As Manipur continues to burn, Indian Masterminds managed to get a first hand account of the ground situation in one of the hill districts of the state scarred by violence. The district is Tengnoupal. Violence had flared up here also, reaching a climax in Moreh town along the Myanmar border on 28 May, when houses were torched, automatic guns rattled, while residents ran for their lives.
However, since then, the district has been witnessing an uneasy calm. Reportedly, there has been no act of arson and rioting till the time of filing this story. In comparison to other districts of the state, Tengnoupal is strangely quiet.
To verify the authenticity of this news, Indian Masterminds spoke to the Tengnoupal district SDM, 2020-batch IAS officer Asish Das, who, from ground zero, gave us a picture of what’s actually been happening there.
TWO IAS OFFICERS TAKE CONTROL
As violence started in Manipur and the situation was rapidly getting out of hand, young IAS officer Asish Das was called back from his home in Kerala, where he had gone because of a family tragedy. As he rushed back to Tengnoupal, it was no longer the place he had left behind few days back, the place which he has a special attachment to, since this was his first posting after probation.
There was violence everywhere and almost all of the staff (who were Meiteis) had fled from the district. While the shock from the news of his house in Imphal being burned down had rendered the traumatised Kuki district Superintendent of Police immobile. The entire administration was in a state of limbo. News also trickled in that the District Collectorate was torched, and all the remaining staff were holed up inside their quarters.
In such a scenario, the only remaining Meitei officer, the District Collector, was transferred out and a non-Manipuri IAS officer brought in, with the hope of bringing back some normalcy with an officer, not connected emotionally to the situation, in charge.
The new DC, 2013-batch IAS officer of Manipur cadre, Mr. Krishna Kumar from Haryana, joined the fairly new IAS officer from Kerala, SDM Asish Das in Tenggoupal. With all other staff gone, it was left to just three of them – DC, SDM and SP – to control the situation.
THREE BECAME FIVE
“We decided to enlist the help of a Naga gentleman, Milan Khaling, who is much respected in the area. So, he joined us along with a Naga driver and we became a team of five,” said SDM Das.
With more strength came renewed confidence and the team decided to go on a tour of the district. Their focus was to reach out to to the people, calm their anger and fears, and visit the relief camps. It was basically a confidence building exercise.
As they started off on this tour, they realised that a volatile situation is a festering ground for rumours. The Collectorate building was still intact! However, the relief was shortlived as nothing had prepared them for what was about to unfold before them in the small border town of Moreh.
TERRIBLE UNFOLDING OF EVENTS
It was the 28th of May. The day when Moreh burst out in violence. The Assam Rifles camp there was having a tough time restraining the people. SDM Asish Das said that he saw youths as young as 15-16 years carrying automatics and women at the forefront forming a human shield.
It was a very disturbing sight. However, he said, Collector Krishna Kumar was calm and immediately got them all into action as per his plan.
“We reached out to the local civil organisations and requested them to be our partner in quelling the hatred and the violence. Our focus was to build trust and win their confidence. Once the leaders of these organisations came on board, we managed to calm the people and instil peace,” Mr. Das explained.
WHAT HAPPENED TO MEITEIS
Peace came, but at a cost. Almost all the Meiteis fled from the district. Most of them are in Imphal relief camps now. Some even crossed over to Myanmar.
Indian Masterminds spoke to the Assistant Secretary of Meetei Council Morei, Mr. Konsam Manju Meitei, who is living with his family in a relief camp in Imphal. He said, “Our president, vice president and secretary are in Myanmar and are being taken care of by the Junta there. As they lived near the border, it was safer for them to just cross over than come towards Imphal and face the hostile crowds.”
He also mentioned that a few Meiteis are at the Assam Rifles camp in Moreh, while four of them are missing. “Till now, there is no news of them. The rest of us are in touch through phone calls,” he said.
HELP FROM DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION
The district administration helped them to reach Imphal in buses and escorted them till the relief camps in Imphal, he said. Would he want to go back to Moreh? Yes, he said, but only if the government assures them of complete protection and safety. He has heard that Moreh is peaceful now, but what remains of his house is ashes. Still, he is willing to build his life again from these ashes.
“That’s my hometown, the place that had nurtured me all my life. How can I just cut the umbilical chord?” he asked wistfully. However, reality soon sunk in, as he said, “It will take at least a year for things to settle down for us to return.”
NOTHING TO DO WITH RELIGION
He empathetically rejected the notion of religion having anything to do with the violence. “Some people are trying to give it a religious colour, but it is not so! Please don’t believe them,” he urged.
His view was corroborated by a Kuki organisation leader. Indian Masterminds spoke to the Secretary of Kuki Chief Association (KCA) of Tengnoupal district, Mr. Lalboi Hriammi, who said, “There is no communal angle here. This is not a Christian vs Hindu fight,” he stated categorically.
NO VIOLENCE SINCE 28 MAY
He further stated that their organisation KCA is working closely with the district administration to maintain peace in Tengnoupal. “After the 28 May violence in Moreh, there has not been a single incident of violence in the entire district so far,” he claimed.
How has this been possible? SDM Ashis Das said, “Through the building of trust and confidence. I will give you an example. Few days back, two Meitis, who were drunk, had stumbled accidentally into our district. The Kukis caught them, but instead of causing them any harm, they called us and handed them over to the administration.” He credits this change in Tengnoupal to the leadership of District Collector Krishna Kumar.
Confirming the incident, Kuki Chief Association secretary Lalboi Hriammi said that if it was some other hill district, those two guys would have certainly been killed. But, instead, the Kuki people of Tengnoupal agreed to hand them over to the police. This is the result of the joint efforts of the administration and civil organisations to sensitise the people about the need to exercise restraint and not give in to emotional outbursts, he added.
“We managed to convince our people that a political solution is needed, but resorting to violence will not help us to achieve it,” Mr. Hriammi said.
GUNS SILENT, FIRES DOUSED, BUT…
Meanwhile, the Kuki SP has been replaced with a Naga police officer. The guns have gone silent and an eerie silence now prevails in Tengnoupal. However, there are strong undercurrents, a fact both the district administration, and the Kuki and Meitei organisations of the hill district, unanimously agree upon. The Moreh violence was unprovoked, but organised. So, no one can really claim to know that there won’t be another outburst.
The fires have been doused for now, but embers lie hidden in the ashes. One can sense the uneasy calm, like a lull before the storm. A senior journalist in Imphal from the Meitei community, who did not want to be named, put this question to Indian Masterminds, “We cannot go up there, they cannot come down here. Where is the peace?”
For once, we are at a loss for words.
