EXPLAINER: MANIPUR’S ETHNIC VIOLENCE: WHAT’S BEHIND IT?

Who are the rival parties?

Meitei community: The dominant largely Hindu community, which is based in the state’s capital city of Imphal, forms more than 50 percent of the state’s population of 3.5 million, as per India’s last census in 2011.

While the Meiteis are mostly based in the plains, they have a presence in the hills as well.

The Naga and Kuki tribes: The two mostly Christian tribes form around 40 percent of the state’s population, and enjoy “Scheduled Tribe” status, which gives them land-owning rights in the hills and forests. They are the most significant tribes residing in the hills.

Other tribal groups, including the Mizo, also constitute the diverse ethnic makeup of the state, which borders Myanmar.

What is a “Scheduled Tribe”?

Constitutionally recognised, this official designation gives certain protections to tribes and communities.

“It is an affirmative action to ensure marginalised communities are represented and gives them reservations and quotas in educational institutions and government jobs,” said Arunabh Saikia, a journalist who has covered the region.

“The Meiteis claim they are marginalised as compared to the other mainstream communities,” he said.

How did violent clashes start?

Violence erupted in the Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district of the state, where members of the Kuki tribe were protesting against the Meitei community’s demands to be designated as a “Scheduled Tribe”.

“The tribes believe granting “Scheduled Tribe” status to the Meiteis would be an infringement of their rights as they claim to be the marginalised part of the population, and not the Meiteis,” Saikia told Al Jazeera.

According to Saikia, the tribes believe the Meiteis are already a dominant community and “call the shots in state politics” and hence should not be given affirmative action.

“They see it [Scheduled Tribe status] as the Meiteis eating into their pie,” he said.

He explained that tribal areas in the northeastern parts of India enjoy certain constitutional protection, and there is “anxiety” amongst them that scheduled tribe status would mean the Meiteis can own land in the hills.

What’s the historical background of the violence?

Both sides have a long history of violent clashes and deep-running ethnic tensions.

“There have been deep-rooted long-running tensions between the hill and the valley and there were conflagrations in 2015 for different reasons, but the same underlying tensions,” said Saikia.

He noted that the violence has historically been ethnic and that while there may be some overlap with religion, it has mostly remained an ethnic conflict with some instances of inter-tribe violence as well.

“There has been violence in Manipur since its incorporation into the Indian state. It is a complicated, complex region shaped by several factors,” Saikia said.

What is the government’s role since the outbreak of violence?

The state government is run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“Since the outbreak of violent clashes, the central government invoked an article of the constitution that lets it take over and have special powers in a state,” Saikia explained.

He quoted eye-witness accounts as saying that state police had failed to rein in the mobs and control the clashes in Meitei-dominated Imphal and other parts of the state.

“People from the Kuki community said there had been targeted attacks against them by violent mobs,” Saikia said, but added that there is an “information vacuum” in the area as journalists are unable to enter Churachandpur due to the violence and as internet services have been cut off.

Local media has reported that armed Kuki fighters have waged attacks, taken over the streets and clashed with security forces.

‘Dispute politically motivated’

Local media houses, most of which are Meitei-owned and based in the valley, blame the “Kuki militants” for the violence, exacerbating the crisis. Sangai Express, one of the state’s largest newspapers, is owned by a Meitei BJP legislator.

On June 21, nine Meitei legislators, most of them from the BJP, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying they have lost faith in the state government and that they wanted an immediate federal intervention and protection of central security forces.

The legislators withdrew their statement the next day, with many criticising the move as an indication of a lack of political will to solve the crisis.

But chief minister Singh says he is doing his best to maintain security in the state.

Where do things stand now?

At least 130 people have been killed and more than 50,000 have fled their homes since the violence erupted.

“The Meiteis are in the minority in the hills, so they have been displaced from there, while the tribals are in the minority in the plains and cities, where they have been displaced from,” Saikia explained.