar to the Kukis, have also crossed over from Myanmar to Manipur because of the violent clashes between the EAOs and the military junta in India’s eastern neighbour.
Manipur shares a 398-km-long border with Myanmar. It is a porous border enabling illegal drugs trade. The Manipur government had declared a ‘War on Drugs’ to curtail this. This war was targeted against the Golden Triangle comprising the drug cartels of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. This cartel has forayed into Manipur making it in fact a source of drugs. Earlier this month, the Union Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report that Myanmar has become the world’s largest producer of opium overtaking Afghanistan.
But, more than drugs, it is the situation in Myanmar that has New Delhi concerned because of the crisis in Manipur. Following the coup that ousted Nobel laureate Aung Sang Suu-Kyi from power in Myanmar in 2021, a group of members of parliament elected in 2020 formed the National Unity Government (NUG). The ruling military junta’s State Administration Council (SAC) declared the NUG illegal and a terrorist organisation. The NUG announced then announced the establishment of the People’s Defence Force (PDF) in May and declared a “people’s defensive war” against the military government. The PDF became a grassroots-level insurgency, with organized local ethnic armed organisations (EAOs) operating in small pockets across Myanmar.
In July this year, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited Jakarta and Bangkok to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) format meetings and the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Mechanism and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC). During the course of his visit, he highlighted the situation of Myanmar under the military junta in that country.
During the ASEAN meetings, Jaishankar had raised the issue of “stability and security on our border areas” with Myanmar. On the sidelines of the MGC meeting in Bangkok, Jaishankar also met his Myanmarese counterpart U Than Swe.
However, in a dramatic development in October this year, Myanmar’s resistance forces launched a new operation against the military junta capturing strategic bases in a daring display of defiance. Dubbed Operation 1027, an alliance called the Three Brotherhood Alliance has put the junta completely on the back foot.
The alliance, comprising the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Arakan Army (AA), has seized dozens of townships in northern Shan State on the border with China.
The resistance offensive also spread to upper Sagaing Region, where the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), AA and PDFs seized the district-level town of Kawlin in early November. Elsewhere, Karenni resistance forces launched Operation 1107 in support of the offensive, attacking junta bases in Kayah State’s Loikaw and Mese and southern Shan’s Moebye town. The trade town of Khampat on the Indian border in Tamu Township was also seized in a coordinated attack by the Chin Nationalities Defense Force, KIA and PDFs.
The AA is an ethnic armed organisation based in Rakhine State (Arakan). Founded on April 10, 2009, the AA is the military wing of the United League of Arakan (ULA). The MNDAA is an armed resistance group in the Kokang region. The army has existed since 1989, having been the first one to sign a ceasefire agreement with the then Burmese government. The ceasefire lasted for about two decades. The TNLA is the armed wing of the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF). The TNLA is known for its opposition to drug trade, conducting operations where they actively destroy poppy fields, heroin refineries and meth labs. The TNLA claims that it arrests opium smugglers regularly and the narcotics seized are publicly burned on special occasions to deter drug trade.
China claimed that it had brokered peace talks between the junta and the Three Brotherhood Alliance in Beijing on December 11. “The Brotherhood Alliance has not made any announcement about the China-brokered peace talks, but said on December 13 – two days after the talks – that it would keep fighting to topple the regime in line with the desire of the people of Myanmar,” the Irrawaddy news website reported. “Following the reported peace talks, the ethnic alliance took control of the 105-Mile Myanmar-China Trade Zone after seizing the junta’s strategic hilltop base in the area.”
Also, another Indian player that is in the fray is Manipur’s neighbouring state of Mizoram. Mizoram has given shelter to Kuki-Zomis who have been displaced from Manipur after the violence broke out on May 3. The Kukis and Mizos share ethnic bonds. Additionally, Mizoram is providing shelter to thousands of Chin refugees who fled Myanmar due to fierce fighting between that country’s army and ethnic armed organisations. The Mizos have strong connections with the Chins too.
Following the assembly elections held in Mizoram last month, a new party called Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM) came to power. New Chief Minister Lalduhoma has affirmed that his administration would persist in offering refuge and support to individuals displaced from Myanmar and Manipur. Former Chief Minister Zoramthanga, leader of the Mizo National Front, had previously shown solidarity with the displaced population throughout his tenure. Notably, he resisted the Central government’s directive in September, which mandated the collection of biometric data from Myanmar refugees in the state. Additionally, he extended a welcoming hand to the Kuki-Zo people seeking refuge from the ethnic conflict in Manipur.
As 2024 draws to a close, the situation remains fluid both in Manipur and Myanmar, while Mizoram continues to play host for affected people while not adhering to certain directives from the Centre.
