New violence in Manipur

More than 180 people have been killed in the five months since violence erupted in India’s Manipur state over ethnic and religious tensions, and the state and central governments appear incapable of addressing the problem. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP — which is also in power in the state — did their best to ignore the problem, even when it started getting international coverage. However, an incident where two minority women were paraded naked and reportedly gang-raped forced Modi to make a tepid condemnation. He went for a ‘both sides’ approach instead of blaming the majority Meitei community, even though everyone following the events unfold knows they are almost entirely to blame. The Meitei just happen to be mostly Hindu and are receiving support from the BJP, RSS and other affiliated Hindutva groups.

However, despite a bit of initiative then being shown to calm the situation, the problem never went away. The world’s attention just turned to ‘positive’ stories about India, such as hosting the G-20 summit and the success of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission. But the discovery of two more bodies has sparked a new wave of violence, and Modi is again ignoring it. Even the special session of Parliament last week saw little mention of the situation. Though the latest violence has arguably been less deadly than the first wave, which respected Indian newspapers such as The Hindu even described as a pogrom, things are still extremely tense and could easily bubble over, given that neither side appears willing to take a step back. Good, honest leadership could play a critical role, but for the victims of Manipur, that is an even bigger ask.

Modi, who knows a thing or two about failing to stop pogroms, has not commented on the latest violence, nor has he bothered to visit Manipur since the violence began. Meanwhile, divisive Chief Minister N Biren Singh of the BJP still has his job, which would suggest that in the party’s eyes, his failure to stem the violence is actually a good thing.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2023.

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